Paleonet: Field Paleontology Training

Thu May 10 12:50:57 UTC 2007

I think a field exercise, at least where exposures permit, is a golden
opportunity to look at lateral continuity of beds.  When we see
stratigraphic columns in reports we tend to think of them as representative
of whole areas when they may not be representative of whole outcrops.  This
is as important to paleontology as it is to sedimentology and stratigraphy.

David

David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Geological Survey of Alabama
P.O. Box 869999
Tuscaloosa AL 35486-6999
(205) 247-3695 (direct line/voice mail)
(205) 349-2852 (switchboard)
fax 349-2861
www.gsa.state.al.us

To join sednet, an e-mail group for discussion of sedimentology, send a
blank e-mail message to sednet-subscribe at yahoogroups.com.

Fun size fiction daily at  <http://www.dailycabal.com/> www.dailycabal.com
.

  _____  

From: paleonet-bounces+davidkm=gsa.state.al.us at nhm.ac.uk
[mailto:paleonet-bounces+davidkm=gsa.state.al.us at nhm.ac.uk] On Behalf Of ann
molineux
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 1:59 PM
To: PaleoNet
Subject: Re: Paleonet: Field Paleontology Training

Hi Peg,

I'd be really interested to hear what people say about this. 
I would like to develop a substantive paleo field course and feel a real
lack in that area. We have pretty good vertebrate field work but the
opportunities for learning invertebrate field methods are very thin. At NPL
we have begun using Xplore mapping tablets and ARCGIS in the field, tagging
specimens, imaging in situ material and so forth, in an effort to make
fossil collection more integrated with the whole geology. We have also
tried, not terribly successfully, to use quadrats. 
I have added some comments and could go on at great length but I need to get
back to shifting a collection!

(1)  What are the key practical skills that students should learn and
develop to effectively conduct a field study in paleontology?

Pre-planning of the project, maps, previous studies etc
Health and safety issues
Appropriate field gear, storage and labelling, note books cameras, field
computer, GPS etc

(2)  What are the key paleontological concepts or knowledge that students
can learn most effectively in a field setting?

Modes of fossilization (raises a plethora of diagenetic and biological
issues)
Interaction between organisms (often excluded in pristine collection
environments)
Index fossils etc
Evolution of faunae

(3)  What skills and knowledge does a field-based paleo project provide to a
NON-paleontology student, e.g., a student interested in sedimentary geology,
structural geology, or hydrogeology?

The importance of the biota to the sedimentary environment
Paleo know how facilitates structural histories

(4)  So many students view paleontology as a lab-based science - fossils in
neat, labeled boxes to be studied in isolation.  Is field paleontology
obsolete? 

Absolutely not, field paleontology is the only way to place those neat,
labelled boxes into any kind of perspective. Field paleo is part of geology.

Ann

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you'd like to share!

Best wishes,
Peg

Dr. Margaret (Peg) M. Yacobucci
Associate Professor & Graduate Coordinator
Bowling Green State University
Department of Geology
190 Overman Hall
Bowling Green, OH  43403
Office: 419-372-7982
Fax: 419-372-7205
Email: mmyacob at bgsu.edu

_______________________________________________
Paleonet mailing list
Paleonet at nhm.ac.uk
http://mailman.nhm.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/paleonet

**********************************************************************
Ann Molineux, Ph.D.              
Collections Manager
Non-vertebrate Paleontology              
Texas Natural Science Center                      
University of Texas              
Austin, TX 78705   

e-mail:annm at mail.utexas.edu
Phone: (512) 232-5384
Fax: (512) 471-6090     

Web: NPLpages: http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/npl/
http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/npl/mineralogy
http://www.texasnaturalsciencecenter.org
<http://www.texasnaturalsciencecenter.org/> 

Mailing address:
Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab, Bldg122                 
J. J. Pickle Research Campus                      
10100 Burnet Road                
Austin, TX 78758  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.paleonet.org/pipermail/paleonet/attachments/20070510/f4d7c238/attachment.htm>