Foraminifera sample preparation

Foraminifera shells in marine sediments are sand-sized. To analyze the geochemistry of their shells, we need to separate them from the rest of the sedimentary constituents. This can be achieved by sieving, either wet or dry, through micrometer-sized sieves.  Foraminifer shells from the species of interest are then hand-picked under binocular microscope. The shells are subjected to further cleaning prior to mass spectrometry-based geochemical analysis. We routinely run trace element and isotopic analysis on foraminifera. We also study the size and the shape of foraminiferal tests using photography.