[[Benthic]] [[foraminifera]] have been used as paleoenvironmental indicators in the petroleum industry for forty years—most particularly as a basis for subjective estimates of [[paleobathymetry]] based on the presumed water depth range of species in the samples. Recent studies have shown that computer-based quantitative techniques such as clustering, principal component analysis, and discriminant analysis result in the following advantages:
+
[[Benthic]] [[foraminifera]] have been used as [[Paleoenvironmental analysis|paleoenvironmental]] indicators in the petroleum industry for forty years—most particularly as a basis for subjective estimates of [[paleobathymetry]] based on the presumed water depth range of species in the samples. Recent studies have shown that computer-based quantitative techniques such as clustering, principal component analysis, and discriminant analysis result in the following advantages: