First Photos of China’s 298-Million-Year-Old Buried Forest

[n2doc]

These are the first photos of some of the countless treasures found in the extraordinary 298-million-year-old forest discovered under coal mine in Wuda, Inner Mongolia, China.
The beautiful images show "the exceptional preservation of the fossil plants of the peat-forming swamp forest." The research team has found entire plants and trees, allowing them to confirm previously published reconstructions. It's also the first time ever that they have found fossilized tree and plant communities arranged in a forest.

A volcanic eruption buried the entire forest under ash, preserving it in this exquisite state, never seen before. The lead scientists classify it as a "Permian vegetational Pompeii" in the title of their research. According to University of Pennsylvania paleobotanist Hermann Pfefferkorn, it's an extraordinary "time capsule."

It's marvelously preserved. We can stand there and find a branch with the leaves attached, and then we find the next branch and the next branch and the next branch. And then we find the stump from the same tree. That's really exciting.

Here is the excavation site, located on the northern Helanshan Mountains of Inner Mongolia, 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of Wuda. The ash-covered area itself is estimated to be 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) from North to South, but scientists have only been able to work in a 10,763-square-foot (1000-square-meter) area. The entire mine is 7.72 square miles (20 square kilometers).


Asterophyllites longifolius (A) and associated Paleostachya type strobili (B); Sphenophyllum oblongifolius (C) and associated strobili (D); Sigillaria cf. ichthyolepis leaf (E),

more

http://gizmodo.com/5887454/first-photos-of-chinas-298+million+year+old-buried-forest

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Astounding photos at Gizmondo

Well worth going to the link to see them all.
This is an amazing discovery considering the size of the forest remains.

Thanks for the link.

[northoftheborder]

3. Exciting to me to realize how much about the history of the earth is waiting to be discovered!!!

[greiner3]

4. Wonderful examples;

I am also referring to the colors. Of course the greens but also the reds and yellows. Amazing.

These examples show the possibilities for animal fossils to have vivid colors left in them. A few dinosaur fossils have had their colors intact but I'm sure there are many, many more to be discovered that will show the diversity of the use of colors within the dinosaur, and other phylum, fossils.

[KurtNYC]

5. so now WalMart can sell fossils?

[Yavapai]

11. I see a lot of fossils everytime I visit the GreatWallofChinaMart!

Oh, wait, I am a senior citizen also....

[itsrobert]

6. Thy really mean 6000 years? right

The Earth is only 6000 years old. Something is wrong with these calculations. Did someone fat finger the calculator?

[xxqqqzme]

7. This is just wonderful.

I am such a geek when it comes to discoveries like this.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

8. OMG!

Thanks so much for posting this!

Wonderful.

[Paper Roses]

9. Fantastic and beautiful. Thanks for posting this. n/t

[donquijoterocket]

10. too cool K&R (nt)

[MinneapolisMatt]

12. Breathtaking.

Exquisite!

[DallasNE]

13. Does Any Similar Vegetation Still Exist Anywhere

And what does this tell us about the climate of China at the time. Also, since plants were preserved were any animals also found? I find this to be a very interesting development and hope there are follow-up stories.

[drm604]

14. Amazing.

[sabrina 1]

15. That's beautiful.

[ermasdaughter]

16. Extraordinary.

Thanks for posting this!!