Re: Some Observations on Nyctosaurus

["James R. Cunningham" <jrccea@bellsouth.net>]

These things were found very near the center of the gyre and close to
the deepest portion of the seaway.  Expect the bottom current velocity
to be pretty close to zilch, even during a hurricane.  Slingerland
incorporated some estimates of bottom current velocity into one of his
papers -- and if my memory serves they were very slow, zilch being a
good first approximation.  As an aside regarding body transport, I've
noticed while recovering human bodies in the Missisippi River (which
does have substantial velocity a a foot or two above the bottom) that
they typically don't begin to move until about a week has passed if
first submerged during the summer, and four to six months if submerged
during the late fall.  Don't expect this to happen near the center of
the WIS.
Jim

Jaime Headden wrote:
> 
>
>   Which is why I brought up the taphonomy. Transport in a direction, in any 
> current, even 500 m down or so, will still favor
> orientation of long bones. One would assume the smaller, lighter bones would 
> move farther, and be prone to loss more than the
> heavier bones.