Methodology and Techniques - Trace Fossils as Indicators of Sedimentary Environments

Environmental Engineering Reference

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and enhancement of visibility by staining, peeling, or advanced photography

techniques. Thin sections (preferably large-scale) are suitable to solve various

problems, and optical microscopy is essential in the study of minute and meio-

benthic trace fossils. These techniques may be complemented with SEM in

order to reveal still more details. Conventional X-ray radiography is a standing

technique to study internal structures particularly in core, whereas computer-

aided tomography becomes increasingly important in the three-dimensional

reconstruction of trace fossils. Finally, polymer-resin casting is a prerequisite

for the proper study of microbioerosion.

Industrial application of ichnology is closely related to borehole cores and

images. The study of well cores is challenging due to their limited exposure sur-

faces and thus requires a special procedure. High-resolution borehole images

provide an invaluable source of ichnological information, particularlywhen cali-

brated against cored intervals.

Statistical analysis can be widely applied in ichnology, including in ichno-

taxonomy, in paleoecology, or to study benthic communities, evolutionary

trends, and trace-fossil distributions. Similarly, computer modeling has been

increasingly employed to solve several problems, such as quantitative mor-

phometry, behavior of tracemakers, bioirrigation, environmental and substrate

changes, and reservoir quality.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I thank the reviewer, Ludvig L ¨ wemark (Stockholm), for his helpful comments. I am grateful

to Statoil for permission to publish the data presented in Fig. 6 and Section 4-6.

REFERENCES

487-490.

Bednarz, M., McIlroy, D., 2009. Three-dimensional reconstruction of “phycosiphoniform” burrows:

implications for identification of trace fossils in core. Palaeontologica Electronica 12, 15 pp.

Bengtson, S., 2000. Teasing fossils out of shales with cameras and computers. Palaeontologica Elec-

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