{"id":14873,"date":"2022-08-26T16:48:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T20:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/?p=14873&preview=true&preview_id=14873"},"modified":"2022-12-05T10:25:28","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T15:25:28","slug":"earlham-geologists-using-aerial-technology-3d-mapping-to-discover-fossils-buried-in-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/earlham-geologists-using-aerial-technology-3d-mapping-to-discover-fossils-buried-in-the-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"Earlham geologists use aerial technology, 3D mapping to discover fossils buried in desert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Researchers from Earlham College pioneered new methods this summer to locate fossils found in 16-million-year-old bedrock in the Mojave Desert.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using GPS and drone technologies, a student-faculty team scanned the desert surface from the air and created 3D digital models that helped identify new fossil locations. The team\u2019s work is being used by paleontologists from the Western Science Center in Hemet, California, to continue their research on the ancient ecology of Southern California and expand their collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHistorically, paleontologists have returned to locations in the desert where fossils have already been found. The spiky vegetation and steep terrain make this a hard place to work and it\u2019s very time consuming,\u201d said Andy Moore, Earlham professor of earth and environmental science, who is leading the pilot program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve discovered that you can use photogrammetry to digitally model and manipulate the landscape in 3D to identify continuations of fossil-bearing rock in areas that are difficult to see from the ground,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To test if their method would work, the team returned to a site they had mapped previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were thrilled to find prehistoric camel and three-toed horse bones in a new location identified using our preliminary digital model.\u201d added Shannon Hayes, Earlham\u2019s geology curator, and a co-leader on the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moore and Hayes brought students Meeghan Kersten and Karol Chong to the desert for three weeks to carry out the work. They operated drones and mapped with a GPS base station and rover, created digital landscape models from the data, and learned how the museum uses similar photogrammetry techniques to create 3D-printed models of fossils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A 3D model of Cajon Pass.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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The trip was supported by Earlham\u2019s summer research program, the CBB Student\/Faculty Research Support Fund and the Ansel Gooding Research Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis trip allowed me to combine my passion for geology and photography,\u201d said Kersten, an art and earth and environmental science double-major from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had not used a drone before, and it was all very cool,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people use drones for fun, but learning how to use them and program for this kind of work was a great experience. I also got to build a portfolio of photography for the trip and identify a potential career path after Earlham.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The research team surveys the rugged terrain of Cajon Pass in the Mojave Desert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The liberal arts in practice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The connection between Earlham and the Western Science Center has been a relationship 40 years in the making. Moore was college roommates with Alton Dooley, executive director of the Western Science Center.
\u201cI\u2019m a geomorphologist and Alton is a vertebrate paleontologist,\u201d Moore said. \u201cWithout our personal relationship, there\u2019s no way the two of us would meet like this in the field. There\u2019s a professional divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the big reasons you come to a small liberal arts college and not a big state school,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get to have a much closer relationship with faculty and it is expected that you develop close relationships with the kids you go to class with,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s value in doing this. We know our students very well, and we were able to tailor this experience specifically to their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationship between Earlham and the museum has been mutually beneficial. When the Western Science Center was established in 2006, its original purpose was to house a collection of mastodon fossils. The modern museum has grown into a sprawling research campus with growing exhibits and a K-12 magnet school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Organizations such as the Western Science Center thrive on the diverse, multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving that is at the core of a liberal arts education.\u201d Dooley said. \u201cWhen Andy and I decided to undertake this collaborative project, we knew there would be unforeseen benefits both for the museum and for Earlham\u2019s students, but we didn\u2019t expect to find a new productive fossil locality in a matter of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBesides the new fossil discoveries, our staff was exposed to the utility of drones in museum work for the first time, and are already looking at ways to incorporate that more fully into our operations, while Earlham\u2019s students and staff were able to learn entirely new applications for the tools they were already using in their mapping activities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van 12\u2019s last cross-country research expedition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This research collaboration between Earlham and the Western Science Center is just getting started. A follow-up excursion is planned for next year in the Rainbow Basin Natural Area, a fossil-rich geological attraction in Barstow, California, that is known for its colorful rock layers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of the trip will be similar, but getting there will look a little different. \u201cVan 12,\u201d the trusty Ford Transit that has been used since 2017 for long-distance research excursions and field trips is being officially retired from Earlham\u2019s fleet this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe put on 78,000 miles on Van 12 just during the COVID pandemic,\u201d Moore said. \u201cThe Earlham experience extends far beyond the classroom. Whether traveling on a class field trip or for research, we want students to get out and apply what they\u2019ve learned,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Van 12 in the Mojave Desert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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