Deterioration Diagnosis and Evaluation of Physical Properties in the Dinosaur Footprint Fossils in Cheongsong Sinseongri, Korea, for the Conservation Plans

The Sinseongri site contains at least eleven theropod trackways, three sauropod trackways, and one or more ornithopod walkways of dinosaur footprints. The host rock at the site is primarily siltstone and mudstone, but thermal alterations have metamorphosed it into hornfels. Except for micro cracks and exfoliations, joint systems in various directions appeared on the surface of the fossils site and showed a low share of all damage factors. The host rocks in the fossils site demonstrated relatively high physical properties as a result of ultrasonic velocity and were classified as stable. More than half of the fossils required reinforcement to control the progression of cracks if the type of conservation treatment was subdivided according to the damage type of dinosaur footprint fossils. The white paint used to visualize the footprints seems to deteriorate, allowing rock debris to spill out and causing damage to the fossil site, and alternative visualization schemes should be considered.

Automated summary

The Sinseongri site contains various dinosaur footprints, primarily in siltstone and mudstone which have been metamorphosed into hornfels due to thermal alterations. The host rocks exhibit high physical properties, but reinforcement is still needed in conserving the dinosaur footprint fossils to control cracks.