Paleontology studies ancient life on earth, including plant and animal species, ecosystems, and climate. It uses fossils to hypothesize conditions during their lifetime and answer questions about evolution. Specializations include micropaleontology, paleobotany, and paleozoology. Paleontology is also useful in determining the age of geological formations and can provide insight into environmental cycles and how organisms respond. It can contribute to finding solutions to prevent further damage to the environment.
Paleontology is the study of ancient or prehistoric life on earth. Its main objective is to study the evolution of plant and animal species, as well as the ancient ecosystems of the earth and the climate as a whole. Though concerned with life, paleontology is actually a branch of geology; the study of physical nature.
Paleontology uses fossil organisms to hypothesize conditions on earth during their lifetime. Changes in particular species of organisms also help answer questions regarding evolution. Because fossils are embedded in rock formations of various types, paleontology is based on geology, and thus the two are closely related. By observing fossils, their composition, location and preserved surroundings, paleontologists can grasp the climate and its changes during a particular period.
Since paleontology is a subscience of geology, there are likewise a number of fields of specialization that fall under the branch of paleontology. These subgroups include micropaleontology, paleobotny and paleozoology. Micropaleontology refers to the study of fossil microorganisms such as single-celled creatures or spores and pollen of plant life. Paleobotny deals with fossilized plant life, and paleozoology deals with animal fossils such as dinosaurs and early humans.
In addition to its academic and scientific importance, paleontology is useful in the mining industry. Because determining the age of geological formations is crucial for a variety of reasons, paleontology is valuable for its systematic approach to determining the age of fossils. By looking at fossils found in rock, a paleontologist can quickly determine the age of the rock, which is a simpler process than determining the age of the rock solely by its physical properties.
While not commonly thought of as a conservation science, paleontology is invaluable to our understanding of the environment and climate cycles that naturally exist on earth, which contributes to our understanding of where we humans fit into our current environmental crisis. . More importantly, since the earth has gone through various cycles of warming and cooling, paleontology can give us insight into how organisms respond; whether they adapt or die. While many people are quick to blame humans for the environmental problems we’re experiencing today, paleontology examines similar events on our planet long before we had a chance to change it. This can give us valuable insight into possible solutions to prevent or slow down further damage.
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