Presentations, papers, and a curious case of planktonic foraminiferal evolution that may be linked to global cooling

By Paul Pearson 

Paul Pearson, a Descent into the Icehouse participant,  made two presentations to the Geological Society of America in Charlotte, North Carolina, this month. The first was a review of the most important of all the palaeoclimate proxy methods, vital to the Descent into the Icehouse project: ‘Oxygen Isotopes in Foraminifera: Overview and Historical Review‘.

It was accompanied by a review paper of the same title published in Paleontological Society Papers, Volume 18, p. 1-38. We hope to provide a link to the pdf on this blog shortly.

The second talk was on a curious specific case of evolution in the plankton in deep pelagic niches that may be linked to the global cooling that set in during the middle Eocene: ‘Evolutionary origin of Hantkenina (planktonic foraminifera) in the middle Eocene and comments on its biostratigraphic significance’ by Paul Pearson, Helen Coxall, Bridget Wade, and Brian Huber.

The study will be submitted for publication shortly. The graphic shows a line-up of beautifully preserved ‘transitional’ hantkeninids from a core in Tanzania, in emulation of the iconic image of human evolution (via a spear-wielding Neanderthal) beloved of textbooks.

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