Experimental Silicification of the Tree Fern Dicksonia Antarctica at High Temperature With Silica-Enriched H2o Vapor

Läbe, Sashima; Gee, Carole T.; Ballhaus, Chris; Nagel, T.

doi:10.2110/palo.2012.p12-064r

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Thus, whilst the features observed by Channing & Edwards (2004) can be recognised in the Rhynie chert, the rate of silicification must have been much faster (minutes to a few hours) to preserve some features seen in the Rhynie chert. Conversely, recent experimental work on the processes of silicification of wood in hydrothermal and volcanogenic settings (Ballhaus et al 2012;Läbe et al 2012;Hellawell et al 2015) has demonstrated that silicification may take place very rapidly; far more in keeping with observations made in the Rhynie chert.…”

Section: Preservation Of Plantsmentioning

confidence: 62%

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Macro to micro aspects of the plant preservation in the Early Devonian Rhynie cherts, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Trewin

Fayers

2015

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Socie

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Material excavated from a trench dug to expose the Rhynie Cherts Unit of the Dryden Flags Formation included blocks of Rhynie chert up to 50 cm thick and comprising the full thickness of plant-bearing chert beds. These blocks, and others collected as float, display a variety of macro-textures typical of silicification at the terrestrial surface and in shallow water. On sandy terrestrial surfaces, autochthonous and allochthonous plant debris and plant rhizomes are well preserved, but aerial axes generally decayed prior to silicification. In shallow water, clonal plants, particularly Rhynia, are preserved with aerial axes in growth position, supported by microbial mats and meshworks. Preservation of such delicate fabrics required the creation of a load-bearing framework early in the silicification process, to prevent crushing during early burial.On the microscale, plant taphonomy reveals characteristic features due to plant decay prior to silicification in both wet and dry conditions, and also during the silicification process. Silicification of plants was frequently very rapid, preserving delicate transient features such as spore germination and ejection of sperm cells from antheridia. In situations where plant tissue continued to decay during silicification, the process was slower.

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Section: Preservation Of Plantsmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…2012; Läbe et al . 2012; Hellawell et al . 2015) has demonstrated that silicification may take place very rapidly; far more in keeping with observations made in the Rhynie chert.…”

Section: Chert Textures and Plant Preservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macro to micro aspects of the plant preservation in the Early Devonian Rhynie cherts, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Trewin

Fayers

2015

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Socie

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“…Such rapid silicification can happen even under temperatures below 250°C if the silica is derived from fluids that are supersatured with silica (cf. Ballhaus et al 2012;Läbe et al 2012 D. et al et al 2015;Matysová et al 2017;Trümper et al 2018;and citations therein).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A number of studies has demonstrated that silicification of wood often starts with the deposition of silica within cell walls, leaving cell lumina empty during early stages of silicification (e.g. Leo & Barghoorn 1976;Ballhaus et al 2012;Läbe et al 2012;Hellawell et al 2015;Mustoe 2017). Layers of silicates replacing cell walls, as seen in the leaves from Menat, or of siliceous lumina casts, have also been observed in silicified wood (cf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomical preservation of silicified Corylites J.S.Gardner leaves from the Paleocene maar lake of Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France)

2020

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The late Paleocene fossil lagerstätte Menat in France is well known for its wealth of excellently preserved fossil plants and insects. Although the flora from this locality is regarded as characteristic for the late Thanetian in Western and Central Europe, there is a noteworthy lack of modern paleobotanical studies on this locality. The few existing studies on plant megafossils utilized only the gross morphology of leaves and carpological material for taxonomic questions, whereas anatomical data (i.e. from cuticles and permineralizations) have been completely neglected. The present study provides the first data on anatomically preserved internal tissues of leaves assigned to Corylites macquarrii (Forbes) Heer from this locality. Cell walls are preserved as silicates, whereas cell lumina are mostly empty. On occasion, cell lumina are filled with foam-like, porous silica. Anatomical preservation of these tissues is probably related to early diagenetic silicification of plant cell walls. Although at the moment nothing can be said about the source of the SiO 2 it is likely that it is related to the volcanic origin of the Menat maar and/or volcanic activities in the vicinity of the lake during deposition of the sediments.

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“…This mineralization has been interpreted as evidence of a multi-stage process when fluorite-bearing fluids infiltrated along cracks and decayed areas of wood that had previously been partially mineralized with amorphous silica [55]. Cathodoluminescence microscopy (CL) has proven to be a valuable method for studying the distribution of fluorite in Chemnitz wood [65][66][67][68]. However, the "fluorite phenomenon" in Chemnitz fossils is not yet clearly understood.…”

Section: Fluoritementioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogy of Non-Silicified Fossil Wood

Mustoe

2018

Geosciences

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Abstract:The best-known and most-studied petrified wood specimens are those that are mineralized with polymorphs of silica: opal-A, opal-C, chalcedony, and quartz. Less familiar are fossil woods preserved with non-silica minerals. This report reviews discoveries of woods mineralized with calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, various iron and copper minerals, manganese oxide, fluorite, barite, natrolite, and smectite clay. Regardless of composition, the processes of mineralization involve the same factors: availability of dissolved elements, pH, Eh, and burial temperature. Permeability of the wood and anatomical features also plays important roles in determining mineralization. When precipitation occurs in several episodes, fossil wood may have complex mineralogy.

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Experimental Silicification of the Tree Fern Dicksonia Antarctica at High Temperature With Silica-Enriched H2o Vapor

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

Macro to micro aspects of the plant preservation in the Early Devonian Rhynie cherts, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Macro to micro aspects of the plant preservation in the Early Devonian Rhynie cherts, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Anatomical preservation of silicified Corylites J.S.Gardner leaves from the Paleocene maar lake of Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France)

Mineralogy of Non-Silicified Fossil Wood

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