Lab Update - Movie Research

In the last few lab periods, we have been watching documentaries on different aspects of geology. We have seen the Ring of Fire in extensive detail, along with the mystery of the deep sea vents and the amazing beginnings of life in extreme environments. I have to say that out of all that we have watched, Deep Sea, Deep Secrets is by far my favorite. This 1990s documentary showed the extraordinary efforts by the crew behind the DSV Alvin Submersible, which was the amazing vehicle used to get footage of previously unknown areas. 15,000 feet down, nothing was known about the areas that were similar to how life began, but DSV Alvin showed the first clues. Hydrothermal vents and their ilk were sown to harbor life, but not life that we are familiar with. Anaerobic organisms seem to be the norm, and this documentary really piqued my interest about it. In addition, the vents and how they slowly build up, creating massive mineral deposits, was very interesting. This is the essential beginning of geology. I really hope we get to see more about this material.

Lab 4: Pick and Analyze a Mineral!

For this week's assignment, we have been asked to pick and analyze a mineral of some kind. It could be anything we wanted, just had to show that we actually did some real work in finding something, preferably not just one we keep talking about in class, I imagine. Well, call me crazy, but I wanted to do more research into sunstones! I always knew they existed, even if they rose to popularity among my age because of their inclusion in a popular video game series.

Sunstone, also known as red labradorite, is a radiant crystal. It falls under the plagioclase feldspar group, but the brilliant appearance has led to sunstone gemstones being used as jewelry. This oligoclase is in two major forms as jewelry and just as a stone.

This first kind is much more opaque and more like natural feldspar. As you can see, these are tumbled, but the "sunspot" characteristics made ancients believe that they were imbued with the essence of the sun itself. Power and wealth came to those who could "control" the sun, so sunstones rose into prominence. Some claim that this looks like an orange opal, and the color is often associated with hematite that found its way into the stone.

This second kind of sunstone is much more well known to Americans, for this is Oregon sunstone. This variant is a gemstone quality simply due to the way it forms. There are significant deposits of copper in this mineral, causing the change of color to look like a sunburst. Oregonencyclopedia.org - "Some Oregon sunstones exhibit a glow from within due to millions of microscopic copper platelets, known as schiller. Colors of the stone vary from clear, champagne, yellow, light pink, salmon, orange, and red to blue-green. Intense red and blue-green are the colors that are most rare. Sometimes, when viewed from different angles, as many as three colors will show within one stone."

Yeah, that's what you think it is. Beautiful specimen. As for mineral qualities, sunstone is known for a hardness from 6-7.2 on the hardness scale. This means that it is of sufficient quality for gemstones. It officially has a triclinic crystalline structure. It is double refractive, and it has a white streak. Also, sunstone has a conchoidal fracture. All of this leads to completely natural gemstones that are not altered when put into a piece of jewelry like others that may be heated or modified. The chemical formula is (CaNa)((AISi)₂Si₂O₈).

Sunstone is just awesome. Enough said.

Lab 4: Field Trip on Mercer's Campus

Hey again, these are a series of pictures I snapped last week following our lab for the week. The first three are up close shots of crystal structures. They were quartz, sandstone mixture, and some granite. The big picture is of lots of rocks that were collected. The one with a bottle shows HCl reacting with carbonated rocks. The last is just another picture of crystalline structures and the acid reacting.

Lab 3: Mineral 13: Limestone

Limestone, bigtime foundational resource. It is common in Florida.

Lab 3: Mineral 12: Calcite

Here's some CaCO3 or Calcite in a geode!

Lab 3: Mineral 11: Halite

Halite can come in many colors based on what else is in the mineral formation, because halite is rock salt basically.

Lab 3: Mineral 10: Quartz

Another piece of granite makes an appearance.

Lab 3: Mineral 9: Amethyst

Amethyst is a pretty color, and it is a birthstone!

Lab 3: Mineral 8: Hornblende

Hornblende also makes up granite, but I like the other stuff better that makes it up.

This is some from the Smithsonian!

Lab 3: Mineral 7: Galena

Galena! I spell it like a chicken in spanish (gallina), but that's incorrect!

Lab 3: Mineral 6: Potassium Feldspar

Feldspar! It helps make granite, so you can have nice countertops!

Lab 3: Mineral 5: Obsidian

Obsidian is a glassy, volcanic rock!

Lab 3: Mineral 4: Muscovite

Muscovite is really neat, here it is!

This picture is of fuchsite, which is a green muscovite.

Lab 3: Mineral 3: Kaolin

Kaolin is big in south Georgia! It can be found in the clay and in mines often.

Here are some mines!

Lab 3: Mineral 2: Mica

Here's some awesome Mica! It peels in sheets!

Lab 3: Mineral 1: Pumice

PUMICE!

It looks like swiss cheese. Kind of.

This is pumice from Mt. Vesuvius!!!

Look! It floats!

And it can be used as a beauty product. "You're welcome, dry and cracked heels," said the pumice.

Lab 3: Mineral Examples!

For this most recent lab, our class was split into two halves and sent to identify a series of thirteen rocks based on what we learned in the class and what was in the textbook. Our group definitely was the more fun group, even if we took five minutes longer. Below is the list of rocks/minerals that we identified in class.

Here it is, slightly less blurry:

1. Pumice
2. Mica
3. Kaolin
4. Muscovite
5. Obsidian
6. Potassium Feldspar
7. Galena
8. Hornblende
9. Amethyst
10. Quartz
11. Halite
12. Calcite
13. Limestone

Lab 2: My Map of Georgia Rainfall!

Basically, we set up maps of GA Rainfall for an isorhythmic map, and I used two maps. The first was the symbols and the table, which are shown. Also, the colored map is the final product. I can't color inside the lines, haha.

Lab 2: Map Projections: Dot Density

Dot Density maps show how much and where at. They show how much of something is in a particular area and where the most are clustered at. This map is a good example of that, as it shows the number of older, pre-WWII homes still stand in West Virginia. What good is this data? It might show where old money is from or where historical preservation is taking place. Also, it's pretty cool, but not as much as the cows. Sorry, by Maryland cows wins this one.

Lab 2: Map Projections: Proportional Symbol

This awesome map is a proportional symbol map, which shows some statistic or data with symbols that are different sizes based on how many things are reported for that area. This one is a 1997 US Census Bureau data-based map that shows the number of cows sold in different parts of Maryland. This might be the greatest map of all time.

Lab 2: Map Projections: Isorhythmic

Isorhythmic maps generally show weather and annual average temperatures on the norm. They are used for climate purposes and recent weather trends. This map shows Canada's average temperature in a recent year. The numbers listed are deviations from the mean temperature for the region.

Lab 2: Map Projections: Chloropleth

This chloropleth map shows the percent change in the population of the each individual state based on their population previously. The time period in question is from 1990 to 2000. I created this map, and I feel like it is a pretty good map. It was done using ArcGIS, a mapping software.

Lab 1: Lake Acworth/Lake Allatoona

This map was constructed using Google Earth. It shows the fastest driving route from my house in Acworth, GA to my church, Acworth United Methodist Church. It also shows the manmade Acworth Beach and manmade Lake Acworth highlighted in blue. Also, there is a short walking path detailed between the beach and my church that traverses a bridge. Finally, the yellowed area is an area of the natural Lake Allatoona that is routinely dried out every year due to the conservation of water and existence of Lake Acworth. The accompanying picture from the USA Today shows this phenomenon, that has led to significant erosion and agricultural problems.