Seriously, do you smell that?

Since my last project ended in Chino Hills, I've been put temporarily on a new project in Newport Beach. This one is currently in the Capistrano formation, which is a mire of thick, organic rich shale, siltstone and infrequent sand. It's an okay locality for fossils, though not super. Most of the fossils are small and fragile and the rock doesn't split readily along its bedding plane. The most distracting thing however is the abundance of hydrogen sulfide gas that is seeping out of the ground. For those of you who don't know, hydrogen sulfide is the compound responsible for "rotten egg" smell. It is also lethal in the parts per billion. Consiquently, I wear an alarm that warns me if there is more than 10 parts per billion of the poisonous gas. On the plus side though, the site is directly next to Hoag Hospital, so I aught to be well taken care of if something happens.