Tools for the 21st Century
HOW DO SCIENTISTS STUDY the latest dinosaur discoveries like this new species, named Bambiraptor? To understand creatures that lived millions of years ago, paleontologists rely on technologies only a few decades old. Using a CAT-scanner, researchers at the American Museum of Natural History examined Bambiraptor to learn more about this intriguing dinosaur.
Michael Novacek pinpoints his location using a GPS device
AMNH (scientist in field)
US Air Force/Photo Researchers, Inc. (satellite)
Finding Fossils
Global Positioning System (GPS) devices linked to satellites orbiting Earth help teams in the field navigate to dig sites and keep track of exactly where a particular fossil was uncovered. Here, American Museum of Natural History paleontologist Michael Novacek pinpoints his location using a GPS device. Scientists also use images from other satellites to help identify possible fossil sites.
Scan of Bambiraptor
Justin Sipla and Justin Georgi, SUNY Stony Brook
A Sneak Peek
Researchers can peer inside fossils without breaking or slicing them thanks to advanced imaging technology like digital x-rays and CAT-scans. This digital scan of one of the bones in the skull that forms the bottom of the braincase was created using a CAT-scanner. Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History used images like this one to reconstruct what Bambiraptor's brain looked like.
