title: Pristine Early Eocene wood buried deeply in kimberlite from northern Canada.
abstract: We report exceptional preservation of fossil wood buried deeply in a kimberlite pipe that intruded northwestern Canada's Slave Province 53.3±0.6 million years ago (Ma), revealed during excavation of diamond source rock. The wood originated from forest surrounding the eruption zone and collapsed into the diatreme before resettling in volcaniclastic kimberlite to depths >300 m, where it was mummified in a sterile environment. Anatomy of the unpermineralized wood permits conclusive identification to the genus Metasequoia (Cupressaceae). The wood yields genuine cellulose and occluded amber, both of which have been characterized spectroscopically and isotopically. From cellulose δ(18)O and δ(2)H measurements, we infer that Early Eocene paleoclimates in the western Canadian subarctic were 12-17°C warmer and four times wetter than present. Canadian kimberlites offer Lagerstätte-quality preservation of wood from a region with limited alternate sources of paleobotanical information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. awolfe@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: Alexander P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Wolfe
authors.forename: Adam Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Csank
authors.forename: Alberto V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: Ryan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: McKellar
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tappert
authors.forename: Karlis
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muehlenbachs
mesh_terms: D018647:Amber / Q000737:chemistry; D002170:Canada; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004777:Environment; D005580:Fossils; D007554:Isotopes; D013696:Temperature; D014934:Wood / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D018647:Amber; D007554:Isotopes; D002482:Cellulose