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Rock Core From Petrified Forest National Park Helps Geologists ‘Connect Puzzle Pieces’

By Mark Brodie
Published: Friday, August 7, 2020 - 11:13am

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Petrified Forest National Park
T. Scott Williams/National Park Service
Petrified Forest National Park.

Rock from the Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona is offering some clues into how big events may have shaped Earth’s ecosystems.

Researchers from the University of Texas-Austin drilled a core in a parking lot at the park in an effort to better understand part of the Triassic Period.

Geologist Cornelia Rasmussen was one of them. Rasmussen is a postdoctoral fellow at UT’s Institute for Geophysics, and The Show spoke with her for more about the team's findings.

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