Source: https://www.utahgeology.org/giw/index.php/giw/article/view/v03-01-Britt
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 10:23:14+00:00

Document:
This field trip focuses on the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic transition in northeastern Utah. This transition records one of the most striking terrestrial environmental transformations in the history of North America, wherein the fluvio-lacustrine Chinle Formation is transgressed by the vast erg system of the Nugget (Wingate+Navajo)/Navajo/Aztec Sandstones. Exposures in northeastern Utah are ideal for studying this transition as they are closely spaced and accessible. The uppermost Chinle Formation beds are lacustrine/fluvial fine-grained sediments which are overlain by increasingly drier, sandy, transitional beds. The non-eolian basal beds of the Nugget Sandstone preserve a Late Triassic ichnofauna, with some sites including Brachychirotherium tracks. Large-scale dune deposits comprise most of the Nugget Sandstone and contain vertebrate (Brasilichnium) tracks and a diverse invertebrate ichnofauna. Interdunal, carbonate, spring mounds, as much as 3 m tall, fed carbonate freshwater lake deposits containing gastropod body fossils and invertebrate ichnofossils.
Another lacustrine deposit, located at the Saints & Sinners Quarry, is on the shoreline of a non-carbonate interdunal lake/oasis. Over 11,500 bones have been collected from the site and represent two theropod dinosaur taxa, sphenodonts, sphenosuchians, a pterosaur, and drepanosaurs (with many complete, three-dimensional, articulated skeletons). In addition to bones, dinosaur trackways are also preserved in shoreline and other interdunal beds. The fauna shows that this interdunal area of the Nugget Sandstone was the site of intense biological activity. The drepanosaurs are chronologically significant in that they are restricted globally to the Late Triassic, indicating that at least the lower one-fourth to one-third of the formation is Late Triassic in age.
Ahlbrandt, T.S., and Fryberger, S.G., 1981, Sedimentary features and significance of interdune deposits: Society for Sedimenatry Geology (SEPM) Special Publication no. 31, p. 293–314.
Anderson, J.L., 2013, The biostratigraphic significance of the ichno-taxon Brachychirotherium, and a new tracksite located within the lower Nugget Sandstone Formation [sic], Dinosaur National Monument, Utah: Omaha, Nebraska, University of Nebraska at Omaha, senior thesis, 22 p.
Anderson, J.L., Melstrom, K., and Panosky, J.M., 2011, Terrestrial vertebrate trackways of the Early Jurassic Nugget Formation at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 43, no. 5, p. 85.
Blakey, R.C., and Ranney, W., 2008, Ancient landscapes of the Colorado Plateau: Grand Canyon Association, 156 p.
Britt, B.B., Chambers, M., Engelmann, G.F., Chure, D.J., and Scheetz, R., 2011, Taphonomy of coelophysoid theropod bonebeds preserved along the shoreline of an Early Jurassic lake in the Nugget Sandstone of NE Utah [abs.]: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 78A.
Britt, B.B., Chure, D., Engelmann, G.F., Scheetz, R., and Hansen, R., 2010, Multi-taxic theropod bonebeds in an interdunal setting of the Early Jurassic eolian Nugget Sandstone, Utah [abs.]: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 65A.
Britt, B.B., Chure, D.J., Engelmann, G.F., Dalla Vecchia, F., Scheetz, R., Meek, S., Thelin, C., and Chambers, M., 2015a, A new, large, non-pterodactyloid pterosaur from a Late Triassic interdunal desert environment within the eolian Nugget Sandstone of northeastern Utah, USA, indicates early pterosaurs were eco logically diverse and geographically widespread [abs.]: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 97.
Britt, B.B., Dalla Vecchia, F.M., Chure, D.J., Engelmann, G.F., Chambers, M.A, Thelin, C., Scheetz, R., 2015b, New Triassic pterosaur from interdunal desert deposits of the Nugget Sandstone NE Utah, USA: Flugsaurier 2015, 5th International Symposium on Pterosaurs, Portsmouth, England, Program with Abstracts, p. 17–18.
Carvalho, I.S., Borghi, L., and Leonardi, G., 2013, Preservation of dinosaur tracks induced by microbial mats in the Sousa (Lower Cretaceous), Brazil: Cretaceous Research, v. 44, p. 112–121.
Chambers, M., Kimberly, H., Britt, B.B., Chure, D.J., Engelmann, G.F., and Scheetz, R., 2011, Preliminary taphonomic analysis of a coelophysoid theropod dinosaur bonebed in the early Jurassic Nugget Sandstone of Utah [abs.]: Geological Society of Ameri ca Abstracts with Programs, v. 42, no. 4, p. 16.
Chure, D.J., Andrus, A., Britt, B.B., Engelmann, G.F., Pritchard, A.C., Scheetz, R., and Chambers, M., 2015, Micro CT imagery reveals a unique manus morphology with digging/scratching adaptations in the Saints and Sinners Quarry (SSQ) drepanosaur, Nugget Sandstone (Late Triassic), northeastern Utah [abs.]: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 408.
Chure, D., Britt, B., Engelmann, G., Andrus, A., and Scheetz, R., 2013, Drepanosaurs in the desert—multiple skeletons of a new drepanosaurid from the eolian Nugget Sandstone (?Late Triassic-Early Jurassic), Saints and Sinners Quarry, Utah—morphology, relationships, and biostratigraphic implications [abs.]: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 106.
Chure, D.J., Engelmann, G.F., Britt, B.B., and Good, T.R., 2014a, It’s not your parents’ erg deposit anymore—fossil management implications of a paleontological study of the Nugget Sandstone in northeastern Utah: Dakoterra 6, p. 148–162.
Chure, D.J., Good, T.R., and Engelmann, G.F., 2014b, A forgotten collection of vertebrate and invertebrate ichnofossils from the Nugget Sandstone (?Late Triassic-?Early Jurassic), near Heber, Wasatch County, Utah, in Lockley, M.G., and Lucas, S.G., editors, Fossil footprints of Western North America: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 62, p. 181–196.
Doelger, N.M., 1987, The stratigraphy of the Nugget Sandstone, in Miller, W.R, editor, The thrust belt revisited: Wyoming Geological Association 38th Field Conference Guidebook, p. 163–178.
Engelmann, G.F., Britt, B.B., Chure, D.J., Andrus, A., and Scheetz, R., 2013, Microvertebrates from the Saints and Sinners Quarry (Nugget Sandstone—?Late Triassic-Early Jurassic)—a remarkable window onto the diversity and paleoecology of small vertebrates in an ancient eolian environment [abs.]:Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 122–123.
Engelmann, G.F., and Chure, D.J., in press. Morphology and sediment deformation of downslope Brasilichnium trackways on a dune slipface in the Nugget Sandstone of northeastern, Utah: Palaeontologia Electronica.
Engelmann, G.F., Chure, D.J., Britt, B.B., and Andrus, A., 2012, The biostratigraphic and paleoecological significance of a new drepanosaur from the Triassic-?Jurassic Nugget Sandstone of northeastern Utah [abs.]: Geological Society of America Ab stracts with Programs, v. 44, no. 7, p. 604.
Engelmann, G., Chure, D.J., and Loope, D.B., 2010, An occurrence of remarkably abundant Brasilichnium tracks (Nugget Sand stone, Early Jurassic, Dinosaur National Monument) and their environmental context [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 42, no. 5, p. 642.
Engelmann, G.F., Chure, D.J., Britt, B.B., and Shumway, J.D., 2016, Vertebrate fauna of the Triassic-Jurassic erg—insights from an eolian lagerstatten [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, no. 7, Paper 18-7, doi: 10.1130/ abs/2016AM-282313.
Engelmann, G.F., Chure, D.J., and Good, T.R., 2014, Possible vertebrate burrows in the dunes of the Nugget Sandstone, Early Jurassic, of NE Utah, in Lockley, M.G., and Lucas, S.G., editors, Fossil footprints of western North America: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 62, p. 197–203.
Erickson, R.E., 2007, The sequence stratigraphy of the Chinle Formation in the Dinosaur National Monument region, Utah and Colorado, USA: Duluth, University of Minnesota, M.S. thesis, 122 p.
Eisenberg, L., 2003, Giant stromatolites and a supersurface in the Navajo Sandstone, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah: Geology, v. 31, p. 111–114.
Good, T.R., 2013, Life in an ancient sand sea—trace fossil associations and their paleoecological implications in the Upper Triassic/Lower Jurassic Nugget Sandstone, northeastern Utah: Salt Lake City, University of Utah, M.S. thesis, 124 p.
Good, T.R., 2014, Paleoecology and taphonomy of trace fossils in the eolian Upper Triassic/Lower Jurassic Nugget Sandstone, north eastern Utah: Palaios, v. 29, p. 401–413.
Hagadorn, J.W., and Bottjer, D.J., 1999, Restriction of a Late Neoproterozoic biotope—suspect microbial structures and trace fossils at the Vendian–Cambrian transition: Palaios, v. 14, p. 73–85.
Hasiotis, S.T., Odier, G., Rasmussen, D., and McCormick, T., 2007, Preliminary report on new vertebrate burrow localities in the Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, Moab area, southeastern Utah—architectural and surficial burrow morphologies indicative of mammals or therapsids, and social behavior [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, no. 3, p. 74.
Irmis, R.B., Chure, D.J., Engelmann, G.F., Wiersma, J.P., and Lindström, S., 2015, The alluvial to eolian transition of the Chinle and Nugget Formations in the southern Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah, in Vanden Berg, M.D., Ressetar, R., and Birgenheier, L.P., editors, The Uinta Basin and Uinta Mountains: Utah Geological Association Publication 44, p. 13–48.
Kocurek, G., and Fielder, G., 1982, Adhesion structures: Sedimentary Petrology, v. 52, no. 4, p. 1229–1241.
Lockley, M.G., 2011, Theropod and prosauropod dominated ichno-faunas from the Navajo–Nugget Sandstone (lower Jurassic) at Dinosaur National Monument; implications for prosauropod behavior and ecology, in Sullivan, R.M., Lucas, S.G., and Spielmann, J.A., editors, Fossil record 3: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 53, p. 316–320.
Lockley, M.G., Conrad, K., Paquette, M., and Hamblin, A.H., 1992, Late Triassic vertebrate tracks in the Dinosaur National Monument area, in Wilson, J.R., editor, Field guide to geologic excursions in Utah and adjacent areas of Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Miscellaneous Publication 92-3, p. 383–391.
Lockley, M.G., and Hunt, A.P., 1995, Dinosaur tracks and other fossil footprints of the western United States: New York, Columbia University Press, 338 p.
Loope, D.B., 2006, Burrows dug by large vertebrates into rain-moistened Middle Jurassic sand dunes: Papers in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Paper 212, p. 753–762.
Loope, D.B., and Rowe, C.M., 2003, Long-lived pluvial episodes during deposition of the Navajo Sandstone: The Journal of Geology, v. 111, p. 223–232.
Lucas, S.G., Gobetz, K.E., Odier, G.P., McCormick, T., and Egan, C., 2006, Tetrapod burrows from the Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, southeastern Utah, in Harris, J.D., Lucas, S.G., and Spielmann, J.A., editors, The Triassic-Jurassic terrestrial transition: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 37, p. 147–153.
May, S.B., 2014, The Bell Springs Formation—characterization and correlation of upper Triassic strata in northeast Utah: Provo, Utah, Brigham Young University, M.S. thesis, 89 p., http:// scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5539.
McClure, G., 1985, The Bassett Women: Athens, Ohio, Swallow Press, 247 p.
Molina-Garza, R.S., Geissman, J.W., and Lucas, S.G., 2003, Paleomagnetism and magnetostratigraphy of the lower Glen Canyon and upper Chinle Groups, Jurassic-Triassic of northern Arizona and northeast Utah: Journal of Geophysical Research B, v. 108, no. B4, 2181, p. 1–23.
Odier, G., Lucas, S. G., McCormick, T., and Egan, C., 2004, Therapsid burrows in the Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, southeastern Utah [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 67.
Odier, G., McCormick, T., and Egan, C., 2007, Preliminary report on new vertebrate burrow localities in the lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, Moab area, southeastern Utah—architectural and surficial burrow morphologies indicative of mammals or therapsids, and social behavior [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, no. 3, p. 74.
Pakzad, H.R., and Kulke, H., 2007, Geomorphological features in the Gavkhoni playa lake, SE Esfahan, Iran: Carbonates and Evaporites, v. 22, no. 1, p. 1–15.
Parrish, J.T., and Dorney, L.J., 2009, Carbonate spring mounds and interdune lakes in the Navajo Sandstone (Jurassic, western US)—results of stable isotope analyses [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 41, no. 7, p. 118.
Parrish, J.T., and Falcon-Lang, H.J., 2007, Coniferous trees associated with interdune deposits in the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone Formation, Utah, USA: Paleontology, v. 50, no. 4, p. 829–843.
Parrish, J.T., Hasiotis, S.T., and Chan, M.A., 2016, Morphological characterization of carbonate mound-like structures in the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, southeastern Utah [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, no. 7, p. Paper No. 18-13, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-281444, https://gsa. confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper281444.html.
Peterson, F., 1988, The Lower Jurassic Nugget Sandstone of the Uinta Mountains, NE Utah, and its relationship to the Glen Canyon Group farther south [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 20, no. 7, p. A268.
Peterson, F., 1994, Sand dunes, sabkhas, streams, and shallow seas— Jurassic paleogeography in the southern part of the Western Interior Basin, in Caputo, M.V., Peterson, J.A., and Franczyk, K.J., editors, Mesozoic systems of the Rocky Mountain region: Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), Rocky Mountain Section, p. 233–272.
Renesto, S., and Binelli, G., 2006. Vallesaurus cenensis Wild, 1991, A drepanosaurid (Reptilia, Diapsida) from the Late Triassic of northern Italy: Revista Italian di Paleontologiia e Stratigraphia, v. 112, no. 1, p. 77–94.
Renesto, S., Spielmann, J.A., Lucas, S.G., and Spagnoli, G.T., 2010, The taxonomy and paleogiology of the Late Triassic (Carnian– Norian—Adamanian–Apachean) drepanosaurs (Diapsida— Archosauromorpha—Drepanosauromorpha): New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 46, p. 1–81.
Retallack, G.J., 2001, Soils of the Past—an introduction to paleopedology: Oxford, U.K., Blackwell Science, Ltd., 404 p.
Ryang, R.H., and Chough, S.K., 1997, Sequential development of alluvial/lacustrine system—southeastern Eumsung Basin (Cretaceous), Korea: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 67, p. 274–285.
Shumway, J.D., and Britt, B.B., 2015, Facies analysis, depositional environments, and micro sequence stratigraphy of Saints and Sinners dinosaur quarry strata, Nugget Sandstone, northeastern Utah [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Paper 229-21.
Shumway, J., Britt, B.B., Chure, D.J., Engelmann, G.F., Scheetz, R.D., Hood, S., and Chambers, M., 2016, Facies analysis and depositional environments of the Saints & Sinners Quarry (SSQ) in the lower Nugget Sandstone (Late Triassic) of northeastern Utah show that the diverse vertebrate assemblage was preserved in a lacustrine interdunal environment [abs.]: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program with Abstracts, p. 224.
Sprinkel, D.A., Kowallis, B.J., and Jensen, P.H., 2011, Correlation and age of the Nugget Sandstone and Glen Canyon Group, Utah, in Sprinkel, D.A., Yonkee, W.A., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, Sevier thrust belt—northern and central Utah and adjacent areas: Utah Geological Association Publication 40, p. 131–149.
Thomas, D.S.G., 1984, Ancient ergs of the former arid zones of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola: Institute of British Geographers, Transactions, New Series, 9, p. 75-88.
Wilkens, N.D., 2008, Paleoecology of Early Jurassic Navajo Sandstone interdune deposits: Phoenix, Arizona State University, Ph.D. dissertation, 417 p.
Britt, B., Chure, D., Engelmann, G., and Shumway, J., 2016, Rise of the erg—Paleontology and paleoenvironments of the Triassic-Jurassic transition in Northeastern Utah: Geology of the Intermountain West, v. 3, p. 1-32.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.