T185 Geology in the National Parks: Research, Mapping, Education, and Outreach (Posters)

Tuesday, 2 November 2010
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Hall D

JOHN DAY FOSSIL BEDS: PALEONTOLOGY, VOLCANOLOGY, AND SEDIMENTOLOGY, OH MY!

Paper number: T185-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (JODA) is located in eastern Oregon and is comprised of the Clarno, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock Units. The park was established in 1975 for its superb fossil resources spanning nearly 40 million years of the Cenozoic from the early Eocene to the late Miocene. Fossils preserved at JODA include a diverse array of vertebrate, invertebrate, plant, and trace fossils. The wide variety of rock types at JODA provide ample resources for research projects focusing on tuffs, lava flows, or sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks from a range of environments. The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the Sheep Rock Unit is home to an active research program with museum collections and lab facilities, as well as education programs and hundreds of fossils on display for the public.

JODA recently became involved in the GeoCorps program in cooperation with the Geological Society of America and hosted two GeoCorps researchers for the summer season of 2010. Their research projects focused on the geochemistry of the tuffs in the John Day Formation and the ecological niche distribution of mammals from the Mascall fauna during the mid-Miocene climatic optimum. Projects like these are valuable contributions, adding to the understanding of the park’s resources.

The education and outreach programs at JODA provide opportunities for school classes to take field trips to the monument, classroom activities for teachers, and ranger programs for the public. Field trips give students insight into fossil discovery, as well as the lab and curation work necessary to put fossils on display at a museum. Fossil kits and other educational materials are available for loan to teachers for use in their classrooms. Ranger led activities include hikes and night sky programs.

These resources make JODA a great venue for addressing research questions relating to Cenozoic fossils, volcanism, and other geologic processes. Future projects will hopefully involve detailed geologic mapping of the Sheep Rock Unit and development of a multidisciplinary GIS database.