Experimental maturation of pine resin in sediment to investigate the formation of synthetic copal and amber.

ABSTRACT: Experimentally simulating fossil resin formation would improve our understanding of copal/amber and could simulate the diagenesis of resin inclusions. Resin from living Pinus underwent sediment-encased maturation under various temperature and pressure conditions. Light microscopy suggests that matured resin dries, possibly hardens, and darkens into a brittle, yellow-orange-brown translucent mass with increased luster, exhibiting flow lines, birefringence, conchoidal fracturing, and air pockets typical of copal/amber. Leached components were observed in the sediment. Infrared spectroscopy suggests that matured resins have spectra consistent with those of fossil resins and may exhibit similar differences from fresh resin-possibly decreased relative intensity of C=O stretching at ~ 1700 cm

SUBMITTER: Saitta ET 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11933476 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature