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.

该研究涉及埃塞俄比亚远处抑郁症的Woranso-Mille研究领域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，并且已经开始收集以前鲜为人知的时期（3.6-380万年前）的大量化石标本。 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.通过使用高分辨率X射线计算机断层扫描和同位素分析来测试Woranso-Mille HOMINID是否与同位素变异相关的形态学差异，这将通过使用高分辨率X射线计算机断层扫描来增强的Woranso-Mille人本质的详细比较分析来实现这些方法。古生物学家将进一步进行动物收集，旨在增加现场所有化石类群的样本量，以增加生物地层控制，改善相关人类的古环境环境，并确定其他化石地区。该项目的地质学家将为从研究区北部的所有指定脊椎动物所收集的化石建立精致的地层环境，建立了精制的地层和等级年龄（使用40AR/39AR约会，使用40AR/39AR约会，并在研究区域中进行磁性含量和磁性范围），并确定椎间盘和关联的层次范围，并确定跨度的阶层和相关的层次范围，并进行了跨度的等级仪式，并进行了跨度的跨度范围。该地区的古生物遗址。这项研究的科学结果将回答与中新世的人类多样性有关的问题，生成有关早期人类古生物古生物学及其古生物学的新数据，并增强对中新近新近非洲非洲脊椎动物进化的理解。该项目的更广泛的影响着重于为本科生和研究生以及博士后研究员创造培训机会。