1. n. [Geology]

The study of fossilized remnants of microscopic entities having organic walls, such as pollen, spores and cysts from algae. Changes in the Earth through time can be documented by studying the distribution of spores and pollen. Well log and other correlations are enhanced by incorporating palynology. Palynology also has utility in forensics.

See related terms: biostratigraphy,  fossil,  micropaleontology,  paleontology