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In search of 46 million year old fossils! |
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In search of 46 million year old fossils! |
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A group of researchers from the Southern Methodist University (USA) are on a month long expedition to Tanzania. They are looking for fossils that will tell them more about the climate in the Middle Eocene era, 46 million years ago. This is the period after the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs, amongst other species.
They will be looking for fossils of plants, fishes and frogs that have been thrown to the surface of the earth in volcanic eruptions. The rock formations they are looking at are called kimberlites (and they often contain diamonds), and they come from as far down as 200km beneath the surface of the earth.
When they get this information, they will know more about the climate millions of years ago, and that will help scientists to predict what our climate might become like in the future.