22-Million Fossil From Long-Lost Mangrove Forest Unearthed; Volcanic Eruption Wiped It From the Planet
Remains of a long-lost forest were unearthed after millions of years. The mangrove forest once thrived in the Panama Canal, but a violent volcanic eruption wiped it from the planet.
Fossilized Remains of Long-Lost Forest Discovered
On the Barro Colorado Island, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have discovered the petrified remnants of the trees that formerly bordered the water 121 surviving wood fragments with their distinctive characteristics, such as water vessels, were discovered.
The crew not only found the long-lost forest again but also discovered it was teeming with a species that is extinct from Earth today.
Fossil evidence suggests that a lahar, a forceful flood of water, mud, ash, and rocks, was caused by a single massive volcanic eruption. A lahar can quickly cover an area, flowing like wet concrete. It prevents animals and plants from decaying or decomposing.
When you combine this with the silica-rich waters of a lahar, which soak into living creatures and petrify their tissues, you end up with exceptionally well-preserved fossils frozen in time.
Scientists discovered the fossils in a stream on Barro Colorado Island. The major land masses of South America and the Caribbean plate met approximately 22 million years ago during the early Miocene Epoch, forming the topography of Panama and the rest of Central America.
At this point, the ocean gave way to a hill that would later become Barro Colorado Island. A mangrove forest with trees reaching as high as 130 feet in the air flourished around its boundaries.
According to sediment studies, the forest developed in the brackish zone- where fresh and saltwater converge- perfect for mangrove growth.
Other species would not have been able to survive in that habitat, based on the absence of other tree fossils in the region. The conditions were perfect for a large mangrove forest for reasons more than just the brackish water.
Scientists named The tree Sonneratioxylon barrocoloradoensis; the first half of the name refers to the genus to which it belongs, which still exists today. The second part indicates its location, Barro Colorado Island.
Only in Southeast Asia do the species' live cousins in the Sonneratioxylon genus still exist; none are found in South or Central America. However, the same geological processes that created Barro Colorado Island attended to this ancient forested nearby volcano erupting up to a million years after the forest had established itself. Its boulders and ash mixed with the mud and water already present to create a lahar that covered the trees.
The author concluded that based on fossil evidence and the volcanic rock around the tree remains, only one major eruption likely covered the trees.
New Island Formed After Volcanic Eruption
While volcanic eruption could wipe off the face of the Earth, it could also give birth to a new island. In November, an undersea volcano was formed after a seamount in Tokyo, Japan, erupted.
The new island may not survive long, and its fate is unknown. There have been reports that the newly constructed island has shrunk as the volcanic activity at the site has decreased.
According to Yuji Usui, an analyst in the volcanic section of the Japan Meteorological Agency, the reason for this is the lack of foundation, as waves can easily wash away the island's "crumbly" formation. While experts continue to assess the evolution, they surmise that an island composed primarily of lava or other volcanic rocks, such as pumice, will probably endure longer, unlike the resurfaced one.
"We just have to see the development," Usui said. "But the island may not last very long."
RELATED ARTICLE: How Do Volcanoes Erupt, and How Scientists Study and Predict These Eruptions
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