Fall 2019 - Chemical Analysis Class Projects

Download

Download Poster (1.7 MB)

Document Type

Open Access Poster

Keywords

Mastodons--Iowa--Franklin County; Fossils--Collection and preservation--Iowa;

Description

The 12-foot, 600-pound mastodon tusk was discovered in Hampton, Iowa, in the 1930s by a man digging in the gravel. It was the largest discovered mastodon tusk until the 1970s. The tusk was donated to UNI in 1933, under Dr. Cable, and put on display at the UNI Museum in the 1960s. Over the years, there have been many efforts to conserve the tusk, but it has still sustained breakage and water damage. It has also been subject to inadvertent degradation from some of the previous conservation efforts.

The purpose of the research conducted was to create a spectral map of the lacquers on the mastodon tusk at the UNI Museum. To accomplish this, a spectroradiometer with a diffuse reflectance tip was used to non-destructively collect UV-Vis spectra. In order to create a coordinate system for the mapping, a grid map was made for the tusk. Creating a UV-Vis map of the lacquers on the tip of the tusk will allow conservationists at the UNI museum a better understanding on how to proceed in their preservation of the tusk.

Publication Date

Fall 2019

Faculty Advisor

Joshua Sebree

Department

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Publisher

Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Mapping the Exterior of a Mastodon Tusk using UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance

Comments?

Included in

Chemistry Commons

Share

COinS