WCU professor’s Antarctic research explores origins of mass extinction
Shane Schoepfer recently returned from an expedition to Seymour Island near the Antarctic Peninsula, where he and a team of researchers collected fossil and sediment samples dating to the end-Cretaceous extinction about 66 million years ago.
Donated photo
A Western Carolina University geochemistry professor is leading new research in Antarctica that could reshape scientists’ understanding of the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Shane Schoepfer recently returned from an expedition to Seymour Island near the Antarctic Peninsula, where he and a team of researchers collected fossil and sediment samples dating to the end-Cretaceous extinction about 66 million years ago.
The monthlong trip aboard the research vessel "Sikuliaq" brought together scientists from universities across the United States to study how environmental conditions changed in the lead-up to one of Earth’s most significant extinction events.
While scientists widely agree that an asteroid impact near present-day Mexico played a central role in the mass extinction, Schoepfer said questions remain about whether ecosystems were already under stress from massive volcanic eruptions in what is now India.
Seymour Island offers a rare geological record with well-preserved layers of sediment that allow researchers to examine environmental changes in detail. Schoepfer’s team collected samples from exposed cliff faces and drilled core samples about 50 feet into the ground to access undisturbed material.
The samples will be analyzed using geochemical techniques to reconstruct ancient ocean conditions, including temperature, oxygen levels and salinity. Researchers hope the findings will reveal how marine environments responded to rapid climate shifts and extreme conditions.
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The work is also providing hands-on research opportunities for WCU students, who are helping analyze the Antarctic samples on campus.
“Understanding past climate and environmental change helps us better understand the challenges we face today,” Schoepfer said.
Despite challenging conditions, including limited windows for fieldwork, Schoepfer said the expedition yielded data that could offer new insight into one of Earth’s most dramatic turning points.
