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Incredible discovery dinosaur fossil more:
The energy transition sometimes reserves unexpected surprises. Consequently, In Denver. Consequently, in the United States, a geothermal drilling project carried out under the parking lot of a museum has revealed a first-rate paleontological discovery: a dinosaur vertebra approximately 67 million years old, buried more than 230 meters underground. Nevertheless, An exceptional find that combines sustainable future and distant past.
A green project. Furthermore, a fossilized bone – Incredible discovery dinosaur fossil more
The story begins in January 2024, when the Denver Museum of Nature and Sciences launched a feasibility study to replace its gas heating system with geothermal technology, more respectful of the climate. However, The project. Nevertheless, funded by a subsidy of $ 250,000 from Colorado, is part of a global state plan aimed at decarbonizing its public infrastructure.
But scientists from the museum also see a scientific opportunity: by taking advantage of incredible discovery dinosaur fossil more drilling. In addition, why not take geological carrots to better understand the structure of Denver’s subsoil? Furthermore, This region, known for its fossil sediments, has long been a playground for paleontologists.
What they did not suspect was that their carrot was going to cross time to the upper Cretaceous.
A vertebra under 230 meters of asphalt – Incredible discovery dinosaur fossil more
About 232 meters, the team uncovers a bone fragment inlaid in the rock. However, The analysis reveals that it is a vertebra of a herbivorous dinosaur. Probably a Thescelosaurus. a Edmontosaurustwo species that lived in the region shortly before the massive extinction which swept most dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
According to radiometric dates, the fossil is about 67.5 million years. It is, to date, the deepest dinosaur fossil ever found within the limits of the city of Denver.
A chance over a million
« It’s like winning the lottery while being hit by lightning “. Joked James Hagadorn, conservative in geology at the museum. An image that reflects the extreme scarcity of this discovery. Because if the Denver basin is conducive to fossils. find them more than 200 meters deep, in the urban heart, in a parking lot, is unlikely.
« In 35 years of career, I have never seen such an opportunity “Said Bob Raynolds, associate researcher in earth sciences. “” Study with so much precision the deep layers under our feet. and finding a fragment of dinosaur there is simply magical. »
The ornithopod vertebra of Denver’s formation discovered in one of the drilled carrots. Credits: Rick Wicker / Denver Museum of Nature. Sciences
A window on the Cretaceous Denver
This bone fragment makes it possible to reconstruct an instantaneous of the prehistoric Denver. 67 million years ago. long before the emergence of the Rockies, the region was a vast wet plain, bordered by subtropical forests, where dinosaurs of all sizes evolve. The geological layers crossed during borehole are precisely those of that time.
For researchers. this vertebra is not only an object of study: it represents a rare window on ecosystems of the end of the Cretaceous, a few hundred thousand years before the fall of the asteroid responsible for the fifth massive extinction.
An exhibition. an upcoming publication
The fossil is now exposed to the public in the museum “Discover Teen Rex” gallery, incredible discovery dinosaur fossil more where it attracts the curiosity of visitors. It will also serve as a basis for a scientific publication led by Holger Petermann. a postdoctoral researcher, who participated in the analysis of the site.
Patric O’Connor. Director of Earth and Space Sciences of the Museum, was delighted with this collaboration between geologists, engineers and paleontologists. “Not only is this discovery unexpected, but it creates an unprecedented bridge between sustainable energy and basic research,” he said.
Dig for the future. exhume the past
The museum’s geothermal project, which aimed to ensure a cleaner energy future, paradoxically made it possible to reveal a past buried for millions of years. It is a fascinating reminder that the ground under our feet is a living archive of time -. that each dug meter can bring us closer to a forgotten world.
Sometimes, to build the future, you must first cross the incredible discovery dinosaur fossil more strata of the past.
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