Two lecture and one three-hour laboratory per week. Emphasis on the study of the recent environments of sediment deposition. The products of sedimentary processes will be related to their analogs in the stratigraphic record. Two lectures and one three-hour laboratory per week. Interpretation of ecological relationships of ancient organisms and their environments.
Emphasis is upon principles and methodology.
Importance of ecological studies of modern animals and plants and the extrapolation of such information to similar ancient groups are stressed. Two lectures and one three-hour laboratory per week. Study of major microfossil groups, emphasizing basic morphology, taxonomy, evolutionary development, and use in biostratigraphy. Primary focus on forms that are common in coastal plain and continental shelf sediments. Introduction to the principles which determine the distribution, organization, and abundance of the elements.