What do you think?
Rate this book
Dinosaurs under the Aurora
In 1961, while mapping rock exposures along the Colville River in Alaska, an oil company geologist would unknowingly find the evidence for a startling discovery. Long before the North Slope of Alaska was being exploited for its petroleum resources it was a place where dinosaurs roamed. Dinosaurs under the Aurora immerses readers in the challenges, stark beauty, and hard-earned rewards of conducting paleontological field work in the Arctic. Roland A. Gangloff recounts the significant discoveries of field and museum research on Arctic dinosaurs, most notably of the last 25 years when the remarkable record of dinosaurs from Alaska was compiled. This research has changed the way we think about dinosaurs and their world. Examining long-standing controversies, such as the end-Cretaceous extinction of dinosaurs and whether dinosaurs were residents or just seasonal visitors to polar latitudes, Gangloff takes readers on a delightful and instructive journey into the world of paleontology as it is conducted in the land under the aurora.
- GenresDinosaurs
192 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2012
5 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 18, 2017
Gangloff does well but narrow for me
Does a good job describing the north slope and challenges these scientists face. The Alaska dino story is an exciting one and the author captures it well. Good read. 3 stars because, like most in the science community he allows his pro-evolutionary bias mask over the big picture in Alaska, that is, evidence of a catastrophe of unparalleled scope and power using the force of water, volcanic activity and heat. He dodges the find of an intact herd of dinos found inmasse and only partially fossilized on the Colville. The oft referred to "trackways" mentioned are curious, where thousands of dino and avian tracks have been found together, suggesting a flee in panic and massing atop hills to escape rising water. Said trackways are cemented in a paste that can only occur in specific circumstances not found today, a substance that should have eroded away along with the tracks they contian only a few thousand years past, not tens of millions, a simple check of erosiin rates proves this and math doesn't lie. Why are they so common in Alaska, across the American West and the world? yet Gangloff takes them for granted with no explanation. Mammal fossils are also found on the Colville, a fact the author conveniently avoids. Further, it's only fair to note the prolific numbers and specie of mammals such as the huge buffalo, mammoth and other mega fauna found in Alaskan gold beds, these with their flesh boiled off and infused with gold. To transport gold among these bones requires water temperatures exceeding 1900F, providing a clue suggesting a watery catastrophe oft spoken of in native lore yet one Gangloff dismisses. Fossilization requires quick covering by water with the right minerals, so attaching millions of years to these processes are a construction based on conjecture, not reality. Thank you.
Does a good job describing the north slope and challenges these scientists face. The Alaska dino story is an exciting one and the author captures it well. Good read. 3 stars because, like most in the science community he allows his pro-evolutionary bias mask over the big picture in Alaska, that is, evidence of a catastrophe of unparalleled scope and power using the force of water, volcanic activity and heat. He dodges the find of an intact herd of dinos found inmasse and only partially fossilized on the Colville. The oft referred to "trackways" mentioned are curious, where thousands of dino and avian tracks have been found together, suggesting a flee in panic and massing atop hills to escape rising water. Said trackways are cemented in a paste that can only occur in specific circumstances not found today, a substance that should have eroded away along with the tracks they contian only a few thousand years past, not tens of millions, a simple check of erosiin rates proves this and math doesn't lie. Why are they so common in Alaska, across the American West and the world? yet Gangloff takes them for granted with no explanation. Mammal fossils are also found on the Colville, a fact the author conveniently avoids. Further, it's only fair to note the prolific numbers and specie of mammals such as the huge buffalo, mammoth and other mega fauna found in Alaskan gold beds, these with their flesh boiled off and infused with gold. To transport gold among these bones requires water temperatures exceeding 1900F, providing a clue suggesting a watery catastrophe oft spoken of in native lore yet one Gangloff dismisses. Fossilization requires quick covering by water with the right minerals, so attaching millions of years to these processes are a construction based on conjecture, not reality. Thank you.
Displaying 1 of 1 review