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

合作研究：埃塞俄比亚沃兰索米勒的上新世地质学、年代学和古生物学

• 批准号: 1125345
• 负责人: Naomi Levin
• 金额: $ 4.51万
• 依托单位: Johns Hopkins University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1125345&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Pliocene; Geology; Geochronology

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.

该研究涉及在埃塞俄比亚阿法尔凹陷沃兰索-米尔研究区进行的多学科领域和实验室工作。 Woranso-Mille 古人类学项目相对较新，已开始收集以前鲜为人知的时期（3.6-380 万年前）的重要原始人类化石标本。这笔资金支持来自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的合作研究。每个机构的科学家将协调努力，了解 3.0 至 400 万年前的早期原始人类多样性、早期南方古猿的古生物学、分类学和系统发育关系，并建立其古环境。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沃兰索-米勒原始人进行详细的比较分析来实现，以测试观察到的沃兰索-米勒原始人的形态差异是否与表明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群收集，旨在增加该地点所有化石类群的样本量，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域北部所有指定脊椎动物产地收集的化石建立精细的地层背景，为脊椎动物产地和相关化石建立精细的地层学和计时年龄（使用 40Ar/39Ar 测年和磁地层学），并确定研究区域内和其他脊椎动物产地之间的地层相关性。 该地区的古生物遗址。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古生物学及其古栖息地的新数据，并增进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集中在为本科生、研究生和博士后创造培训机会。