Earth Science Proof Of Giants

Dallas Garcia 4-13-2015 Earth Science Prof. Marlowe

Proof of Giants Perhaps one of the most interesting partners in nature is coal mining and rich fossil finds. In our quest to find rich coal, the process of stripping away the shale has yielded most exciting finds. In particular, the Cerrejόn Formation in Columbia has been home to megafossils that have helped us to understand the connection between fossils and climate change across time, the existence of now extinct giant species, and the effect of increasing loads of carbon dioxide emissions. Megafossils of the Cerrejόn Formation paint a picture of Earth that existed millions of years ago. “In the lowland tropics of northern Columbia, Cerrejόn

The filling is mudstone and it is in this sedimentary rock layer, as water transports material, deposits form sediments. “Over millions of years from the fragments of eroded pre-existing rocks, water is squeezed out and the particles cement together with the help of dissolved salts and silica crystallising out”(Brown, 2). It is in these mudstone layers that the megafossils Carbonemys Cofrinii and Titanboa were found. Fortunately, Cerrejόn miners are willing to alert paleontologists to the fossils and work with them to extract the

“Fossil evidence is typically preserved within sediments deposited beneath water, partly because the conditions outlined above occur more frequently in these environments, and also because the majority of the Earth’s surface is covered by water (70%+)”(Shepard, 1). The fossils were a product of carbonization. “Carbonization occurs when an organism becomes pressed into sediment and its volatile, liquid or gaseous contents are forced out leaving a thin film of carbon. When other organic material remains, as when plants are entombed, coal is formed. Thus, coal mines are typically a good source for carbonized fossils”(Marlowe, 3). The fossilization of these specimens was quite complete and the megafossils emerged quite intact. The body fossils gave significant insight into what normally impossible land of the rainforest would reveal and it painted an exciting picture of the Lower Paleocene Era. “By looking at the fossils, paleontologists can tell what the ancient climate at Cerrejόn was like (hotter and wetter than it is today) and what the foliage was like (very lush and similar to today’s Amazon jungle)”(Gugliotta, 3). The coal mine showed that tropic temperatures were in the high 80’s. This tropical climate would lead to the super growth of the giant turtle and snake. Reptiles would be abundant and the lush, wet tropics would offer a vast breeding ground for