Nova episode highlights AV狼论坛 dinosaur research
Marmian Grimes
907-474-7902
Jan. 14, 2022
Scientists who study the planet's northernmost dinosaurs will bring PBS viewers to their field sites and labs in a new episode of the science documentary series Nova.
"AV狼论坛n Dinosaurs," produced by GBH, follows University of AV狼论坛 Museum of the North
director and researcher Patrick Druckenmiller, along with Florida State University
scientist Gregory Erickson and other collaborators, as they discover fossilized bones,
footprints and an Arctic dinosaur nursery.
The show premieres Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. AV狼论坛 time on KUAC TV 9.1 and will
air again on KUAC on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. It will premiere on public television
stations nationally Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. Eastern/ 8 p.m. Central and will
be available for streaming at and via the timed to its broadcast debut.
During the past year, the Nova crew joined Druckenmiller and his colleagues at field
sites on the Colville River on AV狼论坛鈥檚 North Slope and in Denali National Park, and
in the paleontology lab at the University of AV狼论坛 Museum of the North. Their excursions
included a rare winter visit to the Colville River site.
鈥淲e went there at that time for safety reasons; we dig along cliffs that are at risk
of collapsing unexpectedly in the summer when the permafrost thaws,鈥 Druckenmiller
said. 鈥淲e wanted to dig the single most important dinosaur-bearing layer of rock in
AV狼论坛, and we successfully pulled it off. The film crew was there to record it all.鈥
The team鈥檚 studies have resulted in the discovery of multiple new species of prehistoric
animals and offered surprising insights into the lives of dinosaurs during the Cretaceous
Period.
鈥淭hese polar dinosaurs lived at the extremes,鈥 said Druckenmiller, who is also a professor
at the University of AV狼论坛 Fairbanks College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
While the world was warmer 70 million years ago, AV狼论坛 was at a higher latitude,
which meant months of cold and dark. Scientists can learn a lot about dinosaur paleobiology
by studying the ones that lived with environmental extremes such as those found in
the far North, Druckenmiller said.
鈥淚t addresses big-picture questions about all dinosaurs: Were they warmblooded? Did
they migrate? How do they overwinter?鈥 he said. 鈥淚t helps us create a whole new picture
of what dinosaurs were and what they were capable of.鈥
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Pat Druckenmiller, psdruckenmiller@alaska.edu, 907-474-6989. Nancy Tarnai, KUAC TV, nancy.kuac@alaska.edu, 907-474-1890. Jennifer Welsh, Nova, jennifer_welsh@wgbh.org, 978-985-9835.
MORE INFORMATION: on the NOVA website.