A great enhancement to this segment is to take students on a field trip to see a scanning electron microscope. My students were invited to Mobil Oil Corporation to see the various applications of the S.E.M. in the quest for petroleum. We observed foraminifera, small rock fragments and even a lice specimen. Having worked on the industry side of the fence, I can tell you that it is an event most scientists enjoy. If this scenario is applied to the recent geologic past, great insight can be obtained into paleoclimatic variations.
Climatic oscillations accompanied by changes in ice volume on Earth are a potential cause.
The subsequent effect observed in the fossil record would be the ratios of the different coiling directions of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma . In addition, a link with math is possible by calculating percentage data and actually plotting the data to make interpretations. An application of this technique for middle school students follows this article. Reconstruction of environments at different times during the geologic past is also derived from the study of micropaleontology, particularly benthic foraminifera. Modern benthic foraminifera are distributed according to parameters of their preferred habitat.