Parallel three dimensional finite element analysis of dinosaur trackway formation

Margetts, Lee; Leng, Joanna; Smith, I. M.; Manning, P. L.

doi:10.1201/9781439833766.ch107

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These soil characteristics can be inferred and, in any case, missing data obliges more effort to be spent in calibrating the model. This has been demonstrated in previous studies by Margetts et al (2005Margetts et al ( , 2006, Falkingham et al (2009Falkingham et al ( , 2010Falkingham et al ( , 2011a, and Schanz et al (2013). The present study is different because it focusses on the sedimentological aspects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…The earliest studies on animal tracks were in the noughties: Margetts et al (2005Margetts et al ( , 2006) applied FEA to model dinosaur tracks, comparing the results to tracks held by the Amherst College Museum of Natural History. These authors pointed out that FEA can differentiate between dynamic and static loads, which is important in the case of dinosaur tracks, where not only the weight of the animal is important but also the dynamics of the displacement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Fossil Vertebrate Tracks as Paleopenetrometers: Confounding Effects of Foot Morphology

Falkingham¹,

Margetts²,

Manning³

2010

PALAIOS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil Vertebrate Tracks as Paleopenetrometers: Confounding Effects of Foot Morphology

Falkingham¹,

Margetts²,

Manning³

2010

PALAIOS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Interpretations of fossil tracks are most robust when supported by data from analogue track experiments using extant taxa and indentor mechanics (Allen 1989; Gatesy et al. 1999; Manning 2004, in press; Milàn 2006) or digitally using finite element analysis (Margetts et al. 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three‐dimensional Modelling and Analysis of Dinosaur Trackways

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Light Detection And Range (LiDAR) imaging provides a means to model the 3D geometry of fossil tracks in the field with high accuracy. This represents a considerable advance for the science of vertebrate ichnology in which traditional field methods suffer from a significant degree of abstraction and lack the resolution required to interpret tracks quantitatively. Three-dimensional LiDAR models provide additional morphometric information and allow the application of new analytical tools unique to the digital environment. The method will enable fossil track morphometrics to develop into an iterative process that combines 3D visualization and multivariate statistical methods, blending qualitative and quantitative approaches and allowing track morphologies to be compared holistically. Modelling of trackways from Fumanya (south-east Pyrenees) using LiDAR has enabled variation in linear track dimensions to be explained by the varied contribution of different modes of shear with increasing depth below the foot ⁄ sediment interface. Features in the relief of pes traces indicate that subsurface zones within their track volumes are defined by the interaction of puncture and local shear, below a surface zone of liquefaction failure now lost to erosion. This model of mechanical failure enables a preliminary review of the pedal kinematics of titanosaurid sauropod dinosaurs and suggests multiphase loading of the sediment by the titanosaurid pes. However, from inspection of these 3D surfaces alone it is not possible to differentiate between the possibility of one or two discrete phases of pedal motion preceding the toe-off event at the maximum height of the support phase. By integrating LiDAR models with analogue modelling within a 3D digital environment it will be possible to clarify such interpretations of fossil tracks and the locomotor mechanics of extinct animals.

show abstract

“…The following experiments used parallel finite-element analysis (FEA) software developed by authors Margetts and Falkingham, using the freely available ParaFEM libraries (www.parafem.org.uk) to model track formation [11,[27][28][29]. A number of dinosaur tracks were simulated over a range of substrates in order to explore bias in their formation resulting from substrate-or taxon-specific factors.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘Goldilocks’ effect: preservation bias in vertebrate track assemblages

Falkingham

Bates

Margetts

et al. 2011

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Finite-element analysis was used to investigate the extent of bias in the ichnological fossil record attributable to body mass. Virtual tracks were simulated for four dinosaur taxa of different sizes (Struthiomimus, Tyrannosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Edmontosaurus), in a range of substrate conditions. Outlines of autopodia were generated based upon osteology and published soft-tissue reconstructions. Loads were applied vertically to the feet equivalent to the weight of the animal, and distributed accordingly to fore-and hindlimbs where relevant. Ideal, semi-infinite elastic-plastic substrates displayed a 'Goldilocks' quality where only a narrow range of loads could produce tracks, given that small animals failed to indent the substrate, and larger animals would be unable to traverse the area without becoming mired. If a firm subsurface layer is assumed, a more complete assemblage is possible, though there is a strong bias towards larger, heavier animals. The depths of fossil tracks within an assemblage may indicate thicknesses of mechanically distinct substrate layers at the time of track formation, even when the lithified strata appear compositionally homogeneous. This work increases the effectiveness of using vertebrate tracks as palaeoenvironmental indicators in terms of inferring substrate conditions at the time of track formation. Additionally, simulated undertracks are examined, and it is shown that complex deformation beneath the foot may not be indicative of limb kinematics as has been previously interpreted, but instead ridges and undulations at the base of a track may be a function of sediment displacement vectors and pedal morphology.

show abstract

Parallel three dimensional finite element analysis of dinosaur trackway formation

Cited by 8 publications

References 3 publications

Fossil Vertebrate Tracks as Paleopenetrometers: Confounding Effects of Foot Morphology

Fossil Vertebrate Tracks as Paleopenetrometers: Confounding Effects of Foot Morphology

Three‐dimensional Modelling and Analysis of Dinosaur Trackways

The ‘Goldilocks’ effect: preservation bias in vertebrate track assemblages

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About