The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic
Ambers are well known and abundant in terrestrial sediments all over the world; however, due largely to the absence of definite morphological characteristics, the precise botanical origin of most amber samples, are at best, often a matter of speculation. This has severely restricted the usefulness o...
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:67765 2023-07-30T04:00:09+02:00 The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic Anderson, K.B. | LePage, B.A. 2009-11-04 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/67765 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/67765 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/67765 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/67765 40 CHEMISTRY ;55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE BASIC STUDIES AMBER STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS MASS SPECTRA SUCCINIC ACID GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ORIGIN 2009 ftosti 2023-07-11T08:30:05Z Ambers are well known and abundant in terrestrial sediments all over the world; however, due largely to the absence of definite morphological characteristics, the precise botanical origin of most amber samples, are at best, often a matter of speculation. This has severely restricted the usefulness of amber in paleobotanical and paleoecological interpretations. The molecular composition and structural characteristics of fossil resins however, may preserve evidence of their botanical origin, which could be of great value in both geochemical, paleobotanical, and paleoenvironmental studies. The remains of a number of exceptionally well-preserved Taxodiaceae-dominated swamp-forest communities have been identified in the sediments of the middle Eocene (45 million years old) Buchanan Lake Formation of Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The amber collected from these ancient in situ forests provides a unique opportunity to characterize these resins chemically and taxonomically. Resinite associated with Metasequoia, Pinus and Pseudolarix has been characterized using Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. This method provides a direct analysis of the molecular structure and composition of the resin. In several cases, both bled resin and cone-resin samples have been characterized. The results of these analyses are presented and discussed. The implications of these results for the botanical origins of other ambers represented in the fossil record (including succinite) will also be discussed. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Archipelago Arctic Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic Archipelago SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Heiberg ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) Axel Heiberg Island ENVELOPE(-91.001,-91.001,79.752,79.752) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
op_collection_id |
ftosti |
language |
unknown |
topic |
40 CHEMISTRY ;55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE BASIC STUDIES AMBER STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS MASS SPECTRA SUCCINIC ACID GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ORIGIN |
spellingShingle |
40 CHEMISTRY ;55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE BASIC STUDIES AMBER STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS MASS SPECTRA SUCCINIC ACID GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ORIGIN Anderson, K.B. | LePage, B.A. The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic |
topic_facet |
40 CHEMISTRY ;55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE BASIC STUDIES AMBER STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS MASS SPECTRA SUCCINIC ACID GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ORIGIN |
description |
Ambers are well known and abundant in terrestrial sediments all over the world; however, due largely to the absence of definite morphological characteristics, the precise botanical origin of most amber samples, are at best, often a matter of speculation. This has severely restricted the usefulness of amber in paleobotanical and paleoecological interpretations. The molecular composition and structural characteristics of fossil resins however, may preserve evidence of their botanical origin, which could be of great value in both geochemical, paleobotanical, and paleoenvironmental studies. The remains of a number of exceptionally well-preserved Taxodiaceae-dominated swamp-forest communities have been identified in the sediments of the middle Eocene (45 million years old) Buchanan Lake Formation of Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The amber collected from these ancient in situ forests provides a unique opportunity to characterize these resins chemically and taxonomically. Resinite associated with Metasequoia, Pinus and Pseudolarix has been characterized using Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. This method provides a direct analysis of the molecular structure and composition of the resin. In several cases, both bled resin and cone-resin samples have been characterized. The results of these analyses are presented and discussed. The implications of these results for the botanical origins of other ambers represented in the fossil record (including succinite) will also be discussed. |
author |
Anderson, K.B. | LePage, B.A. |
author_facet |
Anderson, K.B. | LePage, B.A. |
author_sort |
Anderson, K.B. | |
title |
The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic |
title_short |
The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic |
title_full |
The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere VI. Analysis of fossil resins from Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic |
title_sort |
nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere vi. analysis of fossil resins from axel heiberg island canadian arctic |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/67765 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/67765 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) ENVELOPE(-91.001,-91.001,79.752,79.752) |
geographic |
Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Heiberg Axel Heiberg Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canadian Arctic Archipelago Heiberg Axel Heiberg Island |
genre |
Arctic Archipelago Arctic Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
genre_facet |
Arctic Archipelago Arctic Axel Heiberg Island Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/67765 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/67765 |
_version_ |
1772810737367908352 |