Suggested Hell Creek Formation Research Topics For Students

Hell Creek Life^© Suggested Research Compiled by Phillip Bigelow
In spite of the vast literature on the Hell Creek Formation, the rock unit still harbors many scientific secrets. Here are some suggestions for research projects for both paleontology and geology graduate students. Each study is bulleted in orange, with some references listed below it.

Table of Contents
Hell Creek Formation Projects for Paleontology Students

Hell Creek Formation Projects for Geology Students

Schools

For Paleontology Students (see below for projects for geologists)

A study of the hydrodynamic processes involved in transporting very large skeletal elements in a fluvial setting. This project is PhD-level, and it would be appropriate for a hydrodynamics engineering student, a fluid dynamics student, or maybe even an aeronautical engineering student that wants to branch out. The research would involve 3-D scanning (laser scanning would be acceptable for some studies, but CAT scanning would be best, particularly for calculating the unfossilized weight of the bone) of individual skeletal elements of dinosaurs, inputting this data into 3-D simulation software (the kind of software used in fluid dynamics research), analysis, testing, prediction, and conclusions. This type of research would have important implications for ancient depositional environment studies, paleoecology studies, biostratigraphy, and taphonomic studies. How fast must a Cretaceous river flow in order to transport a defleshed Triceratops skull? Are defleshed Triceratops skulls too heavy to be transported or reworked? How are various skeletal elements transported in a fluvial regime? What are their preferred orientations at the time of deposition? NASA has huge CAT-scan machines and they have already been used on entire T. rex skulls, so this type of fluid dynamic research is very do-able.

A study of the freshwater gastropods of the Hell Creek Formation.

A taphonomic study of predation damage on the Hell Creek Formation's freshwater mollusk shells. (Bite mark analysis, borings, evidence of the shells being pried open, etc.). To help you build your thesis proposal, read the following reference: Kowalewski, M., and P. H. Kelley (editors). 2002. The Fossil Record of Predation. Paleontological Society Papers Number 8.

A comparison of the freshwater gastropods of the Hell Creek Formation with those of the overlying Tullock Formation (or the Ludlow Formation in North Dakota).

A study of the ostrocoda of the Hell Creek Formation (does the Formation even have ostrocodes?).

Invertebrate ichnology of the Hell Creek Formation.

A study on the floral provenance of the Hell Creek amber (and on it's geochemistry).

A paleoecology study of the Breien Member of the Hell Creek Formation (a marine "tongue" of the Formation in North Dakota)).

Troodon sp. Hell Creek Formation. Scale in mm.
Photo courtesy Frank Bliss.
© Frank Bliss

A study of the Troodon teeth from the Hell Creek Formation (they may be from a new species. Although the genus is well known from older formations, very little is known of Troodon from the Hell Creek Formation. No confirmed skeletal material of Troodon is presently known from the Hell Creek Fm., but there are Hell Creek Fm. Troodon teeth in museum collections).

A study of the paleo-floral taphonomy in the Hell Creek Formation.

Bryant (1989:57-58, 76) writes about the avian fauna of the Hell Creek Formation (as of 1989): "There are only about 30 specimens of birds known from the Hell Creek and Tullock formations in the study area. Regrettably, many are elements that are undescribed for Cretaceous taxa, or simply indeterminate: e.g., vertebrae, fragments of tarsometatarsi, scapula fragments."

Avisaurus archibaldi, an enantiornithine bird, was described in 1985, and a Mononykinae incertae sedis (a possible bird described in 1998) are the only Hell Creek taxa so far published. Perhaps it is finally time to reexamine some of the avian Hell Creek material that is gathering dust in museum collections?

Reference: Bryant, L.J. 1989. Non-dinosaurian lower vertebrates across the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in Northeastern Montana. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences volume 134. University of California Press, 107 pages.

A more comprehensive study of bite marks found on vertebrate material from the Hell Creek Formation. This study would involve the categorization of the various types of bite marks found on Hell Creek Fm. fossils found in museum collections (involving a study of the size, shape, frequency of occurrence, depth of penetration, association with other types of bite marks, association of certain types of bite marks with fossil bones of certain taxa, association of certain types of bite marks with certain skeletal elements, etc.). In spite of recent work by Greg Erickson (on T. rex tooth marks), this is still an area ripe for new contributions from MS or PhD students, particularly if it is conducted on the bite marks made by the smaller dinosaurian carnivores, crocodilians and pterosaurs! Can the marks be distinguished?

If you need help writing up this proposal, then perhaps the following publication may be useful:

Anderson, K. 2005. A new system of classifying bite marks on marine reptile bones from the Oxford Clay, Peterborough. The Quarterly Journal of the Dinosaur Society 4 (3), 12-15.

A study of the reworking of Hell Creek Formation fossils into the overlying Paleocene strata. There are still many unanswered questions that can be addressed in a masters thesis or in a doctoral dissertation. To see what has already been addressed, and what still needs to be addressed, see the following references:

Archibald, J. D. 1982. A study of Mammalia and Geology across the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in Garfield County, Montana. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 122: 242-243.

Archibald, J. D. 1987. Stepwise and non-catastrophic late Cretaceous terrestrial extinctions in the Western Interior of North America: testing observations in the context of an historical science. Memoires de la Societe Geologique de France, New Series 150: 45-52.

Archibald, J.D. 2000. Dinosaur abundance was not declining in a "3 m gap" at the top of the Hell Creek Formation, Montana and North Dakota. Comment. Geology 28(12): 1057-1184.

Archibald, J.D., and L.J. Bryant. 1990. Differential Cretaceous/Tertiary extinctions of nonmarine vertebrates: Evidence from northeastern Montana in Sharpton, V.L. and P.E. Ward (eds.), Global catastrophes in Earth history: Geological Society of America Special Paper 247: 549-562.

Argast, S., J. O. Farlow, R. M. Gabet, and D. L. Brinkman. 1987. Transport-induced abrasion of fossil reptilian teeth: Implications for the existence of Tertiary dinosaurs in the Hell Creek Formation, Montana. Geology 15:927-930.

Buck, B. J., A. D. Hanson, R. A. Hengst, and Hu Shu-Sheng. 2004. "Tertiary Dinosaurs" in the Nanxiong Basin, Southern China, are reworked from the Cretaceous. Journal of Geology 112: 111-118.

Lofgren, D. L. 1995. The Bug Creek Problem and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Transition at McGuire Creek, Montana. University Of California Publications In Geological Sciences 140: 1-185.

Lofgren, D.L., C.L. Hotton, and A.D. Runkel. 1990. Reworking of Cretaceous dinosaurs into Paleocene channel deposits, upper Hell Creek Formation, Montana. Geology 18: 874-877.

Rigby, J.K., Jr., K.R. Newman, J. Smit, S. van Der Kaars, R. E. Sloan, and J. K. Rigby. 1987. Dinosaurs from the Paleocene part of the Hell Creek Formation, McCone County, Montana. Palaios 2: 296-302.

Sheehan, P.M., D.E. Fastovsky, C. Barreto, and R.G. Hoffmann. 2000. Dinosaur abundance was not declining in a "3 m gap" at the top of the Hell Creek Formation, Montana and North Dakota. Geology 28(6):523-526.

Sheehan, P.M., D.E. Fastovsky, C. Barret, and R.G. Hoffmann. 2000. Dinosaur abundance was not declining in the "3 m gap" at the top of the Hell Creek Formation, Montana and North Dakota. Reply. Geology 28(12): 1057-1184.

Smit, J., W.A. van der Kaars, and J.K. Rigby, Jr. 1987. Stratigraphic aspects of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Bug Creek area of eastern Montana. Societe Geologique de France, Memoires 150: 53-73.

Williams, M.E. 1994. Catastrophic versus noncatastrophic extinction of the dinosaurs: Testing, falsifiability, and the burden of proof. Journal of Paleontology 68: 183-190.

A study of trace elements and isotopic anomalies in the fossil bones of animals collected just above the K-T boundary. Compare your results with bones collected from lower in the Hell Creek Formation and from bones collected higher in the Tullock Formation, as well as with bones from recent taxa. Take into consideration the effects of acid leaching of the bones, and the effects of paleo wildfires. Compare the bones between similar taxa, only.

For Geology Students

A petrographic/textural/morphologic study of the mega-clasts in Hell Creek Formation sediment. This study would involve petrographic analysis of pebble-size or larger clastic material. Since nearly all of the Hell Creek Formation is composed of fine-grained material, a study of the rare, out-sized components may give us new insights into what sediments are local (intrabasinal) and which components are exotic (log-rafted, animal-transported, or perhaps, if the study includes the K-T Boundary layers, even impact-deposited).

A study of the petrology of sediment in the Bug Creek Beds. How different is the composition of the sediment in the Bug Creek Beds compared to the composition of the sediment in the lower part of the Hell Creek Formation and the overlying Tullock Formation? Can a petrographic study tell us anything about the provenance of the sediment in the Bug Creek Beds?

A study of the clay mineral facies within the Hell Creek Formation.

A study of the heavy mineral fraction in the Hell Creek sandstone. Provenance studies.

Invertebrate ichnology of the Hell Creek Formation. Little research has been done on Hell Creek trace fossils, so the formation is long overdue for such a study.

The geochemistry of Hell Creek amber.
[chromatography studies; isotopic studies, and a chemical comparison with amber from other formations and with tree resins from extant taxa].

A study of inclusions [water, gasses, carbonaceous material] in Hell Creek amber. No one really knows how permeable or impermeable the Hell Creek Formation amber is regarding the exchange of gasses with the ambient atmosphere.

A study of carbon isotope ratios in various fossil flora from the Hell Creek Formation. Can a correlation be made with C3 and C4 pathways?

When you write up your proposal, use the following paper for ideas:
Ivany, L. C., and R. J. Salawitch. 1993. Carbon isotope evidence for biomass burning at the K-T boundary. Geology 21:487-490.

A sedimentological study of reworking of impact-related K-T detritus into Paleogene sediments (reworking of impact spherules and shocked quartz grains and other shocked minerals into the overlying Tullock Fm. sediments). Since impact spherules and shocked minerals are uncommon in the stratigraphic record, they are considered to be "tagged" minerals and they can be used as indicators of sediment reworking. In units that don't contain sandstone, this study would involve extensive sieving in order to concentrate appropriately sized sand grains.
For a summary of the basic geology of impact spherules, their identification, how to study them, and any pitfalls to avoid, see the following references before you write up your research proposal:

Bohor, B.F., D.M. Triplehorn, D.J. Nichols, and H.T. Millard, Jr. 1987. Dinosaurs, spherules, and the "majic" layer: A new K-T boundary clay site in Wyoming. Geology 15: 896-899.

Kring, D. A. , and W.V. Boynton. 1991. Altered spherules of impact melt and associated relic glass from K/T boundary sediments in Haiti. Geochimica et Cosmchimica Acta 55: 1737-1742.

Paquay, F., S. G. Ravizza, S. Goderis, P. Claeys, S. Goderis, F. Vanhaeck, M. Boyd, T. A. Surovell, V. T. Holliday, and C. V. Haynes, Jr. 2009. Absence of geochemical evidence for an impact event at the Bølling-Allerød/ Younger Dryas Transition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Published online before print, December 10, 2009. doi: 10.1073/pnas .0908874106.

Simonson, B. M. 1992. Geological evidence for a strewn field of impact spherules in the early Precambrian Hamersley Basin of Western Australia. Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 (7): 829-839.

A geochemical study of the magnetic fraction of the impact spherules in the K-T boundary layer of the Hell Creek Formation. (because they are magnetic, these tiny grains will be easy to collect).

A study of fired-clay zones in the Hell Creek Formation. Essentially this would be a study of the role of paleo wildfires (or of cosmic conflagration) on the thermal alteration of Hell Creek Formation minerals. Don't forget the additional possibility of highly localized thermal effects from paleo lightning strikes. Can such effects be recognized in the strata? Are there any geologists out there who are also potters?

For info on the concepts involved in such a study, see the following archaeology refs:

Frederick C. D. and J. T. Abbott. 1992. Magnetic Prostection of Prehistoric Sites in an Alluvial Environment: Examples From NW and West-central Texas. Journal of Field Archaeology 19:139-153.

Jordanovab, N., E. Petrovskyd, M. Kovachevae and D. Jordanovae. 2001. Factors determining magnetic enhancement of burnt clay from archaeological sites. Journal of Archaeological Science 28 (11):1137-1148.

Kovacheva, M., and N. Jordanova. 2001. Bulgarian archaeomagnetic studies: A review of methodological progress and applications in archaeology. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 247(3):685-696.

Retallack, G.J., G.D. Leahy, and M.D. Spoon. 1987. Evidence from paleosols for ecosystem changes across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Montana. Geology 15: 1090-1093.

Also, take a gander at the following paper:

Wegweiser, M. D. 2005. Paleowildfire characteristics and behavior: diagenetic changes occurring in vascular bone during cremation by wildfire reveal ancient fire behavior [Abstract], p. 143, In D.R. Braman, F. Therrien, E.B. Koppelhus, and W. Taylor, (eds.), Dinosaur Park Symposium Short Papers, Special Publication of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta, September 24 - 25, 2005.

A more detailed study (geochemical, isotopic, and/or textural) of soot particles from the K-T Boundary Bed of the Hell Creek Formation, compared with the soot from below and above the Boundary layer. (see Tinus and Roddy, 1990; see Wolbach et al. 1988; see Belcher et al., 2003; see Durda and Kring, 2004; see Gilmour et al., 1989; and build your thesis proposal from there).

A study of the carbonaceous material in the K-T Boundary layer. How much of the material is due to coalification, and how much of the material is due to the effects of fire (e.g., the presence of charcoal)?

K-T Boundary "Soot References":
(Don't be intimidated by the amount of research which has already been done on this topic; the study of the carbon budget at the Boundary has just begun!).

Belcher, C. M., M. E. Collinson, A. R. Sweet, A. R. Hildebrand, and A. C. Scott. 2003. Fireball passes and nothing burns - The role of thermal radiation in the Cretaceous-Tertiary event: Evidence from the charcoal record of North America. Geology 31:1061-1064.

Durda, D. D., and D. A. Kring. 2004. Ignition threshold for impact-generated fires. Journal of Geophysical Research 109: E08004. [on-line version of the journal].

Falcon-Lang, H. J., J. Kvaceki, and D. Ulicny. 2001. Fire-prone plant communities and palaeoclimate of a Late Cretaceous fluvial to estuarine environment, Pecínov quarry, Czech Republic. Geol. Mag. 138 (5):563-576.

Gilmour, I., W. S. Wolbach, and E. Anders. 1989. Major wildfires at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, in Clube, S. V. M., ed., Catastrophes and evolution: Astronomical foundations. Cambridge Unversity Press, Cambridge, p. 195-213.

Goldin, T. J. 2008. Atmospheric interactions during global deposition of Chicxulub impact ejecta. PhD dissertation, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, _____ pages.

Goldin, T. J., and H. J. Melosh. 2009. Self-shielding of thermal radiation by Chicxulub impact ejecta: Firestorm or fizzle? Geology 37(12): 1135-1138.

Petersen, H. I. 1998. Morphology, formation and palaeoenvironmental implications of naturally formed char particles in coals and carbonaceous mudstones. Fuel 77:1177-1183.

Robertson, D. S., M. C. McKenna, O. B. Toon, S. Hope, and J. A. Lillegraven. 2004. Survival in the first hours of the Cenozoic. Geological Society of America Bulletin 116:760-768.

Robertson, D. S., M. C. McKenna, O. B. Toon, S. Hope, and J. A. Lillegraven. 2004. Fireball passes and nothing burns: Comment. Geology Online Forum (March, 2004), pp. e50-e50.

Rundel, P. W. 1981. Fire as an ecological factor, p. 501-538, in Lange, O. L., et al., eds., Physiological plant ecology I, Response to the physical environment: Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Scott, A. C. 2000. The pre-Quaternary history of fire. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 164:281-329.

Scott, A. C., B. H. Lomax, M. E. Collinson, G. R. Upchurch, and D. J. Beerling. 2000. Fire across the K/T boundary: Initial results from the Sugarite Coal, New Mexico, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 164:381-395.

Staub. J.R., and A.D. Cohen. 1978. Kaolinite enrichment beneath coals: A modern analog, Snuggedy Swamp, South Carolina. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 48:203-210.

Tinus, R.W., and D.J. Roddy. 1990. Effects of global atmospheric perturbations on forest ecosystems in the Northern Temperate Zone: Predictions of seasonal depressed-temperature kill mechanisms, biomass production, and wildfire soot mechanisms, in Sharpton, V.L., and P.E. Ward (eds.), Global catastrophes in Earth history. Geological Society of America Special Paper 247: 77-86.

Wegweiser, M. D. 2005. Paleowildfire characteristics and behavior: diagenetic changes occurring in vascular bone during cremation by wildfire reveal ancient fire behavior [Abstract], p. 143, In D.R. Braman, F. Therrien, E.B. Koppelhus, and W. Taylor, (eds.), Dinosaur Park Symposium Short Papers, Special Publication of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta, September 24 - 25, 2005.

Wolbach, W.L., I. Gilmour, E. Anders, C.J. Orth, and R.R. Brooks. 1988. A global fire at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Nature 334: 665-669.

Iridium isotope ratios in the K-T Boundary Bed of the Hell Creek Formation. Can Ir isotope ratios in rock strata be used as a "finger print" for distinguishing different meteoritic impact events or cometary impact events?

For some ideas on how to write up your proposal, see the following reference:
Luck, J.M. and Turekian, K.K. 1983. Osmium-187/Osmium-186 in manganese nodules and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary. Science 222: 613.

A trace element analysis or an isotopic analysis of air-fall components in the K-T Boundary Bed of the Hell Creek Formation (for ideas on the format of such a study, see Mukhopadhyay, Farley, and Montanari, 2001).

K-T Boundary "Isotope References":

Blum, J.D., and C.P. Chamberlain, 1992. Oxygen isotope constraints on the origin of impact glasses from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Science 257: 1104-1107.

Blum, J.D., C.P. Chamberlain, M.P. Hingston, C. Koeberl, L.E. Martin, B. Schuraytz, and V.L. Sharpton. 1993. Isotopic composition of K/T boundary impact glass compared with melt rock from Chicxulub and Manson impact structures. Nature 364: 325-327.

Ivany, L. C., and R. J. Salawitch. 1993. Carbon isotope evidence for biomass burning at the K-T boundary. Geology 21:487-490.

Luck, J.M. and Turekian, K.K. 1983. Osmium-187/Osmium-186 in manganese nodules and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary. Science 222: 613.

MacDougall, J.D. 1988. Seawater strontium isotopes, acid rain and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Science 239: 485-487.

Martin, E.E., and J.D. MacDougall. 1991. Seawater Sr isotopes at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104: 166-180.

Mukhopadhyay, S., K.A. Farley, A Montanari. 2001. A Short Duration of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary Event: Evidence from Extraterrestrial Helium-3. Science 291:1952-55.

Magnetic susceptibility and magnetic enhancement of fire-affected horizons in the Hell Creek Formation. To help you understand the geophysics behind such a study, and to help you build your proposal, see as guides:

Frederick C. D. and J. T. Abbott. 1992. Magnetic Prostection of Prehistoric Sites in an Alluvial Environment: Examples From NW and West-central Texas. Journal of Field Archaeology 19:139-153.

Jordanovab, N., E. Petrovskyd, M. Kovachevae and D. Jordanovae. 2001. Factors determining magnetic enhancement of burnt clay from archaeological sites. Journal of Archaeological Science 28 (11):1137-1148.

Kovacheva, M., and N. Jordanova. 2001. Bulgarian archaeomagnetic studies: A review of methodological progress and applications in archaeology. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 247(3):685-696.

A study of the atmospheric chemistry at the K-T boundary. For ideas on how to build your thesis proposal, see the following references:

Brett, R. 1992. The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction: A lethal mechanism involving anhydrite target rocks. Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta 56: 3603-3606.

Cronan, C.S. 1985. Chemical weathering and solution chemistry in acid forest soils: Differential influence of soil type, biotic processes and H⁺ deposition, in Drever, J.I. (ed.), The chemistry of weathering. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, Netherlands. pp. 175-195.

d'Hondt, S. M.E.Q. Pilson, H. Sigurdsson, A.K. Hanson, and S. Carey. 1994. Surface water acidification and extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Geology 22:983-986.

Fastovsky, D.E., K. McSweeney, and L.D. Norton. 1989. Pedogenic development at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, Garfield County, Montana. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 59: 758-767.

Folster, H. 1985. Proton consumption rates in Holocene and present-day weathering of acid forest soils, in Drever, J.I. (ed.), The chemistry of weathering. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 197-209.

Howells, G. 1990. Acid rain and acid water. Ellis-Horwood, Chichester, UK. 215 p.

MacDougall, J.D. 1988. Seawater strontium isotopes, acid rain and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Science 239: 485-487.

Prinn, R.G., and B. Fegley. 1987. Bolide impacts, acid rain, and biospheric traumas at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 83: 1-15.

Retallack, G.J. 1990. Soils of the past. Unvin-Hyman, London. 520 p.

Retallack, G.J. 1996. Acid Trauma at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in eastern Montana. G.S.A. Today 6(5):1-7.

Retallack, G.J., G.D. Leahy, and M.D. Spoon. 1987. Evidence from paleosols for ecosystem changes across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Montana. Geology 15: 1090-1093.

Sigurdsson, H., S. d'Hondt, and S. Carey. 1992. The impact of the Cretaceous/Tertiary bolide on evaporite terrane and generation of major sulfuric acid aerosol. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 109: 543-559.

Staub. J.R., and A.D. Cohen. 1978. Kaolinite enrichment beneath coals: A modern analog, Snuggedy Swamp, South Carolina. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 48:203-210.

Weil, A. 1994. K/T survivorship as a test of acid rain hypotheses. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26(7): A335.

Whitmore, M.E. 1985. Effects of SO₂ and NO_x on plant growth, in Winner, W.E. et al (eds.), Sulfur dioxide and vegetation. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, p. 281-295.

Zahnle, K. 1990. Atmospheric chemistry by large impacts, in Sharpton, V.L, and P.E. Ward (eds.), Global catastrophes in Earth history. Geological Society of America Special Paper 247: 271-288.

Hell Creek-Friendly Schools
What schools have offered Hell Creek Formation research projects?

Although research-projects are created by faculty members and their grant money, not by their schools, you will find that certain universities tend to offer more projects in the Hell Creek Formation. Keep in mind that the interests of faculty members can change over time. The trick is to "follow the money". Ask faculty members at various schools if they have grants that are currently funding projects in the Hell Creek Formation. And don't forget that faculty members look favorably on prospective students that are already familiar with a faculty member's specialty. Before you introduce yourself, learn the names of any faculty members that have done work on the Hell Creek Formation and read their research papers. If you have a specific Hell Creek Formation research project in mind, your best chance of finding a sympathetic ear will probably be found at one of the following schools (which are listed in no particular order):

University of California at Berkeley

Yale University

Montana State University

University of Wyoming

University of North Dakota

University of Colorado at Denver

University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Chicago

University of Calgary

University of Indiana

University of Alberta

University of Maryland

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology