Palynology Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Methods of study 3 Applications 4 References 5 External links 6 See also

Introduction

Palynology, a branch of both micropaleontology and botany, is the science that studies organic microfossils (collectively termed palynomorphs and between 5 and 500 micrometres in size), including pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, acritarchs, found in rocks and sediments.

Methods of study

Palynomorphs are extracted from rocks and sediments physically, by wet sieving, often after ultrasonic treatment, and chemically, by using chemical digestion to remove the non-organic fraction (e.g. hydrofluoric acid is used to digest silicate minerals, and hydrochloric acid is used to digest carbonate minerals).

Samples are then mounted on slides and examined using light microscopy or scanning electron microscopy.

Palynology uses many techniques from other related fields such as geology, botany, paleontology, archaeology, pedology, and geography.

Applications

Palynology is used by many scientific disciplines for a diverse range of applications.

• Biostratigraphy and geochronology. Geologists use palynological studies in biostratigraphy to correlate strata and determine the age of a given bed or sequence.
• Palaeoecology and climate change. Palynology can be used to reconstruct past vegetation or plankton communities, and so infer past environmental and climatic conditions.
• Taxonomy and evolutionary studies.
• Forensic palynology.
• Allergy studies. Studies of the geographic distribution and seasonal production of pollen, can help sufferers of allergies such as hay fever.
• Melissopalynology.

Because relative distributions of pollen and spores give clues to ancient biostratigraphy and environments, one common and lucrative application of palynology is in oil and gas exploration.

Palynology also allows scientists to infer the climatic conditions from the vegetation present in an area thousands or millions of years ago. This is a fundamental part of research into climate change.

References

• Moore, P.D., et al. (1991), Pollen Analysis (Second Edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications. ISBN 0632021764
• Traverse, A. (1988), Paleopalynology. Unwin Hyman ISBN 0045610010

External links

• Centre for Palynology, University of Sheffield, UK
• The Palynology Unit, Kew Gardens, UK
• PalDat, palynological database hosted by the University of Vienna, Austria
• The Micropalaeontological Society
• The American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists (AASP)

See also

• Forensic palynology - the study of pollen for evidence at a crime scene.
• Melissopalynology - the study of pollen and spores found in honey.

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