Oggi la blasonata rivista scientifica Science nella rubrica “Random” (pag. 391) pubblica un articolo dal titolo “Life in Crystal” (Vita nel cristallo) dando notizia del ritrovamento di pollini all’interno di uno dei mega-cristalli della Cueva de Los Cristales di Naica.
Una bella soddisfazione per il team La Venta, che ancora una volta vede riconosciuti a livello internazionale i primi riscontri scientifici di questa originale esplorazione scientifica.
Life in Crystal
An Italian research team this winter found ancient pollen sealed in the colossal crystals of the Cueva de los Cristales, a cave in a lead and silver mine in northern Mexico.
The team, led by mineralogist Paolo Forti of the University of Bologna, Italy, suspected that the selenite crystals, some as long as 11 meters, could contain pollen preserved when they formed several hundred thousand years ago. Now they have extracted 43 pollen grains in samples from two crystals.
The 290-meter-deep cave was discovered in 2000, but its hellish conditions – 48°C and 100% humidity – have limited exploration until recently. Scientists with high-tech suits to cool their bodies and dry the air for breathing can now explore the cave for up to an hour at a time. The pollen, presumably transported into the cave by underground streams, may help scientists reconstruct ancient climate and vegetation cover in the northern region of the Chihuahua desert, says Forti. Palynologist Anna Maria Mercuri of the University of Modena, Italy, identified the pollen as a type of oak found in the southern United States, which suggests that the area was humid forest. Forti’s team is now using radiometric dating to get a definitive age for the crystalsCave and pollen.
Constance Holden