It is a ring 850 m in diameter, like an extraterrestrial vessel placed between Vercors and Chartreuse.
The European Synchrotron in Grenoble, the most powerful in the world, made the last great discovery on dinosaurs possible.
South American researchers have scanned there 30 eggs 190 million years old, unearthed several thousand kilometers from the Alps, in Patagonia.
“They were arranged near dead dinosaurs, grouped by age groups. This highly compartmentalized organization would demonstrate that these primitive animals already had social behaviors. But it was necessary to confirm that the eggs belonged to the same species, and only the Synchrotron allowed it, ”explains Vincent Fernández, former scientist at the ESRF
(European Synchrotron Radiation Facility)
in Grenoble and paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London. He referred his Argentinian colleague Diego Pol, who unearthed the eggs, to the Isère, and supervised the X-ray passage of the fossils. A long-term job that spanned four days, 24 hours a day.
“This particle accelerator is exceptional because it has a fairly wide beam and very high energy to scan large objects, such as these eggs,” continues Vincent Fernández.
“There is also real know-how in paleontology in Grenoble, with researchers specializing in this field working at the ESRF.
That's a big advantage and that's why scientists flock to it from all over the world.
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Three embryos were eventually identified as belonging to the herd of Mussaurus exhumed in Patagonia.
“So they gathered their offspring to better protect them.
This sets back 40 million years the previous dating of social behavior in dinosaurs!
"Next research planned at the Synchrotron: scan the" Mary Rose ", the favorite boat of the English King Henry VIII 400 years ago, a youngster on the scale of dinosaurs ...
