Paleoecology and Depositional Setting of a Marine-to- Terrestrial Transition: The Hamilton Lagerstatte (Pennsylvanian:Virgilian), Kansas

汉密尔顿化石矿床是宾夕法尼亚州一个独特的地方，拥有丰富多样的海洋到陆地脊椎动物、无脊椎动物和植物化石。 PI 将研究 (1) 动植物群的组成、系统发育意义和埋藏学，以及 (2) 沉积学、碳酸盐岩石学和石灰岩的结构背景，以确定矿床的整体古生态和沉积背景。测绘、取芯、成因微观地层学和沉积学将提供沉积物几何形状和精确的岩石地层相​​关性。将研究不同水平的生物群组成以揭示群落结构。由于汉密尔顿沉积物中存在的许多生物体要么是原始干群，要么是保存完好的胚胎，因此这项研究的系统发育意义是众多且重要的。埋藏学调查将提供有关沉积环境和生物群运输状况的更多信息。不同研究的结果将被整合到汉密尔顿地区在这一独特相沉积期间的古生态和古环境的重建中。最终，我们将把汉密尔顿矿床与其他含有保存完好化石的矿床进行比较。

The Hamilton fossil deposit is a unique Pennsylvanian locality with a rich diversity of marine-to-terrestrial vertebrate, invertebrate and plant fossils. PI's will study (1) composition, phylogenetic implications and taphonomy of fauna and flora and (2) sedimentology, carbonate petrology and structural setting of the limestone in order to determine the overall paleoecology and depositional setting of the deposit. Mapping, coring, genetic microstratigraphy and sedimentology will give sediment-body geometry and precise lithostratigraphic correlation. Composition of the biota of different horizons will be studied to reveal community structure. Because many of the organisms present in the Hamilton deposit either are primitive stem groups or preserved embryos, the phylogenetic implications of this study are numerous and important. Taphonomic investigation will give additional information about the condition of the depositional environment and transport of biota. Results of the different studies will be integrated into a reconstruction of the paleoecology and paleoenvironment of the Hamilton area during deposition of this unique facies. Ultimately, we will compare the Hamilton deposit to other deposits that bear well-preserved fossils.