PaleoLab Thursday 12.29.16

Welcome back to the PaleoLab. Our update this week is very image intensive! Thursday we got back in and tackled more of our barosaur block. We also welcomed one more team member! Bryn Howell had her first day in the lab and did a remarkable job learning the first tricks of the trade!

Bryn 12.29.16- Learning to use the air scribe. (Photo Credit: Brianna Cencak)

Bryn 12.29.16 - First matrix removal session start.

Bryn 12.29.16 - First matrix removal session end.

Rick, Jodie and Sara hard at work. (Photo Credit: Brianna Cencak)

Jodie worked diligently at her vertebra and the work was fraught with perils. Her portions this day were covered in tiny fractures which flaked up nearly every five minutes. These are the situations we have been trained for. To let her phrase carry the gravity of the situation: "Crumble, vinac,crumble, vinac." ~Jodie Visker 

Jodie - 12.29.16 Vinac is a girl's best friend.

Jodie- 12.29.16  Fractures in bone.

 Our mystery item from last week has finally been solved.

 I scribed away as much of the matrix as I could from around our mystery object and Rick took a knock at it gently with a flat head screwdriver.

Sara- 12.29.16 Mystery bone fragment

 The upper portion broke away easily revealing a thin sheet of bone. Our theory is that it was indeed a clay deposit that had rolled over a fragment of bone and encapsulated it. Below are close up images through a large magnifying lens.

That puzzle now solved, I moved on to attempt recovery of some severely damaged and crushed portions. (Image below.) I also dedicated a portion of my time to starting removal of harder matrix from the end cap.

Sara-  12.29.16 Crushed bone fragments, held in place by vinac to prevent further bone decay as we remove matrix.

Sara- 12.29.16 Uncovering the tip of the "Iceberg" endcap on the left side. Note the crush damage evident at the top of the bone.

Jodie and Sara- 12.29.16 Our block is starting to look more like dinosaur than sandstone!

See you for next week's update! (I have added a follower option on the right side of our page, if any are so inclined it should update you as soon as we make our posts!)

Stay safe over the weekend! 

Happy New Year from the PaleoLab team!