A Manual of Practical Laboratory and Field Techniques in Palaeobiology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Palaeontological Techniques — An Introduction to Practical Procedures

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 2-11

   3. Documentation in the Laboratory

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 12-17

3. Field Techniques

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19

      PDF

   2. Field Collecting Procedures

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 20-26

   3. Collecting Techniques for Microfossil and Live Foraminifera

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 27-42

   4. Consolidation, Stabilization and Replication Techniques

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 43-54

   5. Field Staining Techniques for Determining Calcite, Dolomite and Phosphate

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 55-58

   6. Field Documentation, Sample Packing and Transportation

      • Owen R. Green

      Pages 59-61

4. Laboratory Techniques

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 63-63

      PDF

   2. Introduction

      1. Laboratory Design and Layout

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 64-67

      2. Safety Procedures in the Laboratory

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 68-81

      3. Preservation, Consolidation and Repair of Unstable Specimens

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 82-97

      4. Preparation of Recent Material for Comparative Studies

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 98-108

   3. Physical Procedures

      1. Mechanical Methods of Preparing Fossil Specimens

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 110-119

      2. Fossil Extraction Techniques by Thermal Disintegration

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 120-126

      3. Disaggregation and Dispersal of Partially Consolidated and Unconsolidated Sediments

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 127-137

      4. Microfossil Sample Contamination and Reliability Problems

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 138-145

      5. Washing and Sieving Techniques Used in Micropalaeontology

         • Owen R. Green

         Pages 146-153

The user This manual is designed for the use of geo-scientists with an interest and need in developing palaeobiological materials as a potential source of data. To meet this objective practical procedures have been formatted for use by both professional and semi­ professional students with an initial understanding of palaeo biological research aims as a primary source of scientific data. I have attempted to provide an explanation and understanding of practical procedures which may be required by students undertaking palaeobiological projects as part of a degree course. The layout of this manual should be particularly beneficial in the instruction and training of geotechnologists and museum preparators. Graduate students and scientists requiring an outline of a preparation procedure will also be able to use the manual as a reference from which to assess the suitability of a procedure. This manual is also intended for use by the "committed amateur". Many of the techniques described in this manual have been devised by non-palaeontologists, and developed from methods used in archaeology, zoology and botany, as well as other areas of geology. A considerable number of the methods can be undertaken by the amateur, and in the case of many of the field procedures, should be used. This will ensure that specimens and samples can be conserved in such a manner as to facilitate any later research, and not invalidate the results of subsequent geochemical analytical techniques which might be employed.

• Contamination
• biology
• integration
• palaeontology
• research
• residue
• residues
• safety
• sediment

`This book is very well organized and information is easy to find. [...]many of the techniques will be of use to Holocene workers[...] but all geological departments that undertake research should have a copy for reference. This book will be an invaluable guide to geologists from undergraduate level upwards.[..]But always one must return to the sheer magnitude of the data contained within the 538 pages of this excellent book. It is not just a field techniques and paleobiology laboratory manual, but instead represents a most impressive gathering together of almost everything a successful practical paleobiologist needs to be effective. [...]This manual has managed to fill a gap in the market, which has existed for several years. In the last few decades developments in paleobiological field and laboratory techniques have generally been published as booklets or papers. Green has successfully brought these together here, to produce what will be valued by many as a standard reference on the subject. '
Caroline Buttler, National Museums and Galleries of Wales in Holocene

• Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Holt, Norfolk, UK

  Owen R. Green

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