FIELD WORK
In palaeontology, the study of ancient life (fossils), fieldwork is like the bulk work or the first step of dinosaur study. Field work deals with research on the terrain, which usually as to do with being in the outdoor, with gear and tools handy. The basic of fieldwork is to make a discovery of either fossils and/or dinosaur bones it depends on what you are studying. Geologists look for rocks and other geological features when doing fieldwork. However, in our case it is dinosaur specimens that we are looking for. Once the discovery is made, a series of steps follow in order to proceed to the excavation of the specimen.
However, not all specimens will take the same amount of time to uncover and bring back to the laboratory. For example a relatively small turtle fossil carapace would take a few hours. After the discovery, palaeontologist and/or technicians will start remove carefully the dirt or rock surrounding the specimen. In most instances, it will be a trench of 4 or 5 inches wide and approximately 6 to 9 inches deep depending on the specimen itself and it’s angle. Once the trench is done, it means it is deeper than the dept of the fossil in the dirt or rock. The digging takes longer if it is embedded in hard rock or ironstones.
If pieces of the fossil specimens are to fall apart, you must then protect it with either paleobond glue, or if you do not have this special solution you can use transparent nail polish to give it a protective coat which can be removed once at the laboratory. To transport the specimen a special cast must be made or some people will use aluminium paper if the fossil is somewhat strong enough. To make a cast for the transportation of the fossil specimen, we use toilet paper, plaster of Paris, some burlap, and a brush, a container and water. First you put on top of the specimen toilet paper and you poor enough water to soak the toilet paper and you use your brush to tightly pack it around the specimen and avoiding air pockets. Second, you put plaster of Paris in the container and add some water. The plaster of Paris should look like a somewhat thick dough. Make sure the burlap is cut in nice strings to facilitate the manipulation of those. Carefully soak the strings of burlap in the plaster of Paris. Quickly apply the strings of burlap soaked in plaster of Paris on the toilet of paper protecting the fossil. Make sure the specimen is covered on the sides and on the top with the strings of burlap. Make sure to avoid air pockets and to smooth the plaster of Paris. The layers should be applied and be thick enough to ensure the specimen will not brake. Usually smaller the specimen is less thickness is required for the strings of plaster of Paris. 3 or 4 layers of strings of plaster of Paris are applied to small specimen like small turtle shell fossil. Specimen such as an Albetosaurus skull would require more layers of strings of plaster of Paris. The skull is bigger and can be more delicate to handle. 6 to 7 layer or applied. Depending on the specimen, numbers of layers vary. However, the strings of plaster of Paris have to be applied very rapidly since it dries quickly. With plaster of Paris, you usually have less than 5 minutes to use it before it dries and become hard and becomes non-workable as for manipulation.
Once the cast is made, wait between 15-20 minutes to completely dry, again depending on the size of the specimen. When the specimen’s cast is dry, you can take your tools, hammer and chisel and carefully tap under the specimen in order to flip it. If you do a good job, no bones will show under when you flip the cast. The specimen will safe and unbroken. If it is a small turtle like shell specimen; one person can carry it back to the vehicle since it weights approximately 20-30 pounds. For a specimen relatively big, it can weight between 100 pounds up to 5 or 7 tonnes. Therefore, manpower can be use in great number to pull the specimen up on prairie level, or helicopters can carry it to the laboratory. Many different techniques can be used for the specimen transportation.
The location of the specimen is a very crucial information. Most palaeontologist carry with them a GPS (Global Position System) to have the exact location of the specimen. A picture of the site is usually taken for information about the surroundings of the area. The geological features such as the type of rock, soil or layers of rock displayed near the fossil are recorded. The matrix or type of rock, which the fossil was found in, is very important. Many palaeontologists take bags of dirt a site to screenwash in order to find small pieces like small teeth, fish scales, and much more micropieces similar to microsites found on the surface of some hills near dinosaurs bones sites. Microsites are very interesting since they usually yield many different types of animals in one such place or environment. It provides clues about which animals lived together in the same environment and which kind of environment it was. Sometimes, microsites are the results of washed away material that ends up down hill or in a similar way.
There are many things involved in fieldwork. It is also the most important part of the study. Fieldwork is also used in anthropology, archaeology, geology, biology, marine biology…and much more. Fieldwork does not always collect material. In cultural anthropology, fieldwork is about collecting evidence of either different or similar behaviour or beliefs and most of the time is the collection of conversation, stories or quizzes sometimes involving interviews. However, in palaeontology, material is fossils, GPS numbers, fossilised bones, pictures, geological record information, location, in summary data that is useful for the research or study in order to find out more clues about ancient life. Melanie Villeneuve Geological Technician |
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