This June, Dr Darya Dankina, a palaeontologist at the Laboratory of Bedrock Geology, was on a two-week scientific traineeship at the University of Turin (Italy) in collaboration with Francesca Lozar, a specialist in coccolith nannofossils, and her team.
This short-term scientific traineeship was implemented under the COST Action CA23124 – Social, biological and climatic impacts of salt ages (SaltAges).
🔗https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA23124
The aim of the traineeship was to study Late Miocene coccoliths from the Sicilian region. During the visit, Dr D. Dankina was introduced to the classical method of sample preparation using gypsum rocks for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and microscopic analysis. These methods are essential for the identification of coccoliths at genus and species levels.
A detailed analysis of the gypsum layers was carried out in collaboration with Italian researchers, which revealed a significant association of Miocene coccoliths. This discovery provides a better understanding of the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Caltanissetta basin.
🔗https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233425269_The_Messinian_Calcare_di_Base_Sicily_Italy_revisited
The results will be presented at The Micropalaeontological Society (TMS) Annual Meeting in Pisa, Italy, in November this year. In addition, a scientific publication based on this work will be prepared and submitted to an international journal by the end of the year.
🔗https://www.tmsoc.org/tmsevent/tms-annual-conference-2025/
