Learn & Explore

Fossil Foward

Peter Roopnarine and his team are modeling the past and present, using fossils to fast forward to the future.

In this unprecedented era of rapid climate change, scientists are working hard to forecast the future. In order to predict what lies ahead, they must first look to the past. Examining ancient ecosystems through remnant fossils reveals how various species interacted during tumultuous times, like mass extinction events, but perhaps more importantly, this fossil record documents how living systems bounced back. According to the Academy's geology curator Peter Roopnarine, PhD, the resilience of life continues to surprise him. Learn how Roopnarine and his team are modeling planetary change—past and present—and using fossils to fast forward to the future.