Cape York amber update

By Phil Creaser
November 29, 2010

Snapshot of a computer display of an ant preserved inside Cape York amber, as revealed by synchrotron X-ray imaging (image credit: Phil Creaser).

Work is continuing on the Amber project both internationally and in Australia.

Two papers were presented at a Conference on Beijing on the Cape York amber, which was also featured in a new book on fossils in amber.

A recent paper on Synchrotron X ray imaging of inclusions in amber included fossils from the Cape York amber. The paper can be downloaded here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2010.07.014

At the domestic level, Associate Professor Allan Jones from the Australia Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis at the University of Sydney is continuing to develop techniques to search for inclusions in amber from Cape York and elsewhere in Australia.

Download Beijing conference abstracts:

• Godthelp, H., Hand, S., Archer, M., Creaser, P., Jones, A., Norris, B. and Wicks, D., 2010. Amber from Cape York Peninsula: Australia's first significant amber deposit. Abstracts from the 5th FossilX3, Beijing, 2010, p. 131. Download PDF 535KB.
• Hand, S., Archer, M., Creaser, P., Godthelp, H., Jones, A., Norris, B., Soriano, C., Wicks, D. and Tafforeau, P., 2010. Fossil hair in Australian Cape York amber. Abstracts from the 5th FossilX3, Beijing, 2010, p. 134. Download PDF 676KB.

Links:

Australian amber – more significant finds to come?? August 04, 2010 Following the segment on the ABC Science program Catalyst, the UNSW team has been in touch with a number of people from around Australia who have reported finding amber pieces on local beaches.

Australian amber is treasure trove of ancient life June 17 2010 A study led by UNSW scientists has confirmed the discovery of Australia's most northerly fossil site - deposits of the precious mineral amber that contain a treasure trove of trapped animal and plant remains and even bubbles of air from millions of years ago.

Amber update: Cape York 2009 October 06, 2009 A successful field trip to Cape York was held recently. A small number of amber specimens were collected but the main aim was to try and investigate possible sources of the amber. This was achieved with the discovery of small pieces of amber in a lignite deposit.  Further work is planned to study this deposit.

Scientific gold in amber discovery on beaches December 27, 2006 When fisherman Dale Wicks and his partner Beth Norris went on evening walks on the remote coast of far north Queensland, they became intrigued by large chunks of strange-looking rock on the beaches. More...