Paleontology, Sedimentology, and Isotopic Geochemistry of   the Middle Proterozoic Bangemall Group, Western Australia
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'James E. Rodman', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
For the past century, most paleontological research has                    concentrated on sedimentary rocks deposited over the past 550                   million years.  It is now clear, however, that this conspicuous                 record of animals and plants documents only the latest 15% of the               history of life on Earth.  The earlier (pre-animal) biological                  record is written in the fossils of microorganisms, as well as in               the chemical traces of microbial activity contained in                          sedimentary rocks.  Rocks of Late Proterozoic age (900-550                      million years) contain a rich fossil record that includes diverse               planktonic algae and seaweeds, as well as bacteria of many kinds.               The fossils indicate that this was a period of rapid evolutionary               change.  Chemical and geological data further suggest that the                  Late Proterozoic Earth was characterized by major changes in                    climate, tectonics, atmospheric chemistry, and the cycling of                   biologically important elements.  In contrast, rocks of Early                   Proterozoic age (2500-1800 million years) reflect a very                        different world -- one in which an exclusively bacterial biota                  thrived in environments unaffected by the kinds of climatic and                 biogeochemical variability seen in the Late Proterozoic era.                         The key to understanding the transition from the Early                     Proterozoic Earth to the Late Proterozoic planet clearly must                   lie in rocks deposited during Middle Proterozoic times (1800-                   900 million years).  Careful field and laboratory studies will be               conducted of the 1400-1300 million year of Bangemall Group,                     Western Australia -- a suite of rocks especially well suited to                 yield critical information on biological and environmental                      change during this period.  Field measurements of the thickness,                composition, and characteristic features of these rocks will be                 made; this will permit determination of the age and environmental               relationships of the rocks.  Samples collected within this matrix               will be examined for their microfossil content, rock fabric and                 alteration history, and geochemistry (especially the ratios of                  the isotopes of carbon and strontium contained in certain of                    these rocks).                                                                        The result will be a multidisciplinary data set that will                  provide critical insights into Middle Proterozoic biology and                   environments.  Such data are of great importance in efforts to                  understand life's early evolution and how biology and Earth                     surface environments have influenced each other through time to                 produce the modern world.  Although this research is basic in                   nature, it has important applications to mineral and petroleum                  exploration in Proterozoic rocks.  Documentation of fossil and                  geochemical marker distributions will improve our ability to                    correlate Proterozoic rocks, the important first step in                        geological prospecting.  A better understanding of Earth's                      environmental history will additionally serve to constrain                      patterns of exploration for the rich deposits of stratabound ores               locked in Proterozoic sedimentary rocks.
{'FirstName': 'Andrew', 'LastName': 'Knoll', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'H', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Andrew H Knoll', 'EmailAddress': 'aknoll@oeb.harvard.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000207920', 'StartDate': '01/15/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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