Primary Convener:
Trent Thomas, University of Washington

Convener:
David Catling, University of Washington
Mary Droser, University of California Riverside
Robin Wordsworth, Harvard University

Early Career Convener:
Trent Thomas, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Chair:
Trent Thomas, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
David Catling, University of Washington
Mary Droser, University of California Riverside
Robin Wordsworth, Harvard University

Dramatic environmental changes happened during the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic, including (1) multiple global glaciations (i.e., Snowball Earth events), (2) a general rise in atmospheric oxygen, (3) significant excursions in carbon isotopes, potentially reflecting changes in the carbon cycle, ocean pH, and climate, and (4) geological changes such as continental configuration (e.g., Rodinia, Gondwana, and Pangea) and large igneous province volcanism. At the same time, major leaps forward in biological complexity occurred. Life transitioned from small eukaryotes (e.g., green algae) to large, complex animals and plants during this time – with milestones like the Ediacara biota and the Cambrian explosion. Although the increase in biological complexity and the environmental changes are likely related, causes and relationships remain uncertain.Welcome contributions to this session include new field data for changes in the terrestrial and marine environment and/or biota, models for environmental change and/or biota, and work exploring links between biology and environment.

Index Terms
0444 Evolutionary geobiology
1630 Impacts of global change
9614 Paleozoic
9622 Proterozoic

Cross-Listed:
P - Planetary Sciences
B - Biogeosciences
EP - Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
GC - Global Environmental Change

Neighborhoods:
3. Earth Covering