Arizona Science

An area of eastern Africa, known as the Great Rift, has yielded many historic fossil treasures in the past. Earlier this year, UA Professor Jay Quade was the chief geologist on an exciting exploration to Ethiopia to unravel the age and environment of sedimentary deposits containing early humanoid fossils. Over millions of years, the geologically active area of Eastern Africa, has been breaking away from the main continent and as the land shifts, the earth's crust thins and water collects in areas that were once lakes. Over time, erosion and sediment expose fossils that can only be found by patient observation. In this episode: Jay Quade, Professor of Soil Geochemistry with the University of Arizona's Department of Geosciences; Tim Swindle, Ph. D., Director and Department Head of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Lab