Description
News of extinctions and loss of biologic diversity is sadly in the headlines. What is a mass extinction? What are the causes? How many have happened before, and how do we detect them in the geologic past? How do these past extinctions compare with our ongoing ‘sixth extinction’? This class explores the geologic history of past mass extinctions, their causes and consequences, and how they compare to the ongoing extinction.
Maya Elrick is a professor emerita at the UNM Earth and Planetary Sciences Department. She received her MS and PhD at Oregon State University and Virginia Tech, respectively. Her research expertise is in sedimentary rocks with an emphasis on marine limestones and how they inform us of ancient oceans, climate changes, and biologic life through geologic time.