A few years ago this was the scene of an exceptional discovery which became widely known as the discovery of the Leviathan (Livyathan melvillei), the sea monster evoked by Melville in his novel "Moby Dick". The monster took shape from the fossil remains of a prehistoric cetacean found in Peru thanks to a team of international researchers, some of whom are from the University of Pisa. Now the Ica desert, and in particular the coastal region which stretches 300 km from Pisco to Yaucha, will once again become an area of paleontological studies for a new research project led by Giovanni Bianucci from the University of Pisa. The project has been granted PRIN funding of 252,605 Euros by the MIUR.
This particular geographical area has all the characteristics of being an extremely rich deposit of marine vertebrate fossils dating back to different periods of the Cenozoic Era (from 45 to 2.5 million years ago). This time the researchers' attention will be focused on the study of the relationship between the high density of individuals present in that specific coastal environment, the rise in primary productivity and the contribution of volcanic ash as a factor in the fertilization of water.
"The topics dealt with in this project are of great impact and interest to the international scientific community," explains Bianucci, "starting with the scrutiny of one of the world's most famous and most significant Konservat- Lagerstätte (a deposit known for exceptional preservation) of Neogene marine vertebrates, a complete natural laboratory of evolution where extraordinary fossils have been discovered.
Furthermore, our research will be able to give a solid contribution to a more detailed reconstruction of the patterns in the changes to diversity and primary productivity by using the fossil record to reconstruct the evolutionary dynamics of these marine ecosystems and their complex trophic relationships. Lastly, this is the first time that a study is being carried out that will analyze in detail within the fossil record the relationships between the contribution of volcanic ash to the sea and the increase of primary productivity. This theme also holds major implications for the study of the climate changes in the past."
Three task groups will collaborate in the project: the first based in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Pisa, the second in the Department of Environmental and Territorial Sciences and the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Milano Bicocca and the third in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Camerino. The Pisa group will deal with aspects regarding the paleontology of the vertebrates (taxonomy, taphonomy, phylogeny), micropaleontology (diatoms) and volcanology.
"The Pisa team's excellent knowledge of this area of study will be of fundamental importance in guiding the research immediately in the key points of the outcropping, as well as optimizing the activity of sample collection with regard to the other fields of study," adds Bianucci. "Thanks to the studies carried out in previous years, our group has been able to consolidate relationships with the authorities and scientific institutions in the areas where the fieldwork will take place. The Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad de San Marcos of Lima will take an active part in the desert fields, both in the organizational and execution phases, and will supply technical support for any subsequent consolidation of the specimens on the land and the retrieval and preparation of the most significant finds: this kind of collaboration will contribute to the success of the missions."