Biostratigraphy

The course provides advanced knowledge on the contribution of Biostratigraphy to modern stratigraphic analyses.
The basic concepts, already touched during some courses of the" Laurea Triennale in Scienze Geologiche" are developed in depth with at least one practical example for every concept. Every discussion of these case studies starts with the illustration of the geological and/or stratigraphical framework. In this way the students will be able to understand the contribution of a professional Biostratigrapher to the solution of geologic problems.
In order to achieve these goals, the course is organized into two parts.
The first part is focused on the biostratigraphic concepts and methods. This part includes: definition of species, kind of speciations, indentifcation of FO/LO, methods to identify FAD and LAD, kind of biozones, direct biostratigraphic correlations, indirect biostratigrahic correlations, with special regard to carbonate platform/basin and marine/continental correlations. The case studied discussed are selected in order to show the properties of the most important fossil groups of biostratigraphic significance.
The second part is focused on the mutual relationships between Biostratigraphy and Chronostratigraphy, first on theoretical basis then on practical examples of calibration of chrostratigraphic scales and selection of GSSPs. Four systems of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICS) are presented: Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic and Jurassic. All the GSSPs defined in the four systems are illustrated, with special emphasis to the historical and geological context.

Knowledge and understanding of:
· Analysis of the geological framework, and identification of the problem to be solved
· Selection of the best biostratigraphic tools with respect geological/stratigraphical framework
· Selection of the more appropriate biostratigraphic method
· Evaluation of the results