dirt

Showing 5 posts tagged dirt

From Untamed Science, a tour with Dr. Lindsay Zanno, Director of the Paleontology & Geology Research Laboratory at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. 

The key things she emphasized were that a) it’s a lot of work b) it’s not glamorous c) rarely to they find complete skeletons d) they don’t excavate it with little brushes out in the field and e) they spend close to 50 times the effort on a skeleton, in the lab, once it’s been pulled out of the earth.

There’s also a field trip to Crystal Geyser Quarry, “the largest feathered dinosaur graveyard” in the world… so far, at least! From the team’s site: 

We are living through the most exciting period in the history of dinosaur paleontology.  More than half of all known dinosaur species were discovered within the past 25 years, including nearly all of the remarkable feathered dinosaur specimens.  One of the hottest areas for dinosaur discovery in North America is the Cedar Mountain Formation of eastern Utah, where new dinosaurs are being discovered and described at a phenomenal rate.  These fossil beds span the last 25-30 million years of the Early Cretaceous, a time when North America was undergoing a period of climate change that resulted in localized extinction events and invasive dinosaur species.

Our team returns to Utah every year to hunt for new dinosaurs. This year we began excavations at an unprecedented dinosaur burial ground in the Cedar Mountain Formation known as the Crystal Geyser Quarry (CGQ).  The CGQ is a mass mortality site entombing a rare and remarkable dinosaur dubbed Falcarius utahensis. One hundred and twenty-five million years ago an estimated 300 Falcarius individuals ranging in age from hatchlings to 4-meter long adults died and were buried here under mysterious conditions.

World champion sand sculptor JOOheng Tan was recently asked by ad agency Lowe in Singapore to help create these impressive backdrops for an OMO washing detergent ad campaign. In an age when something like this could have been created digitally, they asked Tan to physically build three 18-ton sand sculptures to be used as backdrops in ads encouraging kids to get dirty.

via This Is Colossal.

A time lapse spanning 9 days shows the growth of radish seeds sprouting while their roots grow deeper into the dirt.

Many plants, such as trees and flowers, have vascular systems. These vascular plants have a system of tubes they use to transport nutrients and water to different parts of the plant. Vascular plants all have similar parts, such as stems, leaves and roots.

The roots, for example, have several important functions. They pull water and minerals from the environment to nourish the plant. This is why they grow down, because the water and minerals needed for growth are below the ground in the soil.

They also provide support and help anchor a plant to the ground. Without a strong root system, trees would not be able to stand tall and withstand high winds.

Roots can also store food and nutrients. A well-developed root system can also prevent soil erosion. Some roots are even edible. For example, the carrots we eat are the roots of the carrot plant!

Not all roots are underground, though. For example, water plants may have roots that float in the water. Epiphytes are plants that live in trees with roots that cling to tree branches.

There are even some plants that don’t have roots at all. Remember: the plant kingdom is huge. It’s hard for the human mind to grasp the number and wide variety of plants that exist on Earth.

from Wonderopolis.