Preparation of Vertebrate Fossils from the Triassic of Antarctica

The PI requests support for preparation of a large collection of vertebrate fossils recently recovered from the Central Transantarctic Mountains (CTAM) of Antarctica. These fossils will be used to place early Mesozoic Antarctic dinosaurs and other vertebrates into a global evolutionary, biogeographic, and faunal context; assess the degree of endemism in Triassic vertebrate faunas of Antarctica; constrain temporal relationships of the Triassic Antarctic vertebrate faunas; and refine the stratigraphic context for the Triassic Antarctic vertebrate assemblages to establish a paleoenvironmental framework. The lower and middle Triassic fossils offer a rare window on life in terrestrial environments at high-latitudes immediately after the Permian mass extinction.

The PI will use their fossils to educate the public about the geologic, climatic, and biologic history of Antarctica by visiting local schools. They will create and publish at least two new videos to the Burke Museum blog that relate the graduate student's experience of fieldwork in Antarctica. They will also update the Antarctica section on the UWBM 'Explore Your World' website with images and findings from their field season.

本项目负责人（Principal Investigator, PI）申请经费支持，用于对近期从南极洲中央跨南极山脉（Central Transantarctic Mountains, CTAM）采集的一批大型脊椎动物化石标本进行整理修复。这批化石将用于将早中生代南极洲恐龙及其他脊椎动物类群置于全球演化、生物地理与动物区系的研究框架之中；评估南极洲三叠纪脊椎动物群的特有性程度；明确南极洲三叠纪脊椎动物群的时间序列关系；并细化南极洲三叠纪脊椎动物组合的地层学背景，以构建古环境研究框架。早、中三叠世的这批化石，为二叠纪大灭绝后高纬度陆地生态系统的生命演化提供了珍贵的研究窗口。

本项目负责人将通过走访当地校园，利用这批化石向公众普及南极洲的地质、气候与生物演化历史。他们将在伯克博物馆（Burke Museum）的官方博客平台上发布至少两部全新视频，分享研究生在南极洲野外考察的经历。同时，他们还将更新UWBM“探索你的世界”网站的南极洲板块，补充本次野外季的相关影像与研究成果。