Various issues were discussed on the second day of the XXVI Indian Colloquium on Micropaleontology & Stratigraphy (XXIV ICMS) being held at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) in Dehradun.
M Shanmukhappa from ONGC Dehradun spoke about use of palynology and exploration of oil referring to case studies in Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery and Cambay basin. Dr MR Rao of BSIP, lucknow, explained different techniques of palynology and its applications in hydro-carbon exploration with special reference to Tertiary spore-pollen and dinoflagellate cysts.
Shabana Anjum Ansari of ONGC Dehradun, spoke about early and late cretaceous nano-fossils from selected wells of KG Basin of India. Speakers devliered talks on various subjects during the technical sessions held on Tuesday. Earlier, on Monday, the colloquium was inaugurated by Prof SK Shah, former Geology Department head, Jammu University. In his presidential address he spoke on the social importance of micropaleontology, especially in the field of oil and natural gas, past climate and evolution trend.
Shah highlighted the past, present and future status of paleontology in India. He stated that paleontology should not be a mistress but a maid in the field of earth science while adding that palaeontologist are now becoming an endangered species as opportunities in the field of oil and gas are decreasing. He said that individualistic approach and lack of communication as causing a big hurdle in research area and emphasised that paleontologists should work with biologists.
Focusing on what should be done, he said that collaborative research programmes should be organised and multidisciplinary approach should be employed along with techniques from other sections of science.