Spotlight on Smithsonian Science, 3 March 2006
In this edition of Spotlight we study the past from fossils, here on Earth, and ancient geologic features on Mars. Douglas Erwin, from the Museum of Natural History provides a synthesis of the latest scholarship on the 250 million year old Permian extinction; the largest of all extinction events whi...
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| Format: | Audio |
| Language: | English |
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Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Under Secretary for Science.
2006
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10088/207 http://www.smithsonian.org/research/spotlight/04_05.html |
| Summary: | In this edition of Spotlight we study the past from fossils, here on Earth, and ancient geologic features on Mars. Douglas Erwin, from the Museum of Natural History provides a synthesis of the latest scholarship on the 250 million year old Permian extinction; the largest of all extinction events which snuffed out 95% of all species. Erwin discusses the imprint of this event on the fossil record at sites around the world. Scott Wing, also from Natural History, provides insight on the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, a mere stone's throw into past at 55 million year ago. This global warming event drastically altered the home range of plants while lowering sea level, and thus opening the Arctic land bridge to a parade of large mammal species which then entered the Americas. And finally, we travel via remote satellite imaging, to Mars, where the record of a recurrent Earthlike environment is written on the geological face of the planet. Smithsonian scientists Ross Irwin and Bob Craddock infer sudden changes in the Red planet's past from images transmitted back to Earth by the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters. From the Earth to Mars, whether via the printed page or podcast, we once again travel far and wide to bring you the latest in Smithsonian science. Podcast dated March 4, 2006, Web site dated March 3, 2006, PDF also includes (possibly in error) the date from volume 4, no. 3, 3 February 2006. Introduction from Dr. David Evans, Smithsonian Under Secretary for Science -- Smithsonian Scientist Deciphers Extinction's Greatest One-Two Punch -- Study of Global Warming 55 Million Years Ago Helps Illuminate the Future -- Mars Orbiters Provide Clues to an Earthlike Past for the Red Planet |
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