GEOG 426: Paleoecology: Microfossils and Climate Change

Course Description

Paleoecology will focus on questions addressing past environments and past climates based on the ecology of microfossils. Micro-organisms are very sensitive to a wide variety of environmental conditions including temperature, precipitation, hydrology, water chemistry, salinity, habitat, and pollution. The fossil remains of these organisms are used as proxy indicators for reconstructing past environmental conditions, climate change, vegetation dynamics, and human impacts. Students will have the opportunity to process microfossils and make interpretations based on analysis data.