Global change and life evolution

Evidence from the geological record

• ©S.B. Kroonenberg

Climate change impacts on water supplies, wildlife, the environment, and human society. Understanding climate trends, relies heavily upon the preserved geological record of many rock types. By studying this record, Earth scientists are understanding in increasing detail how the climate works, how it has behaved in the past and how it may behave in future.

Changes in the Earth's climate and of life on Earth are preserved in the rock record. Ice and dust records, terrestrial and ocean sediments, and sequences of fossil plant and animal assemblages all provide parts of this record. Life has impacted Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and surface. Several major extinctions have punctuated life's history, which involved dramatic environmental change. Important lessons can be learned about present-day environmental challenges and the ways to mitigate and manage environmental damage.

Related IGCP Projects:

459 Terrestrial Carbon Cycle, 2001-2005 (OET in 2006) (website)
J.-L. Probst (France), L. François (Belgium), P.J. Depetris (Argentina), J. Mortatti (Brazil)

464 Continental Shelves During the Last Glacial Cycle, 2001-2005 (OET in 2006)
F.L. Chiocci (Italy), A.R. Chivas (Australia)

469 Late Variscan terrestrial Biotas and Palaeoenvironments, 2003-2007 (website)
C. J. Cleal (United Kingdom), B.A. Thomas (United Kingdom), S. Opluštil (Czech Republic), Y. Tenchov (Bulgaria), E. Zodrow (Canada)

475 Deltas in the Monsoon Asia-Pacific Region (DeltaMAP), 2003-2007
S. Goodbred, Jr. (United States), Y. Saito (Japan) 

476 Monsoon Evolution and Tectonic-Climate Linkage in Asia, 2003-2007
R. Tada (Japan), Hongbo Zheng (China), Boo-Keun Khim (Korea), P. Clift (United Kingdom), S. A. Gorbarenko (Russia), B.N. Nath (India)

481 Dating Caspian Sea Level Change, 2003-2007
S.B. Kroonenberg (Netherlands), S. Leroy (United Kingdom) 

490 Environmental Catastrophes, 2003-2007 (website)
S. Leroy (United Kingdom), I. Stewart (United Kingdom)

491 Middle Palaeozoic Vertebrate Biogeography, Palaeogeography and Climate, 2003-2007 (website)
M. Zhu (P.R. China), G. Young (Australia)

493 The Rise and Fall of the Vendian Biota, 2003-2007  (website)
P. Vickers-Rich (Australia), M. Fedonkin (Russia), J. Gehling (Australia)

495 Quaternary Land-Ocean Interactions, 2004-2008
A. Long (United Kingdom), S. Islam (Bangladesh)

499 Devonian land-sea interaction: Evolution of Ecosystems and Climate in the Devonian, 2004-2008 (website)
P. Königshof (Germany), J. Lazauskiene (Lithuania), E. Schindler (Germany), Volker Wilde (Germany) and N. Yalçin (Turkey) 

500 Dryland Change: Past, Present, Future, 2004-2008
D.Thomas (United Kingdom)

503 Ordovician Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate, 2004-2008 (website)
T. Servais (France), D.A.T. Harper (Denmark), J. Li (China), A. Munnecke (Germany), W. Owen (United Kingdom), P.M. Sheehan (United States) 

507 Paleoclimates of the Cretaceous in Asia, 2006-2010
Yong Il Lee (Korea), Xiaoqiao Wan (China), Takashi Sakai (Japan), and Krishnan Ayyasami (India)

509 Palaeoproterozoic Supercontinents and Global Evolution, 2005-2009
S.M. Reddy (Australia), R. Mazumder (India), D.A.D. Evans (United States)

512 Neoproterozoic Ice Ages, 2005-2009 (website)
Graham Shields (Australia), Emmanuelle Arnaud (Canada)

515 Coastal Vulnerability related to Sea Level Change, 2005-2009
U. Simeoni (Italy), Maria Snoussi (Morocco), Zdravko Belberov (Bulgaria), François Sabatier (France)

521 Black sea Mediterranean Corridor during the last 30 ky: Sea level change and human adaptation, 2005-2009
Valentina Yanko-Hombach (Canada), Yucel Yilmaz (Turkey), Pavel Dolukhanov (United Kingdom)