Raman and cathodoluminescence spectroscopic investigations on Permian fossil wood from Chemnitz—a contribution to the study of the permineralisation process

Samples of different three-dimensionally preserved fossil plants ( Medullosa sp., Dadoxylon sp., Calamodendron striatum, Psaronius sp.) from the Lower Permian petrified forest of Chemnitz were examined with regard to their chemical composition and structural order. Raman spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence microscopy are shown to be powerful tools for such investigations. Silicified wood from Chemnitz–Hilbersdorf generally shows yellow cathodoluminescence (CL) of the cell walls and only weak yellow-brownish CL of the cell lumina. By time-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy, a secondary mineralisation of hydrothermal origin was recognized. The latter is shown by short-lived blue CL at the cell walls extinguishing the yellow signal. Therefore, after the primary silicification step a secondary mineralisation step initiated by hydrothermal processes, seems to have taken place at probably slightly higher temperatures. The resulting silica matrix consists of phanerocrystalline and microcrystalline α-quartz as well as microcrystalline moganite, both partially associated with iron oxides. Dadoxylon sp. is a prominent example for parallel permineralisation by α-quartz and fluorspar, which is outstanding for the Chemnitz Petrified Forest. CL on this samples shows parallel silicification and fluoritisation, followed by infiltration of iron oxides. Permineralised samples show very low percentage of original organic remains. The seed fern Medullosa, for example, shows dispersed carbon, which is mainly restricted to the centres of the typical star-shaped vascular bundles. Raman spectroscopy revealed that these carbonaceous particles are of an anthracite structure. For experimental confirmation coal samples of different rank, especially anthracite from different geological times and localities, were studied by means of Raman spectroscopy. The remaining pith of the vascular bundles is white-coloured and consists of α-quartz and moganite, whereas surrounding tracheides exhibit white and reddish coloured parts. The reddish parts, mainly found in the rays, additionally contain α-Fe 2O 3 and Fe 3O 4 among the SiO 2 polymorphs of α-quartz and moganite. Sometimes iron oxides could have dominated permineralisation processes as the peak intensities of distinct parts of the samples suggest.