Mónica hopes to respond to these questions with evidence recovered from the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, where fossils from before and after the global warming phenomenon were found. What impact did this global warming event have on the South American tropical forest from 60 million years ago and how could it compare to the climate change we are experiencing today? The temperature would reach up to 45 degrees Celsius (or 113 degrees Fahrenheit) in the tropics, and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere would increase. “The big difference is that it was less diverse.”īut 56 million years ago, the climate on Earth would significantly change. “This forest shared many climatic characteristics and the same plant families as today’s rainforests,” explains Mónica, from her laboratory at the Center for Tropical Paleoecology and Archaeology (CTPA) at STRI. In one of her explorations with STRI paleontologist Carlos Jaramillo’s team, they discovered evidence of a 60-million-year-old neotropical forest. Working at the Smithsonian sporadically since she was an undergraduate student, Mónica spent years deciphering the story that fossil leaves have to tell about tropical forests millions of years ago. “Finding this was absolutely incredible,” admits the Colombian paleobotanist, a Tupper postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). And if they reach the ground intact, they can be eaten by an animal. They come apart as they fall, losing their petals. Finding flowers in the fossil record is quite rare. Working closely with Meg Lowman, author Heather Lang and artist Jana Christy beautifully capture Meg's world in the treetops.Mónica Carvalho takes a rock in between her hands and uncovers a petrified flower. She studied, invented, and persevered, not only creating a future for herself as a scientist, but making sure that the rainforests had a future as well. Male teachers would not let her into their classrooms, the high canopy was difficult to get to, and worst of all, people were logging and clearing the forests.

But she encountered challenge after challenge. As a scientist, Meg set out to climb up and investigate the rain forest tree canopies- and to be the first scientist to do so.

The colors, the branches, and, most of all, the leaves and mysterious organisms living there. Meg Lowman was always fascinated by the natural world above her head. Meg's perseverance and creativity allowed her to achieve this goal, but when this fantastic ecosystem started to disappear, Meg needed to act quickly.

Meg Lowman was determined to investigate the marvelous, undiscovered world of the rainforest treetops.

The leaf detective