Three-dimensional image analysis software is helping Oxford researchers to investigate evidence for Earth's oldest fossils
Syncroscopy reports that Auto-Montage, its three-dimensional imaging system, is helping researchers to produce accurate full-colour images of the world's oldest fossils.
Scientists in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford are using Auto-Montage to capture and analyse many partially focused images of putative fossil structures embedded in layers of ancient rock.
This has resulted in generating highly focused, two-dimensional images of what had been reported as Earth's oldest fossils, something that has previously been difficult to accomplish with any accuracy.
Owen Green, a research scientist in the department, said: "Before we had Auto-Montage we used print film and a conventional SLR camera, and would routinely cut and paste the in-focus sections of the images together manually".
The completed montage would then have to be re-photographed.
"This is not an exact science and it was very tricky, as well as time consuming, to obtain even an approximation of a focused microfossil image".
"With Auto-Montage we can capture images at different focal depths in the rock and using the system are able to generate precise in-focus images quickly and simply".
"This is just one factor enabling scientists to understand conditions on early Earth, and allows those studying Martian meteorites to appreciate the difficulties in recognising biogenic structures, or abiogenic artefacts caused by mineralisation," explained Green.
Bob Town, Syncroscopy's general sales manager, commented: "To see Auto-Montage being successfully used to re-examine the evidence of the origins of life on Earth at such a well respected university, is a great privilege".
"This interesting application of Auto-Montage shows it could be useful for any number of mineralogical studies, and would be especially effective where producing images through three-dimensional rock samples is key to determining their true content".
