Press

ALBANY, N.Y. - The effects of changes in climate and the environment on ancient life in New York is the theme of the next Museum Series talks by New York State Museum researchers. The four talks on Ancient Life and Environments in New York State, are held on consecutive Wednesdays, begin Feb. 7 in the Museum Theater. All programs start at 7 p.m. and are free of charge.

Geologists and paleontologists use their findings on marine life to suggest theories on the evolution of modern animal groups and plants. Also explored will be the causes and effects of changing sea levels through geologic time and how natural gas may originate with ancient reef and beach sands.

The Museum's Center for Stratigraphy and Paleontology focuses on interpreting the regional and global controls on the early history and evolution of the natural environment and life in New York. The Center includes paleobiologists, stratigraphers and other geologists whose work contributes to understanding the rock and fossil succession in New York State and related regions.

The Museum, committed to lifelong learning, is a program of the State Education Department.

Sea-Level Change Through Time

Feb. 7, 7 p.m.

If all of the ice at the earth's poles melted, sea level would rise to the point where Albany, like New York City and other coastal cities, would be under water. Museum geologist Dr. Taury Smith discusses causes and effects of changing sea level through geologic time.

Evolutionary Origin of Animals: When and How in the Fossil Record

Feb. 14, 7 p.m.

Ancient marine rocks of Britain, Morocco, eastern Canada and New York provide valuable data on modern animal groups. Dr. Ed Landing, New York State Paleontologist, summarizes his recent work in these countries and how the findings can determine the evolutionary rates and sites of origin of modern animal groups.

Life's Nexus? "The Whole Megillah'' of 350 Million Year-Old Seas and Fossils in New York

Feb 21, 7 p.m.

Using classic paleontological to modern geochemical techniques, Museum geologist Dr. Charles A. Ver Straeten relates updrift in the ancestral Appalachians, sea-level changes, climate and the origin of land plants to the Devonian ("Age of Fish'') fossil record in New York.

Black Gold in the Empire State

Feb. 28, 7 p.m.

New York State's next great energy source may originate with ancient reef and beach sands. Museum geologist Richard Nyahay talks about the reefs and sand deposited during the Early and Middle Paleozoic that helped produce the natural gas recently discovered in central New York. During the 1880s, the state was the nation's number one producer of oil and gas. Production declined significantly after World War II, but these new discoveries have the industry talking about New York again. Nyahay will discuss the geology of New York's hydrocarbon reservoirs and the history of the state's oil and gas industry.