Diatom Abundance

Diatoms are one of the most common biological microfossils seen in smear slides, but the quantity of diatoms in sediments varies considerably due to the lake's paleoecology, depositional environment, and preservation. Noting quantity of diatoms in a smear slide can help focus future analyses, show shifts in lake productivity (e.g., eutrophication events), and identify changes in the depositional environment (e.g., turbidites).

The abundance of diatoms present in a smear slide can be reported using a relative scale as abundant, common, few, or absent.