Collaborative Research: India at the Crossroads--Biotic Change in Continental Vertebrates Across the Cretaceous-Paleogene

白垩纪末期(6600万年前)的标志是一次大规模灭绝事件，导致包括非鸟类恐龙在内的许多陆地和海洋生物灭绝，并促进了其他生物的多样化，如现代哺乳动物。在这一事件发生时，印度次大陆正处于地理和地质剧变之中。当它向北穿过赤道时，它经过了一个火山热点，该热点突破了地壳，导致大量玄武岩熔岩涌入大陆，形成了德干陷阱。这些事件对印度陆地生物群的影响仍然知之甚少，因为在这段时间里，对印度的地质和古生物记录研究不足。该项目的目标是提高对(1)德干火山活动的时间和性质以及(2)其对大陆生物体的生物学影响的了解。该项目汇集了古生物学和德干圈闭火山学、地球物理学、地质年代学、沉积学和与圈闭相关矿床的地层学方面的专门知识。将使用传统的地质学和古生物学技术，以及最先进的放射性同位素测年、化学指纹和与关键化石层相关的玄武岩中保存的磁性研究。作为该项目的一部分进行的研究将被纳入沉浸式虚拟实地旅行(IVFT)，这是一种网络学习应用程序，允许教师虚拟地将学生带到具有科学意义但无法进入的环境中。IVFT使用基于位置的高分辨率球形内容、360°全景视频、千兆像素图像和通过无人机(无人机)的独特视角来开发交互式、内容丰富且由学习者驱动的虚拟野外探索，通过HTML5在线体验。

The end of the Cretaceous Period (66 million years ago) is marked by a mass extinction event that led to the demise of many organisms on land and sea, including non-avian dinosaurs, and fostered the diversification of others, such as modern mammals. At the time of this event, the Indian Subcontinent was in the midst of geographic and geological upheaval. As it migrated northward across the equator, it passed over a volcanic hot spot that breached the crust and led to massive outpouring of basalt lava onto the continent forming the Deccan Traps. The effects of these events on India's land biota remain poorly understood due to understudy of India's geological and paleontological record during this time. The goals of this project are to improve understanding of (1) the timing and nature of Deccan volcanism and (2) its biological effects in continental organisms. Improved understanding of the biotic response to major geographic and geologic changes in India will allow comparisons with the record in North America and will inform studies of the interchange of organisms that resulted from India's subsequent collision with Asia.This project brings together expertise in paleontology and Deccan Trap volcanology, geophysics, geochronology, sedimentology and stratigraphy of Trap-associated deposits. Traditional geological and paleontological techniques will be employed, as well as state-of-the-art radioisotopic dating, chemical fingerprinting, and study of magnetism preserved in basalts that are associated with key fossil beds. Research conducted as part of this project will be incorporated into Immersive Virtual Field Trips (iVFTs), which are cyber-learning applications that allow teachers to virtually take students to scientifically significant but inaccessible environments. iVFTs use location-based high-resolution spherical content, 360° panoramic video, giga-pixel imagery, and unique viewpoints via unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to develop interactive, content-rich, and learner-driven virtual field explorations, experienced online via HTML5.