The Carnian pluvial episode (Late Triassic): new insights into this important time of global environmental and biological change

In May 2017, in the delightful town of Delmenhorst (Lower Saxony, Germany), the first meeting on the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) was hosted by the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, Institute for Advanced Study. This was a milestone event. For the first time researchers from around the world met to discuss this still poorly known episode of early Late Triassic global environmental and biological change. This thematic set originates from discussions at this first meeting, and includes state-of-the-art research on the CPE, with the most recent discoveries on the complex phenomena that happened during this fascinating interval in Earth's history.