Carnegie Museum of Natural History

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Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project

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Revisiting a former expedition: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project (AP3)

The following was taken from a blog series posted by Carnegie Museum of Natural History which documented a paleontology expedition in 2016.

researcher in Antarctica

“February 29–March 6, 2016

Project G-182-N (PI Matt Lamanna)

The team completed several of its research objectives and continued to make progress towards others during week three. At the Sandwich Bluff locality on Vega Island, scientists discovered four new fossil plant sites, found additional Cretaceous fish and bird material, and prepared a plesiosaur (long-necked marine reptile) shoulder girdle for extraction.

All of these specimens were recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation. At approximately 70 million years in age, this rock unit dates to only a few million years prior to the infamous mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic era, or Age of Dinosaurs.

researchers at work in Antarctica

Geologists Eric Roberts and Zubair Jinnah completed their stratigraphic and sedimentological study of the sections of the Snow Hill Island and López de Bertodano formations exposed on the southwestern flank of Sandwich Bluff, an area that, due to its steepness, elevation, and snow cover, has been nicknamed ‘K2’ after that well-known Himalayan peak. They sampled the middle and upper levels of the Sandwich Bluff Member for aragonitic fossil invertebrate shells to be used in strontium isotope geochronological analyses.

Scientists also continued to conduct helicopter-supported reconnaissance visits to other areas of the James Ross Basin, identifying two previously undocumented Cretaceous exposures that were targeted for future investigation.

Inclement weather forced many members of the team to return to their ship, the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer, for two days during week three. They spent the time refining strategies for the remainder of the field season, updating the project’s blog and social media pages, and studying fossils that had already been collected.

researchers in Antarctica

1) G-182-N paleontologists Abby West (left) and Steve Salisbury (center) collect a plesiosaur shoulder girdle co-discovered by Salisbury with ASC Marine Technician Julia Carlton (right). Photo by Matt Lamanna.

2) G-182-N geologists Zubair Jinnah (foreground) and Eric Roberts study the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the ‘K2’ section on Vega Island. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

3.) G-182-N paleontologist Kerin Claeson searches for fossils in the ‘Fish Horizon’ near the K–Pg boundary on Seymour Island. Claeson and other G-182-N personnel have collected dozens of partial to nearly complete fish skeletons from the ‘Fish Horizon’ to date, the analysis of which promises to inform understanding of the K–Pg mass extinction in the southern high latitudes. Photo by Meng Jin.”

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blogged frequently from Antarctica while on expedition at antarticdinos.org. Detailing his trip in a family-friendly, interactive documentary, Expedition Antarctica, paleontologist Matt Lamanna shares his unique experience. Members are required to preregister for the event. Sign up now.

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Revisiting a former expedition: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project (AP3)

The following blog was taken from a series posted by Carnegie Museum of Natural History which documented a paleontology expedition in February 2016. 

sunset

Sunset over camp on Vega Island. The eastern shore of James Ross Island and the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer are visible in the background. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

“February 21–28, 2016

Project G-182-N (PI Matt Lamanna)

Work at the main basecamp on the western shore of Vega Island continued in week two and resulted in the discovery of a wealth of fossils.

Senior project geologist Eric Roberts located a partial plesiosaur. The specimen, which preserves numerous vertebrae, ribs, paddle bones, and gastroliths (stomach stones), appears to be the most complete marine reptile discovered by the project to date. Many of its bones remain articulated (preserved in life position) and are beautifully preserved within sandstone concretions. With time and effort in the laboratory, much of the postcranial skeleton will likely be reassembled and will likely be significant both for scientific study and possible display.

The project made significant progress towards its geological aims as well. Roberts and fellow geologist Zubair Jinnah continued their efforts to decipher the age and depositional environments of the sediments exposed on the uppermost levels of Sandwich Bluff. They collected rock and fossil samples from the uppermost Sandwich Bluff Member and basal Sobral Formation for geochemical and palynological analyses and strontium isotopic dating. They also began to subdivide the Sobral Formation into discrete units, as Roberts and colleagues did for the Sandwich Bluff Member in a 2014 paper.

Helicopter reconnaissance efforts continued with additional trips to Seymour and eastern Vega Island. Considerable effort was expended during week two towards installing a field camp near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary horizon in the central area of Seymour Island. Those at the camp are having success in recovering fossils of fishes, putative turtles, and other Cretaceous vertebrates.

Lastly, filmmaker Matt Koshmrl continues to skillfully document all aspects of the project through video and still photography.

geologist Zubair Jinnah doing field work

G-182-N geologist Zubair Jinnah studies an exposure of the Upper Cretaceous upper Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation on Vega Island. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

Also discovered during week two

– A second plesiosaur partial skeleton. Several partial-to-complete fossil leaves and a conifer branch. Partial skeletons of Cretaceous fishes that may be the most completely-preserved fishes yet found from Cretaceous sediments on Vega Island.

– A partial dorsal rib of a very large-bodied tetrapod, possibly a sauropod (long-necked plant-eating dinosaur)

– Multiple isolated Cretaceous bird bones were also collected, as was a possible avian skull

– An abundance of exceptionally-preserved Eocene penguin bones, including a partial skull of a giant species (possibly Anthropornisnordenskjoeldi or Palaeeudyptes antarcticus). This is exciting as only a handful of cranial elements of fossil penguins have ever been described from Seymour Island.”

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blogged frequently from Antarctica while on expedition at antarticdinos.org. Detailing his trip in a family-friendly, interactive documentary, Expedition Antarctica, paleontologist Matt Lamanna shares his unique experience. Members are required to preregister for the event. Sign up now.

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Who is Dr. Matt Lamanna?

Matt Lamanna on expedition in Antarctica

Did you know that Section of Vertebrate Paleontology curator Matt Lamanna has discovered dinosaur fossils on all seven
continents, including Antarctica?

Dr. Lamanna leads the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project, an international team of scientists investigating the end
of the Mesozoic Era (”Age of Dinosaurs”) in Antarctica, and also leads or co-leads research projects studying dinosaurs in Patagonia (Argentina), the Sahara (Egypt), and the Australian Outback.

Lamanna has named or co-named 15 new species of dinosaurs and fossil birds, including Anzu wyliei and three of the largest land animals known to science—the titanosaurian sauropods Dreadnoughtus schrani, Notocolossus gonzalezparejasi, and Paralititan stromeri. Each of these massive sauropods is estimated to have weighed more
than 40 tons, roughly equivalent to eight adult elephants.

Lamanna has co-authored two papers in the preeminent journal Science and appeared on television programs for PBS (NOVA), the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, A&E, the Science Channel, and more. Recently, he assisted the US Department of Homeland Security in their investigation of a dinosaur fossil that had been illegally smuggled out of China.