The Union Chapel Mine Experience

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Documenting the Steven C. Minkin Paleozoic
Footprint Site
Ron Buta University of Alabama and Alabama
Paleontological Society
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The Union Chapel Mine
- discontinued surface coal mine in Walker Co.,
Alabama - prolific Carboniferous vertebrate and
invertebrate tracksite - through efforts of
Alabama Paleontological Society, also one of best
documented sites in North America - how was this
documentation accomplished?
Arthropod trackway - Kouphichnium isp.
Tetrapod trackway - Attenosaurus subulensis
Dedicated as the Steven C. Minkin Paleozoic
Footprint Site, March 12, 2005
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The decision to document the trackways
- realization the UCM trackways are rare -
significant for early development of terrestrial
vertebrate animal life Two critical decisions
made by amateurs 1. Hold a meeting where
trackways are brought to central location for
photographic documentation (jokingly dubbed a
Track Meet) 2. Invite local professional
ichnologists to inspect the trackways and assess
significance
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Organization of the Track Meets
- find a location where specimens can be laid out
on large tables - prepare temporary and permanent
labels, assigning each specimen a unique UCM
number - set up an assembly line, where
different people inspect, label, and photograph
specimens - catalog the labeled specimens,
providing preliminary interpretations until more
detailed inspections can be made
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Track Meet 1 was organized by the late Steven C.
Minkin
- held at ALMNH, Tuscaloosa August 19, 2000 -
roster of speakers in addition to trackway
documentation
Steven C. Minkin 1947-2004
Special T-shirt designed for TM1
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Selection of specimens for photography
TM1 - only those specimens of higher quality or
scientific interest were photographed. This was
relaxed at later track meets for three
reasons 1. Photographing all specimens was more
efficient 2. Keeping weaker or less than perfect
specimens in the database reduces bias 3.
Recognition of significance of the site
Result TM1 175 photographs TM2 500
photographs TM3 400 photographs
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A track meet in progress
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Photography
TMs 1,2,3 - Nikon 6006 35mm camera TM4 - first
all digital photography TM At TMs 2-4, many
closeups of different parts of large trackways
were taken much backyard photography as
well Photographers Ron Buta, Larry Herr, and
Prescott Atkinson
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Full slab showing tracks turning around obstacle
Closeup of section of same trackway showing
manus, pes prints
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The Photographic Trackway Database
- prepared by Buta on 80 Gbyte hard drive - all
Nikon photographs scanned into jpeg format -
images assigned names according to UCM numbers -
Fortran programs used to write out small html
files for all images of a specific UCM numbered
specimen - linked to an internet website to allow
worldwide access to the database
http//bama.ua.edu/rbuta/monograph/
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Union Chapel Monograph
- the large trackway database provided a unique
opportunity for a well-planned publication - the
Union Chapel Monograph was conceived in early
2001 and planned in July 2001 at the Great Track
Layout (GTL) - The book would have four parts
1. Site significance and discovery 2. Geology
and paleontology 3. Impact on amateur and
professional paleontology 4. Photographic
atlases of UCM vertebrate and invertebrate tracks
and traces, as well as fossil plants
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Union Chapel Monograph - July 2005
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Thank You!