Foundations and Applications of Trace Fossils

Murray Gingras earned a PhD in Sedimentary Geology (1999). Since that time, Gingras has been recognized as one of the international leaders in ichnology (using trace fossils and other paleoecological knowledge to interpret the rock record). Gingras is known particularly for his work on modern deposits and neoichnology. His work has also focused on understanding the influence of bioturbation on permeability and porosity distributions in reservoir strata. James MacEachern earned his PhD in Geology in 1994. Since then, he has focused his research on?the integration of ichnology with sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy for refining facies models.?MacEachern's work seeks to place applied ichnology into the reach of classical sedimentary facies analysts.?

Part I: Introduction to Ichnology
1. A History of Ichnology Applied to Sedimentological Problem Solving
2. An Overview of Common Trace Fossils and Their Significance
3. Neoichnology and its Role in Understanding and Interpreting the Sedimentary Environment

Part II: Interpretive Frameworks for Ichnology
4. Frameworks for the Interpretation of Trace Fossils: Ichnofacies
5. Frameworks for the Interpretation of Trace Fossils: Ichnofabrics
6. Frameworks for the Interpretation of Trace Fossils: Process Ichnology
7. The Sequence Stratigraphic Utility of Trace Fossils

Part III: The Ichnology of Environmental Stresses
8. Identifying Brackish-Water Settings
9. Identifying Reduced Oxygen Settings
10. Ichnological Responses to Sedimentation

Part IV: The Ichnology of Common Sedimentary Environments
11. The Ichnology of Shoreface Deposits
12. The Ichnology of Deltas
13. The Ichnology of Continental Shelves
14. The Ichnology of Continental Slopes
15. The Ichnology of Turbidites and Submarine Fans
16. The Ichnology of Wave-Dominated Estuaries
17. The Ichnology of River-Dominated Estuaries
18. Continental Ichnology

Part V: Ichnofossils in the Big Picture
19. Trace Fossils Through Time
20. Trace Fossils and Extinctions
21. Biogenic Sedimentary Structures and the Agrinomic Revolution
22. Big Data and Quantification of Ichnological datasets
23. Future Directions of Trace Fossil Analysis