Wyniki wyszukiwania - BazTech

1

The Starunia palaeontological site and idea of the Ukrainian-Polish trans-border geotourist trail "Traces of large extinct mammals, earth wax, oil and salt: from Starunia to Kraków"

Kotarba M. J.

Geoturystyka

|

2009

|

nr 3

5-20

EN

The discovery of large Pleistocene mammals at the Starunia ozokerite (named also earth wax) mine (the Ukrainian Carpathians) was a spectacular scientific event on a world scale. The initial discovery was made in I907 when relics of party preserved mammoth and woolly rhinoceros were excavated. Later, in 1929, the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences organized a scientific expedition to that site, which resulted in discovery of unique, nearly completely preserved woolly rhinoceros carcass embedded in Pleistocene sediments. A specific combination of brine, oil and clays into which the animal had sunk, is responsible for almost perfect preservation of this animal. The specimens found in 1907 are exhibited at the Natural History Museum in Lviv, Ukraine, whereas the unique specimen excavated in 1929 is displayed at the Natural History Museum in Kraków, Poland. The three sites: Starunia, a small Ukrainian village in which the geoparkwith the museum and the tourist centre are planned to be developed and two historical towns: Lviv and Kraków, closely connected with the discoveries of extinct large mammals, will be the key sites at the planned, Ukrainian-Polish trans-border geotourist trail "Traces of large extinct mammals, earth wax, oil and salt: from Starunia to Kraków": The trail will also include the sites where occurrences of ozokerite, salt, brine and oil are known, i.e., the substances which preserved the animal carcasses. These are: the historical rock-salt mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia (Poland), Kalush and Stebnik (Ukraine), the Polish resorts-Iwonicz-Zdrój and Rymanów-Zdrój and the most famous Ukrainian resort - Truskavets; one of the oldest oilfields in the world - Bóbrka, where the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Memorial Open-Space Museum of Oil and Gas Industry is located and Boryslav oil and ozokerite field - the largest deposit in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The idea of Ukrainian-Polish trans-border tourist trail is strongly supported by geological, natural and cultural values of the Polish and the Ukrainian Carpathians.

PL

Odkrycia wielkich ssaków plejstoceńskich w kopalni ozokerytu w Staruni (region karpacki, Ukraina) były spektakularnym wydarzeniem naukowym w skali światowej. W 1907 r. znaleziono szczątki mamuta i nosorożca włochatego. Później, w roku 1929, Polska Akademia Umiejętności zorganizowała ekspedycję, podczas której w osadach plejstoceńskich znaleziono prawie całkowicie zakonserwowany okaz nosorożca włochatego. Za jego doskonałe zachowanie jest odpowiedzialna specyficzna mieszanina solanki, ropy naftowej i iłów, w której utonął olbrzymi ssak. Okazy odkryte w 1907 r. znajdują się w Muzeum Przyrodniczym we Lwowie, a unikatowy egzemplarz znaleziony w 1929 r. w Muzeum Przyrodniczym w Krakowie. Te trzy miejscowości: Starunia, niewielka wioska ukraińska, w której planuje się utworzenie geoparku i centrum muzealniczo-turystycznego oraz dwa historyczne miasta Lwów i Kraków, ściśle związane z tymi znaleziskami, będą stanowić główne, węzłowe miejsca planowanej ukraińsko polskiej trasy geoturystycznej "Śladami olbrzymich wymarłych ssaków, (wosku ziemnego ropy naftowej i soli od Staruni do Krakowa". Do trasy zostaną też włączone miejsca związane z występowaniem, ozokerytu, soli, solanki i ropy naftowej, a więc czynnikami, które spowodowały zakonserwowanie tych zwierząt: historyczne kopalnie - Wieliczka i Bochnia oraz Kałusz i Stebnik, polskie uzdrowiska - Iwonicz-Zdrój i Rymanów-Zdrój oraz znane uzdrowisko ukraińskie - Truskawiec; złoże ropy naftowej w Bóbrce - jedno z najdawniej eksploatowanych złóż na świecie, w której znajduje się Skansen - Muzeum Przemysłu Naftowego i Gazowniczego im. Ignacego Łukasiewicza oraz złoże ropy naftowej i ozokerytu Borysław- największe w Karpatach ukraińskich. Za realizacją projektu utworzenia ukraińsko polskiej trasy geoturystycznej przemawiają walory geologiczne, przyrodnicze i kulturowe Karpat polskich i ukraińskich.

2

The Starunia collections in the Natural History Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Lviv

Chornobay Y. M., Drygant D. M.

Geoturystyka

|

2009

|

nr 3

45-50

EN

In the Natural History Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Lviv there is a collection of a famous Pleistocene mammoth and a woolly rhinoceros, the so-called "first rhinoceros" from Starunia. The mammoth and the first rhinoceros were found 102 years ago, on 5th October and 6th November, 1907, respectively, in a shaft of an ozokerite (earth wax) mine near Starunia village (the Eastern Carpathians). The discovery of large Pleistocene mammals in Starunia was a spectacular, world-famous scientific event. Beside the mammoth and the rhinoceros, many specimens of Pleistocene flora and fauna from Starunia and other places of the Fore-Carpathian region are exhibited in the Lviv Natural History Museum.

PL

W Muzeum Przyrodniczym Narodowej Akademii Nauk Ukrainy we Lwowie zgromadzono kolekcję szczątków związanych z odkryciem wspaniałych plejstoceńskich okazów mamuta oraz tak zwanego "pierwszego" nosorożca włochatego. Okazy te znaleziono 102 lata temu, odpowiednio 5 października i 6 listopada 1907 r., w szybie kopalni ozokerytu (wosku ziemnego) w miejscowości Starunia (Karpaty Wschodnie). Odkrycie olbrzymich ssaków plejstoceńskich w Staruni było sensacją naukową w skali światowej. Obok mamuta i nosorożca w Lwowskim Muzeum Przyrodniczym znajdują się liczne szczątki flory i fauny roślin i zwierząt doby plejstoceńskżej ze Staruni i innych miejscowości Podkarpacia.

3

The Starunia collections in the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków

Kubiak H.

Geoturystyka

|

2009

|

nr 3

71-76

EN

In the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków there is a collection of remains connected with the discovery of the famous Pleistocene rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blum.), the so-called "second rhinoceros" of Starunia which has been World's only nearly completely preserved fossil woolly rhinoceros so far. The carcass of that rhino was found in October 1929, i.e. 80 years ago in a shaft of an ozokerite mine near the village Starunia (the Eastern Carpathian Mts.) together with parts of skeletons of two other ("third" and "fourth") woolly rhinoceroses. Those finds were the results of an Expedition of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. Beside the rhinoceroses abundant remains of flora and fauna, especially insects, were encountered in this locality.

PL

W Instytucie Systematyki i Ewolucji Zwierząt Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie znajdują się zbiory szczątków związanych ze słynnym plejstoceńskim nosorożcem włochatym Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blum.), zwanym "drugim" nosorożcem ze Staruni. Okaz ten jest jedynym na świecie - niemal kompletnie zachowanym - przedstawicielem wymarłego gatunku nosorożca włochatego. Ciało nosorożca znaleziono w październiku 1929 roku (równo 80 lat temu !) w szybie kopalni włosku ziemnego (ozokerytu) w Staruni (w Karpatach Wschodnich). Nieco powyżej "drugiego" nosorożca znaleziono szczątki szkieletów nosorożców: tzw. "trzeciego" i "czwartego" ze Staruni. Znaleziska te były wynikiem ekspedycji Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności. Wraz z nosorożcami odkryto w Staruni liczne szczątki kopalnych roślin i zwierząt - w szczególności owadów.

4

Surface geochemical survey at Starunia palaeontological site and vicinity (Carpathian region, Ukraine)

Sechman H., Kotarba M. J., Dzieniewicz M.

Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae

|

2009

|

Vol. 79, No 3

375-390

EN

A surface geochemical survey was carried out in an abandoned ozokerite mine in Starunia, where remnants of a mammoth and three woolly rhinoceroses and one almost completely preserved rhinoceros carcass were found in 1907 and 1929. In total, 689 measurement sites were defined within the selected 300×350 m rectangle (ca. 10.5 ha). The analysed soil gases vary in their molecular and isotopic compositions. Several zones with anomalous methane concentrations over 10 vol% were identified in the study area. These anomalous concentrations correlate well with total C2-C5 alkane anomalies (over 1 vol%). The zones with carbon dioxide concentrations over 15 vol% are generally shifted SW of those, where the methane and the sum of C2-C5 alkanes anomalies were identified. High helium concentrations of crustal origin (over 0.001 vol%) are clustered near fault zones. In a majority of cases methane is of thermogenic origin, migrating to the near-surface zone from deep-seated accumulations. Microbial methane, or methane with a high microbial component, is genetically related to recent swamps. The high variability of concentrations of gaseous components together with the highly variable isotopic composition of individual gases in the soil, indicate their thermogenic and/or microbial origin, and point to the lithological diversity of Quaternary sediments in the study area. Several zones with thermogenic gaseous hydrocarbons and helium were delineated. It is likely that during the Pleistocene winters, under a thick ice and snow cover, the tundra lake and swamp zones around outflows of brines, oil, helium and thermogenic gases had a higher temperature, which resulted in melting and cracking of the ice cover. These sites would be more prospective for future search of well-preserved large vertebrates.

5

Radiocarbon dating of plant remnants in Quaternary sediments at Starunia palaeontological site and vicinity (Carpathian region, Ukraine)

Kuc T., Różański K., Stachowicz-Rybka R.

Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae

|

2009

|

Vol. 79, No 3

289-296

EN

Radiocarbon dating applied on several occasions in the past to date animal bones and animal soft tissue originating from the area of the Starunia palaeontological site turned out to be very controversial. Although investigations of Pleistocene flora in the Starunia area go back to the beginning of the 20th century, no published 14C dates of such material are available to date. Sixteen boreholes drilled in the area of the Pleistocene mammals discoveries, in the framework of a multidisciplinary research project (2006-2009), have been selected for radiocarbon dating of plant macrofossils. Moreover, five samples of plant remnants extracted from two outcrops in the area were 14C-dated. The nature of the dated plant material, in some cases soaked with oil, posed specific methodological problems. Although applied chemical treatment of macrofossil samples led to complete removal of contaminating hydrocarbons in the case of small pieces, some ageing effects in terms of radiocarbon dating cannot be completely ruled out. Radiocarbon ages of macrofossil samples originating from the close neighbourhood of the location, where the "second" woolly rhinoceros was found at a depth of 12.5 m, suggest that the minimum age of sediments in which the Pleistocene mammals were found is in the range of ca. 35-40 ka BP. A broad consistency between palynological reconstruction of Younger Dryas/Preboreal boundary and the corresponding radiocarbon ages of macrofossils is observed for locations, where the natural sedimentary sequence for late Glacial and early Holocene was not disturbed by extensive mining activity in the area.

6

Interdisciplinary studies at Starunia palaeontological site and vicinity (Carpathian region, Ukraine) in the years 2006-2009: previous discoveries and research, purposes, results and perspectives

Kotarba M. J

Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae

|

2009

|

Vol. 79, No 3

219-241

EN

The discovery of large Pleistocene mammals in 1907 and 1929 in the Starunia ozokerite mine, about 130 kilometres southeast of Lviv, Ukraine, was a spectacular scientific event on a world scale. A unique combination of brine and oil, into which the animals had sunk, resulted in the near perfect preservation of woolly rhinoceros. In 2004, investigations in Starunia were restarted by Polish and Ukrainian scientists. This issue of Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae contains 18 papers which present the results of field and laboratory studies in the Starunia area completed by Polish scientists in the years 2006-2009. Interdisciplinary studies were realized by eleven thematic working groups on: Quaternary lithology and sedimentology, palaeobotany (palynology and analysis of macrofossils), botany (analysis of halophytes), palaeozoology (malacological analysis), radiocarbon dating, microbiology, surface and near-surface geochemistry, organic geochemistry (bitumen content and its fractions, biomarkers and stable carbon isotopes) and inorganic geochemistry (chloride ion analysis), geoelectric survey (DC resistivity soundings, electromagnetic terrain conductivity measurements, resistivity imaging, penetrometer-based resistivity profiling and azimuthal pole-dipole DC resistivity soundings) and microgravimetric survey. Results of these studies enabled recognition of the geological setting and sedimentary environment of Quaternary sediments, which hosted the Pleistocene fossils, and to determine the most favourable area of about 1,000 square metres for subsequent prospecting for extinct mammals within Pleistocene sediments in Starunia.

7

Distribution and origin of gaseous hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide in the Quaternary sediments at Starunia palaeontological site and vicinity (Carpathian region, Ukraine)

Kotarba M. J., Sechman H., Dzieniewicz M.

Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae

|

2009

|

Vol. 79, No 3

403-419

EN

Near-surface gases were investigated in Starunia, where remains of mammoth and woolly rhinoceroses were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. Samples were collected at 30 measurement sites, from 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2 and 4.0 m depths and analysed for their molecular and isotopic compositions. Most of the methane and all higher gaseous hydrocarbons accumulated within the near-surface zone are of thermogenic origin. The distribution of thermogenic methane and higher gaseous hydrocarbons in Quaternary sediments is variable and, generally, increases with depth. Microbial methane or a mixture of microbial and thermogenic methane also occurs at the near-surface zone. The presence of hydrogen and alkenes in the near-surface gases also suggests a contribution from recent, microbial processes. Helium of crustal origin migrated through the Rinne Fault and other tectonic zones located in the study area, and was subsequently dispersed during migration through the lithologically diversified Pleistocene and Holocene sediments. The high variability of the carbon dioxide concentration and stable carbon isotope composition at various depths in the near-surface zone is caused by its polygenetic origin (thermogenic, microbial, and oxidation of hydrocarbons and Quaternary organic matter), and also by its dissolution in water and oil during migration through lithologically diversified Pleistocene and Holocene sediments. Zones of thermogenic methane occurrence within Pleistocene sediments, dominated by muds saturated with bitumen and brines, provide the most favourable environment for preservation of large extinct mammals. It is likely that during the Pleistocene winters, when thick ice and snow covered the tundra lake and swamp, zones of outflow of brines, oils, helium, and thermogenic gaseous hydrocarbons had a higher temperature, which could have resulted in melting and cracking of the ice cover and drowning of large mammals. The most favourable conditions for preservation of large, extinct mammals probably still exists in the vicinity of sampling probe sites Nos 21, 22, 23 and 36. Zones of dominance of microbial methane concentrations are less favourable sites for preservation of extinct mammals, because this methane was generated within recent swamps and also within recent descending meteoric waters which infiltrated into Pleistocene and Holocene sediments. Older Pleistocene microbial gases have already escaped to the atmosphere.

8

Biological markers and stable carbon isotope studies of bitumen impregnating Quaternary sediments at Starunia palaeontological site and vicinity (Carpathian region, Ukraine)

Kotarba M. J., Fabiańska M., Więcław D., Kowalski A., Zych H.

Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae

|

2009

|

Vol. 79, No 3

463-480

EN

Biological markers and stable carbon isotopic compositions of bitumen impregnating the Pleistocene and Holocene sediments around the Starunia palaeontological site (Carpathian region, Ukraine) near discovered remnants of a mammoth and three woolly rhinoceroses, and one almost completely preserved rhinoceros carcass found in 1907 and 1929, were investigated. The research was carried out to assess genetic connections between the bitumen and oils from the nearby deep accumulations of the Boryslav-Pokuttya and Skyba units of the Carpathians. Another aim of these geochemical studies was to reveal the secondary geochemical processes (oxidation and biodegradation) influencing the bitumen, and to determine which environments have been favourable or unfavourable for the preservation of large Pleistocene vertebrates. Bitumen included within the near-surface rocks are not genetically connected with residual organic matter present in Quaternary sediments. Geochemical features, such as distributions of pentacyclic triterpanes and steranes, biomarker parameters and isotope composition indicate that all bitumens originate from oil-prone, Type II kerogen with insignificant admixture of terrestrial Type III kerogen in the middle stage of catagenesis. The oils occurring in deep accumulations in the Starunia area were the sole source of bitumen found in the near-surface sediments. Input of immature organic matter to bitumen from Pleistocene and Holocene sediments has not been found. The main factors differentiating the bitumen were: biodegradation, water washing and/or weathering. Additional influence of transport of bitumen by brine was found. The most favourable conditions for preservation of large, extinct mammals within the Pleistocene muds exist in the vicinity of Nos 22 and 23 boreholes, where bitumen is best preserved. The worst conditions were found in the vicinity of Nos 1, 4, 4' and 15 boreholes. Intensification of biodegradation and weathering effects were followed by intensive, chaotic changes of the remnants of large Pleistocene mammals.

9

Skład i geneza węglowodorów nasycających szczątki nosorożca włochatego ze Staruni (Karpaty Ukraińskie)

Kotarba M. J.

Przegląd Geologiczny

|

2002

|

Vol. 50, nr 6

531-534

PL

Porównanie dystrybucji biomarkerów i składu trwałych izotopów węgla ropy naftowej z wycieku powierzchniowego z okolic Staruni (Karpaty Ukraińskie) i bituminów ekstrahowanych z fragmentu kręgu kręgosłupa nosorożca włochatego znalezionego w utworach dyluwialnych w tej miejscowości w 1929 r. wykazało ich bliskie powinowactwo genetyczne. Badana ropa i bituminy najprawdopodobniej pochodzą z lądowej (jeziornej) substancja algowej (kerogen typu III/II) i zostały z niej wytworzone w środkowej fazie niskotemperaturowych procesów termogenicznych na poziomie przeobrażenia ok. 0,7% w skali refleksyjności witrynitu. Ropa ta różni się genetycznie od typowej ropy wytworzonej z oligoceńskiej formacji menilitowej. Dominacja żywic i asfaltenów w składzie bituminów nasycających szkielet nosorożca włochatego świadczy o jego dużej mocy sorpcyjnej dla tych polarnych związków wielkocząsteczkowych. Nieco mniejsza zawartość tych związków w składzie ekstraktu z przemycia kręgów kręgosłupa nosorożca włochatego wskazuje, że bituminy nasycające tkanki miękkie są złożone głównie z węglowodorów nasyconych i aromatycznych, które ulegały sorpcji w znacznie mniejszym stopniu. Można więc stwierdzić, że ropa naftowa występująca w strefie przypowierzchniowej w okolicach Staruni, a głównie węglowodory nasycone i aromatyczne, stanowiła zasadniczą substancję konserwującą zwłoki tego zwierzęcia, które zaraz po śmierci musiały znaleźć się w środowisku ilastym (bagna, moczary) przesyconym ropą naftową i solanką.

EN

Comparison ofbiomarker distribution and stable carbon isotope composition of oil from surface seepage in the vicinity of Starunia (the Ukrainian Carpathians), and bitumens extracted from the vertebra of a woolly rhinoceros discovered in 1929 in Late Pleistocene sediments from Starunia demonstrated their close genetic link. The studied oil and bitumens originated presumably from the terrestrial (lacustrine), algal organic matter (oil-prone, mixed type III/II kerogen) and were generated in the middle phase of the low-temperature thermogenic processes, at a maturity level about 0.7% in vitrinite reflectance scale. The studied oil differs genetically from oils generated from the Oligocene Menilite formation. The predominance of resins and asphaltenes in the composition of extract derived from the bitumens saturating the skeleton of woolly rhinoceros indicates high sorption capacity of these polar, macromolecular components. The somewhat lower content of these compounds in extract obtained from eluation of the vertebrae of woolly rhinoceros indicates that bitumens saturating the soft tissue are composed mainly of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons. It can be concluded that oil occurring in the near-surface zone of the Starunia area (mainly saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons) was a principal substance preserving the body of woolly rhinoceros. After the animal had died, its carcass had to be embedded immediately in swamp clayey sediments saturated with oil and brine.