Our 14 -person team will crisscross northern Niger and explore dinosaur beds ranging in age from 135 million to 90 million years old. Our first stop will be in 110 million year old sediments where we will pursue more complete remains of Nigersaurus, a bizarre long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur we discovered during the 1997 expedition to Niger.

Our itinerary includes a visit to the area where, in 1997, our team excavated skeletons of the long-necked Jobaria, an ancient lineage that survived and flourished only in Africa.

One of our last stops will be in the 90-million-year-old beds of remote northern Niger that correspond to the layer where, in 1995, We uncovered Deltadromeus, a new 30-foot long predator, and the first skull of theTyrannosaurus-sized meat-eater, Carcharodontosaurus

Schedule
2000 Expedition to Niger
August 13 to December 5 (116 days)

Arrival and Set-Up (12 days)

• Aug 13 Advance team leaves Chicago
  (Advance team: Sereno, Lyon, Duneman, Larsson, Sidor, Wilson, Moussa)
• Aug 14 Advance team arrives in Niamey
  
• Aug 15-21 Get permissions, set-up Suchomimus, store fossils, arrange truck
• Aug 21 Support crew travels Chicago-->Niamey (arrive 3 pm)
• Aug 22 Entire crew travels to Agadez (depart 5 am)
• Aug 23-24 Arrange base in Agadez, plan for Camp I
• Aug 26 Niamey -> Touha
• Aug 27 Touha -> Agadez

• Aug 30 Agadez -> Camp 1

Field Work (91 days)

Camp I--Aug 25 to Sept 14 (20 days)
Camp I-- August 30 - Oct. 9 (32 Field Days)
(September 22-28 Flamme de la Paix and Cure Salee)
Camp 1--Aug 30 - Sep 22(110 million years ago), Gadafaoua

• Aug 25 Travel to Camp I, drop water
• Aug 26 Set-up Camp
• Aug 27 Begin work in Camp I
• Aug 29 Support crew goes to Gaya to pursue information about stranded truck. Find out it ran out of fuel and a fuel shortage kept it stranded.
• Aug 30 Return from Gaya to Niamey
• Aug 31 One truck arrives in Niamey
• Sep 1 Second truck arrives in Niamey in the evening. National Geographic film crew arrives in Gadafawa camp to begin filming.
• Sep 2 Clear customs and unload fossils at Musee National and repack expedition supplies onto large flatbed for trip to base in Agadez.
• Sep 3 Depart Niamey for Agadez. Blue J Land Rover breaks down in Dosso and is towed to  Birnin Koni. Spend the night in BK
• Sep 4  Depart Birnin Koni and arrive Agadez in the evening. Blue J is pulled the entire way.
• Sep 5 Unpack flatbed, including crates containing Suchomimus skeleton. Repack selection of supplies  - including plaster, wood, cots, tools and food - onto the big water truck.
• Sep 6 Depart Agadez for Gadafawa with water truck. Water truck breaks down. Support crew carries 150 gallons of water on top of the White turbo diesel land Rover in collapsible water balloon.
• Sep  Two trucks drive back to big truck to retrieve more water and supplies.
• Sep 8 National Geographic film crew departs field. Water truck still broken down.
• Sep 9 Water truck arrives at camp late at night
• Sep 11  Water is unloaded but it is dirty with rust from the inside of the container and needs to be filtered. Water truck agrees to return with new, clean water from Agadez.
• Sep 11 NGS and visitors leave for Niamey, team to Agadez
• Sep 13 Break-down camp
• Sep 14 All travel to Agadez
• Cure Salée
• Sep 14-18 Travel to In Gall for Cure Salée
• Sep 23- Sep 28 Flamme de la Paix/Cure Salee
• Sep 29 - Oct 9 Camp 1 (110 million years ago), Gadafaoua

Camp II--Sept 19 to Oct 11 (23 days)
Camp II-- October 10 - October 15 (4 Field Days)
Camp II--(110 million years ago) Oct 10- Oct 15
North Gadafaoua

• Sep 19 Travel to and set-up Camp II
• Sep 20 Begin work in North Camp I
• Oct 11 Break-down camp, travel to Agadez
• Oct 12 Day off, arrange details for trip to Camp III

Camp III--Oct 13 to Nov 8 (27 days)
Camp III--October 18 - November 2 (21 Field Days)
Camp III (135 million years ago), Oct 18 - Oct 29
Marandet
Nov 2 - Nov 5 Permian Interlude
(250 million years ago), Arlit

• Oct 13 Travel to Mar, set-up Camp III
• Oct 14 Begin work at Camp III site
• Nov 8 Break-down camp, travel to Agadez
• Nov 9 Day off, arrange details for trip to In Abangharit

In Camp IV--Nov 10 to Nov 24 (15 days)
Nov 8 - Nov 22 Camp 4
(90 million years ago), InAbangharit

• Nov 10 Travel to In Camp IV, set-up Camp IV
• Nov 11 Begin prospecting
• Nov 18-19 Beck & Sidor travel to Agadez and then to Niamey
• Nov 24 Break-down camp, travel to Agadez
• Nov 22 InAbangharit -> Agadez
• Nov 23-24 Agadez
• Nov 25 Agadez -> Abalak
• Nov 26 Abalak -> Niamey

Departure (13 days)

• Nov 25 Arrange supplies in Agadez
• Nov 26 Travel to Niamey
• Nov 27-Dec 4 Set-up Jobaria skeleton, arrange exit of material
• Nov 28 Blackburn, Conrad, Larsson, Lyman, Sadleir fly out
• Dec 4 Arrange final details in Niamey
• Dec 5 Sereno, Duneman, Dutheil, Lyon, Moussa, Wilson fly out
• Nov 27 Support Team + Wilson depart
• Dec 1 Erect Jobaria
• Dec 2-3 Jobaria Celebration at National Museum
• Dec 4 Outgoing crew (Sereno, Dutheil, Lyon, Duneman) departs