Occurrence of Cæsium in Fossils.

McKERROW, W. S.; TAYLOR, S. R.; BLACKBURN, AUDREY L.; AHRENS, L. H.

THE possibility of potassium - argon dating of fossils led to the spectrographic examination of a brachiopod (Lingula), a lamellibranch (Gryphaea) and a trilobite (Calymene) for potassium. The alkali metal spectra of Calymene showed such marked cæsium enrichment, relative to rubidium and potassium, that a rapid survey was made of the phylum Arthropoda. Two arachnids, four insects, four crustaceans and twenty-eight trilobites were analysed by a semi-quantitative method. To compare different species and genera of trilobites from a single horizon, collections were made from the Upper Silurian Wenlock Limestone at Dudley, Staffordshire. In order to check whether the sediment associated with the trilobites might have an unusual cæsium content many matrices adjacent to the fossils were analysed, collections of sediment also being made for this purpose at Dudley.

Nature, 1956, Vol 178, Issue 4526, p204

0028-0836

Academic Journal

10.1038/178204a0