RE: The Emperor's New Papers

[evelyn sobielski <koreke77@yahoo.de>]

> Oheim, K.B. 2007. Fossil site prediction using
> geographic information 
> systems (GIS) and suitability analysis: The Two
> Medicine Formation, MT, a 
> test case. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
> Palaeoecology 
> 251(3-4):354-365. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.04.005.
> 
> ABSTRACT: Fossil site discovery has traditionally
> been the result of 
> educated guesswork followed by systematic searching
> of terrain. This study 
> approached the issues of fossil site identification
> by looking at key 
> variables in a GIS setting. The data were analyzed
> to create a predictive 
> model for finding fossils, thus facilitating the
> process of fossil discovery 
> and saving time and money. Geospatial variables
> believed to be most useful 
> for finding fossils were examined and ranked on a
> scale from 1 to 4, with 4 
> being the most advantageous score for finding
> fossils. Weighted sum addition 
> combined the layers to create a suitability surface.
> Field testing and 
> subsequent analysis showed the model accurately
> predicted areas of high, 
> medium, and low fossil likelihood. Field
> observations and additional site 
> data led to model refinements and increased
> resolution of fossil density 
> distribution. The final model explained a
> statistically significant 90% of 
> fossil density variation in the Two Medicine
> Formation.

This is just the stuff I was talking about in the
Mesozoic Birds thread some weeks earlier. Number of
paleontologists is still a limiting factor, but any
single one of them has it easier to get a "hit" than
even 2 decades ago, by making proper use of GIS data.


Eike


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