Speaker
Description
Paleontological fossils serve as invaluable archives of Earth’s history, preserving direct evidence of past life and environmental conditions. However, conventional analytical techniques often risk damaging these inherently fragile specimens. In this study, non-destructive X-ray–based methods were employed to investigate fossilized bone and wood specimens. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used to determine elemental composition, while X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) provides information on the crystal structure and mineral phases present in the specimen. Measurements were conducted at the University of Venda environmental laboratory in South Africa. The combined application of these techniques enables a comprehensive characterization of fossil materials without compromising their structural integrity. Preliminary results of the study show that petrified wood is no longer wood chemically due to the high presence of silicon, while the fossilized bone is chemically still related to its original composition due to high contents of calcium and phosphorus.
Keywords: Fossils, XRF, XRD, non-destructive analysis, paleontology
| Apply for student award at which level: | MSc |
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| Consent on use of personal information: Abstract Submission | Yes, I ACCEPT |