Stubborn little fossils

So confession time.... I am used to working with reef rock; carbonates are usually well cemented and so when you break off a chunk, it stays together. The fossils we are excavating at this new site are not reef rocks, they occur in calcareous siltstones, and man are they stubborn little guys! These fossils require power tools for excavation (jackhammers and diamond-bit angle grinders), and to top it off, they often break on us, so we have to be really careful with how we handle them!

Oh well, the students are having fun with the tools!

Jacketing a fossil

We found a really nice fish specimen at our site and so, since it is so delicate, it's going to get a jacket!

Step 1: Remove the overburden with a jackhammer and an angle grinder, a diamond blade makes the grinder a mini rock saw! Notice all the safety equipment, even though it is hot, it is better to be well protected in this remote region.

Step 2: Cover the fossil with wet paper towel for protection and then take strips of burlap and roll them up into "bandages" in plaster of paris. We then lay these strips over the fossil creating a jacket that is, for all intents and purposes, the same as a cast that you or I would get over a broken bone.

Step 3: Cut around the fossil and pop it out of the surrounding rock. repeat for the underside creating a nice solid jacket for the fossil! When this plaster sets up (dries) it will form a solid cast or jacket around the fossil and will protect it while it is transported.

Beautiful (and secret) field sites

Our field sites are absolutely stunning, but, for scientific and legal reasons the exact locations need to be kept a secret. This poses some interesting challenges for the blog, so please bear with me if you are frustrated at the lack of detail.... and please, if you recognize a site, keep it "hush-hush" :)

They sure are lovely though!

This is our new home for the next two weeks

You really couldn't ask for a more gorgeous place to do fieldwork than the Canadian Rockies!

Dawn is beautiful here!

Especially after a rainstorm!

The place we are staying reminds me of a ranch from the old westerns!

Sunsets are amazing....

....and even the evenings are beautiful!

We are so ready for some fossils!

OFF WE GO!

Museum research

The students and I are starting with a review of previously discovered fossils that are now housed in a Paleontological museum.

Check out this little guy! He is a little wee crinoid ossicle (tick marks on the side are in mm)!

Ready to go!

Powertools? Check!
Safety gear? Check
Awesome rocks? Double check!

Let's go find some fossils!