Collaborative Research: Pliocene Geology, Geochronology, and Paleontology of Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia

该研究涉及在埃塞俄比亚阿法尔凹陷的Woranso-Mille研究区进行的多学科实地和实验室工作。Woranso-Mille古人类学项目相对较新，已经开始收集以前知之甚少的时期（360 - 380万年前）的重要人科化石标本。该基金支持美国和国外六个机构的古生物学家、地质学家、地质年代学家和古生态学家进行合作研究，每个机构的科学家将协调他们的努力，以了解300万至400万年前的早期人类多样性，早期南方古猿古生物学、分类学和系统发育关系，并建立他们的古环境。这些将通过使用高分辨率X射线计算机断层扫描和同位素分析对Woranso-Mille原始人进行详细的比较分析来实现，以测试观察到的Woranso-Mille原始人的形态差异是否与指示行为和生理差异的同位素变化相关。古生物学家将进一步进行动物区系收集，旨在增加该地点所有化石分类群的样本量，以加强生物地层控制，完善相关原始人类的古环境背景，并确定其他化石产地。该项目的地质学家将为从研究区北方所有指定脊椎动物地点收集的化石建立精确的地层背景，建立精确的地层学和年代学（利用40 Ar/39 Ar定年和磁性地层学）对脊椎动物地点和相关化石进行了研究，并确定研究区域内脊椎动物地点和该区域其他古生物地点之间的地层相关性。这项研究的科学结果将回答与上新世中期原始人类多样性相关的问题，产生有关早期原始人类及其古栖息地的古生物学的新数据，并增加对上新世中期非洲脊椎动物进化的了解。该项目的更广泛影响侧重于为本科生、研究生和博士后研究员创造培训机会。

The research involves multidisciplinary field and laboratory work conducted in the Woranso-Mille study area of the Afar Depression in Ethiopia. The Woranso-Mille paleoanthropological project is relatively new and has started gathering significant fossil hominid specimens from a time period poorly known previously (3.6-3.8 million years ago). This funding supports collaborative research to be conducted by paleontologists, geologists, geochronologists, and paleoecologists from six institutions in the United States and abroad.Scientists from each institution will coordinate their efforts to understand early hominid diversity between 3.0 and 4.0 million years ago, early Australopithecus paleobiology, taxonomy, and phylogenetic relationships, and establish their paleoenvironments. These will be attained by conducting detailed comparative analysis of the Woranso-Mille hominids enhanced by the use of High-resolution x-ray computed tomography, and isotope analysis in order to test whether morphological differences observed for the Woranso-Mille hominids correlate to isotopic variation that are indicative of behavioral and physiological differences. The paleontologists will further conduct faunal collection directed towards increasing the sample size of all fossil taxa at the site to increase biostratigraphic control, refine paleoenvironmental context of the associated hominids, and identify additional fossiliferous localities. Geologists of the project will establish a refined stratigraphic context for the fossils collected from all of the designated vertebrate localities in the northern part of the study area, establish refined stratigraphy and chronometric ages (using 40Ar/39Ar dating and magnetostratigraphy) for the vertebrate localities and associated fossils, and determine stratigraphic correlations across vertebrate localities within the study area and other paleontological sites in the region. The scientific results from this study will answer questions related to mid-Pliocene hominid diversity, generate new data on the paleobiology of early hominids and their paleohabitat, and increase understanding of mid-Pliocene African vertebrate evolution. Broader impacts of this project focus on creating training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.