Microfossils Reveal Climatic History of the Gulf of Mexico

Proxy data such as tree rings, ice cores, and microorganisms are collected and analyzed by scientists to unlock past climate records stretching back thousands to millions of years ago.  This video podcast examines how scientists can decipher past climate from such records by focusing on a proxy calibration study in the Gulf of Mexico.  Microfossils recovered from the northern Gulf of Mexico are used to assess the control of temperature and salinity on the composition of microfossil assemblages and the chemical composition of their shells. The new data will be used to develop better estimates of past conditions from analyses of microfossils in sediment cores.