Jeremy Owens

In ancient oceans that resembled our own, oxygen loss triggered mass extinction

Published: March 27, 2019 | 3:34 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Seth Young (left) and Jeremy Owens (right), assistant professors in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science

Roughly 430 million years ago, during the Earth’s Silurian Period, global oceans were experiencing changes that would seem eerily familiar today. Melting polar ice sheets meant sea levels were steadily rising, and ocean oxygen was falling fast around the world. At around the same time, a global die-off known among scientists as the Ireviken extinction […]

Ancient rocks provide clues about Earth’s early history

Published: February 25, 2019 | 11:28 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Earth’s vast oceans started becoming oxygenated on large scales and great depths long before scientists previously recognized, according to new research from Arizona State University, Florida State University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and The University of Waterloo. Oxygen in the form of the oxygen molecule (O2), produced by plants and vital for animals, is thankfully […]

Volcanic activity, declining ocean oxygen triggered mass extinction of ancient marine organisms

Published: June 11, 2018 | 3:49 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Postdoctoral Researcher Theodore Them (left, holding an extinct fossil sample) and Assistant Professor Jeremy Owens (right, holding a rock core sample). The researchers used the samples to study the global record of oxygenation. Credit: Stephen Bilenky

Global climate change, fueled by skyrocketing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, is siphoning oxygen from today’s oceans at an alarming pace — so fast that scientists aren’t entirely sure how the planet will respond. Their only hint? Look to the past. In a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy […]

Life recovered rapidly at impact site of dino-killing asteroid

Published: May 30, 2018 | 1:28 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

The three hair-covered forms (left) represent species of plankton found inside the crater. The geometric form (bottom left) is a species of algae. Small organisms like these moved into the crater so quickly that bones from animals that were killed by the impact, such as the mosasaur pictured here, may have still been visible. (Credit: Original art by John Maisano, University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences.)

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid smashed into the Earth triggering a mass extinction that ended the reign of the dinosaurs and snuffed out 75 percent of life. While the asteroid killed off scores of species, a new study from Florida State University scientists, in collaboration with lead researchers from The University of Texas […]

FSU faculty and students team up to help save a river

Published: March 15, 2017 | 1:14 pm | Posted in: Education & Society

A unique team of Florida State University faculty and students is working with concerned citizens to put the spotlight on a critically endangered river ecosystem in Florida. The Apalachicola River Project is an effort at FSU that draws upon the talents of students and faculty from multiple departments, including Digital Media Production, Media and Communication […]