The Archaeopteryx Under the Microscope
How did dinosaurs live, how did they interact with one another, and what did they look like? Only relatively recently have palaeontologists, scientists who study fossils, become increasingly able to answer questions like these. After all, research into these long-extinct animals does not stop once a fossil has been excavated. It still needs to be studied. Thanks to the latest techniques, we can finally begin to answer major questions about fossils that are 150 million years old.
Seeing Through Rock
We used a very special technique to study the Archaeopteryx at Teylers Museum: a particle accelerator. We wanted to find out what the bones looked like on the inside and whether any additional bones were hidden within the rock. Unfortunately, the X-rays used in hospitals are not powerful enough to penetrate solid rock. Instead, we need the radiation produced when particles are accelerated. When a particle is accelerated to almost the speed of light, large amounts of X-rays are produced. This radiation is powerful enough to let us ‘see’ through rock.
Using the particle accelerator, we were able to examine in minute detail what lies inside the fossil of the Haarlem Archaeopteryx. This type of research can only be carried out at a handful of facilities around the world, and the Haarlem Archaeopteryx has already made two journeys to two different particle accelerators: one in southern France and one in England. The particle accelerator in England is the one shown in the video.
What Did a Dinosaur Look Like?
But what if you want to know what a dinosaur actually looked like? The X-rays produced by the particle accelerator can be used for more than just seeing through rock. They can also be used to determine which chemical elements are present in a fossil. Does it contain a lot of iron, traces of sulphur, or perhaps calcium?
When a fossil is exposed to X-rays, tiny chemical and physical interactions take place, with each element responding in a characteristic way. By scanning the surface of the Archaeopteryx with X-rays and measuring these responses, we can determine which elements are present in the fossil. This allows us to investigate whether fossilised remains of skin and feathers have been preserved, and we may even be able to determine the colour of its feathers!
This Research Was Conducted By
- Edgar Mulder, MSc student at Utrecht University at the time of the research, now a PhD student at Uppsala University, Sweden
- under the supervision of Anne Schulp, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Utrecht University
- Sifra Bijl, PhD student at Uppsala University at the time of the research, who has since obtained her PhD
