Utah Unearthed: Smorgasbords of Dinosaurs
Episode Synopsis
In this episode of Utah Unearthed, as we talk about Moab’s fossil record, Randy — our usual cohost — gets put in the hot seat alongside fellow NHMU paleontologist Carrie Levitt-Bussian. Moab today is a rusty, red-rock desert, but for millions of years the region was home to drastically different environments and animals, including dinosaurs. Hundreds of millions of years later, the sedimentary rock of the Colorado Plateau, on which Moab sits, has been uplifted but not drastically contorted. Therefore, it's the perfect setting for revealing well-preserved fossils from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods when dinosaurs roamed. This is great news for paleontologists in Utah, like Carrie and Randy, who can find a smorgasbord of dinosaur discoveries on each expedition to Moab.
We're really spoiled whenever we go to Moab. What time period do we want to dig in today? Do we want to dig in the Triassic? We can find really cool things in the Triassic. Do we want to dig in the Jurassic? Cretaceous?
About Utah Unearthed
Season 1 of Utah Unearthed takes you deep into the iconic red-rock terrain of Moab — a mecca for outdoor adventure and a hotspot for ecological curiosity. Each episode, the team interviews a different scientist from a different discipline who will help both hosts and listeners unearth Utah’s incredible natural history. This podcast supports the Museum’s mission to illuminate the natural world and the place of humans within it. Learn more about the podcast here.
The hosts of Utah Unearthed include Aidan Bailey, an NHMU school outreach coordinator, Dr. Randy Irmis, NHMU’s curator of paleontology, and Andy Connolly, a former NHMU science communications specialist who now works with the Kansas Geological Survey. The show is produced and edited by Mark Johnston. Series logo by Will Shepherd.
