Uurimisrühma põhikompetentside hulka kuulub Eesti geoloogilise ehituse, erinevate kivimite, kivististe ja geoloogilise arenguloo põhjalik tundmine. Sellised baasteadmised on vajalikud praktilises geoloogias, kuid uurimisrühma põhiliseks tegevusvaldkonnaks on alusuuringud, enamasti tihedas rahvusvahelises koostöös. Rühma peamisteks uurimissuundadeks on: • paleokeskkonna ja paleokliima modelleerimine kasutades geokeemilisi ja sedimentoloogilisi indikaatoreid, sh süsiniku ja hapniku isotoopkoostist; • paleoelurikkuse dünaamika modelleerimine ja selle seosed kliima ja keskkonnamuutustega; • erinevate organismirühmade evolutsioon ja paleobiogeograafilise leviku analüüs; • mikropaleontoloogia ja kõrglahutusega biostratigraafia; Oluline osa uurimisrühma tegevusest baseerub instituudi geoloogilistel teaduskollektsioonidel, mis on unikaalseks arhiiviks planeedi kauge mineviku uurimisel. Selle arhiivi haldamist, arendust ja teadlastele avamist korraldab uurimisrühm riikliku teadustaristu programmi ning rahvusvaheliste koostööprojektide raames.
Bedrock geology, including paleontology and stratigraphy, have been among the key research areas of the Department of Geology since the 1950s.The main research topics of the group are related to deciphering Earth’s history through the latest Proterozoic and early Paleozoic times, ca 400–600 million years ago. The group is interested in better understanding the interactions between geo- and biosphere processes, in particular, addressing the following: paleobiodiversity dynamics and its relationships with climate and environmental changes; paleobiology and evolution of various groups of organisms during early Paleozoic; global paleobiogeographic patterns and the role of the Baltic faunal province; paleoclimate perturbations using multiple proxy indicators (such as conodont apatite); changes in carbon, oxygen and sulfur stable isotope composition, reflecting of atmosphere and hydrosphere in deep time.The group holds leading paleontological competence in Estonia, and for some fossil groups, leading expertise worldwide (notably for conodonts, chitinozoans and scolecodonts). The main applications are related to the highresolution biostratigraphy of Early Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Most higher-impact studies are based on material from the Baltoscandian bedrocks, renowned by little alteration and good preservation primary Paleozoic environmental signatures. The group makes also excessive use of the geological and paleontological collections deposited at the department. These are the largest in Estonia and curated at a high international level