DAY 14

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DESCRIPTION
Field Location: *Dinosaur National Monument. Geologic Feature: AM: Continue mapping exercise. PM: Tour Dinosaur Quarry. Necessary Background Information: None. Geologic Problem: At the quarry summarize data presented about why and how vertebrate fossils are concentrated at the site. Rock Units Exposed: Jurassic Morrison Formation. Skills: Ability to question information and form own hypotheses based on previous experiences. Other Questions to Consider: 1) Why are dinosaur bones concentrated here but they were absent in the Entrada and Morrison sites we visited near Moab? 2) What processes lead to good preservation of fossils? What processes lead to preservation of tracks? 3) How do the Morrison facies exposed here differ from those near Moab? Is there evidence of extended lake deposition visible here as in the Brushy Basin near Moab? 4) How do the creatures preserved here differ from those seen in Pennsylvanian/Permian strata in Big Spring Canyon? (Not just in size, consider composition, environment, and life style too.) 5) Is this site a place where the dinosaurs lived or a place where bodies got piled up after the animals died? Anticipated Outcomes*: Understanding of the relationship between depositional environments and preservation potential for tracks and bones. Understanding of the mechanisms of fossilization.

DESCRIPTION

Field Location: Dinosaur National Monument.
Geologic Feature: AM: Continue mapping exercise. PM: Tour Dinosaur Quarry.
Necessary Background Information: None.
Geologic Problem: At the quarry summarize data presented about why and how vertebrate fossils are concentrated at the site.
Rock Units Exposed: Jurassic Morrison Formation.
Skills: Ability to question information and form own hypotheses based on previous experiences.
Other Questions to Consider: 1) Why are dinosaur bones concentrated here but they were absent in the Entrada and Morrison sites we visited near Moab? 2) What processes lead to good preservation of fossils? What processes lead to preservation of tracks? 3) How do the Morrison facies exposed here differ from those near Moab? Is there evidence of extended lake deposition visible here as in the Brushy Basin near Moab? 4) How do the creatures preserved here differ from those seen in Pennsylvanian/Permian strata in Big Spring Canyon? (Not just in size, consider composition, environment, and life style too.) 5) Is this site a place where the dinosaurs lived or a place where bodies got piled up after the animals died?
Anticipated Outcomes: Understanding of the relationship between depositional environments and preservation potential for tracks and bones. Understanding of the mechanisms of fossilization.