Modelling the Plants and Ecosystem of the Rhynie Chert
Date
2015-10-02
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Abstract
This thesis presents an attempt to model extinct plants described by fossil data. The well preserved
plants of the Rhynie chert in northeast Scotland were chosen due to the amount
of information available and their scientific significance. These plants are modelled with
L-system techniques developed to model extant plant species.
Fossil specimens of each plant species and the observations of palaeobotanists working
with these fossils were used to reconstruct different stages of development of the Rhynie chert
plants, and model their growth. These represent the first dynamic models of these ancient
plants, since previous models have been static drawings or sculptures.
Ecological information about the Rhynie chert plants is also available. This information
was used to create an ecosystem model that simulates the interactions between the plants and
the environment. The ecosystem model and the individual plant models were then combined
into final images that represent the overall appearance of the ancient Rhynie chert.
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Keywords
Paleobotany, Paleoecology, Computer Science
Citation
Koleszar, M. (2015). Modelling the Plants and Ecosystem of the Rhynie Chert (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26964