From SurfKY:
Researchers Examine Jurassic Era Fossils
BOWLING GREEN, KY (9/21/12) – A researcher from
Northern Kentucky University is taking advantage of the 21st century technology available at
Western Kentucky University’s NOVA Center to examine
dinosaur bones and other fossils that are 160 million years old.
Dr. Janet Bertog, associate professor of
Paleontology & Stratigraphy at NKU, brought nine samples Tuesday for
examination at the NOVA Center’s Large Chamber Scanning Electron
Microscope (LC-SEM).
The fossils, all found in the Morrison Formation in central Utah,
included a section of a femur of a sauropod dinosaur; the jaw of a small
mammal; a tooth from an allosaurus; and samples that may be a new
species of iguana.
The LC-SEM – the only one of its kind at a North American university
-- performs scientific, microscopic analysis of large samples, allowing
for investigation of large manufactured objects or historical artifacts
without destroying them.
“We don’t want to do anything that would damage the fossils,” Dr.
Bertog said, noting that the rare and fragile samples are part of
several undergraduate research projects under way at NKU.
Creating new research collaborations and providing analytical and
technical services are among the goals for the NOVA (Nondestructive
Analysis) Center, said Dr. Ed Kintzel, center director and assistant
professor in WKU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.
“This is our goal – to help someone do something they can’t do somewhere else,” Dr. Kintzel said.
Dr. Bertog learned about the NOVA Center and the LC-SEM from one of
her former professors, Dr. Cathleen Webb. Dr. Webb, head of WKU’s
Department of Chemistry, was at South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology while Dr. Bertog was completing her master’s degree there.
“This is the only place in the country with one,” Dr. Bertog said.
Data from the LC-SEM will allow Dr. Bertog to examine growth rings in
the femur that may help determine how seasonal and climate variations
affected the course of the sauropod’s life. That data will be compared
to chemical analysis of the sample that shows the animal may have died
from drought conditions. “This is the last little piece we need,” she
said.
Growth rings in the bone are similar to growth rings in a tree, Dr.
Bertog said. If the animal was stressed, the rings will be smaller, but
if the animal was eating well, the rings will be larger.
“We are looking for evidence that it was stressed,” she said.
Dr. Bertog is examining another sample of the sauropod’s toenail for
evidence that termites or beetles fed on the bone after the animal died.
And by using the LC-SEM to examine the scratch marks on the allosaurus
tooth, she may be able to determine whether what it was eating was alive
or dead.
By analyzing these samples and various other materials from the
Morrison Formation site, such as turtles, crocodiles and fish, Dr.
Bertog and her students may be able to determine what the environment
was like and whether a lake existed there during the Jurassic era.
Dr. Bertog expects to make additional trips to the NOVA Center and bring more samples, including the skull of a barosaurus.
About the NOVA Center: The NOVA (Nondestructive Analysis) Center,
located at WKU’s Center for Research and Development on the corner of
Nashville Road and Campbell Lane, features the Large Chamber Scanning
Electron Microscope (LC-SEM). The acquisition of the LC-SEM has
positioned WKU as the only university in North America with an
instrument of this type and as a leader in nondestructive analysis
testing. The only other similar equipment is at Tinker Air Force Base in
Oklahoma. The LC-SEM performs scientific, microscopic analysis of
extremely large samples, allowing for investigation of components
without destroying them. Maximum sample size is 40 inches diameter by 40
inches tall, with a weight limit of 650 pounds. This allows it to
easily hold a V-6 engine block. The LC-SEM has a magnification power of
100,000 times, which is 100 times that of a standard light microscope.
