Canadian Coal and dinosaurs

Hi Bill,

Let's turn our attention to some concrete evidence pointing to an insitu
origin for Mesozoic coal - dinosaur tracks.

  There are numerous examples of dinosaur tracks in interseam sediments of
the Gates Formation. A local example is found below the J seam, at a site
~5 km from the Quintette coal mine. Recently discovered tracks (I was lucky
enough to find these) are found in a 4 meter thick interseam unit of
sandstone and siltstone which is between J seam and the underlying K1 seam.
The tracks occur on four separate bedding planes in the 4 meter thick
parting, and include plant eating ankylosaurs and 50 cm long theropod
(carnivorous dinosaur) tracks. You are arguing that partings and interseam
sediments were deposited by submarine turbidity currents. This evidence
shows otherwise.

  Here is what the sequence looks like:

J seam (6 m thick)

4 meter thick parting, dino tracks on 4 bedding planes, vertical roots at
top

K1 seam (~1 meter thick)

3 meter thick parting, vertical roots at top

K2 seam (~1 meter thick)

Shoreface sandstone, vertical roots at top

  Vertical roots below all three coal seams, dinosaur tracks at four levels
between two of the seams..is it starting to add up, Bill?

  Rich McCrea from the University of Alberta has documented many tracksites
at the Smoky River coal mine at Grande Cache Alberta in the Gates. These
trackways are within a meter or two stratigraphically below the main coal
seam, which is equivalent to J seam. (McCrea (2004), pers. comm.) His
website (under construction) shows these at
http://members.shaw.ca/dinotracker/ Click on the "9 mine (L.E.L.)" link
for a photo of an extensive trackway, and on the "E2-Pit" link for a photo
of a track site showing fossil stumps in growth position on a bedding plane.
To quote McCrea, "There was quite a large number of in situ tree stumps with
radiating root systems, some of these root systems were fairly extensive."

  In northeastern BC there are thousands of dinosaur tracks in the
coal-bearing Lower Cretaceous Gething Formation. The best sites were in the
Peace River Canyon, which was studied by paleontologists from the Tyrrell
Museum before being flooded by a hydroelectric dam.

  The most direct evidence that I know of dinosaur tracks associated with
coal seams is found in Utah. From Parker and Balsey (1989): "Dinosaur
footprint casts have been observed at three major horizons within coal mines
in the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Blackhawk Formation near Price, Utah.
These include the mine floor, the mine roof, and in sediment above the roof
seen only in rock-fall areas." The link to the paper is
http://www.stadiumweb.com/reprints/parkerb.html In some areas, "Thousands of
footprints occur at this coal-roof rock contact. In many mines the roof is
so covered by footprints overlapping one another that the entire surface for
several hundred square meters is completely bioturbated or "dinoturbated"."

  For a map of a coal seam roof, see Thulborn at
http://www.stadiumweb.com/reprints/Assemblages.html Here we see coalified
stumps with dinosaur tracks around them. Some tracks point directly towards
the stumps. His interpretation is that the dinosaurs may have been feeding
on the tree vegetation.

  Think hard about this, Bill - the floor, top of the seam, and sediments
above the roof all have dino tracks. Will you admit that the floor of the
peat was subaerially exposed or had minimal water cover before deposition of
it, and that the peat and roof rocks were also subaerially exposed or had
minimal water cover?

  Furthermore, where did these dinosaurs come from, if the Flood killed
every air-breathing animal except for those on the ark? We have already
examined the "rode on a floating mat" idea and found that it can't account
for the distribution of different species of dinosaurs in the fossil record.

  In the Cretaceous section of northeastern BC, seven units contain coal
seams: Minnes Group, Gething Fm., Gates Fm., Boulder Creek Fm., Dunvegan
Fm., Kaskapau Fm., Wapiti Group. Of these seven, dinosaur tracks have been
discovered in six; only the Boulder Creek Fm. has had no tracks discovered
that I know of. All of these units consist of interbedded sandstones,
siltstones, shales, and conglomerates, with coal, plant fossils and
generally low sulphide sulphur content. Between these coal bearing units
are thick, monotonous sequences of shale and siltstone with marine fossils
and high sulphide sulphur content. These shale units do not have coal OR
dinosaur tracks. Care to explain why coal and tracks are only found in the
units mentioned, and not in the thick shales?

I think this is the end of the line for your floating mat idea..

Kevin
Received on Sun Mar 7 02:22:17 2004