Re: Future of dinosaur tracks in the west Kimberley, Western Australia

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

There was a similar outcry when the Gippsland desalination plant was being 
constructed close to 
fossil-bearing rocks of the Strzelecki Group in Victoria. As a result, the 
fossil layers were taken into 
account when designing the inlet/outfall pipes for the plant. They were built 
by boring beneath the 
fossil-bearing layers without disturbing them. That's what environmental impact 
studies are for.

I get the impression that many of the Western Australian track sites are on 
rock platforms within 
the tidal zone. If this is the case then their days are numbered anyway. It 
sounds like a excellant 
reason to get out there and record as many of the track sites as possible. A 
LiDAR-based laser 
scanning system would be ideal - it would be quicker than taking thousands of 
physical casts, and 
perhaps the developers could be persuaded to make a generous contribution 
towards hiring the 
equipment.

http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/content/165/1/115.abstract

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Dann Pigdon
Spatial Data Analyst               Australian Dinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia               http://home.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
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