Presentations at the join North-Central and South-Central GSA meeting

Two of our students, Chuckie Davis and Justin Sharpe, presented the results of the research we conducted at the Mayan Ranch and San Gabriel Creek, respectively. Chuckie gave an excellent, live oral presentation. Based on field and thin section observations, he concluded that dinosaur tracks were preserved in layers deposited in a very shallow sea, and thus challenged the hypothesis of a swimming dinosaur put forward by Bird in 1944. Conversely, Justin recorded the presentation of his poster but answered live to questions asked by attendees. At San Gabriel Creek, dinosaur tracks and trackways are preserved in a layer of rocks reflecting very shallow marine environment as well, very close to subaerial exposure.

Depositional models of the studied section at San Gabriel (adapted from Mulayim et al, 2016, Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 25: 46-63). A: Microfacies 1, fine crystalline dolomite. B: Microfacies 2, bioclastic wackestone. C and D: Microfacies 3. bioclastic wackestone/packstone. OY = oyster, OS = ostracod, SA = floating sanidine, GR= green algae. Scale bar: 200 μm (A, B, C) and 1 mm (D).

Justin’s poster was selected for the best poster presentation by an undergraduate student. Congratulations Justin!