Hydrogen (H2) energy is produced by electrochemically splitting water molecules, and if produced economically, it will bring a paradigm shift in the development of sustainable energy systems. Several attempts have...
Rock varnishes are known to be fine, dark, glossy submicron films found in deserts bare rock surfaces. The oxides and hydroxides of manganese and iron bind together the clay minerals present in the varnish layer. The processes of oxide-hydroxide accumulation at varnish sites are due to iron and manganese oxidizing bacteria which may require clay minerals for additional nutrition. Quantification and identification of clay minerals in this biofilm is needed to understand its formation. Past attempts to analyze the mineralogical composition of rock varnish have led to inconclusive results as varnish is a submicron thin layer composed of a complex mineral matrix. The elimination of non-crystalline cementing groups comprising of free iron oxides is a key step in the identification of many types of clay minerals, particularly in soil/sediment mineral studies.
The Fe-Mn oxide-hydroxide coatings, acting as cementing materials, can be easily removed using a one-step reduction method employing Na
2
S
2
O
4
at 70 °C, leading to separation of clay minerals.
We have taken the lead from earlier reported Jackson (1958) method, wherein a combination of reagents was used such as sodium acetate, sodium citrate, hydrogen peroxide, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium dithionite for removing carbonate, organic carbon and Fe-Mn oxy-hydroxide coatings respectively from sediment grains to segregate individual grains from each other.
Our modification helps in the unveiling of clay minerals from a solid substrate and reports the X-ray diffraction peaks, which are elsewise hard to detect and therefore earlier studies are inconclusive.
This paper reviews research on coprolites from India, providing the first evidence of microcoprolites from the early Miocene (Aquitanian) Khari Nadi Formation sedimentary succession, exposed about 1.5 km northeast of the village of Kotada, Kachchh (Kutch) District, Gujarat State, western India. Morphometric and size comparisons (in a statistical framework) with known coprolites from the Mesozoic-Cenozoic successions of India (including those recorded herein) and globally suggest that fishes were the likely producers of the Kotada coprolites. Scanning electron microscopy confirms the presence of fish dental remains within the coprolites, while both Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) reveal the phosphatic nature of the microscopic coprolite specimens (recorded herein) hinting that the producer(s) were predominantly carnivorous (ichthyophagous) in their diet. Furthermore, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the host and associated lithologies allows us to deduce that the Kotada coprolites were deposited in a shallow marine environment, with possible aerial exposure of the host lithology occurring at some point after deposition. To the best of our knowledge, the present report is the first record of microscopic fish coprolites from India, as well as being the first from the Aquitanian of India and the oldest Neogene record from India.
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