Research Fields:
Basic and applied research is carried out in the macro– and micropalaeontology, biostratigraphy and sedimentology covering the entire Phanerozoic.
In recent years, there has been progress developing studies’ involving palaeontology, cyclic, event and sequence stratigraphy.
The macropalaeontological research includes graptolites and tentaculites in the Paleozoic, ammonites in the Mesozoic and mollusks in the Cenozoic.
The following microfossil groups are studied: spores and pollen, chitinozoans, acritarchs, conodonts, calcareous nannoplankton, diatoms, foraminifers,
calpionellids, calcareous dinocysts and radiolarians.
The diverse biostratigraphical studies allow age determination of sedimentary rocks spanning the Paleozoic to Recent.
Biostratigraphy is largely applied for search of oil, gas and coal deposits.
The sedimentological studies are specialized in the fields of carbonate sedimentology limestones, dolomites, aragonitites),
sedimentology of clastic rocks (siltstones, sands, sandstones, conglomerates) and clays, evaporates and volcano-sedimentary rocks.
The major topics are elemental and mineralogical composition, isotope determinations, diagenetic factors and changes, structures and textures.
Geochemical interpretations, macro- and microfacies analyses, cyclic analysis, palaeogeographic reconstructions, basin analysis and inter-basinal correlations are carried out.
Recently, global events in the Earth history have been studying in instructive section in Bulgaria across the Ordovician/Silurian, Jurassic/Cretaceous and Cretaceous/Paleogene boundaries.
Special emphasis is made on past climatic changes – the icehouse event at the Ordovician/Silurian boundary,
the mass extinctions event at the Permian/Triassic boundary and the greenhouse event and Paleocene/Eocene boundary.
Last update: 1 July 2010
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