The time interval represented by the Vendian period and its transition into the Cambrian is one of the most significant in the evolution of the earth. Major tectonic, biologic and geochemical events occurred on a global scale and include the growth and reorganization of supercontinent, significant fluctuations in sea level and climate, the advent of soft-bodied and small shelly metazoans, the isotopic and trace element composition of seawater, and the composition of the atmosphere. Most of these events are represented in the record of sediments that spans the Vendian- Cambrian transition, and which is preserved on all continents. The research will be a detailed investigation of the stratigraphy, sedimentology, and geochronology of the Nama basin (Namibia) developed during Vendian and early Cambrian time. This work will test specific hypotheses concerning, for example, the mechanisms(s) of basin subsidence, origin of stratigraphic sequences and boundaries, and the absolute ages of critical fossil and trace fossil assemblages (e.g. Ediacaran fauna, Cloudina, Phycodes pedum, the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, and carbon isotopic and strontium isotopic curves. The work will be supplemented by high resolution U-Pb zircon dating of numerous volcanic ash beds intercalated throughout the sequence, thereby providing one of the best calibrated sections in the world through this critical time interval.
