Thierstein, Hans R., Prof.

ETH Zürich Prof. Dr. Hans R. Thierstein Geologisches Institut NO G 49 Sonneggstrasse 5 8092 Zuerich Phone: +41 44 632 36 66 Fax: +41 44 632 10 80 E-Mail:

Research Objective

Microfossils are, because of their abundance, wide distribution, good preservation and accurate geological age assignment are uniquely suited for many economic and scientific applications in biostratigraphy, paleoecology and paleoceanography. Paleontology in general is moving towards integrated Earth System Science, whose goal it is to better understand the interrelationship of abiotic and biotic processes and their variability during the history of our planet. Rapid advances in our ability and understanding of physical and chemical aspects of current and past global change would profit from similar advances in our ability to reconstruct changes of the biosphere.

A vastly expanded database on the quantitative, temporal and paleogeographic distribution, and on the size and shape changes that have occurred in microfossils, most of which lived at the base of the food chain, promise to provide essential information on the evolution of the biosphere. Towards this goal and to preserve a vanishing expertise, we are developing, testing and applying automated techniques in microscopy, image analysis, morphometry and artificial neural network classification. With increased efficiency, accuracy and consistency of data collection we are addressing exciting and still unanswered questions in evolution, paleoecology and biodiversity.