Trapped bubbles of air and water within fossil amber can be analyzed to provide direct evidence of the climate conditions existing when the resin or tree sap formed. The analysis of these trapped air bubbles provides a record of atmosphere composition going back 140 million years. The data indicate that the oxygen content of the atmosphere reached a high of nearly 35% during the Cretaceous Period and then plummeted to near present levels during the early Tertiary. The abrupt decline corresponds to or closely follows the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event and may be the result of a major meteorite impact that created the Chicxulub Crater.
In paleoceanography studies, fluid inclusions can inform about the chemical composition of seawater. The trapped seawater in sediments evaporates and leaves behind the salt content. The depth at which these evaporites are found relative to the composition of the trapped salt allows oceanographers to reconstruct seawater evolution. Air bubbles trapped within the deep ice caps can also be analyzed for clues to ancient climate conditions.