Introduction To Microfossil Biostratigraphy

This textbook will appeal to students and graduates making their first steps in the application of both microfossils and stratigraphy. It presents, in detail, the historical development of microfossil biostratigraphy, from its birth to the emergence of sequence stratigraphy, including its roots in classical biostratigraphy. The interplay between the academic and economical challenges, on one hand, and developments in microfossil biostratigraphy, on the other, is explored thoroughly. The book also presents an introduction to the scientific concepts used in microfossil biostratigraphy practice, and the uses in microbiostratigraphy of 25 groups of microfossils, such as algae, protistans, reproductive plant debris, invertebrates, chordates and vertebrates, and microproblematica groups. It also provides a numerical method to calculate the biostratigraphical resolution of these microfossil groups.

This volume provides a comprehensive modern synthesis of the science of biostratigraphy." "Biostratigraphy: Microfossils and Geological Time is essential reading for advanced students and researchers working in biostratigraphy, basic analysis, sequence stratigraphy, palaeoceanography, palaeobiology and related fields."--BOOK JACKET.

Microfossils through Time: An Introduction is the first textbook of micropaleontology addressing undergraduate students. It presents an introduction to each group of microfossils, from bacteria to microscopical debris of vertebrates, demonstrating the broad range of study of this subdiscipline of paleontology. Not only those groups of microscopic fossils, which are traditionally considered relevant to micropaleontology, are presented (e.g., dinoflagellates, charophytes, radiolarians, spores and pollen, ostracods, chitinozoans, etc), but also others that often occur in micropaleontological samples (e.g., bivalves, echinoderms, fish debris, mammalian teeth, etc). Each of the more than forty microfossil groups are presented in an order that follows the paleontological classification, with a history of study and a variety of data on morphology, living habitats, stratigraphical distribution and their evolution, as inferred from the fossil record. The text is intended as the starting point for a new generation of textbooks that presents micropaleontology in a new structure capable of assuring an efficient transfer of expertise to the younger generations of scientists. This book will help those making their first steps in micropaleontology to develop defensible models of what microfossils are, laying the foundations for fundamental and applied studies. It introduces micropaleontology as a tool for conducting applied studies in biostratigraphy, paleoecology and for paleobathymetric estimates, basin analysis and reconstructing geological history, or related to sequence stratigraphy. It also addresses students and specialists in biology and genetics, offering a solid data base to be integrated with the other two principal components of the triad of sciences that studies the evolution of life on Earth.

This beautifully illustrated text book, with state-of-the-art illustrations, is useful not only for an introduction to the subject, but also for the application of marine microfossils in paleoceanographic, paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic analyses. The recent revival of interest in marine micropaleontology worldwide in the wake of the development of sequence stratigraphic models has led to the decision to reissue the volume in its original, but paperback, form. The ideas expressed in various chapters of this second edition remain as valid today as they were when the book was first issued. The text, however, includes an updated Phanerozoic geologic time which has been considerably modified since the 1980s.

This book will help readers learn the basic skills needed to study microfossils especially those without a formal background in paleontology. It details key principles, explains how to identify different groups of microfossils, and provides insight into their potential applications in solving geologic problems. Basic principles are addressed with examples that explore the strengths and limitations of microfossils and their geological records. This overview provides an understanding of taphonomy and quality of the fossil records, biomineralization and biogeochemistry, taxonomy, concepts of species, and basic concepts of ecology. Readers learn about the major groups of microfossils, including their morphology, ecology, and geologic history. Coverage includes: foraminifera, ostracoda, coccolithophores, pteropods, radiolaria, diatoms, silicoflagellates, conodonts, dinoflagellates, acritarch, and spores and pollens. In this coverage, marine microfossils, and particularly foraminifera, are discussed in more detail compared with the other groups as they continue to play a major role in most scientific investigations. Among the various tracers of earth history, microfossils provide the most diverse kinds of information to earth scientists. This richly illustrated volume will help students and professionals understand microfossils, and provide insight on how to work with them to better understand evolution of life, and age and the paleoenvironment of sedimentary strata.

Discusses the application of microfossils in stratigraphy and paleoceanography. The book covers geological time from Proterozoic to Cenozoic, deep sea hiatuses, global carbon cycles, ocean circulation and related climate changes, extraterrestrial events, upwelling and productivity, and more.

This is a new and completely rewritten edition of the well-known text Microfossils (first published in 1980) covering all the major microfossil groups, with information on taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology and palaeoecology. particular attention is given to the uses of microfossils in environmental reconstruction and biostratigraphy numerous line and half-tone illustrations emphasis on practical applications of micropalaeontology only student-friendly micropaleontology text available