Home / Palaeobotanical Tools / Raman and Infrared Spectroscopy

! S. Asche et al. (2023): What it takes to solve the Origin (s) of Life: An integrated review of techniques. Free access, arXiv.
! Note figure 1: Comprehensive array of experimental and computational techniques, along with conceptual bridges, which are primarily utilised in OoL studies.
"... We review the common tools and techniques that have been used significantly in OoL [origin(s) of life] studies in recent years.
[...] it spans broadly — from analytical chemistry to mathematical models — and highlights areas of future work ..."

P.L. Ascough et al. (2010): Charcoal reflectance measurements: implications for structural characterization and assessment of diagenetic alteration. PDF file, Journal of Archaeological Science. About charcoal, reflectance, Raman spectroscopic measurements, oxidative degradation, black carbon, diagenesis.

L. Borisjuk et al. (2023): Seeing plants as never before. Open access, New Phytologist, 238: 1775–1794; doi: 10.1111/nph.18871.
Note figure 1: Setup of an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Figure 6: From sample preparation to chemical imaging using Fourier-transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
"... an overview of current imaging methods, which rely variously on either nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) or infrared (IR) spectroscopy ..."

A.F. Bunkin et al. (2023): Fossil Plant Remains Diagnostics by Laser-Induced Fluorescence and Raman Spectroscopies. Free access, Photonics, 10.
"... Our results demonstrated that combined laser-induced fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy measurements can provide new insights into the detection of samples with biogenicity indicators such as chlorophyll and its derivatives, as well as kerogenous materials. ..."

J.A. D'Angelo and E.L. Zodrow (2015): Chemometric study of structural groups in medullosalean foliage (Carboniferous, fossil Lagerstätte, Canada): Chemotaxonomic implications. In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 138: 42–54.
See also here.

F.E. de Sousa Filho et al. (2011): Combination of Raman, Infrared, and X-Ray Energy-Dispersion Spectroscopies and X-Ray Diffraction to Study a Fossilization Process. In PDF, Braz. J. Phys., 41: 275-280.
Available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
See also here.

! N.K. Dhami et al. (2023): Microbially mediated fossil concretions and their characterization by the latest methodologies: a review. Free access, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14: 1225411. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1225411.
Note figure 1: The three broad modes of fossilization.
Figure 6: Visual representation of the factors involved in formation of iron carbonate concretions in freshwater influenced environments.
! Figure 7: Flow diagram for analytical methods applicable to microbial fossil concretions, modern and ancient.
Figure 8: Completing the story of fossilization. Conceptual framework to establish fossilization processes and interrogate their biochemical record.
"... we provide a comprehensive account of organic geochemical, and complimentary inorganic geochemical, morphological, microbial and paleontological, analytical methods, including recent advancements, relevant to the characterization of concretions and sequestered OM [organic matter] ..."

Emanuele Di Lorenzo, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia:
Early Earth and the Origins of Life.
Powerpoint presentation.

G. Guignard et al. (2024): TEM and EDS characterization in a Bennettitalean cuticle from the Lower Cretaceous Springhill Formation, Argentina. Free access, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 320.
Note figure 7: Three-dimensional reconstruction of lower and upper cuticles of Ptilophyllum eminelidarum.
"New cuticle samples from the bennettitalean Ptilophyllum eminelidarum were herein studied using the combination of light microscopy (LM), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), and element analysis by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) ..."

D.G. Henry et al. (2019): Raman spectroscopy as a tool to determine the thermal maturity of organic matter: Application to sedimentary, metamorphic and structural geology. Free access, Earth-Science Reviews, 198.

! J.A. Heredia-Guerrero et al. (2014): Infrared and Raman spectroscopic features of plant cuticles: a review. Free access, Front. Plant Sci., 25.
Note table 2: Definition of semi-quantitative ratios from FTIR and their interpretation for the characterization of fossilized plant cuticles (adapted from Zodrow etal. 2012).

F. Herrera et al. (2023): Investigating Mazon Creek fossil plants using computed tomography and microphotography. Free access, Frontiers of Earth Science, 11: 1200976. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1200976.
"... The three-dimensional (3D) preservation of Mazon Creek fossil plants makes them ideal candidates for study using x-ray micro-computed tomography (ìCT)
[...] The mineralogical composition of the fossil plant preservation was studied using elemental maps and Raman spectroscopy. In-situ spores were studied with differential interference contrast, Airyscan confocal super-resolution microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, which reveal different features of the spores with different degrees of clarity ..."

M.A. Lafuente Diaz et al. (2021): Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Studies of Cretaceous Gymnosperms from the Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Abstract, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 182.
Note likewise here (in PDF).
"... The fossils consist of foliar compressions with very well-preserved cuticles, which are chemically characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
[...] The compressions [...] probably underwent, during and after diagenesis, a natural oxidation process most likely caused by the recurrent volcanic activity that occurred during the Aptian sedimentation ..."

M.I. Lönartz et al. (2023): Palaeoenvironmental conditions for the natural vulcanization of the Eocene “monkeyhair” laticifers from Geiseltal, Germany, as elucidated by Raman spectroscopy. Free access, Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 103: 681–693.
"... Raman spectra of the fossil laticifers are virtually identical to that of rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene) with additional bands demonstrating sulfur vulcanization. Raman spectra from the surrounding lignite and existing Raman-based carbon thermometers, currently calibrated down to about 100 °C, clearly indicate that these samples were never exposed to temperatures higher than the surrounding lignite. These results directly validate the previous hypothesis of fossilization through natural vulcanization ..."

! L. Lopez Cavalcante et al. (2023): Analysis of fossil plant cuticles using vibrational spectroscopy: A new preparation protocol. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 316.
See also here.
"... alarming changes were caused by the use of Schulze’s solution, which resulted in the addition of both NO₂ and (O)NO₂ compounds in the cuticle. Consequently, a new protocol using H₂CO₃, HF, and H₂O₂ for preparing fossil plant cuticles aimed for chemical analyses is proposed, which provides an effective substitute to the conventional methods ..."

! C.C. Loron and F. Borondics (2024): Optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR): a promising new tool for bench-top analytical palaeontology at the sub-micron scale. Free access, bioRxiv.

C.C. Loron et al. (2023): Molecular fingerprints resolve affinities of Rhynie chert organic fossils. Open access, Nature Communications, 4.
"... we demonstrate that the famously exquisite preservation of cells, tissues and organisms in the Rhynie chert accompanies similarly impressive preservation of molecular information. These results provide a compelling positive control that validates the use of infrared spectroscopy to investigate the affinity of organic fossils in chert. ..."

! A.K. Martins et al. (2022): Exceptional preservation of Triassic-Jurassic fossil plants: integrating biosignatures and fossil diagenesis to understand microbial-related iron dynamics. Free access, Lethaia, 55: 1-16. See also here.
Note figure 8: Inferred biogeochemical cycle for the chemical stabilization of iron oxides into goethite in the studied material.
Figure 9: Inferred fossil diagenetic history for the studied fossil plants.
"... there are branches and leaves coated by iron crusts, attributed to the precipitation of iron oxide-oxyhydroxides. Underneath the crusts, the leaves retained minute anatomical features of their epidermal cells and stomatal complexes ..."

Mettler-Toledo, LLC, Columbus, OH:
IR vs Raman Spectroscopy.

L. Miao et al. (2024): 1.63-billion-year-old multicellular eukaryotes from the Chuanlinggou Formation in North China Science Advances, 10. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk3208. See also here.
! Note figure 8: Overview of early evolution of the Eukarya along with fossil records.
"... we report cellularly preserved multicellular microfossils (Qingshania magnifica) from the ~1635-million-year-old Chuanlinggou Formation, North China. The fossils consist of large uniseriate, unbranched filaments with cell diameters up to 190 micrometers; spheroidal structures, possibly spores, occur within some cells ..."

J.P.S. Saldanha et al. (2023): Deciphering the origin of dubiofossils from the Pennsylvanian of the Paraná Basin, Brazil. In PDF, Biogeosciences, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-56. See also here.

S. Saminpanya et al. (2023): Mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrogenesis of the world's longest petrified wood. In PDF. International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks. See likewise here.

! Sylvia-Monique Thomas, University of Nevada Las Vegas:
Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy. Provided by Teaching Mineralogy, Teach the Earth.

! J. Wiemann and P.R. Heck (2023): Quantifying the impact of sample, instrument, and data processing on biological signatures detected with Raman spectroscopy. Free access, bioRxiv.
"... Quantification of the impact of sample size, instrument features, and spectral processing on the occupation of ChemoSpace [a compositional space] provides an analytical framework for the extraction of molecular biosignatures from spectroscopic fingerprints of tissues from extant and extinct organisms
[...] ChemoSpace approach to biosignatures represents a powerful tool for exploring, denoising, and integrating molecular biological information from modern and ancient organismal samples.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Spectroscopy.
Category:Infrared spectroscopy
! Infrared spectroscopy.
Category:Raman spectroscopy
! Raman spectroscopy.

The Wilson Group, University of California, San Diego:
The World of Physical Chemistry, Spectroscopy. Go to:
Introduction to Spectroscopy and Polarization.
Websites still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.