what happends in fossilization of bone, or plant material. what minerals replace the bone or plant?

Question

does all the original material get replaced? What minerals take their place. how long does the process take. does fossilization occur today?

Answer 1

Usually the original minerals are replaced with another like calcium carbonate or silica, but it is a slow process and may not be totally complete in some fossils. Other times some of the original minerals (like carbon) remain behind while other minerals like calcium are leeched away. This is common in coal beds, and coal is actually pure fossils.

The time it takes to do this varies greatly, and depends on the conditions of the sediment and the composition of the original plant or animal. In the plains states I know of a layer of shells from 70 million years ago that still have their original mother of pearl, while in the badlands pig bones less than 100 years old sometimes have already begun to partially fossilize.

Added: The reference to the "T-rex leg bone was found with soft tissue inside" in the next answer down is undoubtedly about the Tyrannosaur femur described by Mary Higby Schweitzer and Jack Horner. The last I heard there is still a good deal of debate about whether or not the tissue is fossilized, but this and a handful of similar finds are certainly important and exciting to vertebrate paleontologists. The following link is pretty good if you want to see a few good photos of what they are talking about: http://pharyngula.org/index/science/comments/tyrannosaur_morsels/http://pharyngula.org/index/science/comments/tyrannosaur_morsels/

Answer 2

I agree with 'Now and Then Comes a Thought' but I'd like to add that new discoveries may upturn what we know about fossilization. A T-rex leg bone was found with soft tissue inside, and upon that discovery a scientist dissolved dinosaur bones in acid and could find soft tissue from other fossils as well.

Fossilization is a never-ending process given that all the necessary elements are in place. Even now things are becoming fossils-although usually very, very slowly. If you take a piece of clay, press your hand into it, then bake it, you've basically made a trace fossil in minutes. Its a nice example, but nature takes her time.

Answer 3

There are many creatures in the gronund that take care of materal in the ground.

Worms are one. They eat decomposing material and change it into fertalizer aireate the soil intern die themselves and fertilize the soil.

Fossilization still accures when ever we have large natural disaters such as volcanoes, earth quakes , we just don't see it in our short period of time that we live here on the earth.

Lighting strikes the ground and also puts minerals in the soil.

Rain also breaks down all types of rock formation and run off , deposits it's minerals into the ground.

Beleave it or not what happens to all the rubber that tires wear off ?

On the side off the road there ars microscopic rubber mites that eat 100 times their wieght in tire rubber implanted on the road. Intern when they die they add minerals to the ground.


Sincerely yours,

Fred M. Hunter

[e-mail]

Answer 4

Yes: all " Prehistoric or Jurastic Period Fossels do get studied
upon by Palentologist team known as Scientist those people find
them also preserved Naturaly" you can visit LabreaTarpits Musem here http://labrea.tarpitsmusem.com
or http://www.prehistoric.animals.fossel.com plus
http://www.jurastic.plantlife.fossel.com !