Edelman Fossil Park

The bedrock of Gloucester County, where Edelman Fossil Park is located, is composed of alternating layers of sand, silt, and clay due to fluctuating sea levels since the Cretaceous.  These sedimentary sequences are known as facies.{{Cite web|title=NJ Coastal Plain Sequences - Rutgers School of Arts & Sciences|url=https://eps.rutgers.edu/centers-institutes/rutgers-core-repository/nj-coastal-plain/coastal-plain-sequences}} Sedimentary rocks of this area have been dated from between the Lower Cretaceous to the Miocene (145 to 5.3 mya).{{Cite web|title=NJDEP - NJGWS - Bedrock Geology of New Jersey|url=https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/freedwn/psnjmap.pdf}} The entire area of Southern New Jersey is known as the coastal plain. It was submerged under a shallow sea until the late Pliocene when the ocean receded as the Greenland ice sheet formed 3 million years ago.{{Cite web|title=Pliocene Epoch|date=5 May 2014|url=https://www.geologypage.com/2014/05/pliocene-epoch.html}} The Coastal Plain begins on a southeast diagonal between Carteret and Trenton with sediments overlapping the rockier Piedmont Formation to the northwest.

File:Vivianite Sample.jpg

The specific layer in which the fossils are located is known as marl, a dark to light green, manganese-rich, clay that forms when algae, aquatic plants, and aquatic animals decay over a long period in hard-water streams rich in calcium carbonate.{{Cite web|title=Marl|date=19 March 2013|url=https://uwaterloo.ca/wat-on-earth/news/marl}} This layer is typically located in swamps, resulting in a covering of a dark organic-rich layer of peat. Because of marl's formation as the result of decaying plants and algae in soft sediment, it is a great harborer of fossils including numerous invertebrates as well as larger land-dwelling animals whose bodies were swept downstream and laid here to rest.

Within marl sediments is the mineral vivianite (Fe²⁺₃(PO₄)₂ · 8H₂O) that forms as a result of reduction-oxidation reactions.{{Cite journal|title=The occurrence, identification, and environmental relevance of vivianite in waterlogged soils and aquatic sediments|year = 2016|doi = 10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.04.008|last1 = Rothe|first1 = Matthias|last2 = Kleeberg|first2 = Andreas|last3 = Hupfer|first3 = Michael|journal = Earth-Science Reviews|volume = 158|pages = 51–64|bibcode = 2016ESRv..158...51R|doi-access = free}} This deep blue to bluish-green crystal begins to oxidize in the presence of oxygen, converting Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ until the blue color becomes almost black and opaque.{{Cite web|title=Vivianite Geology|url=https://www.mindat.org/min-4194.html}} Because of this inevitable darkening, there is no such thing as stable vivianite. Embedded into these layers are also schist dropstones, indicative of the ancient glaciations that occurred in this area during glacial periods.{{Cite web|title=Dropstone mineralogy|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/dropstone}}

“This is something that I personally and lots of other paleontologists have been looking for all around the world,” said the museum's executive director Dr. Kenneth Lacovara, adding that he had sought such a layer in southern Patagonia, the foothills of the Himalayas and elsewhere. And I found it behind the Lowe’s in New Jersey,” he said.

• 66 mya: Chicxulub asteroid crashes into earth off the coast of what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, completely killing all dinosaurs (except those that evolved into modern birds), and three-quarters of all life on earth{{Cite book|last=Charles.|first=Frankel|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/40298401|title=The end of the dinosaurs : Chicxulub crater and mass extinctions|date=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-47447-7|oclc=40298401}}
• 1858: Just a few miles away from the Fossil Park in Haddonfield, NJ, the first complete dinosaur skeleton (a Hadrosaurus) to ever be mounted and exhibited is discovered{{Cite web|title=The Fossil Find that Showed Dinosaurs Were Real|url=http://hadrosaurus.com/1858.shtml}}
• 1866: Edward D. Cope discovers the tyrannosauroid, Dryptosaurus,{{Cite journal|last=Lambe|first=L M|date=1904|title=On Dryptosaurus incrassatus (Cope), from the Edmonton Series of the North West Territory|journal=Geological Survey of Canada, Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology|doi=10.4095/106573|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4095/106573|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}} one mile away from the Fossil Park site in Ceres Park
• 1920s: Operational quarry – The Inversand Company begins dredging the quarry for manganese greensand, sold as an organic fertilizer and water treatment product{{Cite web|title=5 things everyone should know about Mantua's Inversand fossil site|date=22 December 2014|url=https://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/2014/12/5_things_everyone_should_know_about_mantuas_inversand_fossil_site.html}}
• 1930s: Inversand workers uncover fossils in the quarry, and researchers are invited in to investigate alongside quarry workers
• 2008: Mantua Twp names forested land behind Lowe's on Woodbury-Glassboro Rd. part of a redevelopment zone{{Cite web|title=Mantua sells 40 acres next to Rowan U Fossil Park|url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/05/10/mantua-nj-sells-40-acres-next-rowan-university-edelman-fossil-park/1128920001/}}
• 2012: Citizen Science – Dr. Kenneth Lacovara partners with Michelle Bruner (Mantua Township) to start "Community Dig Days", bringing almost 2,000 visitors per event to dig at the Fossil Park{{Cite web|title=Rowan alumni Jean and Ric Edelman commit $25 million for University Fossil Park|url=https://sjtechpark.org/rowan-alumni-jean-and-ric-edelman-commit-25-million-for-universitys-fossil-park/}}
• 2014: While at Drexel University, Dr. Lacovara describes the titanosaurian sauropod, Dreadnoughtus, which was unearthed in Argentina{{Cite journal|last1=Voegele|first1=Kristyn|last2=Lamanna|first2=Matt|last3=Lacovara|first3=Kenneth|date=2017

|title=Osteology of the dorsal vertebrae of the giant titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Dreadnoughtus schrani from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina

|journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica|volume=62|doi=10.4202/app.00391.2017|issn=0567-7920|doi-access=free}}

• 2014: Dr. Kenneth Lacovara meets with Rowan University president, Dr. Ali A. Houshmand about purchasing the Inversand quarry - he agrees with the premise that Dr. Lacovara would serve as the Fossil Park's Executive Director and Founding Dean of the newly created School of Earth & Environment at Rowan University{{Cite news|title=Behind a Shopping Center in New Jersey Signs of a Mass Extinction|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 January 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/science/behind-a-shopping-center-in-new-jersey-signs-of-a-mass-extinction.html|last1=Chang|first1=Kenneth}}
• 2015: Inversand ceases operations at the quarry due to the high cost of pumping water out of the quarry{{Cite news|title=Behind a Shopping Center in New Jersey, Signs of a Mass Extinction|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 January 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/science/behind-a-shopping-center-in-new-jersey-signs-of-a-mass-extinction.html|last1=Chang|first1=Kenneth}}
• 2015: Inversand site purchased by Rowan University from the Inversand Company for $1.95 million{{Cite web|title=Rowan alumni Jean and Ric Edelman commit $25 million for University's Fossil Park|url=https://sjtechpark.org/rowan-alumni-jean-and-ric-edelman-commit-25-million-for-universitys-fossil-park/}}
• 2015: Rowan University forms School of Earth & Environment, hiring Founding Dean Dr. Kenneth Lacovara{{Cite web|title=Rowan University - School of Earth & Environment|url=https://earth.rowan.edu/about.html}}
• 2016: Jean and Ric Edelman pledge $25 million toward the preservation and expansion of the Fossil Park, with plans to build a museum and science education facility{{Cite web|title=Rowan alumni Jean and Ric Edelman commit $25 million for University's Fossil Park|url=https://sjtechpark.org/rowan-alumni-jean-and-ric-edelman-commit-25-million-for-universitys-fossil-park/}}
• 2017: Jean and Ric Edelman deemed conditional redevelopers of the land parcel owned by Mantua Twp{{Cite web|title=Mantua sells 40 acres next to Rowan U Fossil Park|url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/05/10/mantua-nj-sells-40-acres-next-rowan-university-edelman-fossil-park/1128920001/}}
• 2019: Edelman Financial Services purchase a 40-acre wooded plot adjacent to fossil park from Mantua Township for $655,000{{Cite web|title=Mantua sells 40 acres next to Rowan U Fossil Park|url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/05/10/mantua-nj-sells-40-acres-next-rowan-university-edelman-fossil-park/1128920001/}}
• 2021: Groundbreaking of the $73 million Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University{{Cite web|title=Rowan breaks ground on $73 million Fossil Park museum|url=https://today.rowan.edu/news/2021/10/rowan-breaks-ground-on-73-million-fossil-park-museum.html}}
• 2025: Opening of Edelman Fossil Park & Museum

File:Taphrosphys sulcatus Carapace Fossil.jpg

File:Cretolamna Fossil.jpg

File:Shark Vertebrate Fossil.jpg

File:Dr. Kenneth Lacovara holding a Mosasaur vertebrae.jpg

The following are some of the fossils that have been found on site at the Edelman Fossil Park, most of which are extinct species. An asterisk (*) indicates an extant, or living, species.

• Taphrosphys sulcatus
• Catapleura repanda
• Euclastes wielandi
• Bothremys sp.

• Odontaspis cuspidata (Sand Tiger Shark)
• Palaeocarcharodon orientalis (Pygmy White Shark)
• Squalicorax pristodontus (Crow Shark)
• Otodus obliquus (early Mackerel Shark)
• Cretalamna appendiculata (early Mackerel Shark)
• Squatina squatina (Angelshark)*
• Notidanodon (early Cow Shark)
• Edaphodon (Ratfish)*
• Ischyodus thurmanni (Chimaera)
• sp. (Stingray)
• Myliobatis leidyi (Eagle Ray)*
• Rhombodus levis (ray)

• Acipenser albertensis (Sturgeon)
• Enchodus ferox (Saber Toothed Herring)

File:Mosasaur Jaw Fossil.jpg

File:Turitella Fossil.jpg

• Thoracosaurus neocesariensis (Crocodylomorph)
• Borealosuchus threeensis (Boreal Crocodile)
• Hyposaurus rogersii (Hyposaurus Crocodylomorph)
• Bottosaurus (Alligatoroid)

• Mosasaurus sp.

• Sphenodiscus (Ammonite)
• Pachydiscus (Ammonite)
• Peridonella dichotoma (sponge)
• Cliona cretacea (sponge)
• Flabellum mortoni (coral)
• Oleneothyris harlani (brachiopod)
• Caryatis veta (brachiopod)
• Liopistha protexta (brachiopod)
• Gryphaeostrea vomer
• Nuculana stephensoni (clam)
• Cuculleae vulgaris (False Ark Shell)*
• Agerostrea nasuta (oyster)
• Pycnodonte dissimilaris (oyster)*
• Eutrephoceras dekayi (nautilus)
• Baculites (Walking Stick Rock)
• Gyrodes abyssinus (Gyrodes - snail)
• Pyropsis trochiformis (snail)
• Turbinopsis curta (snail)
• Turritella vertebroides (Turritella - sea snail)

Key stakeholders at the Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park at Rowan University broke ground on a $73 million new endeavor on October 9, 2021 – The Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park & Museum.{{Cite web|title=South Jersey will be transformed: Fossil museum coming to Gloucester County in 2023|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/south-jersey-fossil-museum-rowan-university-edelman-20211009.html}} It opened in March 2025 and anticipates 200,000 visitors per year. Visitors to the museum will be transported to the moments surrounding earth's fifth mass extinction: the moments that led to a mass die-off when non-avian dinosaurs and 75% of all other species went extinct.

File:Edelman Fossil Park Museum view from Dig Site and Hiking Trail Overlook.jpg

Guests will be immersed into the world of the Late Cretaceous as it looked in coastal New Jersey alongside both land-dwelling and aquatic creatures fighting for survival. The 44,000 square foot museum will feature interactives and hands-on learning stations, exploration zones, and a paleo-themed playground that are perfect for families. Elsewhere, the Hall of Extinction & Hope will help visitors understand what led to the dinosaurs' demise as well as what we can learn and do about our current climate and biodiversity crises. To provide guests with an even more hands-on learning experience, a Fossil Research Workshop, virtual reality chamber, and of course the fossil dig experience will be available. The Café will feature sustainable food options, and the museum's gift shop will offer items from local artisans.{{Cite web|title=Ennead - Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park and Museum of Rowan University|url=https://www.ennead.com/work/rowan}}

The Edelman Fossil Park Museum will be New Jersey's largest public net-zero facility, with 100% of its energy coming from a combination of green energy available in New Jersey's power grid and renewable energy produced on-site. The museum will feature geothermal water-source heat pump heating and cooling systems, a photovoltaic solar field, and the repurposing of on-site materials for interior construction and design. No fossil fuels will be combusted for museum operations and no greenhouse gasses will be released into the atmosphere. The surrounding grounds will utilize native plantings, and plant and animal habitats and other key landscape features will be restored as part of the design footprint.{{Cite web|title=Rowan breaks ground on $73 million Fossil Park Museum|url=https://today.rowan.edu/news/2021/10/rowan-breaks-ground-on-73-million-fossil-park-museum.html}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.efm.org/}}

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Category:Fossil parks in the United States

Category:Mantua Township, New Jersey

Category:Parks in Gloucester County, New Jersey

Category:Rowan University

Category:Geology of New Jersey

Category:Paleontology in New Jersey