Thermal maturity of carbonaceous material in conodonts and the Color Alteration Index: Independently identifying maximum temperature with Raman spectroscopy

McMillan, R. Bruce; Golding, Martyn

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109290

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…By using the parameters derived from the Raman spectra of thermally matured carbonaceous materials, the preserved carbonaceous matter in metasedimentary rock samples (Beyssac et al, 2002;Rahl et al, 2005;Lahfid et al, 2010) or fossil fuels (Schito et al, 2017;Henry et al, 2019a) could be used as a 'thermometer' because the parameters are affected mainly by heat, but little affected by other variables such as pressure at least in higher metamorphic grade (T > 350 • C) (Lahfid et al, 2010). The Raman spectroscopy, therefore, has been widely used by micropaleontologists and applied to diverse fossils including, but not limited to, acritarch (Marshall et al, 2005;Schiffbauer et al, 2012), conodont (Marshall et al, 2001;McMillan and Golding, 2019), foraminifera (McNeil et al, 2015), kerogenous microfossils (Schopf et al, 2005), plant spores (Bernard et al, 2007), and protist (Ferralis et al, 2016) to investigate the thermal maturity of those fossils. Although Raman spectroscopy does not fully prove the biogenicity of preserved carbonaceous matter in fossil and needs further confirmation by independent approaches (Pasteris and Wopenka, 2003;Marshall et al, 2010), Raman spectroscopy is the simplest tool to detect carbonaceous material in fossils, thus make further biogenicity test possible (Marshall et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Amorphous Carbon in an Enigmatic Egg From the Upper Cretaceous Wido Volcanics of South Korea

et al. 2020

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Raman spectroscopy has been widely used in micropaleontology and organic geochemistry to identify carbonaceous materials and evaluate their thermal maturity in fossils or metasedimentary rocks. Meanwhile, fossil egg researches have mostly focused on biomineralized calcite, but preserved carbonaceous (or possibly organic) materials inside the eggshells have been usually neglected until recently. Here we report an enigmatic egg from the Wido Volcanics (Upper Cretaceous) of South Korea that was analyzed using diverse methods including polarized light microscope, scanning electron microscope, electron probe microanalyzer, electron backscatter diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The eggshell not only shows the crystallography of archosaurian eggshells but also contains peculiar dark bands, which were previously known as the trait of fossil and modern Crocodyliformes eggshells. Raman spectroscopic analysis showed that the dark bands are mainly due to amorphous carbon, as evidenced by the clear graphite (G) and disordered (D) bands. The deconvolution of amorphous carbon peaks and resultant parameters made it possible to infer the paleotemperature inscribed in the eggshell. The result suggests that preserved amorphous carbon in the fossil eggshells can be identified using Raman spectroscopy and Raman parameters may make it possible to compare the thermal maturity of spatiotemporally diverse fossil eggshells. The biogenicity of the dark band is not clear because Raman spectroscopic analysis is not sufficient to confirm biogenicity. However, overall distribution of the dark band may imply the biogenic origin. It is apparent that the material of this study is not a dinosaur egg but might belong to a crocodyliform or choristoderan egg, and even other non-dinosaur archosaur can be a candidate as well.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Amorphous Carbon in an Enigmatic Egg From the Upper Cretaceous Wido Volcanics of South Korea

et al. 2020

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“…Carbonaceous material originates from solid-state metamorphism of organic matter (e.g., Buseck and Huang, 1985) and is a common component of many metasedimentary rocks. The degree of structural organization of graphite within carbonaceous material is temperature-dependent and can be used as a quantitative geothermometer (e.g., Beyssac et al, 2002Beyssac et al, , 2003Rahl et al, 2005;Lahfid et al, 2010;Kouketsu et al, 2014;Lünsdorf and Lünsdorf, 2016;Lünsdorf et al, 2017;McMillan and Golding, 2019). We utilized Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) thermometry (e.g., Beyssac et al, 2002Beyssac et al, , 2003Rahl et al, 2005;Kouketsu et al, 2014) to measure the peak temperatures attained by 37 samples of sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks that we collected from six ranges in eastern Nevada and western Utah (Fig.…”

Section: Methods For Rscm Thermometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The CAI is based on the progressive change in color that occurs as conodonts are heated (e.g., Epstein et al, 1977) and has been utilized extensively as a semiquantitative estimate of peak temperature achieved during burial and metamorphism. While CAI temperature determinations are subject to diagenetic processes, quantitative color determination bias, and complex thermal histories of individual conodonts that may cause disagreement between CAI and RSCM temperature estimates (e.g., Golding, 2019, Golding andMcMillan, 2020), these complexities are typically the most significant for higher temperature determinations (≥~100-200 °C). Therefore, the CAI data that we compile are likely the most representative of peak thermal conditions at the shallowest crustal levels.…”

Section: Methods For Compilation Of Published Cai Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Cretaceous upper-crustal thermal structure of the Sevier hinterland: Implications for the geodynamics of the Nevadaplano

et al. 2021

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Crustal temperature conditions can strongly influence the evolution of deformation during orogenesis. The Sevier hinterland plateau in Nevada and western Utah (“Nevadaplano”) experienced a Late Cretaceous episode of shallow-crustal metamorphism and granitic magmatism. Here, we investigate the thermal history of the Nevadaplano by measuring peak thermal field gradients attained in the upper 10–20 km of the crust along an east-west transect through nine ranges in eastern Nevada and western Utah, by integrating Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material thermometry and published conodont alteration indices with reconstructed cross sections. Thermal field gradients of 29 ± 3 °C/km were obtained in the House and Confusion Ranges in westernmost Utah. The Deep Creek, Schell Creek, and Egan Ranges in easternmost Nevada yielded elevated gradients of 49 ± 7 °C/km, 36 ± 3 °C/km, and 32 ± 6 °C/km, respectively. Moving westward, the White Pine, Butte, Pancake, and Fish Creek Ranges exhibit gradients typically between ~20–30 °C/km. The elevated thermal gradients in easternmost Nevada are interpreted to have been attained during ca. 70–90 Ma granitic magmatism and metamorphism and imply possible partial melting at ~18 km depths. Our data are compatible with published interpretations of Late Cretaceous lithospheric mantle delamination under the Sevier hinterland, which triggered lower-crustal anatexis and the resulting rise of granitic melts. The lack of evidence for structures that could have accommodated deep burial of rocks in the nearby Northern Snake Range metamorphic core complex, combined with thermal gradients from adjacent ranges that are ~1.5–3 times higher than those implied by thermobarometry in the Northern Snake Range, further highlights the debate over possible tectonic overpressure in Cordilleran core complexes. Cross-section retro-deformation defines 73.4 ± 4.6 km (76 ± 8%) of extension across eastern Nevada and 15 km of shortening in the Eastern Nevada fold belt.

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“…However, postdepositional alteration of sedimentary rocks can lead to heterogeneous thermal and pressure histories even within the same lithological facies (e.g., contact metamorphism from point sources), providing a proxy that, depending on the geologic scenario, can be used for differentiating among raw lithic material procurement areas (e.g., Bonjean et al, 2015). Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) has been used to investigate the thermal histories of sedimentary rocks for close to two decades (e.g., Beyssac et al, 2002; McMillan & Golding, 2019), and, in this study, we investigate sedimentary toolstones and artifacts from the Canadian Rockies using RSCM as well as their major, minor, and trace element geochemistry to document the application of RSCM for sourcing studies in the region, the geology of which is dominated by chemical and clastic sedimentary facies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For close to two decades, RSCM has been used to investigate the transformation of disordered organic CM into graphite in sedimentary rocks, ultimately to estimate their thermal maturity (e.g., Beyssac et al, 2002; Golding & McMillan, 2020; Lahfid et al, 2010; Lünsdorf et al, 2017; Lünsdorf & Lünsdorf, 2016; Lupoi et al, 2017; McMillan & Golding, 2019). The Raman spectroscopic analysis of sedimentary artifacts has previously been used to demonstrate that the spectroscopic characteristics of CM are strongly linked to differences in postdepositional histories among possible procurement areas in Western Europe (e.g., in Belgium; Bonjean et al, 2015), although application of this technique has not yet been systematically assessed for archaeological sourcing applications in North America.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the application of Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material in sedimentary lithic artifacts for archaeological provenancing applications in the Canadian Rockies

Allan

McMillan

2021

Geoarchaeology

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The chemical compositions of toolstones composed of clastic and chemical sedimentary rock are often not distinct among procurement locations. However, sedimentary toolstone sources may show variations in the structural characteristics of the included carbonaceous material (CM) related to differences in their postdepositional histories, providing a potential proxy by which procurement locations, rather than individual rock units, can be assessed as raw material sources for archaeological lithics. Here, we apply a well-established method for investigating the nature of CM in sedimentary rocks, Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM), to an archaeological case study.We test if the technique can be used to differentiate among toolstones from two procurement areas along the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains potentially used by pre-European contact Indigenous inhabitants of the Hummingbird Creek Site (FaPx-1). Artifacts found during excavations at Hummingbird Creek visually appear to match toolstone-grade rocks in the site's vicinity. We analyzed source material from two localities: (1) the local toolstone around FaPx-1 and (2) a toolstone procurement area ~45 km away associated with many precontact workshop sites. To test if the artifacts have compositions consistent with the local toolstones, we analyzed artifacts and potential source materials with RSCM as well as their major, minor, and trace element composition using X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Our work is guided by the elimination of source locations using indirect geochemical proxies in accordance with the exclusionary Provenance Hypothesis. Both the structural and the chemical characteristics of the artifacts are similar to those of geologic samples from the nonlocal source location and are not consistent with samples collected locally, permitting the exclusion of local materials and suggesting that the inhabitants of FaPx-1 used a variety of toolstones to manufacture the artifacts from materials that do not appear to be readily available near the site.

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Thermal maturity of carbonaceous material in conodonts and the Color Alteration Index: Independently identifying maximum temperature with Raman spectroscopy

Cited by 13 publications

References 44 publications

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Amorphous Carbon in an Enigmatic Egg From the Upper Cretaceous Wido Volcanics of South Korea

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Amorphous Carbon in an Enigmatic Egg From the Upper Cretaceous Wido Volcanics of South Korea

Late Cretaceous upper-crustal thermal structure of the Sevier hinterland: Implications for the geodynamics of the Nevadaplano

Investigating the application of Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material in sedimentary lithic artifacts for archaeological provenancing applications in the Canadian Rockies

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