Some of the dinosaurs found within the Jurassic Mile that most people are familiar with include Allosaurus and Brachiosaurus.
However, it’s not just the dinosaur fossils that excite Egerton, who is also a paleobotanist. She uses the evidence contained in logs like those mentioned above, as well as fine plant materials and preserved leaves and ferns, to learn more about the Jurassic Period’s climate and environment.
“The preservation quality and sheer amount of plants at the Jurassic Mile is extraordinary. During this period, there were no flowering plants and this site provides significant insight to what these giant animals ate and how they may have grown to be so large,” she said.
Egerton and the rest of the excavation team are also looking for non-dinosaur animal fossils, including small reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Using an automated sieving machine her team fondly refers to as “Hank,” the scientists can sort through sediment and clay to pick apart bones andteeth for later lab analysis.
The team has a very limited field season that runs from May through the end of August. The rest of the year, the site lies untouched and uninhabited, but not unprotected, due to the team’s winterization process.
“When we leave for the field season, we have to carefully cover up all the bones. We use a mixture of tarps and semi-permeable material,” explained Egerton. “We also cover them up with about four to six inches of dirt. We do that to keep the bones from having to undergo freeze thaw.”
Freeze thaw can cause fossilized bones to split or crack, resulting in extra work for the paleontologists at a later date.
When it’s time toresume excavating the next summer, it can take up to two weeks to remove the dirt and tarps, which add up to several tons of sediment.
The current Mission Jurassic team has spent three seasons at the excavation site thus far, but the job is nowhere near complete. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis holds a 20-year lease on the parcel of land and intends to continue work there throughout and possibly beyond that timeframe. The fossil remains will form the base of an expansion of the museum’s permanent Dinosphere exhibit. Within the next few weeks, there will be a few hundred new bones at the museum, some of which will be on display as they’re cleaned and prepped in the soon-to-be expanded JurassicPaleo Prep Lab, opening Sept. 10.
However, it’s not just the dinosaur fossils that excite Egerton, who is also a paleobotanist. She uses the evidence contained in logs like those mentioned above, as well as fine plant materials and preserved leaves and ferns, to learn more about the Jurassic Period’s climate and environment.
“The preservation quality and sheer amount of plants at the Jurassic Mile is extraordinary. During this period, there were no flowering plants and this site provides significant insight to what these giant animals ate and how they may have grown to be so large,” she said.
Egerton and the rest of the excavation team are also looking for non-dinosaur animal fossils, including small reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Using an automated sieving machine her team fondly refers to as “Hank,” the scientists can sort through sediment and clay to pick apart bones and
The team has a very limited field season that runs from May through the end of August. The rest of the year, the site lies untouched and uninhabited, but not unprotected, due to the team’s winterization process.
“When we leave for the field season, we have to carefully cover up all the bones. We use a mixture of tarps and semi-permeable material,” explained Egerton. “We also cover them up with about four to six inches of dirt. We do that to keep the bones from having to undergo freeze thaw.”
Freeze thaw can cause fossilized bones to split or crack, resulting in extra work for the paleontologists at a later date.
When it’s time to
The current Mission Jurassic team has spent three seasons at the excavation site thus far, but the job is nowhere near complete. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis holds a 20-year lease on the parcel of land and intends to continue work there throughout and possibly beyond that timeframe. The fossil remains will form the base of an expansion of the museum’s permanent Dinosphere exhibit. Within the next few weeks, there will be a few hundred new bones at the museum, some of which will be on display as they’re cleaned and prepped in the soon-to-be expanded Jurassic
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