RE: The (long) future of paleontology

[Ken.Carpenter@dmns.org]

Dann may choose to keep his hands clean and unblooded, but the rest of
us like the dirt under the nails, the challenge of excavation and the
bumps and bruises that accompany that work. 


Kenneth Carpenter, Ph.D.
Curator of Lower Vertebrate Paleontology/
Chief Preparator
Department of Earth Sciences
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO 80205
 
Phone: 303-370-6392
Fax: 303-331-6492
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for PDFs of some of my publications, as well as information of the Cedar
Mountain Project: 
https://scientists.dmns.org/sites/kencarpenter/default.aspx

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu] On Behalf
Of Dann Pigdon
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 4:34 PM
To: DML
Subject: Re: The (long) future of paleontology

Cliff Green wrote:
> 
>     I don't know about the rest of the world, but here in Utah, the 
> amount of unretrieved fossil material is staggering. I can't even 
> begin to estimate how many decades or centuries it would take to dig 
> up and discribe all of the quarrys just here in Eastern Utah.

That's assuming of course that digging will still be required in the
future. Subsurface remote sensing techniques may well become accurate
and precise enough to never have to get your hands dirty (or bloody)
ever again. 

Of course, such technology won't be perfected to this degree for a while
(despite the opening sequences of Jurassic Park, which seemed to show
some sort of sonic device rather than the 'ground penetrating radar'
mentioned in the dialogue).

--
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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist         http://heretichides.soffiles.com
Melbourne, Australia        http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs
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