Tar Pit Fossils Lie Under the Radar

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tarpits2feb02.story
Tar Pit Fossils Lie Under the Radar
A high-tech search near the Page Museum spots subterranean pockets of tar but no blips of bone.
By Bob Pool
Times Staff Writer

February 2, 2005

It was more sticky wicket than groundbreaking moment Tuesday when scientists tried to use high-tech electronic imaging equipment to find prehistoric fossils buried in Los Angeles.

All that the ground-penetrating radar equipment scanning a subterranean area at the La Brea Tar Pits discovered was, well, tar.

It turns out that the gooey black tar that trapped Ice Age animals and preserved their bones also makes the resultant fossils invisible to ground radar — much like special absorbent coverings make stealth fighters invisible to aerial radar.

And to top it off, heavy cellphone use along nearby Wilshire Boulevard and commercial radio broadcasts in the area were jamming the ground radar.

"I can see radio talk shows interfering with our signal here," scientist Lawrence Conyers said as he studied his radar screen.

Tuesday's experiment was aimed at determining if radar could be used instead of time-consuming, random — often hit-or-miss — digging to find prehistoric bones.

Researchers said the test proved that buried deposits of tar could be located by ground radar. And tar, after all, is where the fossils are found, said John Harris, chief curator and head of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's vertebrate studies division.
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[Ian David]

1. This is interesting...

"And to top it off, heavy cellphone use along nearby Wilshire Boulevard and commercial radio broadcasts in the area were jamming the ground radar."

That must be how they found Saddam's "spider hole."

Not enough cellphones operating in the area.

[papau]

2. :-)

:-)