Through PaleoServices, the Paleontology Department is regularly involved in construction projects throughout southern California and the Central Valley.
Typical mitigation programs include on-site monitoring of active excavations, discovery and recovery of exposed fossils, transportation of recovered specimens to a professional preparation/conservation laboratory, laboratory-based preparation and curation of recovered fossils, and permanent storage of curated fossils in our paleontological collections, where they are available for present and future generations of citizens, students, and professional scientists.
Projects range from large residential developments involving mass grading of millions of cubic yards of sedimentary rock, to high-rise buildings with subterranean parking structures, to shopping malls, or individual buildings. More.
PaleoServices has worked on a diversity of project involving the construction of new roadways and railways, or improvements to existing transportation infrastructure. More.
Utility projects include construction of electrical transmission lines and substations, sewer and water pipelines, and landfills. PaleoServices also provides services for renewable energy project such as construction of solar and wind energy facilities, and during construction on oil and gas fields. More.
PaleoServices staff provide paleontological record searches, resource assessments, field surveys, mitigation plans, and related services for a diversity of projects.
We're making major progress on an important initiative that will bring our region’s paleontological past to life—and into the limelight. Soon, every step of our paleontology work—from fossil preparation and specimen curation to collections storage and research—will be on display. Read more.
Did sea turtles go extinct in the Pacific Ocean when the Dinosaurs died out? Were they here all along, swimming below the radar? Turns out the answer was sitting in a small box, on the third shelf of a large cabinet, deep in The Nat’s paleontology collection. Read more.
Paleontologists describe new species of sabre-tooth false-cat, showing early evolution of carnivores during time of global climatic instability. Read more.
The San Luis Rey River Valley is home to the first fossil evidence of modern capybara ancestors in North America Read more.
Just how do you find out how many of these dinosaurs lived on our planet? Scientists used the fossil record of T. rex and the principles of population ecology to estimate dinosaur demographics and the chances of finding an extinct animal in the fossil record. Read more.