LATE PALAEOZOIC PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL ASIA: A PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH USING IMPROVED BIOSTRATIGRAPHY

来自中亚(阿富汗、乌兹别克斯坦、巴基斯坦、中国西北、蒙古、阿尔泰)的化石数据表明，在晚古生代，古特提斯及其两侧陆架的生物地理格局在古纬度上发生了显著的变化，但这些格局的细节和对加强同时代古地理模式的意义几乎是未知的。该项目将使用先进的统计方法分析晚古生代腕足类、珊瑚类、竹节虫动物群的生物地理模式，并将生物地理信号与古地磁数据结合起来，以约束中亚晚古生代地质演化的模型--众所周知，中亚这一广袤地区具有巨大的自然资源潜力，但在地质上仍然很少被勘探。

Fossil data from Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, NW China, Mongolia, Altaids) indicate significant degree of palaeo-latitudinal variation in biogeographical patterns across the Palaeo-Tethys and its flanking shelves during Late Palaeozoic, but details of these patterns and implications for enhancing contemporaneous palaeogeographical models are virtually unknown. This project will analyse the biogeographical patterns of Late Palaeozoic brachiopod, coral, fusulinid faunas using advanced statistical methods, and integrate biogeographical signals with palaeomagnetic data to constrain models for the Late Palaeozoic geological evolution of Central Asia-a vast region that is known to bear enormous potential for natural resources but remains geologically little explored.