EROSION OF LATE TRIASSIC SANDSTONES (CARR’S BROOK FORMATION) ON THE NORTHERN SHORE OF THE MINAS BASIN PROVIDE NEW VERTEBRATE FOSSIL SPECIMENS

The Carr’s Brook Formation is a 65 m section of Late Triassic strata exposed on approximately 1200 m of the Minas Basin shoreline, near Economy, NS. The beds generally strike along the current shoreline (east-northeast) and dip roughly 45°. Although much of the Formation is subtidal, 30 metres of the column are represented in cliff face exposures, providing excellent opportunities for collection of vertebrate fossil specimens.

Bi-weekly prospecting of the site over the past two years has lead to the discovery of new vertebrate fossil material, including capitosaurid cranial elements, procolophonid jaws, and isolated archosaur teeth. A series of photographs was used to quickly record accurate location data for the fossil specimens. The vertebrate specimens are now correlated to specific layers within a previously published stratigraphic column using the specimen location data.

Regular prospecting of the site has been an effective method for collecting new palaeontological specimens due to the high erosion of the cliff face. Estimates of cliff erosion rates are presented based on a forty-year series of aerial photographs and our recent personal observations. The erosion estimates may be of value for future studies examining the impact of shoreline erosion on property loss.

The Special Places Protection Act protects all fossil material in Nova Scotia, ensuring fossil specimens are collected by experienced individuals and are made available to museum collections for research and preservation. Our ongoing study at Carr’s Brook provides another example of the positive impact of the legislation and the benefits of co-operative research with provincial Museums.