The Race Against Time

Nova Scotia owes many of its fossil finds to the fact that it is almost completely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The tireless eroding action of the tides continually reveals new and amazing fossils. This is why, after more than an one hundred years of study, fantastic discoveries are still being made. Unfortunately, the same processes that expose new material also wear and wash it away. In some cases (such as Brule and Joggins) the erosion and destruction happen very quickly.

The Brule fossil site is doubly difficult to detect and work on because it is located in the intertidal zone (the area exposed only at low tide) and therefore covered by water much of the time. In order to even see most of the fossils, the site must be cleaned of the mud and silt that was deposited by the last tide.

The problems created by the tide and erosion are a very big part of the Brule story. New techniques had to be developed to make moulds and casts of the trackways before they were covered by the next tide and eventually worn away. Scientists and volunteers race against time to study and preserve as much of this precious fossil site as possible before it is lost to the ocean.

The Fossils of Brule	Important Sites Home