Jon J. Smith

I am a sedimentary geologist and geologic mapper specializing in the stratigraphic framework, paleontology, and geochronology of Cenozoic deposits of the Great Plains to interpret depositional histories, paleoenvironments, and geologic resources. My research has focused mainly on the depositional environments and chronostratigraphy of the Ogallala Formation in western Kansas and Nebraska.  My principal expertise is in ichnology; the identification and interpretation of trace fossils in terrestrial and marine deposits.  Trace fossils (i.e. footprints, burrows, nests, borings) preserve the interaction between an organism and a substratum (i.e. sediment, soil, wood, rock, bone) that records the organism’s behavior.  Trace fossils represent hidden biodiversity in the absence of body fossils and are often indicators of soil development, paleohydrologic regime, in-situ paleoecology, and paleoclimatic setting.  This research integrates modern behavioral and ecological studies to strengthen paleoenvironmental and paleoecological interpretations of trace fossils in deep geologic time.