# Collaborative Research: RUI: Silty streams and diluted seas in the Late Devonian Appalachian Basin: Probing the effects of early icehouse extremes on vertebrate paleogeobiology

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Rowan University (NJ) · $271,558

## Abstract

At the end of the Devonian period the Earth experienced a uniquely cool climate, the first record of limbed vertebrates, and one of Earth’s “Big Five” mass extinctions. For this study, researchers are collecting and analyzing data from rock and fossil samples from surface exposures and from the subsurface (rock cores) to test the link between environmental extremes and vertebrate habitats during the late Devonian ~360 million years ago. This work will advance understanding of connections between biological, chemical, and physical processes in Earth’s past. This collaborative and multidisciplinary project will support the education and development of eight students and two early career faculty. It will involve rural community public outreach to share knowledge of Devonian geology, which underlies much of the rural landscape of central Pennsylvania, including educational field events and the development of an interactive display at a highly trafficked rural zoo. Engaging with the public through this research will promote awareness of Earth science career paths, and the significance of such knowledge in understanding our planet’s past and future.

Evidence of late Famennian (~361-359 Ma) glaciation along the eastern margin of North America is spatially limited and controversial yet calls for abrupt and anomalous cold climates globally that are unrecognized in existing models for the earliest stages of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA). This project examines the Upper Devonian 

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2447771
- **Awardee organization:** Rowan University (NJ)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** DMDEQP66JL85
- **PI:** Lily S Pfeifer
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** SEDIMENTARY GEO & PALEOBIOLOGY
- **Estimated total:** $271,558
- **Funds obligated:** $271,558
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2447771

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2447771, Collaborative Research: RUI: Silty streams and diluted seas in the Late Devonian Appalachian Basin: Probing the effects of early icehouse extremes on vertebrate paleogeobiology. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-06 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2447771. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NSF Awards dataset](/datasets/nsf-awards) · CC0 1.0*