The Devonian Period (~360 to ~420 million years ago) was an important time interval for major evolutionary changes, yet it was also environmentally volatile. The evolution of forests and tetrapods during the Devonian marks the onset of the landscapes and lifeforms we are familiar with today. However, this was also a time of biocrises: perturbation intervals comprised of repeated and rapid (bio)events that can include climatically-driven extinctions and corresponding sea level and carbon cycle fluctuations.

In the Beloit Paleo Lab, we use an integrated stratigraphic approach (litho-, chemo-, bio-, and sequence stratigraphy) to constrain the timing of carbon cycle perturbations and other environmental changes associated with Devonian biocrises. Many of our recent student projects were funded by an ACS PRF grant (PRF# 60525-UR2) on black shales in the Appalachian and Illinois Basins, and we are currently wrapping up a complimentary project in the Michigan Basin that is funded by the Keck Geology Consortium.

Selected Publications:

Zambito, J. and Voice, P. (2024) Integrated stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental study of the Middle-Late Devonian carbonate to black shale transition in the Michigan Basin, Keck Geology Consortium Short Contributions, 36:1-8, https://doi.org/10.18277/AKRSG.2024.36.11

Baird, G., Zambito J., and Brett, C. (2023) Tully Formation and pre-Frasnian Group succession, p. 259-378 In: Devonian of New York, Volume 2: C. A. Ver Straeten, D. J. Over, and D. Woodrow (eds.), Bulletins of American Paleontology, Numbers 405-406: 259-378. https://doi.org/10.32857/bap.2023.405.03

Brett, C., Baird, G., Zambito J., and Bartholomew, A. (2023) Stratigraphy and Facies of the Middle Devonian (Givetian) Hamilton Group in New York State and Adjacent Areas, p. 1-195, In: Devonian of New York, Volume 2: C. A. Ver Straeten, D. J. Over, and D. Woodrow (eds.), Bulletins of American Paleontology, Numbers 405-406: 1-195. https://doi.org/10.32857/bap.2023.405.01

Brett, C., Zambito, J., McLaughlin, P., and Emsbo, P. (2020) Revised perspectives on Devonian biozonation and environmental volatility in the wake of recent time-scale revisions, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 549:108843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.06.037

Brett, C., Zambito, J., Baird, G., Aboussalam, S., Becker, T., and Bartholomew, A. (2018) Litho-, Bio-, and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Boyle-Portwood Succession (Middle Devonian, Central Kentucky, U.S.A., Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 98(2):331-368, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-018-0323-6

Zambito, J., M. Joachimski, C. Brett, G. Baird, and Aboussalam, S. (2016) A carbonate carbon isotopic record for the late Givetian (Middle Devonian) Global Taghanic Biocrisis in the type region (northern Appalachian Basin), In Becker, R. T., Königshof, P. & Brett, C. E. (eds.) Devonian Climate, Sea Level and Evolutionary Events. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 423:223-233, http://doi.org/10.1144/SP423.7 

The mass extinction at the Permian – Triassic Boundary, which occurred ~252 million years ago, is recognized as the most devastating extinction in Earth’s history (>80% of all genera went extinct). While the extinction itself has been studied extensively, the climatic changes beforehand, when Earth transitioned from Icehouse to Greenhouse conditions during the Late Paleozoic deglaciation, are not as well understood. Importantly, this climatic shift is arguably the best analog for the long-term effects of current anthropogenic climate change and ice sheet melting.

In the Beloit Paleo Lab, we study the extreme continental conditions leading up to and after the extinction event, in particular, hot, arid saline lake and mud flat environments. In particular, we use fluid inclusions within salt that precipitated in these settings to reconstruct lake water temperatures which are a proxy for paleoweather, and when studied in time succession allow us to make interpretations about paleoclimatic changes. As part of this line of research, we are participating in the Deep Dust scientific drilling project.

Selected Publications:

Soreghan, G., Beccaletto, L., Benison, K., Bourquin, S., Hamamura, N., Hamilton, M., Heavens, N., Hinnov, L., Huttenlocker, A., Looy, C., Pfeifer, L., Pochat, S., Sardar Abadi, M., Zambito, J., and the 2019 Deep Dust workshop participants (2020) Report on ICDP Deep Dust workshops: Probing Continental Climate of the Late Paleozoic Icehouse-Greenhouse Transition and Beyond, Scientific Drilling, 28:93-112. https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-28-93-2020

Benison, K., Zambito, J., and Knapp, J. (2015) Contrasting siliciclastic-evaporite strata in subsurface and outcrop: an example from the Permian Nippewalla Group of Kansas, U.S.A., Journal of Sedimentary Research, 85(6):626-645. https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2015.43

Zambito, J. and Benison, K. (2013) Extreme High Temperatures and Paleoclimate Trends Recorded in Permian Ephemeral Lake Halite, Geology 41(5):587-590. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34078.1

Industrial sand has many uses including glass making, for molds in foundry processes, and as frac sand (proppant) in the hydraulic fracturing process for extracting unconventional petroleum resources. Wisconsin is one of North America’s leading producers of frac sand, which is primarily mined from Cambrian-age quartz sandstones deposited ~500 million years ago. During the mining process, there is the potential to leach sulfide and iron (hydr)oxide cements within these sandstones and release their trace metal constituents to surface water and lower the pH; this is essentially a mild form of acid-mine drainage. The potential for environmental impacts has recently increased as mine sites now sit idle during a mining cycle ‘bust’. Furthermore, these same sandstones, where buried at depth, are a regional aquifer. As the water table fluctuates due to increased groundwater withdrawal and/or climate change, these sulfide and iron (hydr)oxide cements may break down and contaminate groundwater with trace metals.

In the Beloit Paleo Lab, we have undertaken a variety of projects to characterize the geochemistry and mineralogy of these sandstones and understand the origin of any trace metals present within the context of Cambrian depositional environments and subsequent diagenesis.

Selected Publications:

Zambito, J., Haas, L., and Parsen, M. (2022) Identifying the source of groundwater contaminants in West-Central Wisconsin, U.S.A.: Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of the Cambrian sandstone aquifer, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2022.103966

Zambito, J., Haas, L., and Parsen, M. (2022) A portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) elemental dataset collected from Cambrian-age sandstone aquifer material, Wisconsin, U.S.A., Data in Brief. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.108411 & https://doi.org/10.26022/IEDA/112311

Zambito, J., Haas, L., Parsen, M., and McLaughlin, P. (2019) Preliminary geochemistry and mineralogy of the Wonewoc Formation and Tunnel City Group contact interval strata: implications for water quality, WGNHS Open-File Report 2019-01, 28 p., 5 appendices. https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/pubs/000965/