<p>In <strong>Schmidt &amp; Dilcher 2007</strong>, the authors were interested specifically on how amber can trap aquatic organism, so this is a specific, out-of-the-norm case study but it might give you at least on order of magnitude. Here is an extract:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Within the first day or two after initial contact with water, all
  three resin fractions were traps for limnetic organisms. The resinous
  film at the surface then dried out and broke into small
  centimeter-sized fragments, so no long-term preservation can be
  expected for this exudate. The pieces of resin hanging at the water
  surface became more and more solid within a few days because of air
  contact at their upper surface. After 1 week, these pieces were nearly
  solidified (Fig. 1 D).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And later:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In contrast, the large resin bodies on the ground did not solidify as
  long as they were covered with water. But this resin was also
  initially a trap for microorganisms before a thin hardened skin
  developed at the resin surface after 1 or 2 days in the water, which
  prevented tiny organisms from getting stuck. Nonetheless, the resin
  remained liquid inside, and therefore large arthropods that were able
  to break through this skin could become entrapped over a couple of
  weeks. [...] The resin solidified when exposed to the air in the
  laboratory or by decreasing water level in the swamp during the
  summer.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So the polymerization process to go from resin to solidified resin (copal) takes weeks. At that point, the system is already closed meaning the contained organisms correspond to that time interval.</p>

<p>The next step (amberification) consists of further polymerization as well as oxydation and can take several million years (<strong>Poinar 1992</strong>). However the minimum time needed for this process is unknown.</p>

<p><sub>Reference:<br>
Poinar Jr, 1992. <a href="http://books.google.de/books?id=J72FOr6AZOEC&amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow">Life in amber</a>. Stanford University Press.<br>
Schmidt A. R. &amp; Dilcher D. L., 2007. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0707949104" rel="nofollow">Aquatic organisms as amber inclusions and examples from a modern swamp forest.</a> PNAS, 104(42): 16581-16585.</sub></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-15T11:11:28.073Z
-1. There's a big difference between hardened resin and amber.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-15T11:17:59.427Z
Fair enough, but this is the only paper I found that gave a time frame to begin answering that question.
plannapus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-15T11:20:36.073Z
And where do you draw the line between solidified resin and amber?
plannapus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-24T00:01:45.743Z
@plannapus Solidified resin is classified as copal, while true amber has to be actually fossilized, and takes thousands of years.
Azzie Rogers
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-15T10:06:04.670Z
2014-09-24T07:22:39.837Z
2014-09-24T07:22:39.837Z
plannapus
<p>How long does the formation of the amber take? Are there any approximation of the minimal time needed to convert resin into amber in the most favorable conditions? </p>

<p>Would it be possible to produce amber on the timescale of a human lifespan?</p>

<taphonomy><amber>
How long does it take to form amber?
Cjxcz Odjcayrwl
# How long does it take to form amber?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-07-28)

How long does the formation of the amber take? Are there any approximation of the minimal time needed to convert resin into amber in the most favorable conditions?

Would it be possible to produce amber on the timescale of a human lifespan?

**Tags:** taphonomy, amber


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-08-15. Score: 5

In **Schmidt & Dilcher 2007**, the authors were interested specifically on how amber can trap aquatic organism, so this is a specific, out-of-the-norm case study but it might give you at least on order of magnitude. Here is an extract:

> Within the first day or two after initial contact with water, all
> three resin fractions were traps for limnetic organisms. The resinous
> film at the surface then dried out and broke into small
> centimeter-sized fragments, so no long-term preservation can be
> expected for this exudate. The pieces of resin hanging at the water
> surface became more and more solid within a few days because of air
> contact at their upper surface. After 1 week, these pieces were nearly
> solidified (Fig. 1 D).

And later:

> In contrast, the large resin bodies on the ground did not solidify as
> long as they were covered with water. But this resin was also
> initially a trap for microorganisms before a thin hardened skin
> developed at the resin surface after 1 or 2 days in the water, which
> prevented tiny organisms from getting stuck. Nonetheless, the resin
> remained liquid inside, and therefore large arthropods that were able
> to break through this skin could become entrapped over a couple of
> weeks. [...] The resin solidified when exposed to the air in the
> laboratory or by decreasing water level in the swamp during the
> summer.

So the polymerization process to go from resin to solidified resin (copal) takes weeks. At that point, the system is already closed meaning the contained organisms correspond to that time interval.

The next step (amberification) consists of further polymerization as well as oxydation and can take several million years (**Poinar 1992**). However the minimum time needed for this process is unknown.

Reference:  
Poinar Jr, 1992. [Life in amber](http://books.google.de/books?id=J72FOr6AZOEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false). Stanford University Press.  
Schmidt A. R. & Dilcher D. L., 2007. [Aquatic organisms as amber inclusions and examples from a modern swamp forest.](http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0707949104) PNAS, 104(42): 16581-16585.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: -1. There's a big difference between hardened resin and amber.  
> **username_1**: Fair enough, but this is the only paper I found that gave a time frame to begin answering that question.  
> **username_1**: And where do you draw the line between solidified resin and amber?  
> **username_3**: @username_1 Solidified resin is classified as copal, while true amber has to be actually fossilized, and takes thousands of years.  

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