started · updated
German Fossil Wood in Kyffhäuser Mountains Shows 300‑Million‑Year History
Researchers led by geologist Dr. Steffen Trümper of the University of Münster examined fossilized tree trunks from the Kyffhäuser Mountains in northern Thuringia, Germany. The wood, buried in reddish fluvial deposits, preserved a continuous geological record spanning roughly 300 million years of the late Carboniferous period when the region lay near the equator on the supercontinent Pangaea.
Using a suite of high‑precision techniques—including quartz cathodoluminescence, fluid‑inclusion analysis, oxygen and silicon isotope measurements, Raman thermometry, electron‑probe microanalysis, scanning‑electron microscopy and in‑situ uranium‑lead dating—the team identified five successive generations of silica mineralisation within the wood cells. These stages record specific temperature (160‑240 °C) and pressure conditions at burial depths of 3‑5.5 km, providing detailed data on tectonic events and continental evolution.
The study, published in *Scientific Reports*, demonstrates that fossilized wood can serve as a natural archive for reconstructing ancient climate, sedimentary environments and the geological history of entire regions.
Entities
Dr. Steffen Trümper · Germany · Kyffhäuser Mountains · Kyffhäuser massif · Scientific Reports · University of Münster
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 4 SOURCES] The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es · www.farodevigo.es · www.levante-emv.com
- [● 4 SOURCES] German researchers demonstrated that silicified wood can serve as a natural archive of regional geological history spanning hundreds of millions of years. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es · www.farodevigo.es · www.levante-emv.com
- [● 4 SOURCES] The fossilized wood analyzed came from the Kyffhäuser massif in central Germany. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es · www.farodevigo.es · www.levante-emv.com
- [● 4 SOURCES] Five successive mineralisation generations were identified, dated to roughly 304‑299 Ma, 299‑290 Ma, 257‑260 Ma, about 180 Ma and around 100 Ma. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es · www.farodevigo.es · www.levante-emv.com
- [● 4 SOURCES] The Kyffhäuser area is one of the most extensive concentrations of silicified wood in the Northern Hemisphere and serves as a reference site for such deposits. www.diariodemallorca.es · www.eldia.es · www.farodevigo.es · www.levante-emv.com