Mud and more mud

[MariusRomanus@aol.com]

I've been wondering about something concerning the Jurassic Morrison 
Formation's once present flood plain. Even though by the Late Jurassic, there 
was no longer a monsoonal circulation dominating the Northern Hemisphere on 
account of the rifting apart of Pangea, the Morrison Formation still exibited 
seasonal rains on account of mountains on the western coast of the continent. 
So, it had a wet and dry season. Now, what I've been wondering about concerns 
ground cover and erosion. Have any of you ever wondered what was the flora in 
place that was keeping all of the soils from being completely washed away 
during the rainy season? Were ferns it? By the time the dry season was over, I 
doubt if there were many viable ferns around to begin with. River banks and 
such might have faired ok with riverine conifers and the like, but it's the 
flood plains that perplex me. I don't know how wacked-out this idea sounds, 
but, the lack of good rooted ground cover might very well have been the r!
 ea!
son why there were enough sediments being transported around once the rains 
came, facilitating the burial of the remains of giganitc sauropods and the 
like. Mud and more mud. I'd ask if there have been any studies on the river 
systems in Africa concerning their sediment transport, as in how this 
correlates to mass drownings and the subsiquent burial of migrating herds, but, 
given all the grass and such... It's not even remotely comparible to a Jurassic 
environmental scenario. Maybe the Nile Valley would be a good specific target 
to look at. The washing away of soils brings up another question concerning the 
productivity of the region. Again, maybe the Nile Valley is a good thing to 
compare this too, but, as far as I know, there wasn't a huge, dominating river 
system in place in the Morrison. Instead, I take it that the area was crossed 
by numerous smaller rivers that migrated this way and that, probably every 
single season. One big flood plain. But, if we are talking just fe!
 rn!
s and the like, I guess nutrient soil, or the lack thereo!
f, wouldn
't be all that much of a big deal.

Anyone ever think about this stuff?

Kris