The Micropaleontology Laboratory, a discipline that studies fossils ranging in size from a few microns to a few centimetres, is located in the new headquarters of the INGV Pisa Section. We met the head of the Lab, the INGV researcher Antonio Cascella, to find out more about its functioning and the activities that take place within it.
What do you study in the Laboratory?
Within the Lab we prepare and analyze samples of sedimentary rocks and marine sediments for the study of calcareous nannofossils (that is, very small fossils of microscopic planktonic unicellular marine algae, which have inhabited almost all marine environments for about 200 million years).
Where do these samples come from?
The studied samples come from outcrops or deep sea cores of the Mediterranean basin.
How are they analysed?
Given the microscopic dimensions of calcareous nannofossils (between 2 and 20 microns), smaller than a grain of dust, we cannot observe and study them as we would with a dinosaur bone or a fossil shell. In fact, their study is carried out with the aid of high magnification (x1250) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM).
Who are these studies aimed at?
The activity of the Laboratory is aimed at studies of biostratigraphy (indirect dating and correlation of sedimentary successions) and paleoclimatology (reconstruction of the climate of the past), carried out within the framework of national and international scientific projects involving the Mediterranean basin.
For this purpose, the sediments are treated for the preparation of microscope slides through various techniques, more or less complex according to the study requirements.
What tools do you use for your studies?
For the preparation and study of the slides, the Laboratory is equipped with a centrifuge, an infrared lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, a Leica DMLP polarized light optical microscope and a stereomicroscope. We also use the Section's Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).
