Signature Assignment for ePortfolio

Joshua Hill

The Chemistry Behind Fossilization of Ammonites

Ammonites were a type of mollusk which lived just above the ocean floors globally from the

Devonian period (400 million years ago) to the Cretaceous period (66 million years ago). They were

subjected to the mass extinction event that also killed the dinosaurs and countless other species. The

fossilization of these creatures required many chemical reactions to occur to preserve their shells.

Once the organism died, the soft tissues would begin to dissolve into the aqueous solution of the

ocean or be consumed by other organisms. So, the shell is normally the only part that was left behind.

One of the major things that needed to occur for fossilization is that the organism would have to be near

the ocean floor, so it could be buried in sediment quickly to begin its changes. The shell of the

ammonites was made of aragonite, a type of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Over time, the aragonite would

go through chemical changes and become a more stable type of calcium carbonate called calcite.

Over time, both aragonite and calcite will dissolve resulting in a void in the sediment that

surrounded the shell. Once the type of CaCO3 has been dissolved, an iron or silicon-based material will

fill the void, either in the form of pyrite (FeS2), silica (also known as silicon dioxide or SiO2), or hematite

(which is the mineral form of iron(III) oxide, Fe2O3).

Since the various minerals that fill the void left by the shell are so stable, we can extract the

fossils by using an acid which will react with the sediment surrounding the fossil and cause it to dissolve,

but this will not react with the iron or silicon-based minerals. However, once exposed to humid

conditions outside of the ocean, the fossils made from pyrite will begin to oxidize and disintegrate as

sulfur dioxide is released due to the chemical reaction with oxygen. The oxidization of pyrite results in

the formation of iron oxides and sulfites, as shown in the reaction formula 4 FeS2(s) + 11 O2(g) 2

Fe2O3(s) + 8 SO2(g).
Bibliography:

http://www.compoundchem.com/2017/11/29/ammonites/

http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord/fossilization/fossilization.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonoidea#Distribution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_dioxide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrite

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/fes2-o2-gt-fe2o3-so2-this-an-example-oxidation-why-476407