Re: DinosaurAH!torium

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/12/2004 6:06:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Cliff Green 
<dinonaut@emerytelcom.net> writes:

< I am truly surprised that this article was published so quickly. Even
more so that it was on the DML before I knew it had been run.>

The DML has dinosaur news before it's news!

< Speaking of Saint George, Our Annual Friends of Paleontology meeting is
going to coincide with  the Triassic Jurassic Boundry symposium and Art show
this next March. Sell a body part if you have to, but make the trip. I have
been "volunteered" to help with the art show, so I can start fielding
questions at this year's SVP.>

The meeting information is on the SVP website, but here it is below.

Mary
_____

22-24 March 2005

Tracking Dinosaur Origins: The Triassic/Jurassic Terrestrial Transition
Dixie State College of Utah St. George, Utah

25-26 March 2005 

Utah Friends of Paleontology Annual Meeting 

The Triassic/Jurassic transition is a critical time in Earth history, recording 
the origins and early radiation of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodilians, 
mammals, and several other significant Mesozoic vertebrate clades. 
Additionally, a major interval of faunal stepwise extinction is recorded in 
both the marine and terrestrial environments that may be linked to impact 
events, setting the stage for the ascendance of dinosaurs to a position of 
dominance for the remainder of the Mesozoic. Current research in this area is 
dynamic with important implications to a number of areas in paleobiology and 
geology. 

A number of recently discovered fossil localities in a little researched area 
of southwestern Utah preserves a thick sequence of rocks spanning the 
Triassic/Jurassic interval. These localities are proving to be a catalyst for 
new studies on this time period. Many of these studies have centered on the 
basal Jurassic St. George Dinosaur Tracksite at Johnson Farm. This remarkable 
new site preserves an extraordinary series of track levels along the margin of 
a Hettangian lake ("Lake Dixie"), has associated fossil plants, invertebrates, 
fish, and dinosaur remains making it particularly significant. These 
discoveries, along with a new interpretive center slated to open in the summer 
of 2004, provide an impetus to bring scientists together to discuss terrestrial 
faunas across the Triassic/Jurassic transition in a dramatic geologic setting 
unfamiliar to most attendees. 

A proceedings volume to be published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural 
History and Science, and a full color overview volume is planned by the Utah 
Geological Survey for initial distribution to attendees at the conference. This 
volume will include short review papers on areas of critical interest regarding 
the Triassic/Jurassic terrestrial transition in various areas of the world, 
summary papers on these rocks, and their preserved fossils in southwestern 
Utah. 

Preliminary Conference Program:

March 22
Plenary Papers 30 min. each 
 
March 23  General Conference Papers 20 min. each  
March 24  Field Trip: Triassic/Jurassic Geology and Paleontology in the St. 
George and Zion National Park areas  

Conference participants may fly into St George, Utah directly, or speakers may 
fly into Las Vegas, Nevada and then transported by volunteers to St. George. 
Conference participants are invited to remain for the Utah Friends of 
Paleontology Annual Meeting, which will include additional afternoon field 
trips on March 25 and 26. 

Information on the St. George tracksite may be viewed starting on page 4 of 
Survey Notes v. 34, no. 5. http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/snt34-3.pdf 

For more information, contact:

James I. Kirkland Ph. D. 
State Paleontologist 
Utah Geological Survey 
1594 West North Temple, Suite 3110 
P.O. Box 146100 
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6100 
(801) 537-3307 FAX (801) 537-3400 
jameskirkland@utah.gov 
http://members.networld.com/kirkland/