Abstract
Laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) has seen increased use in palaeontological investigations in recent years. The method uses the high flux of laser light of visible wavelengths to reveal details sometimes missed by traditional long-wave ultraviolet (UV) methods using a lamp. In this study, we compare the results of LSF with UV-A-generated fluorescence on a range of fossils from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone Konservat-Lagerstätte of Bavaria, Germany. The methodology follows previous protocols of LSF with modifications made to enhance laser beam intensity, namely keeping the laser at a constant distance from the specimen, using a camera track. Our experiments show that along with making surface details more vivid than UV-A or revealing them for the first time, LSF has the additional value of revealing shallow subsurface specimen detail. Fossil decapods from the Solnhofen Limestone reveal full body outlines, even under the matrix, along with details of segmentation within the appendages such as limbs and antennae. The results indicate that LSF can be used on invertebrate fossils along with vertebrates and may often surpass the information provided by traditional UV methods.
Highlights
Laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) is a non-destructive imaging method involving visible wavelengths that were recently royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R
Many have been trialled on Solnhofen fossils to good effect, we present LSF here as an alternative method
Synchrotron Rapid Scanning X-ray Fluorescence (SRS-XRF) produces chemical images that allow for elemental mapping, but this comes with a high cost, complex set-up and restrictions to specimen size
Summary
Laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) is a non-destructive imaging method involving visible wavelengths that were recently royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R. Introduced to palaeontological studies and have various applications [1]. This includes the potential of LSF to 2 reveal fossils lying a small distance below the matrix surface and its integration into an automated microvertebrate sorting machine. The machine uses a bowl feeder where samples are excited by a laser and those with a fluorescence index above certain values indicating a fossil is blown into a separate dish, reducing the time spent on manual sorting [1] (figures 8 and 10). The green laser light wavelength of 532 nm has been previously employed [1], but more recently available high power blue/violet lasers have superseded the use of green wavelengths. As reported by several studies [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10], LSF continues to reveal new and exciting details in wellpreserved fossil assemblages (Konservat-Lagerstätten) as seen in the Yanliao [3,4,5,11,12], Jehol [8,10,13,14,15] and Las Hoyas Lagerstätten [16] of northeastern China and Spain, respectively
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
