Fossils at California Tar Pits Yield Possible Climate Change Clues
October 29, 2013
Creatures such as saber tooth cats once lived in what is now the second largest city in the United States. Their ancient remains are still being found at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California, 100 years after scientists first began their excavations. Scientists are now examining some of these fossils for clues about climate change
.
Video transcript
:
In the heart of Los Angeles, surrounded by tall buildings and traffic, there are pools of black, bubbling tar
.
Scientists come here to unearth some unconventional treasure buried under this tar.
“I get excited about a mouse toe!” exclaims Shelley Cox.
Cox cleans fossils in a lab called the Fish Bowl. It is located in the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles, which houses fossils of animals and plants trapped and preserved by the tar at the La Brea Tar Pits. Some of the remains date back more than 40-thousand years.
“We have such a variety of fossils that there is almost something for everyone preserved right here,” said Cox.
That’s 5.5 million fossils found in the last hundred years, and it’s why paleontologists from around the world come here to study the discoveries. Chief Curator John Harris says even saber tooth cats and mammoths were no match for the thick, sticky asphalt.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25