A discovery by a 47-year-old Casino man who has found a better way to extract microscopic plant fossils from sediments is attracting considerable interest from scientists around the world. The Southern Cross University PhD candidate and former Kyogle grazier, Jeff Parr has made the discovery while working on studies supported by the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering, based at Lucas Heights.
The new method of extracting the fossils of particular types of plant cells, known as phytoliths, means scientists can extract the material they need in nine steps in just over half an hour instead of 41 steps taking up to two weeks.
The new method, known as the microwave digestion technique, also slashes the cost of extracting phytoliths to around four cents per sample, compared with $4.80 a sample using the old labour intensive method, known as heavy liquid floatation. According to Jeffs superviser at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Dr Geraldine Jacobsen, the extraction of phytoliths is routinely performed by palynologists, investigators of plant fossils.
"Phytoliths which contain carbon can then be accurately dated using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dating facilities, such as those provided by the AMS Group at ANSTO," Dr Jacobsen said. "Palynology is of particular interest to scientists looking for clues into global warming and other issues associated with the history of the environment. "
Jeff Parr's new method of extracting phytoliths appears likely to save palynologists money, many hours of labour, as well as litres of liquid waste. Jeff found that, just as the saying goes, necessity was the mother of invention. "I was having trouble funding my research into phytoliths from Papua New Guinea and I was racking my brains to find another way of doing it.
Then while working with a microwave sample preparation system for element analysis on an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, I discovered that the by-product of the digestcontained silica phytoliths, which is exactly what I was looking for," he said.Jeff Parr left school at 14 to pursue a trade and later farmed at Kyogle before taking up tertiary studies in 1994. This year he will present papers on other subjects related to phytoliths to the University of Cambridge, and an international symposium in Taipei.
He says he is happy to share the information with scientists around the world and that, although his technique has not yet been widely publicised, he is already replying to emails from scientists as far away as the University of California - Berkeley, and University of Missouri.
Jeff says that while the microwave digestion technique has many advantages for his work, the old method may still be required for some types of samples.
Jeff Parr's article on his new technique, "A comparison of heavy liquid flotation and microwave digestion techniques for the extraction of fossil phytoliths from sediments" is soon to be published in the international journal, the Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.
Published: 25/07/2002