Absorption and Phase Contrast X-Ray Imaging in Paleontology Using Laboratory and Synchrotron Sources

Autor(es)

Bidola, Pidassa ^[1] ; Stockmar, Marco ^[1] ; Achterhold, Klaus ^[1] ; Pfeiffer, Franz ^[1] ; Pacheco, Mirian L. A. F. ^[2] ; Soriano, Carmen ^[3] ; Beckmann, Felix ^[4] ; Herzen, Julia ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Tech Univ Munich, Dept Phys, D-85748 Garching - Germany

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Biol, BR-18052780 Sorocaba, SP - Brazil

^[3] Argonne Natl Lab, Adv Photon Source, Lemont, IL 60439 - USA

^[4] Helmholtz Ctr Geesthacht, Inst Mat Res, D-21502 Geesthacht - Germany

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Microscopy and Microanalysis; v. 21, n. 5, p. 1288-1295, OCT 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

X-ray micro-computed tomography (CT) is commonly used for imaging of samples in biomedical or materials science research. Owing to the ability to visualize a sample in a nondestructive way, X-ray CT is perfectly suited to inspect fossilized specimens, which are mostly unique or rare. In certain regions of the world where important sedimentation events occurred in the Precambrian geological time, several fossilized animals are studied to understand questions related to their origin, environment, and life evolution. This article demonstrates the advantages of applying absorption and phase-contrast CT on the enigmatic fossil Corumbella werneri, one of the oldest known animals capable of building hard parts, originally discovered in Corumba (Brazil). Different tomographic setups were tested to visualize the fossilized inner structures: a commercial laboratory-based CT device, two synchrotron-based imaging setups using conventional absorption and propagation-based phase contrast, and a commercial X-ray microscope with a lens-coupled detector system, dedicated for radiography and tomography. Based on our results we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the different imaging setups for paleontological studies. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 09/02312-4 - Reconstituição morfológica e análise sistemática de Corumbella werneri Hahn et al. 1982 (Formação Tamengo, Ediacarano, Grupo Corumbá), Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil: implicações paleoecológicas e tafonômicas.
• Beneficiário: Mírian Liza Alves Forancelli Pacheco
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado