International visit to the Museum of Natural History Chemnitz
Researchers find out about work on the fossil deposit
Two scientists from Brazil and five researchers from China are currently guests at the Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz. Last week, they took part in an international conference that brought together 500 palaeontologists in Prague. The results of the internationally networked research work on the Chemnitz fossil deposit were also presented there in four papers.
Participants in the conference are now visiting the Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz. For the guests from Brazil and China, the main aim is to see the unique Chemnitz fossil deposit, which is otherwise only known to them from scientific literature, with their own eyes. In addition, fossil specimens from the local geoscientific collection will be examined under a microscope. These will include historical specimens from 1900 and new finds from the excavation work in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf and at the "Window into Earth History". They will provide questions for future research work and project proposals.
Specifically, an application for a Humboldt Fellowship is to be prepared with both Brazilian researchers. The Chinese doctoral students of former Chemnitz colleague Prof Dr Zhou Feng are interested in gaining insights into the Chemnitz collection in order to draw comparisons with fossils from the Carboniferous-Permian boundary found in China. Material is being analysed together and further steps are being coordinated with the support of digital technology.
The main aim is to understand climatic changes and the associated changes in the ecosystem over geological time in order to be able to draw conclusions for current and future developments.