What are the practical uses of paleontology?
First of all, a number of natural resources are in fact fossils, or derived from fossils. Coal, oil, and peat are derived from fossil plant material; marble is metamorphosed limestone, which is often biogenically deposited; diatomaceous earth (used as an abrasive and in gardening) is made up of fossil microscopic siliceous skeletons of certain algae. To study these resources and to identify areas and rock layers that are likely to contain them requires in-depth knowledge of sedimentary rocks and of the fossils contained in them. Some paleontologists work for the petroleum industry, and use fossils to interpret sequences of sedimentary rocks. Paleontologists who work on relatively recent fossils have developed approaches to reconstructing past climates and environments. Today, environmental change, global warming, and so on are household words. Paleontologists can provide historical data on past climates and apply it towards understanding future trends and their likely effects. If we un
