NPR For Central California
Dr. Tony Rathburn is a paleontologist who conducts research on tiny fossils from the seafloor. Even though large fossils get most of the attention, it is the microfossils that provide the vast majority of information about Earth's past. These microfossils, called “foraminifera” tell about how the environment and climate has changed through time. Foraminifera have been around for at least 500 million years (long before dinosaurs appeared on Earth), and these single-celled creatures are still very abundant in all depths of modern oceans. Dr. Rathburn is currently Professor of Geology and Chair of the Geological Sciences Department at California State University, Bakersfield and a Research Associate Scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA.