Research

According to the National Park Service Natural Resources Management Guidelines (NPS-77), "Paleontological research by the academic community will be encouraged and facilitated under the terms of a permit…."

In Yellowstone, a Collecting Permit is required for research that includes field collection of fossils. A Special Use Permit (Form 10-114) is required for any other research. The Special Park Uses Guidelines (NPS-53) provide details on the issuance of permits.

Current Research

The following descriptions of recent research projects related to Yellowstone's paleontological resources are based on the Investigators' Annual Reports. See Appendix D for a list of the principal investigators' addresses.

• Arct, Michael. "Dendrochronology of the Yellowstone Fossil Forest": Map petrified wood localities and interpret ecological and depositional histories of various fossil forests using annual growth ring series, taxonomy, taphonomy, and rock descriptions. Attempts have been made to use botanical features from the Specimen Creek area to determine stratigraphically equivalent horizons at an exposure 1.3 km to the southeast.
• Barnosky, Elizabeth Hadly. "Resiliency and stability of Holocene fauna on Yellowstone's northern range": Identify paleontological sites in Yellowstone likely to contribute to a continuous record of the prehistoric fauna of the area; excavate and analyze the paleontological resources and interpret them in light of climate change, biogeographic change, and resiliency of modern biota; discern taphonomic pathways of fossil accumulations through small mammal trapping and analysis of raptor pellets and carnivore scats.
• Cannon, Kenneth. "Archeological investigations in Yellowstone National Park": Develop a collection for identification of archeologically recovered faunal material.
• Cannon, Kenneth "A review of the archeological and paleontological evidence for the prehistoric presence of wolf and related prey species in the Northern and Central Rockies physiographic province": Review all available paleontological and archeological evidence from the published and unpublished literature for evidence of wolves and prey species.
• Elias, Scott A. "Later Quaternary environments and insect fossils, Yellowstone National Park": Delineate late Quaternary environments and insect species composition of the Yellowstone National Park region. Attention will be directed toward the intervals of the end of the last glaciation and the Holocene. Fossil insects from lake shore exposures along Yellowstone Lake and from archeological studies will be examined.
• Fritz, William J. “Investigations of Lake Butte Fossil Locality, Eocene, Absaroka Volcanic Supergroup”: Investigate the depositional environments, stratigraphy, and paleoclimates of the “fossil forests” preserved in the Eocene Absaroka Volcanic Supergroup with a focus on newly discovered fossils in volcanic conglomerate and sandstone of the Langford Formation between Lake Butte and Sylvan Pass. Jones, Timothy. “Charcoal production of different ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park”: Compare modern forest floor debris after a wildfire with that in the fossil record, and Yellowstone material with fossil material from the British Jurassic.
• Jones, Timothy. “Charcoal production of different ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park”: Compare modern forest floor debris after a wildfire with that in the fossil record, and Yellowstone material with fossil material from the British Jurassic.
• Lowe, Donald R. "The structure, facies, and deposition of siliceous sinter around thermal springs: Implications for the recognition of early life on earth & mars": Examine the textures and structuring of siliceous sinter deposited around hot springs and determine its physical and chemical controls; attempt to characterize the role of organisms in sinter deposition; compare the structure of sinter with that of putative biological structures in the oldest sedimentary rocks on earth.
• Powell, C.L. "An integrated approach to the reconstruction of a Devonian terrestrial ecosystem": Collect samples and data in the form of photographs and observations of Yellowstone's thermal features with a focus on the structure and texture of siliceous sinters, plant proximity to sites of activity, preservation and mode of permineralization of biota, for comparison to features present in the Devonian Rhynie cherts of New Zealand.
• Richmond, Gerald. "Glacial geology in Yellowstone National Park": Map glacial geology in the park; attempt to date glacial and interglacial events through palynology and paleoclimate data.
• Runnegar, Bruce. "Sequence stratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the Snowy Range Formation, Wyoming and Montana".
• Saltzman, Matthew R. "Trilobite mass extinctions in Yellowstone National Park": Investigate the changes in global carbon cycling and sea level that are preserved in carbonate rocks spanning a mass extinction horizon during the Late Cambrian. Unusually fossiliferous strata are well exposed in the Gallatin Range at Three Rivers Peak and Crowfoot Ridge and can be used to correlate sections in Yellowstone with sections in China, Australia and Kazakstan.
• Santucci, V.L., Wall, W., and Breithraupt, B. "A Paleontological Survey of Yellowstone National Park": Conduct a systematic paleontological survey of Yellowstone; inventory fossil localities; produce a paleo-species list; identify threats to the paleontological resources; present an historical review of paleontological research; compile related bibliographic information; review paleontological specimens in park collections and outside repositories; identify paleontological research needs; and prepare a paleontological resources management document for the park.
• Theriot, Edward. "Diatoms in Yellowstone National Park": Describe the evolution of Stephanodiscus yellowstonensis, a diatom endemic to Yellowstone Lake from the fossil record, in the context of regional post-glacial climate change.
• Webster, Clyde L. "Eruption history of the Sepulcher Formation as determined by geochemistry": Assess the breccia, rock, and ash samples from Yellowstone's Fossil Forest (Specimen Creek Area); use geochemical analyses and statistical methods to clarify the origin and history of breccia flows and the petrified trees that are buried by them.

Proposed Research

Background research, including bibliographic reviews and direct communication with paleontological researchers, has generated many ideas for future research at Yellowstone. These five projects are considered to have the highest priority.

• Inventory Yellowstone Paleontological Localities. Other than this survey and limited work on the fossil forests, fossil sites at Yellowstone have not been inventoried. This lack of data on the distribution and diversity of Yellowstone’s paleontological resources limits park management’s ability to plan research and protect fossil resources.

• Correlate Eocene volcaniclastics with Absaroka fossil vertebrates. Extensive research has been done on the east flank of the Absarokas, just outside of the park, where significant collections of fossil vertebrates have been obtained. A correlation of this data with fossil surveys and collection of paleomagnetic samples from units in the park would provide valuable information about the geologic events that shaped Yellowstone during the Eocene.

• Survey Yellowstone's Cretaceous biostratigraphy. Vertebrate and paleobotanical fossils from preliminary surveys of the thick sequence of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks that is exposed in the northern parts of the park have provided valuable stratigraphic data. Jack Horner of the Museum of the Rockies believes that the park may contain exposures of a unit that is possibly Judith River Formation, which is recognized as an important fossil producing unit in Montana, or an equivalent formation.

• Map Fossiliferous limestone formations of Yellowstone. Limestone rocks in the Gallatin and Northeast Regions of Yellowstone contain information about changes in oceanic chemistry since the first animals appeared on Earth half a billion years ago. Mapping and study of these Paleozoic limestones will enable correlation of Yellowstone rocks with those worldwide.

Permit System

Fossil parks within the NPS often benefit from the information obtained through park-related research. New discoveries and interpretations of the resource have expanded park management's and the public's understanding of the resource significance.

The research permit serves as an administrative tool to help ensure resource protection by identifying the limitations on and responsibilities of researchers in the park. One difficulty in surveying information related to the history of paleontological research at Yellowstone has been the lack of compliance with the permit require
ments. In some cases researchers have not appropriately curated their specimen collections and reported their findings to the park. Yellowstone should consider denying permits to researchers that have not complied with the permit rules.

Funding

Funding for paleontological research has traditionally been difficult to secure within the NPS. Fossils do not have specific legislation that provides for financial support of resource-related projects. Most financial support for paleontological resource projects has come from park cooperating associations, park donation accounts, or support from academic institutions.

The NPS has moved toward a greater recognition of paleontological resources within the last few years. A staff position in Washington was created to oversee geologic and paleontological resource issues. The newly created Geological Resources Division in Denver is working towards securing sources of funding to support paleontological research in the national parks.

Publication Needs

Discussions with researchers reveal a wealth of paleontological data from Yellowstone that has not been published and many suggestions for research that would be published if funding or a publication source were available.

A possible solution would be for Yellowstone to support a Paleontological Resource Symposium to bring together for the first time all of those involved in paleontological research in the park, provide a catalyst for future research, and produce a publication of articles that would provide an up to date interpretation of the park's paleontological resources.

Literature Surveys

As part of this survey, searches of biological, geological, paleontological, and government bibliographic databases were conducted to locate any published information related to paleontological resources at Yellowstone. The Yellowstone National Park research library provided access to copies of unpublished material and park archives. Current and past paleontological researchers were contacted directly to obtain copies of their published and unpublished research. The bibliographic information obtained through this search was-cross referenced with the collections at the park’s research library. Park librarian Vanessa Christopher is attempting to obtain copies of any relevant publications not within the park library collections.

Collections and Curation