Hazards and disasters in the geological and geomorphological record: a key to understanding past and future hazards and disasters

Hazards and disasters have occurred throughout Earth's History and thus the geological record is an important resource for understanding future hazards and disasters. The Earth Science Group (ESG) of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) carried out a "Hazard and Disaster Event Survey" to identify Earth Science collections in European museums that represent hazards and disasters throughout the geological record, and recent times. The aim is to use the collections within the survey as an educational and research resource that promotes the importance of museum collections for understanding past and future hazard and disaster events. The survey pinpointed a wide variety of hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanism, floods, impact events, etc.), representing a vast time span in Earth's history (Proterozoic to Holocene), that are documented in the collections of the participating museums. Each hazard and disaster event has been described in terms of how they are preserved (e.g. fossil record or rock record), spatial scale, impact on life, and geological age. Here we showcase seven examples in detail which include well-known and less-known events from the survey that have contributed to our understanding of hazard and disaster processes and their impact on life. Also we present general conclusions and lessons learnt from the "Hazard and Disaster Event Survey"

Palaeontological and Biological Collections – Bridging the gap

Palaeontology and biology are closely related sciences, as are the collections associated with them. Nevertheless there are differences between the two types of collections and the scientific data that they yield with regards to taxonomy, climate and ecology. In order to bridge the gap between the two subjects, it is important to clarify what these differences are and how they can be used to supplement research that addresses future environmental/climatic issues. In biology, valuable traits of the whole organism serve for taxonomy. In the fossil record, a morphospecies concept needs to be used because specimens are mainly preserved fragmentarily and palaeontologists have to take advantage of morphological traits that are often disregarded by biologists. Another difference is that biological objects represent modern time, while the fossil record provides valuable information on a deep time perspective, i.e., in a third dimension. Yet, these two disciplines obviously depend on each other: while biologists provide palaeontologists with information about unfossilised soft parts, palaeontology can help to solve questions about life in the past. Using four current case studies from the Stuttgart Natural History Museum, we provide examples of how biological and palaeontological information stored in museum collections are linterlinked, and particularly how palaeontology can help to solve current and future problems. We also highlight the potential of palaeontological collections and demonstrate the necessity of digitizing large quantities of objects as well as the related basic information. Case studies are: Fossil leaves provide evidence for past atmospheric CO2 levels and climate change, which can be used for climate change models. Fossils help to understand current and future hazards e.g., fossils embedded in tsunami sediments can provide information on how tsunamis affect shelf marine ecosytems. Extensive taxonomic studies of Miocene land snails and the comparison with extant relatives allow the reconstruction of fossil environments. Combined with complementary methods, the biological, geological and meteorological factors controlling these environments can be reconstructed. Phylogenetic studies tell us how life evolved and how organisms have changed through time. An important factor for phylogeny is the time-aspect, such as the splitting of lineages. Phylogenetic trees based on modern taxa can only be validated by fossils. We will present an example of insect phylogeny. These case studies not only show how biology and palaeontology are interlinked, but the first three studies are sound examples of how the knowledge of the past helps to understand the present. Furthermore, the first two studies are highly relevant for predicting the future. All of this information can only be used appropriately, if large proportions of data are available that include information on geology and age. For this reason, the Access to Biological Collection Data Extended for Geosciences (ABCD EFG) standard is so important, as it extends the two-dimensional view (Recent) into a third dimension (deep time). Our vision is an integrated modelling of past, present and future scenarios, whether for climate or ecosystem change, or geological hazards. Considering the deep time information, we can model how changes would take place under natural conditions, i.e., without anthropogenic influence. This requires the availability of large data sets of taxonomic information on the EFG level from all over the world

Hazards and disasters in the geological and geomorphological record: a key to understanding past and future hazards and disasters

Hazards and disasters have occurred throughout Earth's History and thus the geological record is an important resource for understanding future hazards and disasters. The Earth Science Group (ESG) of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) carried out a “Hazard and Disaster Event Survey” to identify Earth Science collections in European museums that represent hazards and disasters throughout the geological record, and recent times. The aim is to use the collections within the survey as an educational and research resource that promotes the importance of museum collections for understanding past and future hazard and disaster events. The survey pinpointed a wide variety of hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanism, floods, impact events, etc.), representing a vast time span in Earth’s history (Proterozoic to Holocene), that are documented in the collections of the participating museums. Each hazard and disaster event has been described in terms of how they are preserved (e.g. fossil record or rock record), spatial scale, impact on life, and geological age. Here we showcase seven examples in detail which include well-known and less-known events from the survey that have contributed to our understanding of hazard and disaster processes and their impact on life. Also we present general conclusions and lessons learnt from the “Hazard and Disaster Event Survey”

Hazards and disasters in the geological and geomorphological record: a key to understanding past and future hazards and disasters

Hazards and disasters have occurred throughout Earth's History and thus the geological record is an important resource for understanding future hazards and disasters. The Earth Science Group (ESG) of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) carried out a “Hazard and Disaster Event Survey” to identify Earth Science collections in European museums that represent hazards and disasters throughout the geological record, and recent times. The aim is to use the collections within the survey as an educational and research resource that promotes the importance of museum collections for understanding past and future hazard and disaster events. The survey pinpointed a wide variety of hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanism, floods, impact events, etc.), representing a vast time span in Earth’s history (Proterozoic to Holocene), that are documented in the collections of the participating museums. Each hazard and disaster event has been described in terms of how they are preserved (e.g. fossil record or rock record), spatial scale, impact on life, and geological age. Here we showcase seven examples in detail which include well-known and less-known events from the survey that have contributed to our understanding of hazard and disaster processes and their impact on life. Also we present general conclusions and lessons learnt from the “Hazard and Disaster Event Survey”

Hazards and Disasters in the Geological and Geomorphological record: A key to understanding past and future hazards and disasters and their impact on life

Hazards and disasters have occurred throughout Earth's History and thus the geological record is an important resource for understanding future hazards and disasters and its Impact. The Earth Science Group (ESG) of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) carried out a “Hazard and Disaster Event Survey” to identify Earth Science collections in European museums that represent hazards and disasters throughout the geological record, and recent times. The aim is to use the collections within the survey as an educational and research resource that promotes the importance of museum collections for understanding past and future hazard and disaster events. The survey pinpointed a wide variety of hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanism, floods, impact events, etc.), representing a vast time span in Earth’s history (Proterozoic to Holocene), that are documented in the collections of the participating museums. Each hazard and disaster event has been described in terms of how each is preserved (e.g. fossil record or rock record), spatial scale, impact on life and biodiversity, and geological age. The results were published in Research ideas and outcomes journal RIO (https://riojournal.com/article/34087/) as seven examples, which include well-known and less-known events from the survey that have contributed to our understanding of hazard and disaster processes and their impact on life and biodiversity. For better visualisation and education purposes we also created and specialised website, which will be launched during summer 2019. In the presentation we will talk about general conclusions and lessons learnt from the “Hazard and Disaster Event Survey”

MORPHYLL: A database of fossil leaves and their morphological traits

Les caractères morphométriques des feuilles fossiles, tels que la taille et la forme, sont des sources de données importantes et fréquemment utilisées pour reconstruire les paléoenvironnements. Divers outils, notamment CLAMP ou l’Analyse du Bord des Feuilles (« Leaf Margin Analysis »), utilisent les traits des feuilles comme des paramètres d’entrée pour estimer le paléoclimat, en se basant principalement sur des corrélations entre ces traits et des paramètres climatiques chez les plantes actuelles. Ces dernières années, le périmètre des informations extraites de la morphologie des feuilles fossiles a été étendu en incluant l’écophysiologie des feuilles qui décrit les corrélations entre des traits fonctionnels des feuilles et des stratégies écologiques. La quantité et la qualité des données disponibles sont cruciales pour que les analyses paléoécologiques utilisant les traits des feuilles soient fructueuses. Nous décrivons dans cet article la base de données MORPHYLL. Cette base de données est conçue pour offrir une ressource en ligne pour les données de traits des feuilles fossiles. Dans ce but, des feuilles fossiles de plusieurs collections ont été numérisées et des traits morphométriques ont été extraits des contours des feuilles. En plus des métadonnées telles que le numéro de spécimen, la collection, le site fossile, ou les informations taxinomiques (pour les spécimens identifiés), MORPHYLL offre la possibilité d’effectuer des requêtes pour plusieurs paramètres morphométriques, et des traits écophysiologiques en dérivant (par exemple, la masse de feuilles par unité de surface). Actuellement, la base contient des données pour environ 6000 feuilles fossiles de sites d’Europe centrale, couvrant presque tout le Paléogène et une partie du Néogène ancien. L’application potentielle de cette base de données est démontrée en effectuant quelques exemples d’analyses des traits de feuilles pour le Paléocène, l’Éocène, et l’Oligocène, avec des résultats indiquant des changements des traits moyens des feuilles au cours du temps. Par exemple, les résultats montrent que la masse de feuilles par unité de surface atteint son point le plus haut pendant l’Éocène, ce qui est congruent avec le développement général du climat pendant le Paléogène.The size and shape of fossil leaves provide important information for reconstructing climate and environment of the past. Considering the importance of fossil leaf traits in palaeoclimatology and palaeoecology, there is a high demand for readily available data. In this contribution, the newly erected database MORPHYLL is described, which provides quantitative and qualitative leaf trait data compiled from various fossil leaf collections, mainly from the Paleogene (66-23 million years before present), thus offering a new web resource for palaeontological research. The collections are stored in various European natural history museums. Some exemplary analyses of leaf traits through time are shown to illustrate the analytical potential of the database.Morphometric characters of fossil leaves such as size and shape are important and widely used sources for reconstructing palaeoenvironments. Various tools, including CLAMP or Leaf Margin Analysis, utilize leaf traits as input parameters for estimating palaeoclimate, mostly based on correlations between traits and climate parameters of extant plants. During the last few years, the scope of information extracted from the morphology of fossil leaves has been further expanded by including leaf economics, which describe correlations between functional leaf traits and ecological strategies. The amount and quality of available data are essential for a successful palaeoecological analysis utilizing leaf traits. Here, the database MORPHYLL is described. This database is devised to offer a web-based resource for fossil leaf trait data. For this purpose, fossil leaves from various collections were digitized and morphometric traits extracted from leaf outlines. Besides metadata such as accession number, repository, fossil site or taxonomic information (for identified specimens), MORPHYLL offers queries for several morphometric parameters and derived ecophysiological traits (e.g., leaf mass per area). Currently, the database contains data from about 6000 fossil leaves from sites in Central Europe, spanning almost the entire Paleogene and part of the early Neogene. The application potential of the database is demonstrated by conducting some exemplary analyses of leaf traits for the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene, with the results indicating changes of mean leaf traits through time. For example, the results show leaf mass per area to peak during the Eocene, which is in accordance with general climate development during the Paleogene.Los caracteres morfométricos de las hojas fósiles, como el tamaño y la forma, son fuentes de datos importantes y ampliamente utilizadas para la reconstrucción de los paleoambientes. Varias herramientas, incluyendo CLAMP o Análisis del Margen de Hoja (Leaf Margin Analysis), utilizan los rasgos de la hoja como parámetros de entrada para estimar el paleoclima, principalmente teniendo en consideración las correlaciones entre los rasgos de las plantas actuales y los parámetros climáticos actuales. Durante los últimos años, el alcance de la información extraída de la morfología de las hojas fósiles se ha ampliado aún más al incluir la eficiencia de las hojas, que describe las correlaciones entre los rasgos funcionales de las hojas y las estrategias ecológicas. La cantidad y calidad de los datos disponibles son esenciales para un análisis paleoecológico adecuado utilizando los rasgos de las hojas. Se describe aquí la base de datos MORPHYLL. Esta base de datos está diseñada para ofrecer un recurso disponible en internet para conjuntos de datos de rasgos de hojas fósiles. Para este propósito, se digitalizaron las hojas fósiles de varias colecciones y se obtuvieron los rasgos morfométricos de los contornos de las hojas. Además de los metadatos, como la sigla para cada ejemplar, la colección en la que se encuentra depositado, el yacimiento del que procede o la información taxonómica (para especímenes identificados), MORPHYLL ofrece consultas para varios parámetros morfométricos y rasgos ecofisiológicos derivados (por ejemplo, masa foliar por área). Actualmente, la base de datos contiene datos de alrededor de 6000 hojas fósiles de yacimientos de Europa Central, abarcando casi todo el Paleógeno y parte del Neógeno temprano. El potencial de aplicación de la base de datos se demuestra mediante la realización de algunos análisis a modo de ejemplo de rasgos foliares para el Paleoceno, el Eoceno y el Oligoceno, de manera que se puede observar cómo cambiaron los rasgos medios de las hojas a lo largo del tiempo. Por ejemplo, los resultados muestran que la masa foliar por área alcanza su máximo durante el Eoceno, lo cual está de acuerdo con los cambios generales del clima durante el Paleógeno.Morphometrische Merkmale fossiler Blätter wie z.B. Blattgröße und -form stellen wichtige und oft benutzte Proxies für die Rekonstruktion von Paläo-Umweltbedingungen dar. Zahlreiche Methoden zur Paläoklimarekonstruktion, wie CLAMP und die Blattrandanalyse, basieren auf Blattmerkmalen und deren (rezente) Korrelationen mit klimatischen Parametern. In den letzten Jahren hat sich die Bandbreite von Informationen, die aus morphologischen Merkmalen fossiler Blätter gewonnen werden können, zusätzlich auf blattökonomische Parameter ausgeweitet, die Aufschluss über grundlegende ökologischen Strategien geben können. Der Umfang und die Qualität der für solche Ansätze verfügbaren Daten ist maßgebend für eine erfolgreiche paläoökologische Analyse. In dieser Studie wird die Datenbank MORPHYLL vorgestellt, die als eine webbasierte Ressource für fossile Blattmerkmale konzipiert wurde. Hierfür wurden fossile Blätter aus verschiedenen Sammlungen europäischer Museen digitalisiert und morphologische Merkmale aus den Blattumrissen extrahiert. Neben den Metadaten der Fossilien, wie z.B. Akzessionsnummer, Aufbewahrungsort, fossile Lokalität und taxonomische Informationen (soweit vorhanden), bietet MORPHYLL Abfragemöglichkeiten für zahlreiche morphometrische Parameter und daraus abgeleitete ökophysiologische Merkmale (z.B. Blattmasse pro Blattfläche). Momentan enthält die Datenbank Informationen zu ca. 6000 Blattfossilien verschiedener zentral-europäischer Fundstellen, die das gesamte Paläogen und das frühe Neogen umfassen. Das Potenzial der Datenbank wird anhand von einigen exemplarischen Analysen blattmorphometrischer Merkmale für das Paläozän, Eozän und Oligozän demonstriert, die auf deutliche Veränderungen der mittleren Blattmerkmalsausprägungen im Verlauf der Zeit hinweisen. So zeigt z.B. die mittlere Blattmasse pro Blattfläche einen deutlichen Höhepunkt während des Eozäns, was mit der generellen klimatischen Entwicklung während des Paläogens gut übereinstimmt