Conodont Alteration Index

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The Conodont Alteration Index (CAI) is used to estimate the maximum temperature reached by a sedimentary rock using thermal alteration of conodont fossils. Conodonts in fossiliferous carbonates are prepared by dissolving the matrix with acid, since the conodonts are composed of apatite and thus do not dissolve. The fossils are then compared to the index under a microscope.

The CAI ranges from 1 to 6, as follows:

CAI Approximate conodont color Temperature range (Celsius)
1
  • Pale brown
 <50°-80°
2
  • Dark brown
 60°-140°
3
  • Dark grey-brown
 110°-200°
4
  • Dark grey
 190°-300°
5
  • Black
 300°-480°
6
  • Pale grey to white
 360°-550°

The CAI is commonly used by paleontologists due to its ease of measurement and the abundance of Conodonta throughout marine carbonates of the Paleozoic. However, the organism disappears from the fossil record after the Triassic, period so the CAI is not available to analyze rocks younger than 200 million years. Additionally, the index can be positively skewed in regions of hydrothermal alteration.

[edit] References

Königshof, P. (2003). "Conodont deformation patterns and textural alteration in Paleozoic conodonts: examples from Germany and France". Senckenbergiana lethaea 83 (1/2): 149–156.  (Image)