Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring—Arctic Network

Elder, Will; Santucci, Vincent; Kenworthy, Jason; Blodgett, Robert; Tweet, Justin

Paleontological resources (fossils) are any remains of past life preserved in a geologic context. Paleontological resources are non-renewable resources found in at least 221 National Park Service units. Despite the abundance and diversity of these resources throughout the NPS, until recently few parks have adequate baseline paleontological resource data. The NPS National Inventory and Monitoring 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 a paleontological resource summary for the parks of the Arctic Network. The summary was compiled through extensive literature reviews and interviews with park staff and professional geologists and paleontologists. Preliminary paleontological resource management recommendations are also included for each park. Including this report, summaries have been prepared for 28 NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks. The National Inventory and Monitoring Program provided funding to complete these paleontological resource summaries for each of the networks. In general, the paleontological resources known from the parks of the Arctic Network are of Paleozoic age, with far lesser numbers of fossils coming from the early Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The network parks include Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA), Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR), Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR), Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA), and Noatak National Preserve (NOAT). These parks are all predominately underlain by Paleozoic basement rocks of the Arctic Alaska Terrane, and with the exception of BELA, lie in or adjacent to the Brooks Range of Alaska, which contains an extensive area of uplifted and deformed Paleozoic rocks surrounded by Mesozoic sediments. Although many of these rocks are comprised of fossiliferous Paleozoic carbonate sediments, they display various degrees of metamorphism that frequently makes fossil identification difficult or impossible. In general, fossils known from the rocks include conodont, radiolarian and lesser numbers of foraminifer microfossils, and invertebrates that include brachiopods, rugose corals, trilobites, graptolites, stromotoporoids, bryozoans, echinoderms (including many types of crinoids), gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopods. There are few vertebrate remains other than conodonts elements known from rocks of this age. Early Paleozoic fossils of the Brooks Range are of tropical aspect. The area moved north to cooler mid-latitudes by the Late Paleozoic. The Mesozoic rocks primarily contain radiolaria and bivalves. Although there is probably a rather rich Quaternary and Holocene fossil record in the parks, little is known from these deposits with a few exceptions. The most common vertebrate fossils from these more recent surficial deposits include mammoths, bison, horses, dogs, deer, and rodents. Several rich insect localities are known from Cenozoic deposits in BELA as well. The Pleistocene and Holocene fossils may have considerable significance in understanding early human migration and culture in the area.

Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring—Arctic Network

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