RUI: Intensive Collecting of Fossils from an Earliest Wasatachian (Wa0) Locality in the Southeastern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming

古新世-始新世界线以显著的全球变暖为标志。北美始新世的开始(5500万年前)包括了许多现代哺乳动物目的第一次迁徙，这些哺乳动物在这段温暖的时期分散开来。该项目的目标是收集和鉴定始新世早期(WA0)地区的哺乳动物化石。少年派在怀俄明州大角盆地东南部发现了一个新的Wa0地区--“城堡花园”。初步的田野调查表明，它是这个时代北美最丰富的脊椎动物化石遗址；已经发现了300多个标本，包括至少两个新种和其他12个从其他最早的始新世地点未知的分类群。取回的标本将被记录在一个详细和互动的电子数据库中。所有诊断标本和适当的对比材料将使用3-D激光数字化仪扫描。三维图像将被创建和发布。任何网络用户都可以旋转、量化和下载这些图像。这项研究的更广泛意义有三个方面。首先，有了这个最早的始新世哺乳动物的新集合，就有可能利用这个动物群在这一关键时期为群落结构、生物多样性、生物地层学和动物群演替的研究做出贡献。记录在案的全球气候变化和由此产生的动物周转可以为当今快速气候变化可能产生的影响提供洞察。最近的研究表明，在古新世/始新世边界附近，稳定碳同位素比值的巨大瞬变与当今人类引起的变化相似。对古代“温室”变暖影响的研究可以用来模拟现代人类活动的潜在环境后果。其次，用来使交互数据库具有唯一性的方法。这一数据库的形成将为其他希望使其收藏品更容易和有用地获取的研究人员和机构起到示范作用。第三，这项研究将包括大量的本科生参与(至少22名学生)。学生将接触到现代的现场方法和最先进的技术和软件。

The Paleocene-Eocene boundary is marked by substantial global warming. The beginning of the Eocene (55 million years ago) in North America included the first immigration of many modern mammalian orders that dispersed during this warm interval. The objectives of this project are to collect and identify mammalian fossils from an earliest Eocene (Wa0) locality. A new Wa0 locality, "Castle Gardens", was discovered by the PI in the southeastern Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. Preliminary fieldwork indicates that it is the richest North American fossil vertebrate site of this age; over 300 specimens have been found including at least two new species and twelve other taxa unknown from other earliest Eocene localities. The recovered specimens will be documented in a detailed and interactive electronic database. All diagnostic specimens and appropriate comparative material will be scanned using a 3-D laser digitizer. Three-dimensional images will be created and published. The images will be able to be rotated, quantified, and downloaded by any Web user. The broader significance of this study is threefold. Firstly, with this new collection of earliest Eocene mammals, it will then be possible to use this fauna to contribute to studies of community structure, biodiversity, biostratigraphy, and faunal succession during this critical time period. The documented global changes in climate and resultant faunal turnover can provide insights to the possible effects of rapid climatic change today. Recent studies have suggested that the great transient shift in the stable carbon-isotope ratio near the Paleocene/Eocene boundary is similar to that currently being induced by humans today. Studies of the effects of ancient "green-house" warming can be used to model potential environmental outcomes of modern human activities. Secondly, the approach used to make the interactive database is unique. This database formation will serve as a model for other researchers and institutions that wish to make their collections easily and usefully accessible. Thirdly, this study will include substantial undergraduate participation (a minimum of 22 students). Students will be exposed to modern field methods and high-end state of the art technology and software.