Join Mattie M. Kelly Environmental Institute for our Spring Semester 2019 Seminar with speaker Dr. Jon Bryan presenting “Reefs of Florida: Past and Present.” The seminar will take place on Friday, January 25, 2019 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Robert E. Greene, Jr. Science Building (Building 350), Room 110, Niceville Campus of Northwest Florida State College. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.
The Florida Reef Tract is one of the best-studied coral reefs in the world and a very popular diving and ecotourism destination. For most of its geological history, Florida has been entirely or partly submerged beneath shallow, tropical seas and has continuously hosted a variety of reef ecosystems since the age of dinosaurs. These were not only coral reefs, but also reefs constructed by algae, sponges, worms, mollusks, crinoids, and other marine life! Agatized reef coral is the State Stone of Florida and prehistoric Floridians used this fossilized coral to make stone tools. Come take a dive into Florida’s past and present oceans!
Dr. Jon Bryan is a Professor of Geology and Oceanography at NWFSC. He is author of the book ‘Roadside Geology of Florida,’ and an invertebrate paleontologist who specializes in ancient marine environments of the Gulf Coastal Plain.
For more information, email mkei@nwfsc.edu or phone: 850-729-4915.