In the midst of conducting climate research in Australia’s Simpson Desert this summer, Steve Hasiotis, KU geology professor, unearthed new evidence on past global warming trends. Hasiotis concentrated on the desert’s soil communities, a first in the science community, examining the trace fossils of invertebrates during rapid climate change.
“What we found is that even the soil community isn’t safe from rapid climate change,” Hasiotis said.
Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg as Hasiotis started connecting specific insect trace fossils left behind with their proper insect relatives as of current day and patterns began to emerge. Hasiotis speculates that this could possibly be used as indicators for what our earth will be going through in the future with global warming.
“Because insects have been collected and catalogued for centuries, there is a wealth of information readily available to chart timelines of future climate activity,” Hasiotis said.
During his research, Hasiotis compared soil communities of a period in earth’s history of rapid climate changes that most mirror what our planet is presently going through. In Earth’s past, rising climates have produced localized mass extinctions of species, melting of the ice caps, and reducing the size of several present day animals.
"Everything operates in cycles and what we're going through now is no different than what's happened in the past," Hasiotis said.
Dr. Stephen Hasiotis, associate professor of geology, has been conducting research in the area of rapid climate change for several years. Hasiotis is currently finishing research paper for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences.
“He always has some new and exciting research going on,” said Professor Robert Goldstein, chair of the geology department. “We’re very lucky to have him here at KU.”