mplementation of Stone Conservation Methods for Petrified Tree

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his project will implement previously tested methods for stabilizing large petrified redwood stumps using established methods of stone conservation. The petrified stumps at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO) are the fundamental resource of the park. Of the approximately 30 stumps five of these are actively deteriorating due to cracking, spalling and the loss of large fragments of petrified wood. Several stumps have many deep multidimensional fractures apparently resulting from the use of dynamite during their original excavation, and subsequent weathering including freeze-thaw cycling. They are exposed to accelerated natural and man-made weathering processes. Currently, vulnerable portions of the stumps are held in place only by steel banding that keeps loose fragments together. Risks to the stumps persist due to the combined action of freeze-thaw (loosening of fragments and spalling), gravity (falling of fragments), biological interactions (fracturing and defacement as a result of factors such as plant growth, burrows, and excrement), and theft (loss of fragments that are within reach of visitors). Possible ground salts activated through moisture, may also be a factor.

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