hOW do palentologists and geologists work together?

Answer 1

They work together in ever so many ways. The activities of paleontologists include identifying remains of ancient organisms. As particular species only occur in rocks of particular ages, that information can be important for geologists trying to date rock strata. For example, as rock strata a contains an ammonite called something or other, that means it must be from ammonite subzone something or other of the Bathonian part of the Middle Jurassic. (Either that, or it's been misidentified or the species survived for longer than previously thought.)

Geologists provide information to paleontologists on good places to look for fossil sites. An example of this is field work in Western Siberia, which is ever such a huge place with vast forests. The forests mean the rocks are virtually invisible, many areas are hundreds of kilometres from the nearest track, let alone roads, and reaching new localities can involve several weeks of canoeing. It makes finding needles in haystacks relatively straightforward. (Try a flamethrower and a metal detector.) The solution can come from geologists.

During Soviet times, geologists were encouraged into drawing up really good geological maps. The rock formations of Western Siberia were well covered. That means it's now possible for a paleontologist in St Petersburg (thousands of miles west) to toddle along to the library, get out some maps and go fossil hunting. What they're looking for are promising rock layers that could be exposed, and that's the sort of thing that can occur due to river action. Find a point on the map where those conditions are available and, later, go and take a look at those localities you've never actually previously seen. Not all the sites indicated by such geological information are likely to yield fossils, but some will.

Incidentally, this isn't merely theoretically possible. It's standard practice. A Siberian locality called Kemchuga was first discovered in a library. It works all over the place. An Upper Jurassic Portugese site called Guimarota was also found partly by consulting geological maps.

Answer 2

Beer.

Answer 3

Beer is how I am able to work with all other geoscientists!

Answer 4

No, emperorisnaked, that's just how we work period. Our basic fuel, if you will.

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