Unearthing the Carnian Pluvial Episode— A Prehistoric Adventure

The CPE led to mass extinctions of older species but also gave rise to modern ecosystems — most importantly, dinosaurs began to dominate right after this epoch. Prior to that, they were just one of many reptilian side-characters.In short:

The CPE was a game-changing, extinction-sparking, evolution-driving climatic freakout.

This epoch represents a crossroads of life — early mammals, crocodilian ancestors, and dinos were all scrapping it out for dominance.
 

With the rain came lush vegetation and new environments. This allowed species to diversify at an insane rate, setting up the Age of Dinosaurs — the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods that followed.

Until now, most CPE fossil evidence has been found in South America, especially Brazil. It’s one of the few places where the unique sediment layers from this epoch were preserved. But this expedition? We're now potentially uncovering CPE-era fossils in the Northern Hemisphere — Portugal, to be exact.

If confirmed, this would be:

The among the first evidence of the Carnian Pluvial Epoch north of the equator
 

A sign that the climate event was global, not regional
 

A massive opportunity to find new species that evolved in different conditions

Ricardo Araújo – Paleontologist, fossil whisperer, and leading the scientific charge on the ground

Dave Finnegan - Explorer

David Isserman - Explorer
 

Will Roseman – Explorers Club rep and field logistics wrangler, guiding the crew through the terrain
 

Photographers & Researchers – Documenting potential new species and environmental conditions preserved in the rock

This isn’t just about finding a dinosaur bone and high-fiving over it. This is about:

Filling in one of Earth’s most important evolutionary gaps
 

Mapping how climate change shaped the future of life on Earth
 

Understanding what happens when ecosystems collapse and rebound
 

...which makes it eerily relevant for today's world too.