Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring: Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network
Tweet JS, Santucci VL, Connors T. 2014. Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring: Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NCBN/NRTR—2014/897. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Paleontological resources (fossils) are any remains of past life preserved in a geologic context. Paleontological resources are non-renewable resources found in at least 246 National Park System units. Despite the abundance and diversity of these resources throughout the National Park Service (NPS), until recently, few parks have had adequate baseline paleontological resource data. The NPS National Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program and the NPS Geologic Resources Division have developed various strategies to provide parks with the baseline paleontological resource data necessary for greater understanding and appropriate management of these resources. This report presents an updated paleontological resource summary for the parks of the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN). The summary was compiled through extensive literature reviews, review of park records and archives, inventories of museum collections and records, and interviews with park staff and professional geologists and paleontologists. Preliminary paleontological resource management recommendations are also included for each park. The parks of the NCBN have an unusual collective fossil record: unlike many areas, where fossils are found at or near bedrock outcrops, a significant proportion of the fossil reports in NCBN units are of material found in well borings, or of specimens that have been transported and washed up on shore by storms. Wells and other borings that yielded fossils have been reported from Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS; Maryland and Virginia), Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO; Massachusetts), Colonial National Historical Park (COLO; Virginia), Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS; New York), Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE; New Jersey and New York), and George Washington Birthplace National Memorial (GEWA; Virginia), as well as Fort Monroe National Monument (FOMR; Virginia), geographically within the NCBN but not part of the Inventory and Monitoring program. Transported or washed-ashore fossils are reported from ASIS, CACO, COLO, GATE, and GEWA. Another typical fossil occurrence consists of Quaternary plant matter and microfossils found in the shallow subsurface, frequently used for studies of paleoclimate and paleoecology. ASIS, CACO, COLO, FIIS, and GATE have yielded fossils of this type. The only units that are known to exhibit the typical mode of fossils eroding from surface exposures within park boundaries are CACO, COLO, and GEWA. Two units, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (SAHI; New York) and Thomas Stone National Historic Site (THST; Maryland), have not yet yielded fossils, but both are within fossiliferous areas and something may eventually be found in one or both.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Tweet, Justin; Santucci, Vincent; Connors, Tim
- Date of Issue
- 2014-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- ASIS , CACO , COLO , FIIS , FOMR , GATE , GEWA , NCBN , NRSS , SAHI , THST
- Keywords
- Assateague Island, Assateague Island National Seashore, Cape Cod, Cape Cod National Seashore, Colonial National Historical Park, Fire Island, Fire Island National Seashore, Fossils, Gateway National Recreation Area, George Washington Birthplace National Memorial, Inventory And Monitoring, NCBN, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, Paleontological resources, Paleontology, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Thomas Stone National Historic Site
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology