Glacial and postglacial sedimentary infill in Slovakian High Tatra Mts. lakes: Acoustic survey and lithological data.

The data presented in this paper are related to the research article "Sub-bottom and bathymetry sonar inspection of postglacial lacustrine infill of the alpine lakes (Tatra Mts., Slovakia)" (Dhavamani et al., 2022). An implementation of acoustic sonar protocols provided data for the interpretation of glacigene, glaciolacustrine, postglacial, mass-movement deposits, and geodynamic factors influencing the sedimentation in seven alpine and sub-alpine Tatra Mountains lakes. The field data document the survey track lines of the sonars and allow to identify the location of the geomorphologic phenomena described in (Dhavamani et al., 2022). The laboratory data obtained by micro-CT document the lithology of glaciolacustrine and postglacial lake infill and support the interpretation of sub-bottom sonar record.

Fossil evidence for vampire squid inhabiting oxygen-depleted ocean zones since at least the Oligocene.

A marked 120 My gap in the fossil record of vampire squids separates the only extant species (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) from its Early Cretaceous, morphologically-similar ancestors. While the extant species possesses unique physiological adaptations to bathyal environments with low oxygen concentrations, Mesozoic vampyromorphs inhabited epicontinental shelves. However, the timing of their retreat towards bathyal and oxygen-depleted habitats is poorly documented. Here, we document a first record of a post-Mesozoic vampire squid from the Oligocene of the Central Paratethys represented by a vampyromorph gladius. We assign Necroteuthis hungarica to the family Vampyroteuthidae that links Mesozoic loligosepiids with Recent Vampyroteuthis. Micropalaeontological, palaeoecological, and geochemical analyses demonstrate that Necroteuthis hungarica inhabited bathyal environments with bottom-water anoxia and high primary productivity in salinity-stratified Central Paratethys basins. Vampire squids were thus adapted to bathyal, oxygen-depleted habitats at least since the Oligocene. We suggest that the Cretaceous and the early Cenozoic OMZs triggered their deep-sea specialization.

Chemical and spectroscopic signatures of resins from Sumatra (Sarolangun mine, Jambi Province) and Germany (Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt).

Fossil resins from Miocene coal deposit (Sarolangun mine, Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia) have been analysed using spectroscopic methods: Raman Spectroscopy (RS), Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C NMR), Fluorescence Spectroscopy (FS), and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to describe their diagnostic features. Simultaneously, glessite, a fossil resin from Upper Oligocene Bitterfeld deposit (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), originating from similar botanical sources (i.e. angiosperms) was tested with the same analytical methods in order to find similarities and differences between the resins. The resins differ in colour, transparency and amounts of inclusions (resins from Sumatra-yellow, and transparent with few inclusions; glessite-brown-red, translucent with wealth of inclusions). In general, the IR and RS spectra of these resins are very similar, probably because the glessite colour-changing additives can be very subtle and non-observable in the infrared region. The RS spectra revealed also a slight difference in intensity ratio of the 1650/1450 cm-1 bands (0.56 and 0.68 for Sumatra and Germany resins, respectively), indicating a differences in their maturation process. The resins from Sumatra seem to be more mature than glessite from Germany. The excitation-emission (EM-EX) and synchronous spectra showed unique, chemical compositions of these resins, which are different one from another. The GC-MS data for Sumatran resins, dominated by sesquiterpenoids and triterpenoids (amyrin), confirmed their botanical origin (angiosperms as their biological affinities). The sesquiterpenoid biomarkers with cadine-structures suggested the glessite underwent more advanced polymerization processes, which does not correlate with its RS spectrum. The geological factors, the environmental conditions of resin deposition, and later various diagenesis processes may have influenced the maturation and crosslinking of compounds. Despite the genetic similarity of the resins from various part of the world, Sumatra and Germany, advanced techniques such as Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Fluorescence Spectroscopy were the most useful to find the differences between them. These differences are predominantly a result of different diagenetic transformations of the resins.