Good Weather for Dino Dig

Paleontology field-research requires hard and laboring work, but this year’s field season was particularly hot along the shore of the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy.

The Early Jurassic sandstone cliffs on the Bay of Fundy near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.
The Early Jurassic sandstone cliffs on the Bay of Fundy near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.

The truck arrived on Friday August 9th. The gear was loaded and the crew was ready to go.  A tightly secured tarp was used to keep the supplies dry from the forecast rain.  This was a fortunate decision because there there was a torrential rainstorm in Parrsboro that Friday night that left nearly 80 mm of rain.

A tarp was tightly secured around all of the gear in the truck. It rained cats and dog.
A tarp was tightly secured around all of the gear in the truck. It rained cats and dog.

The weather during the rest of the field work was generally sunny.  Some days it was soaring hot.  When the breeze stopped, the Bay was calm and reflective as a mirror, and on these hot days there was no escape from the heat of the blaring sun.  Even under the tarps the temperature soared.  A darker tarp would likely have provided a more cooling shade.

The view from under the tarp during one of the hottest days in the field. Notice the mirror-like water due to the total absense of a breeze.  distance.
The view from under the tarp during one of the hottest days in the field.

Second only to water, shade was a treasured resource.

Wedge seeking shelter in the shade.

The one major weather challenge was the tropical storm when moving equipment into Parrsboro during the start of the dig.  Although there were a couple of days when an intense wind that played havoc with the tarps and blasted beach sand into our faces; in general, the 2013 Bay of Fundy Dinosaur Dig had very good weather.

 

 


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