IN SEARCH OF A NEW SITE: INTEGRATING GIS AND GEOLOGIC FORMATION DATA TO TEST NOVEL METHODS IN OUTCROP DISCOVERY

Exceptionally preserved fossil material, such as eyes, digestive tracts, and skin, offer the only opportunity to study certain aspects of paleobiology (e.g., nervous systems, organ structure, or cellular development) in the fossil record. Exceptional preservation is defined here as fossil material recording the preservation of ‘soft-bodied’ tissue (non-biomineralized) rather than ‘hard-bodied’ tissue, such as shells or bone (biomineralized). While soft-bodied organisms represent a significant portion of diversity and abundance in modern environments they are rarely represented in fossil specimens. Southcentral Pennsylvania is home to a world-renowned example of such preservation from the Cambrian Kinzers Formation (~520 Ma) of York and Lancaster counties. However, the major impediment to investigating the Kinzers Formation is a lack of accessible outcroppings. The Kinzers does not outcrop well, and a majority of known outcrops are in urban settings.This research developed a new GIS technique to identify outcrops in urban areas and access new/old/lost field localities (web application integration was also explored).