NATS 1540 : nats1540.doc
1 Dec 2012
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Alvarez"s proposed test: dinosaur remains in latest cretaceous rocks were randomly distributed throughout most of the hell creek formation, with the exception of a three- meter gap at the top. The gap indicated the extinction of the dinosaurs before the iridium was deposited, and that there was no indication that the population was declining. He believed dinosaurs were reproducing at a constant rate until they were suddenly wiped out, and believed that the gap between the highest known occurrence of dinosaur bone and the iridium layer lacked statistical significance. Taphonomic filter: a variety of factors, such as scavengers, decomposers, weathering, destruction by soil acids, burial and subsequent erosion, may intervene to prevent an animal"s incorporation into the fossil record. Two prime factors influence the number of remains passing through the filter and into the fossil record: 2) the relative coarseness of the filter the number of remains being sent into it.
