Franziska Franeck's Young Explorers project, “Life's early burst as revealed by 480 Million year old sedimentary rocks in the high arctic”, aims to study changes in biodiversity in Early to Middle Ordovician sedimentary successions in Ny Friesland, Spitsbergen.
National Geographic describes their Young Explorers Grants as support to "cover field project costs for hard-working, passionate, creative individuals with great ideas".
Franeck explains that during the Ordovician time period, lasting from 486 to 444 million years ago, one of the greatest evolutionary transitions took place: The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE). The GOBE was marked by a dramatic numerical increase of marine orders, families and genera, but it is to date unclear what might have driven this evolutionary radiation.
The work is carried out as part of the LINK project (Phanerozoic diversification: linking observation and process) led by Lee Hsiang Liow.
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