. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. are Keys to the Past By Natalie Eason Hampton To grasp a fossil in your hand is to hold a hey to the door of the past, en unearthed from the sediments in which they were huried. fossils help scientists reconstruct a picture of what life was like on this planet millions of years ago. Take dinosaur fossils, for instance Information gleaned from these fossils and surrounding sediments has allowed researchers to accurately depict these giants and their habitat. Throw in a little Madison Avenue marketing to cap
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. are Keys to the Past By Natalie Eason Hampton To grasp a fossil in your hand is to hold a hey to the door of the past, en unearthed from the sediments in which they were huried. fossils help scientists reconstruct a picture of what life was like on this planet millions of years ago. Take dinosaur fossils, for instance Information gleaned from these fossils and surrounding sediments has allowed researchers to accurately depict these giants and their habitat. Throw in a little Madison Avenue marketing to capture the fancy of children, and there's hardly a child in America that can't say Tyran- nosaums. All fossils aren't as glamorous or marketable as those of the dinosaur. But all are important to scientists looking for clues about weather patterns, ocean levels, species availability and habitat during ancient geologic periods. When it comes to finding fossils, North Carolina's Coastal Plain offers dozens of sites where professionals and amateurs can dig for fossils millions of years old. You can dig alone or join a fossil expedition sponsored by a club or museum (see story, page 18). Scientifically speaking, fossils are remains, impressions or traces of ani- mals or plants from former geologic ages. Sometimes they are the hard parts of organisms such as shells, bones and teeth that have survived millions of years. Other times, they can be impres- sions or molds left behind by a plant or animal long since decomposed. And yet another kind of fossil, a cast, is a min- eral or sediment replica of the original organism. Fossilization usually begins when the hard parts of an organism become embedded in mud or covered by sand from a river, lake or ocean. These hard parts may remain unchanged for mil- lions of years, despite changes in the. All photos by Scott D. Taylor. Courtesy of Kieth Sturgeon, North Carolina Maritime Museum surrounding sediments that compress to form limestone or sa
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