Boooooooommm!
Volcanic Evolution of Panama
Julio 04, 2022
Panama is a land of volcanoes, with a long history of volcanic activity.
Panama is a land of volcanoes, with a long history of volcanic activity.
Geologist Tony Coates changed the way we think about the ground under our feet. He confirmed the date when North and South America were connected at about 3 million years ago. We remember Tony not only as a skilled field geologist, but as a kind person and storyteller, who captured the imagination of scientists and non-scientists alike with his ability to spin a tale.
Tropical storms often begin with an impressive display of pyrotechnics, but researchers have largely overlooked the role of lightning strikes in tropical ecosystems.
We use social science and interdisciplinary research methods to study the links between people and natural resource use, and access. Broadly, our work encompasses three themes: the future of ocean governance, human dimensions of coupled natural human systems, and the links between development,...
Ancient, fossilized grape seeds from Panama, Colombia and Peru, provide perspective on the evolution of plants after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Based on clues ranging from microscopic pollen samples to massive petrified trees and larger-than-life-sized turtle and crocodile fossils, my lab pieces together millions of years of evidence to reconstruct the deep-time history of tropical ecosystems. I help to build international networks of...
As Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a unit of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Panama City, Panama, I retired in June, 2020 from the job of managing more than 400 employees, an annual budget of $35 million, and the institute’s research facilities ...
Exploring the tropical peoples
and ecosystems of the past
A Smithsonian emeritus scientist takes a field trip to some of Panama’s most important known marine fossil deposits for a quick lesson the age of the Ithsmus of Panama.
Individual tree species, not forest communities, respond to changes in phosphorus levels.