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Professor´s discoveries solve crimes, offer clues about climate change

December 08, 2008

If the long-forgotten remains of an undiscovered dinosaur were found hidden in the Pocono Mountains, the story would run looped on every 24-hour news station in the country. But when an entire new genus of microscopic organism that existed in the time of the dinosaurs is discovered, the world doesn't blink an eye.

But it is these creatures - so tiny that just a sliver of mud can hold thousands of species - that hold the key to understanding the past, present and future of the climate of our planet.

Peter Siver, the Charles & Sarah P. Becker '27 professor of botany and director of the Environmental Studies Program, studies diatoms and chrysophytes - types of photosynthetic microorganism found in lakes, oceans and other water sources that hold the clues to understanding climate change dating back millions and millions of years.

Over the past 20 years, Siver has discovered 60 new species and one new diatom genus made of finely detailed glass of its own making. His work on the subject has taken him across North America, from the Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina to the Northwest Territories of Canada and to hundreds of lakes from Florida to Newfoundland. Botanist admirers have named more than one species after Siver: Eunotia siveri, a diatom originally described in Brazil; Neidium siveri, another diatom originally described from Paraguay; and mallomonas matvienkoae var. siverii, a scaled chrysophyte originally described from India.

These tiny organisms help us solve other mysteries, too. Siver is frequently called upon by detectives across the country to solve crimes, in which the only clue may be a smudge of mud on a shoe. By observing the diatoms inside that mud, Siver is able to pinpoint the kind of water body where that mud originated, providing important evidence in a crime.

"These little guys have been used to solve murder cases," said Siver. Using a tube of mud less than a meter long, Siver can learn things about the environment dating back hundreds of years. The deeper down in the mud he is able to go, the further back in history he can go.

Deep in the cold tundra of northern Canada, where it is dark much of the year, Siver recently had the opportunity to sample mud dating back 48 million years, where it lay deep in the bowels of a diamond mine under 150 feet of glacial material covering the remains of an ancient lake. Viewing the mud sample under an electron microscope, Siver discovered that a microorganism identical to those that today exist in the tropics. These tiny organisms had instantly proven that the area was once warm and tropical.

"By knowing the different species and being able to tell them apart, we can better tell how water bodies are being affected and changing. This has huge implications for understanding climate change," Siver said.

A longer version of this "Behind the Scenes" article is available on the LiveScience web site, where it was provided in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

Read the full story here.

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu