A mineral known as spheniscidite is created through chemical reactions. It is one-of-a-kind and reflects the unique conditions that exist only in that region.
When penguins defecate on Elephant Island in Antarctica, a small amount of magic occurs in the soil.
The name derives from Sphenisciformes, the grouping used to describe penguins on the avian family tree.
The compound is one of approximately 6,000 such minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association today.
However, the IMA’s classification system, which describes so much of the “hard stuff” all around us, has recently undergone a relaunch.
Dr. Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. has spent the last 15 years reclassifying minerals to add information about their origin.
“There has existed for nearly two centuries a classification system based on the chemistry and crystal structure of minerals, and ours adds the dimensions of time and formation environment.
Minerals are specific chemical element combinations arranged in a crystalline structure. All rocks on Earth are composed of various aggregations.
You are likely familiar with the most common minerals, such as feldspar, quartz, and mica, which make up a kitchen worktop’s granite.
Together with Dr. Shaunna Morrison, the Carnegie Institution researcher has attempted to provide additional context for the thousands of different mineral species.
The pair are arguing that it is impossible to fully appreciate the significance of a mineral without also understanding how and when it formed. According to their research, nature has used 57 “recipes” to create 10,500 “mineral types” by crushing, zapping, boiling, baking, and more.
They claim that water has contributed to the formation of over 80 percent of mineral species.
Indirectly or directly, biology has contributed to the formation of approximately fifty percent of mineral species.
One-third of mineral species were created by biological processes alone.
“Life influences minerals in various ways,” Dr. Hazen explained.
“For instance, photosynthesis generates oxygen. Oxygen is a highly reactive gas that alters the Earth’s surface by oxidizing minerals. Therefore, more than 2,000 new minerals have formed on Earth due to the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere. However, life also produces its minerals, known as biominerals.
“These are shells, teeth, bones, and other structures in organisms that are purposefully deposited and sculpted by nanotechnology in the most astounding ways.
Scientists and engineers would love to be able to replicate the capabilities of life.
The work of Hazen and Morrison is summarised in two articles published by the international journal American Mineralogist.
They have compiled a database of every known mineral formation process and mineral species. There are 5,659 items in the IMA catalog.
For each mineral, the authors describe the recipe, physical, chemical, and biological processes, as well as their combinations.
Forty percent originated from multiple sources.
59 percent of the 3,349 occurrences are due to one process.
9 was created in 15 or more distinct ways.
Pyrite (Fool’s Gold) is formed in 21 different ways.
Dr. Hazen said: “The previous mineralogy system stated that calcite is calcite; the calcium carbonate crystal structure of calcite is a species. The calcite deposited by a shell is very different from the calcite that forms on the ocean floor through chemical precipitation of the calcite that forms deep within the Earth through a process of metamorphism – of high pressure and high temperature.
Therefore, we observe numerous types of calcite, which is essential to our new approach to mineralogy.
Some minerals are extremely ancient; 296 are believed to have existed before the Earth. 97 of these are only known from meteorites. These may consist of mineral grains with estimated ages of up to seven billion years. That is before the existence of our Solar System.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the minerals that owe their entire existence to a few centuries of human industrialization. There are approximately 500 minerals that are the direct result of mining; 234 of these minerals are produced in coal mine fires.
The work of Hazen and Morrison not only places the mineralogy of Earth in its proper historical context but also serves as a tool for examining other planets.
Dr. Hazen stated, “We’re looking at the mineralogy of Mars.” “Constantly, we search for indicators of life in minerals.
“If we discover it, it will not be a specific mineral species; rather, it will be the trace of minor elements, the morphologies, and the sizes and shapes of these minerals. Their local associations will be the smoking gun for finding life on Mars.”
