About UC Clermont College Explorer
This site has been created to share the findings from the field analyses of the K-T Boundary and Dinosaur/Vertebrate Fossil Preservation Conditions of the Hell Creek, Powder River Basin Perimeter in Wyoming.
These findings represent the culmination of the May 2017 experiential learning (field observation & interpretation) opportunity of the UC Clermont College Geology students.
These findings represent the culmination of the May 2017 experiential learning (field observation & interpretation) opportunity of the UC Clermont College Geology students.
UC Clermont College Geology-Geography Area has been most fortunate to have a group of undergraduate students who have become interested in geology and have undertaken research projects in order to bolster their skills and nurture their enthusiasm for the work of a geologist in solving the problems and answering the questions of Earth and its history. They have been challenged by the broader aspects of geology, in that, Geology integrates the basic sciences of physics, chemistry, geology and biology into the study of our Earth, yet views it all through the perspective of some 4.5 billion years of geologic time.
The study of the Earth is not merely a series lab experiments carried out in present time occupying students’ afternoons, it is the most complex, interrelated set of puzzle pieces strung together across time and distance, with boundaries obscured over billions of years and left for Humankind tugging to unravel each thin thread in order to reveal yet another level of puzzle pieces to observe, examine, and reconstruct.
Thy have learned that the study of our earth not only holds fascination but is also relevant in their own lives, the global economy, war, environmental conditions, and the well-being of Humankind in general. It is critical to this science that the student studies in the field where rocks can be touched, scale can be appreciated, processes observed, and all the senses are employed in the reconstruction of dynamic conditions through deep time.
Relevancy is articulated in a simple statement from the National Mining Association.
“Everything We Have Is Either Mined or Grown.”
The study of the Earth is not merely a series lab experiments carried out in present time occupying students’ afternoons, it is the most complex, interrelated set of puzzle pieces strung together across time and distance, with boundaries obscured over billions of years and left for Humankind tugging to unravel each thin thread in order to reveal yet another level of puzzle pieces to observe, examine, and reconstruct.
Thy have learned that the study of our earth not only holds fascination but is also relevant in their own lives, the global economy, war, environmental conditions, and the well-being of Humankind in general. It is critical to this science that the student studies in the field where rocks can be touched, scale can be appreciated, processes observed, and all the senses are employed in the reconstruction of dynamic conditions through deep time.
Relevancy is articulated in a simple statement from the National Mining Association.
“Everything We Have Is Either Mined or Grown.”
A few words from Amanda Hunt, PhD
RESEARCH FIELD TRIP
Soon we are off on a great mission of exploration and discovery! I can almost see the snow covered mountains ahead, the herds of pronghorn and buffalo, and the ROCKS ! Ancient volcanoes, high cliffs of ancient sand dune fields, folds where the earth has been squeezed into tight folds by plate movements, ancient stream beds and deltas where dinosaurs roamed and ruled! The record of the history of the Earth from its birth to the present is recorded in the rocks like the pages of a great history book. We are learning how to read the big book and to tell the stories of the events, the animals and plants as they evolved and underwent extinction, as climate conditions changed, huge meteorite impacts or colossal volcanic eruptions occurred. It is a real thrill for me to be setting out for the west with a great group of undergraduate geologists to conduct field research on the most titillating of geological problems using state-of-the-art instruments that have never before been employed to attack these questions. Science is the human mind at play and the sweetest mind candy is found in the juiciest secrets and mysteries that the Earth holds tightly. Field Analyses of K-T Boundary and Dinosaur/Vertebrate Fossil Preservation Conditions of the Hell Creek, Powder River Basin Perimeter, Wyoming The K-T (Cretaceous – Tertiary) Boundary, or (K-Pg, Cretaceous - Paleogene) Boundary around the world records the meteorite impact event 66 MYA that is associated with a major extinction event that included the dinosaurs among many other groups. The K-T Boundary is marked in the stratigraphic rock record by features such as carbonized material, shocked quartz, brecciated rock, glass spherules, and fern spore spikes that may vary with location. There is also an anomalously high iridium concentration that typically exceeds concentrations generally found on earth. Few locations have been identified in Wyoming above the Cretaceous Hell Creek prolific dinosaur bone bed and below the Fort Union beds of the Tertiary. Exposures are sometimes difficult to locate and identify. For the locations that have been identified it is puzzling that some anomalous fossil material and dinosaur bones have been reported from above the K-T Boundary. This distribution may be owing to structural deformation, sedimentary reworking, or other factors rather than survival of dinosaurs following the catastrophic impact event. Additional K-T Boundary locations need to be described and mapped in order to gain a more detailed record from which to better interpret the circumstances of the conundrum. In part, the lack of locations and data may be a result of sampling/analysis constraints. Common practice has been to collect samples in the field that are then transported for costly and time consuming laboratory analyses. The concept for the proposed field work utilizes application of a new tool that may enable geochemical data to be collected onsite, in situ in less than a minute per sample. This may make mapping and data acquisition in the field faster, easier, cheaper, and improve data quality, since the samples are in situ, undisturbed. This tool, a newly acquired field portable hand held Niton XRF T3 GOLDD analyzer, was used to test a preliminary set of K-T Boundary stratigraphic samples collected from a new Wyoming K-T Boundary discovered last year. Preliminary results appear to show promise for the efficacy of the proposed field method. Read more on Dr. Hunt's Blog Page... |