THE NEW IGCP PROJECT 499: "DEVONIAN LAND-SEA INTERACTION: EVOLUTION OF ECOSYSTEMS AND CLIMATE" (DEVEC)

During the last two decades research on the Devonian was included in several successful IGCP (International Geoscience Programme) projects, e.g., 216 “Global biological events in Earth history” (Walliser), 335 “Biotic recoveries from mass extinctions” (Erwin & Kauffman), and 421 “North Gondwanan Mid-Palaeozoic bioevent / biogeography patterns in relation to crustal dynamics” (Feist & Talent). In these projects the main focus was on the “marine side”, i.e., paleobiological / paleontological, sedimentological, facial, and other aspects of relatively deep-water, offshore deposits. However, an interesting field of investigation has not been as extensively researched: The transition zone between land and sea, and their continuation in both landward and seaward directions. Although IGCP Project 328 “Palaeozoic microvertebrate biochronology and global marine / non-marine correlation” (Blieck & Turner) dealt with this zone, the focus was exclusively on fish remains and their potential use for biostratigraphy and subsequent correlation. One of the main targets of the recently accepted IGCP Project 499 “Devonian land-sea interaction: Evolution of ecosystems and climate” (DEVEC) will be a broader view of this critical transition zone. Not only the processes within this area shall be studied; adjacent areas on the shelves, including offshore reef structures, will also be investigated. Especially, the interactions between continental, coastal, shallow-water siliciclastic shelves, and reefal settings will be emphasized. Potentially, this project will demonstrate that the evolution of continental and near-continent areas played a key role in influencing Devonian facies, paleoecosystems, and paleoclimate. For further information see: http://www.senckenberg.de/igcp-499.