KU Natural History Museum: A Wild Science Lecture with Dr. Edith L. Taylor

KU Natural History Museum, Wild Science Lecture: A Window to Climate Change and Plant Adaptations: The Fossils of Antarctica. The fossilized vegetation of Antarctica can provide clues about plant response to climate change. The cells of these ancient plants survived conditions that varied from 24 hours of darkness for months at at time to 24 hours of light. What can we learn from studying this fossil plant material that KU scientists collect from Antarctica? Dr. Edith L. Taylor studies permineralized fossil plants and their paleoenvironments from the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic of Antarctica. Current research includes focusing on the use of plant fossils as past climatic and environmental indicators, especially the use of fossil tree rings as proxy climate records."