Ancient plants 'frozen in time' by space impacts

[DrLeftover]

Ancient plant material has been preserved in the glass formed by asteroids hitting the Earth, scientists report.

The "frozen in aspic" appearance of what are apparently fragments of grass is spectacular enough.

But a team writing in Geology journal says that delicate organic chemicals have also been conserved inside.

Incredibly, the searing heat generated by the impacts was responsible for the remarkable preservation.

The findings could even point to a new way of searching for past life on Mars.

The impact glasses examined in this study come from the Pampas of Argentina and have a range of dates under 10 million years old - in the Miocene and Holocene periods.

When objects from space slam into the ground they melt the target rocks. Hot material gets thrown out of the craters and, in these cases, it captures and traps shards of vegetation.

Scientists say the plant remains look very similar to the Pampas grass that still grows in the region today.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27075508