(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered tiny water bubbles trapped in New York City’s rocks at least 390 million years ago.
The discovery of scientists is the remains of ancient seas that were once inhabited by large armored fish, ammonoids, giant sea scorpions and trilobites.
Gradually, the climate changed, and the sea dried up, and the fossils of the creatures that lived in it became part of the iron pyrite rocks.
Initially, scientists investigated an important environmental problem: the process of leaching toxic arsenic from rocks.
Scientists have noticed framboids – tiny defects in the form of spherical clusters of tiny pyrite crystals. Using electron microscopy, they found tiny blisters of salt water in the framboids.
Minerals and gems often contain trapped liquids, but they can rarely be analyzed at a nanoscale like this.
Discoveries of this type usually require rock salt or halite, but scientists have now demonstrated the applicability of a similar method to pyrite, which is much more abundant.
The researchers intend to learn more about the processes that took place in the ocean as the temperature rose, which should provide insight into how such a scenario could play out today.
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