Excavation and Survey of Paleocene and Eocene Faunas of the Wind River Basin, Wyoming

第三纪早期是一个关键时期， 哺乳动物的进化辐射，美国西部有一个 这段时间里异常丰富的化石记录 主要研究员Krishtalka和Stucky建议继续 他们对化石的成功发掘和研究 产于怀俄明州风河盆地的这个年龄的脊椎动物。 除了挖掘和研究这些重要的化石， 他们得到了NASA的研究支持， 工作的各个方面，以及计算机设备、软件和 遥感研究培训。 卫星图像-和 机载传感器为他们提供了前所未有的 该地区的地层学。 这项新技术 允许岩石类型之间更精细的区别，然后可以 与古代栖息地类型之间的动物群差异有关。 风河流域项目已经产生了完整的 头骨和后头骨的遗骸， 该项目有潜力增加， 我们对早期哺乳动物历史的理解。 该第一 尝试将遥感技术用于系统的 古生物学将开辟新的方法论领域， 生物学研究的新领域。

The early Tertiary Period was a critical time in the evolutionary radiation of mammals, and the American West has an extraordinarily rich fossil record of this time interval. Principal Investigators Krishtalka and Stucky propose to continue their highly successful excavations and study of fossil vertebrates of this age from the Wind River Basin in Wyoming. In addition to excavating and studying these important fossils, they have received research support from NASA for the geological aspects of their work, and for computer equipment, software and training for remote sensing research. Images from satellite- and aircraft-borne sensors have provided them with an unprecedented view of the region's stratigraphy. This new technology has allowed finer distinctions between rock-types, which can then be related to faunal differences between ancient habitat types. The Wind River Basin project has already produced complete cranial and post-cranial remains of previously poorly-known groups, and the proposed project has the potential to increase greatly our understanding of early mammalian history. This first attempt to use remote sensing technology in systematic paleontology will break new methodological ground, and will open new areas for biological research.