Bone beds: I am currently funded
for the next three years to investigate the genesis of Orellan (Oligocene)
bone beds in Badlands
National Park, SD. I am looking for masters-level graduate students
that would be interested in applying the concepts of paleopedology, sedimentology,
and stratigraphy to deciphering these bone beds. The research would
be a combination of field and laboratory work. Take a look at the
photos and abstracts of the Big Pig Dig,
an Orellan accumulation of four different species that I have interpreted
as an ancient watering hole environment. Three other bone beds of
comparable age have been discovered. Each has a distinct fossil assemblages
and depositional setting. The initial goal is to reconstruct Orellan
paleoecology, as well as make interpretations of bone bed genesis.
Additional research will focus on the utility of these bone beds as manifestations
of basin dynamics and sedimentation, and the fidelity of geochemical signtures
within bones as indicators of paleodiet, paleoenvironments, and reworking.