> It is possible to preserve newly fallen snow crystals, creating one's own snow crystal fossils.
Nitpick, but fossils are specifically records of life. Footprints left in petrified mud can be fossils. But a snowflake isn't alive, so a preserved snowflake can never be a fossil.
What if the snowflake nucleated around microbes in the air, as is common? [1] Would that be life-like enough, especially as the crystalline structure of the snowflake itself would reflect the microbe.
Or, what if the observer of the snowflake held the philosophical belief that we live in a single living universe, as did the ancient Stoics? [2]
It appears that we have at least two clear instances where preserved snowflakes can indeed be considered fossils.
An ichnofossil is the fossil of activity of a living thing.
But specimen seems like it might work as long as you’re not using wet / embalmed with it.
Vitrification maybe almost works, but doesn’t seem to really work for a snowflake.
Aquastasis ? (Joking)
Apologies. After reading this I’m now wracking my brain trying to figure out what would be the correct word to apply to creating a /mold/ model / sample of a snowflake.
Nitpick, but fossils are specifically records of life. Footprints left in petrified mud can be fossils. But a snowflake isn't alive, so a preserved snowflake can never be a fossil.