Collaborative Research: Paleoenvironmental Changes in Shallow Waters Associated with Constriction and Closure of the Tropical American Seaway

9306153 Geary PI将记录与巴拿马地峡的出现有关的浅水动物的环境变化。利用对表层和底层有孔虫的稳定同位素分析，他们将1)确定海道最终关闭的年龄；2)记录地峡两侧的环境差异，以及3)通过循环限制和截止期生成整个大陆架环境条件的年代表。研究将与正在进行的软体动物和深海有孔虫工作相结合。总而言之，研究应该为解释与这一事件相关的进化和生态模式提供框架。

9306153 Geary PIs will document environmental changes in shallow-water fauna, associated with emergence of the Isthmus of Panama. Using stable isotope analyses of surface- and bottom-dwelling foraminifera, they will 1) determine age of final closure of the seaway; 2) document environmental divergence on either side of the isthmus, and 3) generate chronologic profiles of environmental conditions across the shelf through the period of circulatory restriction and cutoff. Study will be integrated with ongoing work on mollusks and deep-sea forams. Together studies should provide framework for interpreting evolutionary and ecological patterns associated with this event.