Explain how palynology can be used to reconstruct past environments. What will be an ideal response?


Spores and pollen are extremely useful to geologists..Plants are not particularly as common
as fossils, but spores and pollen, which are extremely resistant to decay, deposited in both
marine and continental environments, occur in tremendous numbers, part of the life cycle of
plants, are frequently the only fossils found in outcrops or cores.
Fossil spores and pollen are useful in determining past environments and climates. Their
presence in sedimentary rocks helps palynologists determine what plants and trees were
living at the time, even if the fossils of those plants and trees are not preserved. Plants are
very sensitive to climatic changes, and by plotting the abundance and types of vegetation
present, based on their preserved spores and pollen, palynologists can determine past climates
and changes in climates through time. Many fossil spores and pollen have narrow time
ranges, which makes them excellent guide fossils, and can be used to determine relative
geologic age of sedimentary rocks.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

You might also like to view...

Endocrine disruptors

A. Repress the immune system B. Cause abnormalities in nervous tissue during embryonic growth and development C. Disrupt normal hormone functions D. Disrupt nerve cells E. Alter genetic material

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

If an unsaturated air parcel with a temperature of 20oC rises, forms a precipitating cloud, then returns to its original altitude,

A) the parcel's final temperature will be different than 20 oC B) the parcel's final temperature will be exactly 20 oC C) the parcel will never return to the surface D) the parcel will continue rising until it reaches the tropopause

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Monarch butterflies are threatened by the loss of _____ that they need to feed on along their migration path. 

A. corn plants B. soybeans C. apple blossoms D. clover E. milkweed

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

A deep-water wave occurs when the water depth is equal to at least ________

A) the fetch B) wave height C) wavelength D) 1/2 of the wavelength E) 1/20 of the wavelength

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences