PhD student invited to Vienna to present his research on how living things become fossils

A palaeontologist has been invited to Vienna to talk about his doctoral research in the field taphonomy – the process of fossilisation.

PhD student Thomas Clements from the Department of Geology will travel to the Austrian capital on April 19, to deliver a presentation to the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, which outlines his work which aims to further understanding how fossils form.

He will join thousands of academics from institutions throughout Europe at the Austria Center Vienna – a 22,000sqm exhibition and international conference centre.

Taphonomy is a sub-science of palaeontology that focuses on what happens to an organism’s carcass after death, from the moment it dies to the geological process that turn flesh into stone, forming a fossil.

The EGU's General Assembly, which this year takes place between April 17 and 22, aims to bring to together geoscientists from all over the world to discuss research related to Earth, planetary and space sciences.

The event is expected to attract journalists interested in geology, palaeontology and connected fields of research, with Thomas's talk, as well as others, being streamed live on the EGU website.

The press conference in which Thomas will take part is called ‘How ancient organisms moved and fed: finding out more from fossils’, and runs from 11am to 12pm.