Scampi - Exploring The Fossil Frontier

Summary We present the Scampi system, a digital solution designed to automate and accelerate species identification in palynology. Traditional biostratigraphy is hindered by slow, manual fossil identification and a shrinking pool of specialists. Scampi addresses these challenges by leveraging content-based image retrieval (CBIR) using vision transformers, enabling efficient and accurate search of microfossil images. The software allows experts to scour large image databases, refine results through active learning, and visualize depth distributions of identified specimins. A case study on 23 slide scans from a North Sea well showed that Scampi gave a 96% match to traditional methods, delivering interpretations ten times faster and halving the overall workflow time. The approach is expected to scale well for larger studies. Scampi’s integration of advanced machine learning and user-friendly interfaces promises to transform biostratigraphy, making analyses faster and more cost-effective.