From Nelson Mail, New Zealand: Preserve dinosaur discovery - scientist
The need to preserve the Golden Bay area where dinosaur footprints were discovered will be highlighted in a public talk tomorrow as part of a Geosciences conference.
About 330 earth scientists will be in Nelson next week for the week-long 2011 Geosciences conference.
The event is the annual showcase of geological and geophysical research being undertaken in New Zealand. As well as presentations, it includes a wide range of field trips to areas of geological interest in the Nelson region.
Among the themes speakers will address will be the Christchurch earthquake sequence, the Alpine Fault, the latest research on New Zealand's volcanoes, understanding the plate boundary beneath New Zealand, petroleum basin research, the role of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in driving global climate, and the influences of tectonism, climate and ocean processes on New Zealand's coast.
A major conference session will be devoted to the role of geoscience in studying the earthquakes and rebuilding Christchurch.
As part of the conference GNS Science sedimentologist Greg Browne will give a public talk about his discovery of dinosaur footprints at Whanganui Inlet which was announced two years ago.
The discovery marks the first time dinosaur footprints have been recognised in New Zealand, and is the first evidence of dinosaurs in the South Island.
The footprints, estimated to be 70 million years old, occur at six locations in northwest Nelson and are as much as 60cm in diameter.
Dr Browne found the footprints while examining rock and sediment formations.
They are likely to have been formed by sauropods – large plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks and tails, and pillar-like legs.
Most of the footprints were formed on exposed tidal flats, but at one location there is evidence that the animals may have been swimming or wading when they produced the structures.
"What makes these footprints special is their unique preservation in an environment where they could easily have been destroyed by waves, tides or wind," Dr Browne said.
Dr Browne said his talk would illustrate the variety and nature of the footprints and the need to preserve the area where they were found.
He would also comment on the possibility that such structures might exist in other parts of New Zealand.
The illustrated talk will be held in the Maitai Room at the Rutherford Hotel at 7.30pm tomorrow.
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