Fossils

[Dreamsa]

Hi!
When fossils are exposed to the surface of Earth due to weathering of surface rocks, why and how are they easily destroyed?

I wanna know.


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[Bobby Lee]

Fossils are imbedded in Rock lots of times, they are around for thousands of years. A Trilobite for instance!

Newer fossils will be forthcoming....


bjl

 

[Teri]

Hi there,

I think you've answered your own question - due to weathering.
Slowly the elements will remould the each to whatever it turns out to be.

PS. Welcome dreamsa and I like your little bouncing avatar!

Cheers,
Teri

 

[Dreamsa]

Ha! Ha!

Well, weathering.
Does weathering occurs very quickly?
How much time will they stay on the surface before they are destroyed?

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Stay happy!

 

[wet1]

First off, fine, quality fossils are rare finds. Those with high amounts of detail or even more rare. There is no "time limit" that you can put on weathering because it depends on the material being weathered, the weather elements themselves, such as how often they occur, how severe they are, ect.

 

[Dreamsa]

Hi!

So we just do not know how fast they are destroyed depending on where the fossils are and what the weather condition there, right?

 

[wet1]

Certain parts of the country experience acid rain. This would speed up any exposed fossils into decaying just that much faster. This is one reason why weathering is so variable. Another is that some fossils, especially those in areas like Florida for example, are of limestone base. Limestone, even hard limestone weathers considerably faster. Sandstone is yet another example of a fast weathering rock.

 

[Dreamsa]

I also read about in that in the drier land, the exposed fossils are destroyed by animals running over them, is this true?

 

[Teri]

Hi Dreamsa

Fossils can be destroyed by anything - nature, humans, animals.

Humans and animals don't go out and destroy them on purpose, it's just that sometimes we don't see them and walk or build over the top of them. The weather is constant, it is and always will be on this planet. A drop of water falling on a rock once a day for a few million years will change the shape of that rock just a little, but that's basically how the weather is changing everything around us. A rock is a hard substance. That same drop of water falling once a day on say a plant, will probably change the course of the way the plant grows ever so slightly, just because of that drop of water.

Maybe you will become a geologist or an archeologist one day, and you'll learn all about time, and weather, and their relationship to our planet.

The wonders of nature are there for everyone to enjoy.

Cheers
Teri

 

[Dreamsa]

Hi!

Thank you very much for the answers!