Paleontology and Sedimentary Geology

The program, carried out at the Ivan Rakovec Institute of Paleontology ZRC SAZU, covers paleontology, sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The main research areas are in Slovenia, but other regions are also included.

In the next years, our research will be focused on the following subjects:
1. Mesozoic radiolarians, Miocene diatoms and silicoflagellates – taxonomy, evolution, paleoecology and paleobiogeography.
2. Late Cretaceous hadrosaurid dinosaurs - taxonomy, paleobiogeography and paleoecology.
3. Taxonomy of Neogene Proboscidea.
4. Cave bear paleobiology – growth and reproductive parameters.
5. Stratigraphy of Mesozoic deep-water basins in the Dinarides.
6. Mesozoic and Paleogene carbonate platform systems in the Dinarides.
7. Sedimentology, biostratigraphy, and paleoecology of Oligocene and Miocene sedimentary basins in the Central Paratethys.
8. Carbonate sedimentary geology and geobiology – burial diagenesis, terrestrial carbonates and meteoric diagenesis, geobiology of calcretes.
9. Anthropogenic vs. geogenic contribution of heavy metals in speleothems, soil, and urban sediments.
10. Cooperation in other scientific disciplines (e.g. environmental sciences, archeology, agronomy).

The institute closely collaborates with other institutes in Slovenia (Department of Geology at Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Geological Survey of Slovenia, Biotechnical Faculty, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute) and has a well-established cooperation with several foreign institutes from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, USA and Switzerland.