Fossils and Earth Time

Felix Gradstein is Professor Emeritus at Oslo University, Norway and visiting Research Fellow, University of Portsmouth, UK. From 2000 to 2008, he was chair of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Under his leadership major progress was made with the formal definition of chronostratigraphic units from Precambrian through Quaternary. For his fundamental work concerning the Geologic Time Scale, geochronology in general, quantitative stratigraphy and micropaleontology, the European Geosciences Union awarded him in 2010 the Jean Baptiste Lamarck Medal. He is Chair of the Geologic Time Scale Foundation and teaches courses in quantitative stratigraphy and the geologic time scale. Jan Zalasiewicz is geologist, paleontologist, and stratigrapher. He is Emeritus Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester, UK and a member of the Anthropocene Working Group. He focuses on geology and Earth history, in particular on fossil ecosystems and environments that span over half a billion years of geological time. He has taught students how to interpret rocks and rock structures for more than 20 years in the field and lecture halls, as well as leading field trips for geological groups. Professor Mark Williams, a prominent palaeontologist at the University of Leicester, specializes in using the fossil record to decipher past biological changes, offering valuable insights into current and future biospheric transformations in the Anthropocene era. With over three decades of experience, he has conducted extensive research across diverse terrains worldwide, from tropical regions to polar landscapes. Professor Williams is an esteemed member of the Anthropocene Working Group, focusing on human-induced alterations to ecosystems, including the impacts of introduced species in various environments like San Francisco Bay and Leicestershire. His work aims to address solutions for mitigating human-induced changes to the biosphere, a crucial aspect of the emerging Anthropocene epoch. By studying past mass extinctions caused by natural events, such as asteroid strikes and volcanic eruptions, Professor Williams seeks to guide humanity in avoiding similar catastrophic outcomes in the future. Anna Waśkowska is a professor of Earth Sciences at the AGH University of Krakow. She graduated in geology from the Jagiellonian University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences. She began her professional career at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics, and Environmental Protection at AGH, where she achieved habilitation and was awarded the title of professor. Her research focuses on geology and paleontology, with a particular emphasis on foraminifera, exploring their biodiversity, taxonomy, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography. The Carpathians are a special area of interest, where she investigates the paleontological record, lithostratigraphy, and paleogeographical development. She is the author of over 130 scientific articles, three academic textbooks, and numerous conference abstracts. For more than 25 years, she has been teaching courses in geology, Earth’s history, and geotourism. She also organizes conferences and specialized courses in micropaleontology. Prof. Waśkowska is actively involved in science popularization and geotourism. She runs the Micropaleontological Foundation Micropress Europe, supporting the development of the micropaleontological community and is a co-organizer of The European Micropaleontological Reference Centre, dedicated to preserving and providing access to paleontological collections.