ERTH 717 Applied Micropaleontology
The course will provide an advanced-level overview of microfossils and their applications for solving geological problems. Emphasis will be given on those groups of microfossils commonly used for dating, correlation, and sedimentary environment interpretation. The course will be mainly lab-based and will include: sampling methods, separation and preparation techniques for carbonate microfossil analysis, microfossil counting and concentration calculations, microfossil imaging using scanning electron microscopy, analysis of microfossil diversity, abundance and distribution through time and space. Practical applications of microfossils including quantitative biostratigraphy, correlations, interpretation of sedimentary environments, paleogeographic and paleoclimate reconstructions will be discussed.