Friday, February 17, 2006
Petrification of wood takes only “tens to hundreds of years”
Experimental work by Japanese scientists has confirmed that the petrification of wood can take place rapidly under the right chemical conditions (Akahane et al 2004). Pieces of alder wood placed in an overflow stream from Tateyama Hot Spring in central Japan were almost 40% silicified in seven years. Most petrified wood in the fossil record is associated with volcanic sediments, suggesting that it was formed when hot mineral-laden waters permeated the wood. Indeed, samples of Miocene fossil wood show the same type of mineralization as the experimentally petrified wood, revealing that a similar process was involved in their formation. Significantly, and somewhat unusually, the Japanese study favourably cited an earlier article on the rapid petrification of wood which was published in a creationist journal (Snelling 1995; Snelling 2005).
Akahane H, Furuno T, Miyajima H, Yoshikawa T, Yamamoto S, ‘Rapid wood silicification in hot spring water: an explanation of silicification of wood during the Earth’s history’, Sedimentary Geology 2004;169(3-4):219-228.
Abstract: A hot spring water lake in Tateyama Hot Spring has a high content of silica and readily precipitates silica spheres and deposits of opal. Abundant fragments of naturally fallen wood impregnated with silica were found in the overflow stream of the lake. These silicifications resulted from the precipitation of silica spheres onto split surfaces or cell walls of the fallen wood. The textures of wood tissues are the same as those found on naturally silicified wood formed in the vicinity of volcanic regions in the geological record. These results explain the formation mechanism of certain naturally silicified wood fragments that seem to be formed under the same conditions as those found in the hot spring water. To confirm the silicification process, fresh wood pieces of alder wood (Alnus pendula Matsumura) were placed in the hot spring water stream. Experimental wood fragments were silicified to nearly 40% by weight over a period of 7 years by the deposition of amorphous silica spheres in cell lumina of wood tissue. This study reveals that silicified wood can form under suitable conditions in time periods as short as tens to hundreds of years, and contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms forming silicified wood.
Snelling AA, ‘“Instant” petrified wood’, Creation 1995;17(4):38-40.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i4/wood.asp
Snelling AA, ‘Rapid petrification of wood: an unexpected confirmation of creationist research, Institute for Creation Research Impact Article #379, January 2005.
http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=13
Akahane H, Furuno T, Miyajima H, Yoshikawa T, Yamamoto S, ‘Rapid wood silicification in hot spring water: an explanation of silicification of wood during the Earth’s history’, Sedimentary Geology 2004;169(3-4):219-228.
Abstract: A hot spring water lake in Tateyama Hot Spring has a high content of silica and readily precipitates silica spheres and deposits of opal. Abundant fragments of naturally fallen wood impregnated with silica were found in the overflow stream of the lake. These silicifications resulted from the precipitation of silica spheres onto split surfaces or cell walls of the fallen wood. The textures of wood tissues are the same as those found on naturally silicified wood formed in the vicinity of volcanic regions in the geological record. These results explain the formation mechanism of certain naturally silicified wood fragments that seem to be formed under the same conditions as those found in the hot spring water. To confirm the silicification process, fresh wood pieces of alder wood (Alnus pendula Matsumura) were placed in the hot spring water stream. Experimental wood fragments were silicified to nearly 40% by weight over a period of 7 years by the deposition of amorphous silica spheres in cell lumina of wood tissue. This study reveals that silicified wood can form under suitable conditions in time periods as short as tens to hundreds of years, and contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms forming silicified wood.
Snelling AA, ‘“Instant” petrified wood’, Creation 1995;17(4):38-40.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i4/wood.asp
Snelling AA, ‘Rapid petrification of wood: an unexpected confirmation of creationist research, Institute for Creation Research Impact Article #379, January 2005.
http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=13
# posted by Nemagraptus @ 9:27 AM 
