Posted on 10/19/2009 2:35:26 PM PDT by Daffynition
ScienceDaily (Oct. 18, 2009) — Norwegian scientists have found “mummified” pine trees, dead for nearly 500 years yet without decomposition.
Norway’s wet climate seems perfect for encouraging organic matter to rot – particularly in Sogndal, located on Norway’s southwestern coastline, in one of the most humid, mild areas of the country. In fact, with an average of 1541 millimetres of rain yearly and relatively mild winters, Sogndal should be an environment where decomposition happens fast. Not so.
“We were gathering samples of dead trees to reconstruct summer temperatures in western Norway, when our dendrochronological dating showed the wood to be much older than expected”, says Terje Thun, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Museum of Natural History and Archaeology. Thun conducted the work with his colleague Helene Løvstrand Svarva.
From a time before the Black Death
“We were astounded to find fresh wood in trees that started to grow in the late 1200s and had died almost 500 years ago, which is much older than we originally expected. Somehow they have kept from decomposing for several centuries in this humid climate”, Thun says. “This is quite extraordinary - I would go as far as to call it sensational.”
[snip]
Used in mummification
Resin was one of the ingredients used in Ancient Egypt for mummification, so its conservation abilities have been known for millennia. However, that trees could “self-mummify” in such a humid climate for centuries was new to the NTNU scientists.
“Many of the trunks we dated turned out to have seeded in the early 1200s, and had lived for more than 100 years at the time of the Black Death around 1350”, Thun says.
[snip]
It seems there truly is something good about Norwegian wood.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
btw...she looks neither soggy or mummified!
The camera needs to come about 60 to 90 degrees forward.
Coniferous trees, notably blue spruce and Ponderosa pine, in the Rockies of S. CO, where I used to cut a lot of firewood, seem to decay very slowly.
But that’s a dry climate.
OTOH, aspen trees rot away while they’re still alive.
Once, I had a tree, or you could say, a pine mummy.
Terry Tune?
Norwegian scientists have found "mummified" pine trees, dead for nearly 500 years yet without decomposition.Thanks Daffynition.
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Thanks Daffynition.Norwegian scientists have found "mummified" pine trees, dead for nearly 500 years yet without decomposition.To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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“that trees could “self-mummify” in humid climates”
This is an example of a CITY BORN LIBTARD JUNK SCIENTIST.
Every country-boy from the forest knows that if trees fall in a very lush environment with just the right soil and drainage, their resin (in especitally pine trees) turns them into the so called “mummies”.
This is a common enough occurance we send our young ones out to find these “mummies” and chop them into small kindling, because they have such a high resin content, they light with a match, burn hot and never go out.
Some places call this “fat wood”. If a tree dies in place (rather than falling), during the summer months, the resin will run to the bottom and preserver the roots and stump area almost 100%. If the tree falls first, then the resin settles to the bottom of the tree and you often get a half-moon shape.
These things can be VERY old - they are almost as hard as rocks - you can dull an axe trying to cut one - if you try a chainsaw, it will be dull after 1-2 minutes. The only way to deal with it is to split it.
I guess next these guys will discover bears shit in the woods.
After, of course, the get a 5M$ grant......
These trees are around 2 million years old. Not actually fossils, the wood has been preserved - mummified - in clay. They were discovered in the 1970s during quarrying near Avigliano Umbra (Umbria). They were a type of sequoia,and some of them lived for 3000 years (before then surviving the next couple of million!).
Just amazing.
Interesting thread. Calls for a cool tree video ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JoXKpHKgUg
James Taylor - Wichita Lineman
I was deeply moved by your video offering, such that I shall take my leave now...
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