Fossils Flashcards
sea level rose with respect to the land.
Marine Transgression
a body of sediment with distinctive physical, chemical, and biological attributes.
Sedimentary Facies
when sea level fell with respect to the continent and the environments that paralleled the shoreline migrated seaward.
Marine Regression
First recognized by Johannes Walther
Walther’s Law
the facies seen in a conformable vertical sequence.
Walther’s Law
3 Causes of Marine Transgression and Regression
Uplift and Subsidence
The amount of Water frozen in Glaciers
Rates of seafloor spreading
Scientific study of fossils
Paleontology
5 Favorable Conditions for Fossilization
possession of hard parts like exoskeleton
Rapid Burial
Availability of finer rather than coarse sediments
Presence of highly mineralized ground water
calm waters, little oxygen (Anoxic)
the remains or traces of prehistoric organisms preserved in rocks.
Fossils
Minimum age to become a fossil
10,000 years old
3 Uses of Fossils
determine the relative ages of strata
determining environments of deposition
constitute some of the evidence for the theory of evolution
2 Types of Fossils
Body Fossils
Trace Fossils
Best preserved mammoth fossil in the world
Lyuba
If an animal dies in a dry, protected location like an arid cave, its remain dry out. What process is this called?
Mummification or Dessicate
One of the most incredible fossil discoveries of 2016. Tailed of a tiny dinosaur, nestled inside a small, golden chunk of 99 million year old.
Amber Preservation
Dinosaur in Amber Preservation
Coelosaurs
the result of a type of Petroleum seep where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large area of natural asphalt.
Tar Pit or Asphalt Pit or Asphalt Lake
the process of turning living organic material into stone.
Petrification
Happens when the pores of the plant materials, bones, and shells are impregnated by mineral matter from the ground, lakes, or ocean.
Permineralization
takes place when water dissolves the original hard parts and replaces them with mineral matter.
Replacement
a process by which the more volatile substances of plants and animals decay, but leave behind the carbon.
Carbonization
At its extreme, carbonization reduces plants and animals to what color?
Shiny black or brown film
If there is no infilling of the cavity with mineral, sand or clay this is called a ?
Natural Mold
The outside of the mold, which would have been the outer surface of the animal, is referred to as ?
External mold
