Paleoecology reconstruction from trapped gases in a fulgurite from the late Pleistocene of the Libyan Desert
Geology
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
When lightning strikes the ground, it heats, melts, and fuses the sand in soils to form glass tubes known as fulgurites. We report here the composition of CO2, CO, and NO contained within the glassy bubbles of a fulgurite from the Libyan Desert. The results show that the fulgurite formed when the ground contained 0.1 wt% organic carbon with a C/N ratio of 10-15 and a ??13C of -13.96???, compositions similar to those found in the present-day semiarid region of the Sahel, where the vegetation is dominated by C4, plants. Thermoluminescence dating indicates that this fulgurite formed ???15 k.y. ago. These results imply that the semiarid Sahel (at 17??N) reached at least to 24??N at this time, and demonstrate that fulgurite gases and luminescence geochronology can be used in quantitative paleoecology. ?? 2007 Geological Society of America.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Paleoecology reconstruction from trapped gases in a fulgurite from the late Pleistocene of the Libyan Desert |
| Series title | Geology |
| DOI | 10.1130/G23246A.1 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2007 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Geology |
| First page | 171 |
| Last page | 174 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |