EES Guest Speaker - Dr. Dylan Wilmeth
This week’s seminar speaker is Dr. Dylan Wilmeth. Please join us Friday, January 30th, 2026 at 12:30 pm in room 304 NatSci.
Talk title: The Upper Peninsula 2.2 Billion Years Ago: Salty Seas, Giant Fossils, and Carbon Swings
Halfway through Earth’s history, the world 2.2 billion years ago was going through extreme changes. Notable events included rising oxygen, and mysterious shifts in Earth’s carbon cycle, which links life with rocks, water, and air. The carbon cycle’s balance was completely upended 2.2 billion years ago, in ways never seen before or since. This carbon mystery hasn’t been fully solved in over 50 years. To solve it, we must look closer at the few rocks left from this era. Dr. Wilmeth studies two locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Marquette and Iron Mountain. These are perfect spots to study: they’re abundant, carbon-rich, fossil-rich, and are very understudied. Despite their closeness, Marquette and Iron Mountain were very different 2.2 billion years ago: different fossils, different habitats, different chemistry. One was a harsh salt flat, while the other a pleasant shallow sea. Which was which? Drop on by to find out. Come learn about the Earth’s middle ages, ancient life, and how Michigan might hold the key to one of geology’s biggest mysteries.
