Silicified Carboniferous fossils in Pleistocene gravels. Silicified fossils of Carboniferous age relatively abundant in Pleistocene river gravels of southern origin. As a rule, these fossils were attributed to chert layers, occurring in the Carboniferous limestone of Belgium and Germany. However, silicified fossils are far too numerous to have originated from the chert layers exclusively. A recent study made clear that silicification processes, under the influence of soil formation, that acted upon the limestone during the Late Tertiary period have caused enormous quantities of fossils to silicify. Thus, silicification is, in fact, much younger than the fossils themselves. It is expected that in other cases too, silicification of fossils may have occurred under the influence of soil formation, long after deposition of the sediment.

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Grondboor & Hamer

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Nederlandse Geologische Vereniging

P. Buurman. (1972). Verkiezelde carboonfossielen in het pleistocene grind. Grondboor & Hamer, 26(3), 98–101.