What can a 39-million-year-old coastal ecosystem tell us about climate and earth history?

Mangrove ecosystems are rarely represented in the fossil record because the dynamic nature of the coastal environment is not conducive to preservation of organic remains or shelly material. The Piedra Chamana Fossil Forest in northern Peru was preserved 39 million years ago when a volcanic eruption buried coastal mangroves and nearby forests in volcaniclastic deposits. The unusual circumstances of preservation underscore the potential of the site to provide a multi-proxy record that will (1) provide a uniquely detailed picture of late middle Eocene mangrove and lowland tropical forest ecosystems, (2) contribute to our understanding of the history of the New World tropical forests and development of tropical biodiversity, (3) allow for comparison and evaluation of paleoenvironmental proxies (leaves versus woods, marine versus terrestrial, geochemical versus biological) that do not generally co-occur, and (4) serve as a rich baseline reference of the vegetation and environment in the New World tropics at a time of considerable global warmth. The project also supports interpretation and education efforts related to conservation and protection of the fossils and fossil site.