@article{SchmidtZiemannPentzienetal.2016,
  author    = {Schmidt, Birgit Angelika and Ziemann, Martin Andreas and Pentzien, Simone and Gabsch, Toralf and Koch, Werner and Kr{\"u}ger, J{\"o}rg},
  title     = {Technical analysis of a Central Asian wall painting detached from a Buddhist cave temple on the northern Silk Road},
  series = {Studies in Conservation},
  volume    = {61},
  journal   = {Studies in Conservation},
  publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group},
  address   = {Abingdon},
  issn      = {0039-3630},
  doi       = {10.1179/2047058414Y.0000000152},
  pages     = {113 -- 122},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {A great number of Central Asian wall paintings, archeological materials, architectural fragments, and textiles, as well as painting fragments on silk and paper, make up the so called Turfan Collection at the Asian Art Museum in Berlin. The largest part of the collection comes from the Kucha region, a very important cultural center in the third to ninth centuries. Between 1902 and 1914, four German expeditions traveled along the northern Silk Road. During these expeditions, wall paintings were detached from their original settings in Buddhist cave complexes. This paper reports a technical study of a wall painting, existing in eight fragments, from the Buddhist cave no. 40 (Ritterhohle). Its original painted surface is soot blackened and largely illegible. Gruwedel, leader of the first and third expeditions, described the almost complete destruction of the rediscovered temple complex and evidence of fire damage. The aim of this case study is to identify the materials used for the wall paintings. Furthermore, soot deposits as well as materials from conservation interventions were of interest. Non-invasive analyses were preferred but a limited number of samples were taken to provide more precise information on the painting technique. By employing optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and Raman spectroscopy, a layer sequence of earthen render, a ground layer made of gypsum, and a paint layer containing a variety of inorganic pigments were identified.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BougeoisdeRafelisReichartetal.2016,
  author    = {Bougeois, Laurie and de Rafelis, Marc and Reichart, Gert-Jan and de Nooijer, Lennart J. and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume},
  title     = {Mg/Ca in fossil oyster shells as palaeotemperature proxy, an example from the Palaeogene of Central Asia},
  series = {Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences},
  volume    = {441},
  journal   = {Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {0031-0182},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.09.052},
  pages     = {611 -- 626},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Fossil oyster shells are well-suited to provide palaeotemperature proxies from geologic to seasonal timescales due to their ubiquitous occurrence from Triassic to Quaternary sediments, the seasonal nature of their shell growth and their relative strong resistance to post-mortem alteration. However, the common use to translate calcitic oxygen isotopes into palaeotemperatures is challenged by uncertainties in accounting for past seawater delta O-18, especially in shallow coastal environment where oysters calcify. In principle, the Mg/Ca ratio in oyster shells can provide an alternative palaeothermometer. Several studies provided temperature calibrations for this potential proxy based on modem species, nevertheless their application to palaeo-studies remains hitherto unexplored. Here, we show that past temperature variability in seawater can be obtained from Mg/Ca analyses from selected fossil oyster species and specimens. High-resolution Mg/Ca profiles, combined with delta O-18, were obtained along 41 fossil oyster shells of seven different species from the Palaeogene Proto-Paratethys sea (Central Asia) found in similar as well as different depositional age and environments providing comparison. Suitable Mg/Ca profiles, defined by continuous cyclicity and reproducibility within one shell, are found to be consistent for specimens of the same species but differ systematically between species, implying a dominant species-specific effect on the Mg/Ca signal. Two species studied here (Ostrea (Turkostrea) strictiplicata and Sokolowia buhsii) provide an excellent proxy for palaeoclimate reconstruction from China to Europe in Palaeogene marine sediments. More generally, the protocol developed here can be applied to identify other fossil oyster species suitable for palaeoclimate reconstructions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.},
  language  = {en}
}