Indeed the Novacek team acknowledges that water was a factor in the area. Although much of the Cretaceous Gobi was dry, water must have been abundant in at least a few places and times. We found occasional fossils of turtles, usually associated with aquatic habitats. They mention one site west of the Nemegt Valley where 50 turtles were found in a site the size of a wading pool. Fast moving water has the capacity to carry and deposit great loads of sediment.
Water moves sediment far faster than wind can.
In the wake of a tidal wave, the sediments could consolidate, within a watery milieu, into permanent tombs for the victims. Those dinosaurs in China died in sudden flooding. It was a crisis unequalled since in scope. Contact our editorial team.