Funds are provided to complete taphonomic and paleobiologic work on a series of highly significant bonebeds containing the largest concentration of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and associated vertebrates found in either ancient polar region. These paleontologic studies will be integrated with the development of a sequence stratigraphic framework, including a description of fossil soils and fluvial sedimentology, to provide comprehensive documentation of an ancient Arctic terrestrial/coastal ecosystem during a "greenhouse" period in Earth's history by: 1) testing hypotheses from previous paleobiologic, taphonomic, paleobiogeographic and paleoclimatic work regarding the ancient arctic terrestrial ecosystem; 2) establishing high resolution litho- and chronostratigraphic framework for the dinosaur-rich succession within the Prince Creek Formation; 3) integrating multidisciplinary data to produce a much-needed framework for a greater understanding of the paleoenvironments within which abundant, diverse, and long-standing paleo-arctic dinosaur populations thrived; and 4) better understanding Earth history at a critical time of biological diversity, mass extinction and climate change in the ancient arctic.
