About the Algarve Dino dawn Flag Expedition

Before packing up, teams:

• Re-map the excavation area in high detail (GPS, photogrammetry, sometimes drones)
   
• Take detailed notes and photographs of each fossil’s in-situ position
   
• Collect soil and sediment samples from around the fossils (for environmental reconstruction)
   
• Flag any additional leads for future digs
   

This step is crucial — once the site is backfilled or eroded, that context is lost forever.

Fossils, especially in soft sediment or fractured rock, are fragile as hell. Before moving, each specimen is:

• Wrapped in protective tissue
   
• Coated in a consolidant (like Butvar or Paraloid) to harden and preserve cracks
   
• Jacketed in plaster and gauze jackets, forming a protective shell around the specimen and surrounding matrix
   
• For large or awkward shapes: fitted with custom braces, crates, or foam supports
   

Think of it like bubble-wrapping ancient bones — except with science-grade armor.

Each specimen gets:

• A unique field number
   
• A description card with excavation notes, depth, GPS location, geological data, and preliminary ID
   
• Sometimes QR codes or RFID tags for digital tracking
   

This ensures that once it hits the lab, nothing gets mislabeled or decontextualized. You do not want to lose a 232-million-year-old femur to a paperwork mix-up.

Next, it’s time to plan safe transit — not just across terrain, but often across countries.

• Specimens are packed in padded crates with climate buffers to prevent cracking
   
• Detailed customs paperwork is filed (many countries have strict fossil export laws)
   
• Shipments are often routed to staging labs before going to final destinations (e.g. museum collections, academic institutions, isotope or CT labs)
   

Depending on the material’s fragility, some fossils travel with team members on flights to avoid delays or damage.

When fossils hit the lab, the real magic starts:

• Jackets are gently removed
   
• Fossils are prepped, scanned, and stabilized further
   
• Samples go off to isotope labs, microfossil labs, or histology departments
   
• And then, the publishing race begins: naming species, presenting findings, rewriting textbooks
   

Back at basecamp, teams:

• Debrief and document findings
   
• Review stratigraphy and site logs
   
• Coordinate media and press releases if big discoveries were made
   
• Start prepping for funding the next field season
   

Some team members begin museum exhibit planning before the fossils are even cleaned.

Your donation helps cover:

• plaster and gauze jackets and archival materials
   
• Climate-safe shipping crates and customs handling
   
• Lab fees for scanning, prepping, and conserving fossils
   

Sponsor a Fossil:
We will send updates on where it’s going, what’s being found, and how it contributes to the science of the Carnian Pluvial Episode.

Be a Part of something huge.