Fossil trees, tree moulds and tree casts in the Palaeocene Mull Lava Field, NW Scotland: context, formation and implications for lava emplacement release_nof5c263c5fjdmfegpmtnjlwta

by Brian R. Bell, Ian T. Williamson

Published in Earth and environmental science transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Cambridge University Press (CUP).

2017   Volume 107, Issue 01, p53-71

Abstract

<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> Megafossils and macrofossils of terrestrial plants (trees, leaves, fruiting bodies, etc.) are found in sedimentary and pyroclastic units interbedded with lavas in many ancient lava fields worldwide, attesting to subaerial environments of eruption and the establishment of viable plant communities during periods of volcanic quiescence. Preservation within lava is relatively rare and generally confined to the more robust woody tissues of trees, which are then revealed in the form of charcoal, mineralised tissue or as trace fossil moulds (<jats:italic>tree moulds</jats:italic>) and casts of igneous rock (<jats:italic>tree casts, s.s.</jats:italic>). In this contribution, we document several such fossil trees (<jats:italic>s.l.</jats:italic>), and the lavas with which they are associated, from the Palaeocene Mull Lava Field (MLF) on the Isle of Mull, NW Scotland. We present the first detailed geological account of a unique site within the Mull Plateau Lava Formation (MPLF) at Quinish in the north of the island and provide an appraisal of the famous upright fossil tree – MacCulloch's Tree – remotely located on the Ardmeanach Peninsula on the west coast of the island, and another large upright tree (the Carsaig Tree) near Malcolm's Point in the district of Brolass, SW Mull; both occurring within the earlier Staffa Lava Formation (SLF). The taphonomy of these megafossils, along with palynological and lithofacies assessments of associated strata, allows speculation of likely taxonomic affinity and the duration of hiatuses supporting the establishment of forest/woodland communities. The Ardmeanach and Carsaig specimens, because of their size and preservation as upright (? <jats:italic>in situ</jats:italic>) casts enveloped by spectacularly columnar-jointed basaltic lava, appear to be unique. The aspect of these trees, the thickness of the enveloping lavas and the arrangement of cooling joints adjacent to the trees, implies rapid emplacement, ponding and slow, static cooling of voluminous and highly fluid basaltic magma. The specimens from Quinish include two prostrate casts and several prostrate moulds that collectively have a preferred orientation, aligning approximately perpendicular to that of the regional Mull Dyke Swarm, the putative fissure source of the lavas, suggesting local palaeo-flow was directed towards the WSW. The Quinish Lava is an excellent example of a classic pāhoehoe (compound-braided) type, preserving some of the best examples of surface and internal features so far noted from the Hebridean Igneous Province (HIP) lava fields. These Mull megafossils are some of the oldest recorded examples, remarkably well preserved, and form a significant feature of the island's geotourism industry.
In application/xml+jats format

Archived Files and Locations

application/pdf   27.1 MB
file_x6txq4o2prcttdgagiw5okx73u
application/pdf   11.5 MB
file_wh3qsb7xlfa2dfm2vzfvl6y7rq
eprints.gla.ac.uk (web)
web.archive.org (webarchive)
Read Archived PDF
Preserved and Accessible
Type  article-journal
Stage   published
Year   2017
Language   en ?
Container Metadata
Not in DOAJ
In Keepers Registry
ISSN-L:  1755-6910
Work Entity
access all versions, variants, and formats of this works (eg, pre-prints)
Catalog Record
Revision: 9087b0eb-9d43-48c2-b562-e5682cf76ddb
API URL: JSON