US: A new report by National Research Council has recommended four new research initiatives over the next 10 to 20 years. One of them is to launch a major effort to locate new fossil sites using remote-sensing tools and traditional ground methods to survey new terrain. The point is to fill key gaps in the fossil record, such as when new species first appear and disappear, to see if there are links between these major events in human evolution and changes in the climate.
Main aim of this new interdisciplinary research programme was to study how past climate influenced human evolution. This report has been prepared by an interdisciplinary team of paleoanthropologists and geologists.
The researchers also called for a comprehensive programme to drill ancient lakebeds and lakes on land, as well as in ocean basins, in the regions where humans evolved in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia and Kenya, for example. This would help provide a record of climate changes in the local areas where human ancestors actually lived, given that the climate can vary dramatically in different parts of Africa. It would be part of a larger effort to reconstruct past environments in local habitats where fossils have been found.
The researchers also proposed that funding agencies make a major investment in research to model local and regional climates during key times in human evolution. Finally, they are also seeking funds to educate the public about how climate change influenced human evolution. A public briefing to discuss the report's findings will be held on 31 March at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Source : http://news.sciencemag.org/
