Palynofacies
Palynofacies studies examine the preservation of particulate
organic matter and
palynomorphs to provide information on the depositional environment of sediments and depositional palaeoenvironments of
sedimentary rocks. The term
Palynofacies was introduced by the French
geologist Combaz in
1964. Palynofacies studies are often linked to investigations of the
palynology and organic
geochemistry of
sedimentary rocks.
Palynofacies can be used in two ways:
*
Organic palynofacies considers all the acid insoluble particulate organic matter (POM), including
kerogen and
palynomorphs in sediments and
palynological preparations of sedimentary rocks. The sieved or unsieved preparations may be examined using strew mounts on microscope slides that may be examined using a transmitted light biological microscope or
ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence microscope. The abundance, composition and preservation of the various components, together with the thermal alteration of the organic matter is considered.
*
Palynomorph palynofacies considers the abundance, composition and diversity of palynomorphs in a sieved
palynological preparation of sediments or
palynological preparation of
sedimentary rocks. The ratio of
marine fossil phytoplankton (
acritarchs and
dinoflagellate cysts), together with
chitinozoans, to terrestrial palymomorphs (
pollen and
spores) can be used to derive a terrestrial input index in marine sediments.
Both types of palynofacies studies are used for
geological interpretation of
sedimentary basins in exploration geology, often in conjunction with palynological analysis and
vitrinite reflectance.
*Traverse, A. (1988),
Paleopalynology. Unwin Hyman ISBN 0045610010
*
Centre for Palynology, University of Sheffield, UK*
The Micropalaeontological Society, Palynology Group*
The American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists (AASP)*
Commission Internationale de Microflore du Paléozoique (CIMP), international commission for Palaeozoic palynology.
