In the light of global change, environmental stress and polluted environments, low cost but efficient tools to monitor the quality of life on our planet are in great demand. Even more so where politicians argue against the Kyoto protocol and are reluctant to spend large budgets for environmental monitoring. Micro-organisms may be the answer, as they respond sensitively to pollution while cheap to use.

Session SSP12 – Environmental Micropalaeontology - Monitoring past and present environmental perturbations using micro-organisms/fossils – brings together a wide range of specialists who use micro-organisms to solve present and past environmental problems. Recent studies have demonstrated that these organisms have a great potential to detect and monitor environmental perturbations. The essential aspect of this kind of research is that micro-organisms are found in fresh water as well as in the sea at all latitudes and throughout geological history. Furthermore, they are unique in leaving a fossil record, which provides an easy access to baseline conditions before the onset of pollution, information that is very often not available in more traditional monitoring studies.

Convenors:
Silvia Spezzaferri from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Frans Jorissen  (University of Angers, France) This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Session: SSP12 Environmental Micropalaeontology - Monitoring past and present environmental perturbations using micro-organisms/fossils | >>programme