Stories like this one make me envious of Geologists who actually make a living studying this stuff... 

Scientists reveal secrets of ancient ocean in new book

I had one of those experiences a few months ago... One of my pre-teen kids plays on a soccer team in Euclid that travels to other local communities to play soccer... thus they call it a "travel" team.  It is considered by some to be elite.  I am not so sure; I think it might be that it is primarily just the kids who have parents who are willing to go all over for their kids.