Introduction

IGCP572 is a Unesco-IUGS funded project. Its goal is to study the recovery of marine organisms and their ecosystems following the biggest of the five mass extinctions in Geological history - the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction.

252 million years ago marine ecosystems suffered major extinction from factors such as increased carbon dioxide concentrations, loss of oxygen in the oceans, carbon dioxide poisoning and rapid global warming. Researchers on this project will consider how marine ecosystems recovered after this ecologic crisis. Their discoveries may help us to respond to current global concerns such as sustainable use of global biodiversity, biodiversity response to global warming and keeping our planet environmentally sustainable.

The project is led by Zhong Qiang Chen (Australia), Richard J. Twitchett (UK), Jinnan Tong (China), Margaret L. Fraiser (USA), Sylvie Crasquin (France), Steve Kershaw (UK), homas Algeo (USA) and Kliti Grice (Australia). The Project Leaders page has their contact details.

This project is sponsored by the International Geoscience Program (IGCP), which is a cooperative enterprise of UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). The project will run from 2008 to 2012.

The Project Website is sponsored by the University of Western Australia.