Project Aims: Establishing the first conceptual model of climatic, environmental and floristic dynamics of tropical Pangea during the Pennsylvanian part of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age on time scales ranging from the Milankovitch band to a multi-Myr aridification trend.

Seagrass/seaweed meadows represent over-looked diversity hotspots. They are key contributors to the production and accumulation of organic matter, and thus a significant factor controlling biodiversity and sedimentation in the shelf areas. In the fossil record their role and significance has not yet been fully understood. Since seagrasses/seaweeds are not well predisposed for fossilization, the primary aim of this project is to use a set of indirect markers/proxies (combination of paleontology and organic geochemistry) to be able to identify them in the fossil record.