A preliminary study of The Great Valley Microsite: collection and analysis of a microvertebrate fossil assemblage in the Hell Creek Formation of Eastern Montana
Department
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Major
Geology and Geophysics
Research Advisor
Oboh-Ikuenobe, Francisca
Advisor's Department
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Abstract
The Great Valley Microsite (hereafter referred to as the GVM) is a productive microvertebrate locality northeast of the town of Jordan in Garfield County, Montana. Microvertebrate fossil and lithostratigraphic data were collected in the summer of 2017. The data will be used as part of the Hell Creek Project; a collaborative effort to reconstruct the flora, fauna, and paleoenvironmental conditions of the Hell Creek Formation (HCF) during the latest Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). The preliminary results are constrained to fossils found in the eastern arm (the Runway) which were separated and identified based upon their morphological features. Based on the fossil evidence and the lithostratigraphy, the GVM locality was likely deposited in a fluvial, floodplain environment close to a levee. This river system was close to the boundary of the Western Interior Seaway. These preliminary results provide a foundation for further research into the microvertebrate paleontology of the Late Cretaceous in this region, more comprehensive interpretation of the paleoenvironment, and how it changed after the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary.
Biography
Heather Hingst is a junior from Hermann, Missouri majoring in Geology and Geophysics in the Department of Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering. She has a deep passion for studying fossils and geophysics. Heather is a Coordinator for the Chancellor’s Leadership Academy and is active in many other organizations on campus.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Sciences poster session, Second place
Location
Upper Atrium
Presentation Date
17 Apr 2018, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
A preliminary study of The Great Valley Microsite: collection and analysis of a microvertebrate fossil assemblage in the Hell Creek Formation of Eastern Montana
Upper Atrium
The Great Valley Microsite (hereafter referred to as the GVM) is a productive microvertebrate locality northeast of the town of Jordan in Garfield County, Montana. Microvertebrate fossil and lithostratigraphic data were collected in the summer of 2017. The data will be used as part of the Hell Creek Project; a collaborative effort to reconstruct the flora, fauna, and paleoenvironmental conditions of the Hell Creek Formation (HCF) during the latest Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). The preliminary results are constrained to fossils found in the eastern arm (the Runway) which were separated and identified based upon their morphological features. Based on the fossil evidence and the lithostratigraphy, the GVM locality was likely deposited in a fluvial, floodplain environment close to a levee. This river system was close to the boundary of the Western Interior Seaway. These preliminary results provide a foundation for further research into the microvertebrate paleontology of the Late Cretaceous in this region, more comprehensive interpretation of the paleoenvironment, and how it changed after the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary.
