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Rescuing The Uncollectable Fossils...


Clayton Jones

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While looking on Pleecan's Ediacaran Facebook group, I saw a post about a fossil-surface in Newfoundland, Canada that is now lost to coastal erosion. I've heard of other sites like this that will be and have been lost to erosion or construction because they can't be removed for one reason or another.

I think it should be possible to 'rescue' these fossils surfaces by recording as much data from them as possible including making molds of them and then casting a replica of the surface for display and study.

Does anyone know of any existing projects like this?

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Yes, you are talking about Mistaken Point. I think it is visited in one of David Attenborough's shows but I know it is discussed in the book "Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms" (Knopf, 2011) by Richard Fortey. He noted that the fossils cannot be removed safely because the matrix is very brittle and riddled with fractures. I don't know what they have tried but it surprises me that they cannot find/tailor a preservative to solidify the matrix but the humidity of the area may be a factor.

Scientists have been using a latex solution to make casts.

If you haven't read "Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms," check it out - good book on "living fossils." I think it is available in hardback and paperback now.

While looking on Pleecan's Ediacaran Facebook group, I saw a post about a fossil-surface in Newfoundland, Canada that is now lost to coastal erosion. I've heard of other sites like this that will be and have been lost to erosion or construction because they can't be removed for one reason or another.

I think it should be possible to 'rescue' these fossils surfaces by recording as much data from them as possible including making molds of them and then casting a replica of the surface for display and study.

Does anyone know of any existing projects like this?

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A large area of the Mistaken Point fossil plane was molded with Silicone material.

post-296-0-56860900-1366611093_thumb.jpg

Mold was peeled, a cast was made.

post-296-0-06977600-1366611116_thumb.jpg

The reproduction was used for a museum display in lieu of the real fossil surface.

post-296-0-79548900-1366611207_thumb.jpg

Ironically a new species was found on the replica that wasn't noticed on the real fossil surface.

I'd like to give credit for the pictures used here, but when I archived, I didn't record source info.

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Also, I have thought about sites where the surface may be too brittle for a physical cast, but with a portable 3D scanner, even the most brittle of sites can be recorded digitally. That would probably be expensive, but worth it.

That's a pretty big mold, I would have thought it would be easier to section the mold off into more sizeable peices. I'll have to look into large mold making...

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Hi,

Fossilcrazy, It has to be a great adventure to make a so big mold. Very interesting technique !

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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For the record, the documentary that featured Mistaken Point was "David Attenborough's First Life".

This situation reminds me of the dilema initially facing the Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackways, they were eroding and getting damaged from exposure. So what was the solution? They built a sheltered complex on top of the footprints :D

Although such a solution would be impractical here, right on the coast...

"In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..."

-Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas

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There is a location I know of in the middle of Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma where at the very tip of a peninsula, there is a wonderful exposure of a mississippian storm deposit just covered in really detailed impressions of all sorts of plants are exposed on huge plates. Unfortunately it is in a State Park that is doing nothing to even acknowledge its existence, so it is just sitting there, eroding away as the lake level constantly changes. It'd be great if someone was able to do a project like this to try and preserve some of it. I'll try and post pictures of it when I get a chance.

Edit: here are some of the photos, as you can see, they have already weathered quite a bit

post-8113-0-72006500-1366624131_thumb.jpg

post-8113-0-29006600-1366624135_thumb.jpg

post-8113-0-22212700-1366624138_thumb.jpg

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That would be an excellent place to try to preserve!

I wonder if I would need any permissions in order to be able to make a mold of the surface...

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Hi

Last year, the museum that i work at borrowed the travel exhibition "Fossil Art" made by Dolf Seilacher. On display was some 40 casts of fossilized traces spanning more than a billion years from all over the world. All the casts was made from silicone rubber

http://www.wacker.com/cms/en/www_archive/www_2008/www_28/28_applications/28_fossil-art/28_fossil-art.jsp

Here are some photos of some of the beautiful casts

http://www.fossil-art.dk/KUNST.html

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Techniques that are being used to record rock art might be adapted to

'rescue' fossils surfaces by creating digital models of them. Digital

recording of such surfaces does not risk damaging them as casting

them can; can be easily stored and shared; readily displayed; readily

replicated; and can be analyzed and studied using computers.

Some examples:

1. Laser Imaging of El Morro Inscriptions, El Morro National Monument,

New Mexico by Douglas W. Gann and William H. Doelle (2006)

http://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/pdf/laser_imaging_of_el_morro_inscriptions.pdf

http://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/what-we-do/initiatives/elmo_lidar/final/

2. Historic Preservation and Resource Documentation at the

Abó Painted Rocks Site. National Park Service

http://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npsites/salinasAboRocks.htm

"A Minolta high-speed terrestrial laser scanner captured the

Painted Rock area significantly faster than manual techniques

and created extremely accurate models. The high definition

(HD) photographs taken during the project field work served

a dual purpose. These photographs were fused with the 3D

surface models as well as serving as a photo-documentation

PDF. Proprietary software innovations combined the

LiDAR data points and HD photographs to create ultra-high

resolution true color 3D terrestrial models. The final

products were very detailed surface models of the rock wall

with HD photographs overlaid on them."

In additional, there are:

3-D Laser Scanner Images Dinosaur Footprints

http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=45150

Digital 3D modelling of dinosaur footprints by photogrammetry

and laser scanning techniques: integrated approach at the

Coste dell’Anglone tracksite (Lower Jurassic, Southern Alps,

Northern Italy)

http://www.academia.edu/369285/Digital_3D_Modelling_of_Dinosaur_Footprints_by_Photogrammetry_and_Laser_Scanning_Techniques_Integrated_Approach_at_the_Coste_DellAnglone_Tracksite_Lower_

PDF file at http://www.mtsn.tn.it/pubblicazioni/6/actaG83/23Petti-et-al.pdf

Some publications:

Barnett, T., A. Chalmers, M. Díaz-Andreu, G. Ellis, P. Longhurst,

K. Sharpe, and I. Trinks, 2005. 3D Laser Scanning For Recording

and Monitoring Rock Art Erosion. International Newsletter on

Rock Art (INORA). vol. 41, pp. 25-29.

Díaz-Andreu, M., R. Hobbs, N. Rosser, K. Sharpe, and I. Trinks,

2005. Long Meg: Rock Art Recording Using 3D Laser Scanning.

Past. vol. 50, p. 2.

Gonzalez-Aguilera, D. P. Rodriguez-Gonzalvez, J. Mancera-Taboada,

A. Muñoz-Nieto, J. Herrero-Pascual, J. Gomez-Lahoz and I. Picon-Cabrera,

2011, Application of Non-Destructive Techniques to the Recording

and Modelling of Palaeolithic Rock Art. in C.-C. Wang, ed., pp. 326-

305, Laser Scanning, Theory and Applications. InTech Europe, Croatia.

PDF file - http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/15812/InTech-Application_of_non_destructive_techniques_to_the_recording_and_modelling_of_palaeolithic_rock_art.pdf


Trinks, I., M. Díaz-Andreu, R. Hobbs, and K. Sharpe, 2005, Digital

rock art recording: visualising petroglyphs using 3D laser scanner

data. Rock Art Research. vol. 22, pp. 131-9.

Yours,

Paul H.

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I think I'll get together some liquid latex or silicone and try a few test runs with a few of my fossil plates. Then I will See what it will take to be able to make a mold of the point at Fort Gibson Lake.

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I think I'll get together some liquid latex or silicone and try a few test runs with a few of my fossil plates. Then I will See what it will take to be able to make a mold of the point at Fort Gibson Lake.

I wish you luck, it's on the south tip of Sequoya State Park. You might need to wait a while though, since it's probably underwater right now. Last I checked, the lake level was way up.

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I bet the lake level is high, after the rain we've been having. I think we received all the rain we missed out on last year in one day!

Waiting for the lake level to go down will give me time to practice mold making.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi

Last year, the museum that i work at borrowed the travel exhibition "Fossil Art" made by Dolf Seilacher. On display was some 40 casts of fossilized traces spanning more than a billion years from all over the world. All the casts was made from silicone rubber

http://www.wacker.com/cms/en/www_archive/www_2008/www_28/28_applications/28_fossil-art/28_fossil-art.jsp

Here are some photos of some of the beautiful casts

http://www.fossil-art.dk/KUNST.html

Hi,

Wacker is the company I am working for - but I didn't know they were involved in this "Fossil Art" exhibition.

Thomas

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes (Confucius, 551 BC - 479 BC).

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Hi,

Wacker is the company I am working for - but I didn't know they were involved in this "Fossil Art" exhibition.

Thomas

What to say — it's a small world
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