Project Grant 2348809

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) provides $231,421.00 to Texas A&M University to conduct collaborative research on the integrated late Devonian Earth evolution. The key objectives are to: 1) develop a new integrated geologic framework linking late Devonian mass extinctions to epeiric black shale successions in North and South America; 2) use this data to refine the open access Macrostrat database to estimate global carbon burial, CO2 drawdown, and O2 buildup during this period; and 3) generate a new uranium and carbon isotope record through late Devonian carbonates in Western Australia to quantify global ocean anoxia and carbon burial. The award supports two early-career faculty, expands field geology opportunities for high school students, and engages numerous undergraduate, graduate students, and a postdoc. The research aims to provide a better understanding of the transformations that occurred during the Devonian period, which witnessed major changes in plant and animal life, oxygen levels, and global climate. No sub-awards are planned under this grant.