Page 30: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2005)

30 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

By Robert B. Witrock, Paleontologist,

Offshore Resource Evaluation

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

The study of ancient fossil life, known as paleontology, is helping geoscientists at the Minerals Management Service (MMS) obtain a clearer picture of rela- tive historical earth events and, in turn, making the search for hydrocarbon resources easier. As scientists ascertain the chronologic ages of paleontologic events, they can then describe the nature of geologic processes that occurred in the area.

Fossils, which are found in the sedi- ment layer or "strata," provide clues as to the depositional environment, where the organisms lived, and the geologic time when the surrounding sediment was deposited. Estimates of the age of fossils in the strata in which they are found, as well as in layers above and below, are calculated according to basic geologic principle - older strata and fos- sils are found below younger layers and

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A scanning electron microscope (SEM) photo of the coccolith Emiliania huxleyi.

Hunting for Oil with Microfossils

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