The modern link between high carbon levels and climate change didn’t appear to hold true for a time interval about 25 million years ago; but now a new study using a different methodology has found the link does indeed exist.
SMU scientists and their research have a global reach that is frequently noted, beyond peer publications and media mentions. It was a good year for SMU faculty and student research efforts. Here's a small sampling of public and published acknowledgements during 2015, ranging from research modeling that made the cover of a scientific journal to research findings presented as evidence at government hearings.
The Guardian reporter David Hambling covered the research of SMU paleontologist Timothy S. Myers.
Myers' recent research has focused on the climate of the Jurassic, testing the notion that the era's ancient climate was similar to modern. His most recent study found that climate was more variable than previously understood in the area now covered by the Morrison Formation.
Climate over a large swath of the western U.S. was more complex during the Jurassic than previously known, according to new research from SMU.
Instead of a gradual transition from dry to wetter, chemical analysis of ancient soils reveals there was an unexpected abrupt change. Samples came from the Morrison Formation, which sprawls 13 states and Canada and which has produced dinosaur discoveries for over 100 years.
News wire UPI covered the research of SMU paleontologist Timothy S. Myers for the news site's science section. Myers' latest study found Jurassic ecosystems were similar to modern: Animals flourish among lush plants. The study set out to discover whether that same relationship held true 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Journalist Raysehll Clapper for redOrbit.com covered the research of SMU paleontologist Timothy S. Myers for the news web site's Science section.
Myers' latest study found Jurassic ecosystems were similar to modern: Animals flourish among lush plants. The study set out to discover whether that same relationship held true 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
In modern ecosystems, animals flourish amid lush vegetation. An SMU study examines whether that same relationship held true 150 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. “The assumption has been that ancient ecosystems worked just like our modern ecosystems,” says SMU paleontologist Timothy S. Myers. “We wanted to see if this was, in fact, the case.”
From dinosaurs to sea turtles, and from technical assistance to advisory roles, SMU faculty and students, the SMU Shuler Museum, and the SMU Innovation Gymnasium, team with the nation's new premier museum of nature and science.
Fossils on loan by SMU to the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science include those of animals from an ancient sea that once covered Dallas.
SMU News covered the annual 2012 Research Day on Feb. 10 where SMU graduate and undergraduate students presented results of their research studies.
Sponsored by SMU's Office of Research and Graduate Studies, the event sought to foster communication between students in different programs, give students the opportunity to present their work in formats they will use as professionals, and to share with the SMU community and others the outstanding research being done at the University.