Controlled Breaking of Mummified Wood For Use In Paleoenvironmental Analysis
Issue Date
2013-07Keywords
Paleocene/Eocene transitionnon-permineralized fossil wood
fragile wood
surface preparation
automated microscopic scanning
tree-ring measurement
wood anatomy
dendrochronology
paleoclimatology
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Hook, B., Halfar, J., Gedalof, Z., Bollmann, J., 2013. Controlled breaking of mummified wood for use in paleoenvironmental analysis. Tree-Ring Research 69(2):87-92.Publisher
Tree-Ring SocietyJournal
Tree-Ring ResearchAdditional Links
http://www.treeringsociety.orgAbstract
The discovery of exceptionally well-preserved Paleogene wood fossils (ca. 55–53 Ma) within Canadian Arctic diamond-bearing kimberlites prompted a paleoclimatic study of the Paleocene-Eocene Transition. The samples are not petrified, but have been “mummified” by their inclusion in pyroclastic debris and still contain primordial wood material. However, preferential cellulose loss has rendered the wood very fragile, precluding the use of standard dendrochronological methods of surface preparation. Similar to archaeological charcoal, breaking the mummified wood allows superior visualization of tree-ring boundaries and wood anatomy, but often produces irregular surfaces making microscopic examination difficult. Therefore, a simple aluminum clamp was constructed to break radial wood transects in a controlled manner for the purpose of collecting dendrochronological and wood-anatomical data for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Because it does not require the use of chemical treatments or stabilizing resins, the wood remains chemically unaltered, allowing chemical and isotopic analyses to be undertaken. Future studies of fragile woods may benefit from this method of controlled breaking if sanding is ineffective.Language
enISSN
2162-45851536-1098
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3959/1536-1098-69.2.87