Tiktaalik, which means "large freshwater fish" in Inuit, grew to nine feet in length and probably used its forelimbs—which were arms with short fin extremities—to raise its head to the surface to gulp air. Illustration by Shawn Gould © National Geographic Society.

If there were a Nobel Prize in paleontology it ought to go to a guy like Neil Shubin. The reason is that Shubin shows why paleontology matters. In a kickoff speech he gave tonight for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio he described that while the rural Pennsylvanian community of Dover was mandating that Intelligent Design be included in the science curriculum in 2004, he was studying a newly discovered fossil from the Canadian Arctic that illuminates one of the most profound evolutionary transitions in the history of life—the transition of fins to feet.

I won’t go into the details on Tiktaalik roseae here. You can find them well covered in National Geographic News and in the University of Chicago’s press release. But I will say here that when Shubin describes the step-by-step transition of a lungfish fin to an amphibian's arm and hand, it is hard not to see how Tiktaalik fits into the picture. This transitional sequence, with Tiktaalik filling a previously missing temporal and evolutionary gap, is evidence of the reality of evolution as compelling as those we have for horses and whales. Remember the popular pro-evolution symbol that shows a fish with the word Darwin in it and legs on it? Tiktaalik is not too different from that image; it is well on its way to becoming an evolutionary mascot.

Shubin, who works at the Field Museum and the University of Chicago, is well known at National Geographic. So is his long-time research colleague Ted Daeschler of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. They are both grantees of the Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration. When I was Art Director at National Geographic Magazine, we helped bring their 375 million-year-old fossil creatures, including Tiktaalik, back to life with the help of talented artists. I watched as Shubin and Daeschler shifted their work from comfortable Pennsylvania to the Canadian Arctic. Shubin described how bad weather frequently shut them in their tents, which were only kept from blowing away by constructing walls of boulders around them.

I caught up with Neil Shubin (left) autographing his latest book,  Your Inner Fish, at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Its great to see hard work pay off. Shubin and Daeschler knew what they were after and they found it. It is also great to see how they are merging their fossil work with cutting edge studies in developmental biology. According to Shubin, these studies are showing how the genetic machinery to make digits is present in fish fins before we ever see fingers. The results of this research are clear for open-minded people to see. One can only hope that the message will get through to the many other Dovers out there before science loses more ground.

Luxor temple is one of Egypt's most popular tourist attractions as well as one of its most threatened ancient monuments. Photo by David Boyer © National Geographic Society

What is the number one threat to Egypt’s ancient monuments? Stampedes of tourists? Looters? No, it is water. In this country where over 90 percent of the land is desert, the stone and mud brick structures created by its ancient inhabitants are threatened by water in the air and water underground.

This is not news, but the public needs to be more aware of this situation so we can support the efforts of archaeologists and hydrologists who are trying to solve the problem.

The problem starts with Lake Nasser, the 310-mile-long lake created by the Aswan High Dam. Water that evaporates off this lake has added humidity to the air that was not present before. This new moisture causes salts trapped in structures to burst through surfaces, destroying delicate carvings, paintings, and creating structural problems. Mud brick structures are particularly vulnerable not only to this, but to increased rainfall. They now erode more in a decade than they did previously in a hundred years.

These same buildings are attacked from underground by rising levels of groundwater which contain dissolved salts. These salts penetrate the stone of foundations. When they evaporate they cause the stone, usually sandstone or limestone, to crumble. Many structures are already critically damaged. No one knows for sure how long before such structural damage will result in collapses, but estimates range from several years to a decade.

This is why Dr. Zahi Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, says that groundwater is his number one concern  (see Getty Conservation Institute newsletter 1).

Groundwater problems are widespread at archaeological sites along the Nile. In the south at the Luxor and Karnak temple complexes, two of Egypt’s top tourist attractions, water flows underground from irrigated fields toward the sites, gaining in salinity as it flows. The groundwater problem there is made worse by farmers flooding their fields to grow sugar cane. This causes an excessive amount of water to enter the water table. A “dewatering program” was implemented at these sites and has met with temporary success. A more permanent solution may lie in efforts to convince farmers to plant less water-intensive crops, such as beans. (see Getty Conservation Institute newsletter 2).

In the north of Egypt at Cairo, rising groundwater and flooding is causing problems at the base of the Giza plateau. According to Reda Mohamed el-Damak, director of the Center of Studies and Designs for Water Projects at Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering (see full report ) the problem there is not just water, but water tainted by “sewage containing toxic waste and chemicals.” Like a stopped up toilet, inadequate sewage and drainage systems are causing water to back up.

The solutions to this problem are known. One needs to either reduce the amount of water being put into the ground  or provide ways for the water to drain away. The problem for Dr. Hawass and Egyptologists is that the solution must be quick and it will likely be very expensive. From 2000 to 2006, USAID and Egypt spent $15 million building a new sewer system around a few historic buildings in Old Cairo. The water had to be drawn 1.5 kilometers down pipes to another sewer system that was lower in elevation. The Luxor project is said to have cost almost $8 million (see article). It is not hard to see how the cost of these types of rescue efforts can add up very quickly.

I wonder if anyone imagined that after spending $1 billion to build the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s that it would create what might end up being a $1 billion problem down the road? Is Egypt or the world ready to spend that kind of money to save Egyptian monuments? If not, how would you decide what to save and what to let crumble?