Under a simple urban parking lot, a team from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science has uncovered a fossil of 67.5 million years old.
Discovered during a geothermal drilling at 232 meters under the City Park of Denverthis fossil fragment represents the vertical d’ arbite dinosaur. This is the most old and deepest never made in the city. This unexpected find opens a Fascinating window on the Cretaceous eraburied under the modern city.
Geothermal drilling becomes a scientific revelation
Originally, the project was to assess a future geothermal heating system. However, the museum team seized this opportunity to carry out a scientific exploration. When extracting a rocky nucleusscientists have spotted a unusual form Inlaid in the rock. Very quickly, they identified a fossilized vertebratangible proof of an ancient life.
James Hagadornchief curator of the museum, explains that this prehistoric fragment gives a unique chance to observe the environment of 67 million years ago. Consequently, this discovery deeply changes our understanding of the geological past of the region.
A vertebra that joins the museum’s windows and tells a double story
The bone belongs to a dinosaure herbivoreprobably a Thescelosaurus. Patrick O’Connorscientific director, validated the age of the fossil and directed his analysis. Thus, this exceptional specimen, found in a completely unprecedented context, is now visible in the permanent exhibition Discovering Teen Rex. Thanks to this staging, visitors can admire it closely and understand how everyday work sometimes reveal paleontological treasures.
In addition, the review Rocky Mountain Geology relayed the study, highlighting the impact of this discovery on the international scientific community.
An energy transition that reveals the buried secrets of Cretaceous
This drilling is part of a program supported by the state of Colorado to promote clean energies. At the same time, it made it possible to reveal a Unpublished stratigraphy in a dense urban environment. This double objective has been achieved thanks to a Subsidy of $ 250,000from a global plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Bob Raynoldssenior geologist at the museum, considers this discovery as a unique opportunity. In his eyes, this fossil proves that urban soil still conceals mysteries. He also insists that a simple drilling can transform our vision of local natural history. According to him, these crosses between ecology and scientific research deserve to be encouraged and supported.
Finally, this vertebra recounts two stories: that of a forgotten dinosaur, and that of a museum which, by digging under its foundations, rediscovers the past. Thus, it is allowed to imagine that other secrets still sleep under our feet, waiting for a scientific curiosity to awaken them.
