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

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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.