Robin Canavan

Authigenic Cements and Rare Earth Element Signatures Reveal Paleoenvironment in the Upper Cretaceous of Montana

The paleoenvironment in which animal remains become fossilized can leave a lasting indication of the material’s taphonomic history. Authigenic minerals form in the void spaces of bone and are dependant on the local geochemical conditions.  These authigenic indicators along with distinct rare earth element (REE) signatures can provide a means to determine the paleoenvironment in which vertebrate material has been fossilized.  This study tests whether authigenic cements and REE signatures track paleoenvironments, and uses these clues to determine the amount of mixing due to the reworking of floodplain deposits by channels.