Geosciences Working Group

Cancelled due to corona-virus
Lecturer: Hartmut Benthien
The environment and climate 3 million years ago, before the beginning ice ages of the Pleistocene, can be reconstructed based on over 50,000 fossils of approx. 500 animal and plant species.
The lecture will focus on the manifold and impressive fossils found in the former clay pit of Willershausen and the particular conditions of their fossilization history.
Despite an almost similar climate the fauna and flora was richer in species than at present. Many fossil species did not survive the ice ages, but some can still be found today in Southeast Asia and North America.
In view of global warming, the question arises as to possible changes in the present and future ecosystems.

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