Advancing micropaleontological analysis through automated classification of benthic foraminifera: application of the MiSo system to the northern Santos Basin, southeastern Brazilian margin

• Grant number: 25/23254-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 02, 2026
• End date: March 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Geological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Michel Michaelovitch de Mahiques
• Grantee: Giullia Tambasco do Amaral
• Supervisor: Thibault de Garidel-Thoron
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Aix-Marseille Université (AMU), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/14751-0 - Use of benthic foraminifera as proxy of environmental assessment during the Holocene in the northern region of Santos Basin, BP.IC

Abstract

Benthic foraminifera are excellent bioindicators of environmental and paleoceanographic conditions. This project aims to apply a new, automated approach to the classification and identification of benthic foraminifera from sediment core #777 (Santos Basin, southeastern Brazilian margin), covering the last 16,000 years. The research will employ the unique automaton MiSo (Microfossil Sorter) system, developed at CEREGE (France), which integrates high-resolution imaging with artificial intelligence algorithms to automate the sorting and taxonomic identification of foraminifera. The results obtained through this innovative method will be compared to classical manual screening and classification performed previously by the student, allowing the evaluation of accuracy, efficiency, and reproducibility. Additionally, the internship will contribute to improving and expanding the MiSo reference database, enhancing its applicability to South Atlantic species. Combining traditional and AI-based approaches will refine paleoenvironmental reconstructions of bottom-water oxygenation during climatic events in the last 16 kyrs, and strengthen the methodological basis for future micropaleontological studies. (AU)