EES Guest Speaker - Dr. Mike Gottfried

Join us thi Friday, February 2, 2024 at 12:30PM in room 204 NS for Dr. Gottfried's talk:

Title: "Fossil Fish Case Studies: How the 'Deep Time' Record Helps Predict Future Impacts of Climate Change"

Abstract:This talk focuses on the record of fossil fishes and other paleo-evidence from two periods of global warmth – the Early Eocene Climate Optimum [EECO} ca. 49-54 Ma, when temperatures globally were at the highest known for the Cenozoic, and the Pliocene Warm Period ca. 3.4 Ma with relatively warm but not as extreme temperatures. The fossil fish and other fauna from the EECO of the Canadian Arctic record a warm temperate interval, with winters above freezing, when sharks, bowfin, gars and other fishes reached nearly 80 degrees north, along with alligators and lush forests. In the New Zealand Pliocene ca. 3.4 Ma boxfish - typically tropical coral reef fishes - inhabited the then-warm coastal environment alongside Monk seals and a diverse seabird fauna. Both examples illustrate how examining the 'deep time' fossil record can help predict future change – as both the Arctic and New Zealand are impacted by ongoing climate change they will potentially revert back to environmental conditions more like those that existed millions of years ago.