Samples from Morrison coal beds will be collected and analyzed by coal petrographic and palynologic techniques to give us additional information on the Morrison ecosystem. Reconstruction of regional paleogeography from sedimentologic studies on the numerous rock types in the formation will yield important data on the Morrison ecosystem. Information on the lateral and vertical distribution of the mosaic of depositional environments, especially in the northern part of the region where such information is scant or unknown, will be collected while gathering information for the geologic framework studies. The sedimentologic studies will be directed toward the preparation of maps showing the distribution of the various depositional environments and how they varied through time. B. Biological Component 1.
Some fossils are important because of the information they provide about their habitat.
These environmentally sensitive fossils will be studied in detail to elucidate local habitat. Molluscs can provide information about stream permanence and the amount of suspended sediments in rivers and ponds. Conchostracans are indicators of ephemeral water bodies. Some vertebrate and invertebrate trace fossils can provide information on water-table fluctuation, including those made by insects, crayfish, and lungfish. These new techniques will be applied to vertebrate fossils from Dinosaur NM where good community samples already exist for aquatic and terrestrial habitats.