Deep Time: The Mesozoic Era
Instructor: Dr. Frederick Rogers
Dates: May 31, June 2, 5, 7, and 9
Times: 7–9PM ET
Tuition Cost: $195
Description: Following up on last year’s “Deep Time: The Paleozoic Era”, this year we will look at that second and equally-fascinating era of the Phanerozoic Eon, the Mesozoic Era. We first will “set the stage” with a look at that last period of the Paleozoic Era, the Permian Period. The Permian Period ended with the assembly of Pangaea, the Siberian flood basalts, and the Earth’s greatest mass extinction, the events that formed the substrate to the Mesozoic Era that followed. From that starting point, we will look at what is now seen by many as the most fascinating period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic Period. The Triassic Period was a turbulent time, both tectonically and biologically, and another important mass extinction event occurred late in the period. We then will follow our look at the Triassic Period with a look at the heyday of the dinosaurs, the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. After the relatively quiet Jurassic Period, the Cretaceous Period ended literally with a “Bang!” as the Deccan flood basalts and the Yucatan asteroid put an end to the reign of the dinosaurs in the world’s most famous mass extinction event at the end of that period. This extinction event, in turn, formed the substrate to the following Cenozoic Era. Taken in its entirety, the Mesozoic Era was the beginning of the modern world, both tectonically with the break-up of Pangaea, and biologically with the origination of many important plant and animal taxa, some extinct (for example, the non-avian dinosaurs) but others still important in the modern flora (for example, angiosperms or “flowering plants”) and fauna (for example, avian dinosaurs or “birds” and mammals).
About the Instructor: Dr. Frederick Rogers (roge...@franklinpierce.edu) is a Professor of Geology and Environmental Science at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and his doctoral degree in geology from the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Within the broad field of geology, his areas of particular interest and research are invertebrate paleontology, micropaleontology, biostratigraphy, and lithostratigraphy, with a focus on Devonian-age brachiopods and conodonts. In addition, he has a long-standing interest in all aspects of evolution, broadly defined – cosmic, geological, and biological – and in the history and philosophy of science.
