Going DEEP in Earth history

While most research in the Historical Geobiology Lab focuses on Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic Earth history, this May Malcolm Hodgskiss and Erik Sperling visited the Norwegian Geological Survey for two weeks to study the FAR-DEEP drill cores. This unique collection of cores was drilled in Fennoscandian Arctic Russia, to study the oxygenation of the early Earth, and spans approximately 2.5 - 2.0 billion years ago. In collaboration with Dr. Aivo Lepland, we aim to better understand the evolution of marine redox conditions and the carbon cycle in the aftermath of the early Earth’s “Great Oxidation Event”. This trip was made possible through funding from the Stanford Office of International Affairs - International Research Exploration Fund. Thanks to Aivo and Melanie Mesli for all their help in organizing the scientific core sampling workshop!