Vietnam.vn - Nền tảng quảng bá Việt Nam

Amber discovered from a sedimentary basin off Antarctica

Tạp chí Doanh NghiệpTạp chí Doanh Nghiệp15/11/2024


For the first time, scientists have found pieces of amber off the coast of Antarctica.

Researchers have collected amber specimens from every continent, and they have been able to learn more about the forests of Antarctica that once housed dinosaurs. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were high during the Cretaceous, making the world warmer. In addition, the lack of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current meant a wider range of climates in Antarctica, allowing vast forests to grow there, home to both dinosaurs and mammals.

However, scientists do not know much about the nature of these forests and the animals that lived in them because the fossil beds are difficult to access. One method is to drill the seabed off the coast of Antarctica, and a team led by Dr. Johann Klages of the Alfred Wegener Institute drilled off Pine Island in the Amundsen Sea. Inside a 5cm layer of lignite (wet coal), the team found pieces of hardened tree resin called amber. Based on the age and composition of the lignite, the amber is estimated to be 83-92 million years old and came from a swamp forest composed mainly of pine trees.

VNE-Amber-6650-1731555162

Many trees secrete resin when their bark is destroyed. Some resins, especially those from pine trees, fossilize under the right conditions, preserving insects, feathers, and dinosaur tails. Amber fossils from the same period have been found in southern Australia, which was then still attached to Antarctica. Located at approximately 74 degrees south latitude and 107 degrees west longitude, the new find is the southernmost specimen of amber ever discovered.

"Analyzing the amber pieces will allow us to directly understand the environmental conditions that prevailed in West Antarctica 90 million years ago," Klages said. "Our goal now is to learn more about the forest ecosystem."

The team crushed the lignite for analysis, and the remaining pieces of amber were very small, only 0.5 to 1 mm wide, so the chances of finding any life forms preserved inside were slim. However, experts found many tiny pieces of bark inside the amber. According to Klages' team, the resin could have flowed during a forest fire, trapped when water covered the area and protected it from ultraviolet rays. The fact that the amber survived and remained transparent suggests that it was never buried at great depths and heated until it partially melted.

According to Intellectual Property



Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/phat-hien-khoi-ho-phach-tu-mot-bon-tram-tich-ngoai-khoi-nam-cuc/20241115120732838

Comment (0)

No data
No data

Same tag

Same category

Visit Lo Dieu fishing village in Gia Lai to see fishermen 'drawing' clover on the sea
Locksmith turns beer cans into vibrant Mid-Autumn lanterns
Spend millions to learn flower arrangement, find bonding experiences during Mid-Autumn Festival
There is a hill of purple Sim flowers in the sky of Son La

Same author

Heritage

;

Figure

;

Enterprise

;

No videos available

News

;

Political System

;

Destination

;

Product

;