高岭石
成岩作用
地质学
埋藏术
自生的
油页岩
绿泥石
石化
地球化学
矿物
黄铁矿
古生物学
粘土矿物
矿物学
石英
生态学
生物
哲学
语言学
作者
Ross P. Anderson,N. J. Tosca,Erin E. Saupe,Jon Wade,Derek E. G. Briggs
出处
期刊:Geology
[Geological Society of America]
日期:2020-11-20
卷期号:49 (4): 355-359
被引量:21
摘要
Abstract The role of minerals in Burgess Shale–type fossilization is controversial, particularly that of the clay mineral kaolinite. Kaolinite may have formed on carcasses or attached to them as they decayed, stabilizing organic matter. Alternatively, kaolinite may have formed during metamorphism, playing no role in the preservation of soft tissues. Evaluating the formation and taphonomic role of kaolinite is difficult, because the mineralogy of Burgess Shale–type fossils is incompletely known. We used in situ selected-area X-ray diffraction to constrain the mineralogy of fossils from the classic Burgess Shale Formation in British Columbia, Canada. Fossils can be distinguished from the matrix that surrounds them by the presence of dolomite, kaolinite, and pyrite. Chlorite may be more abundant in the matrix. The preferential survival of kaolinite in association with fossils provides evidence of early diagenetic clay-organic interactions that protected the clay from metamorphic transformation. Kaolinite likely played a crucial role in fossilization, inhibiting the growth of heterotrophic bacteria and aiding polymerization of soft tissue biomolecules. This may result in biases in soft-tissue preservation to areas and times where kaolinite was prevalent.
科研通智能强力驱动
Strongly Powered by AbleSci AI