Glacial Lake Missoula

About 12,000 years ago, the valleys of western Montana lay beneath a lake nearly 2,000 feet deep. Glacial Lake Missoula formed as the Cordilleran Ice Sheet dammed the Clark Fork River just as it entered Idaho. The rising water behind the glacial dam weakened it until water burst through in a catastrophic flood that raced across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington toward the Pacific Ocean. Thundering waves and chunks of ice tore away soils and mountainsides, deposited giant ripple marks, created the scablands of eastern Washington and carved the Columbia River Gorge. Over the course of centuries, Glacial Lake Missoula filled and emptied in repeated cycles.

The Ice Dam's collapse can largely be attributed to faults that were created by frost wedging and  repeated expansion and pressurization of water deep below the surface. As a result, you see unprecedented examples of weathering, erosion, and mass wasting across the entire pacific northwest.

In addition to explaining the mystery of the scablands, the discovery of glacial lake missoula provides examples for other similar catastrophic events across the globe, including the biblical story of the great flood.

Minerals

In this blog entry I will outline several of my favorite minerals.

Up first,Fluorite.

 Fluorite is a halide mineral and is composed of calcium fluoride CaF2. It is used primarily as a flux for industrial smelting but it can also be made into an ultra-fine lens for telescopes or microscopes.

Wulfenite

Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral, PbMoO4. It is often found with deposits of lead and can come as either a crystal or in a granular form.

Bornite

Bornite, Cu5FeS4, is a sulfide mineral that is often found as a secondary deposit in copper veins. It is often collected as a secondary ore because of its relatively high copper content (~60% by weight).

Apatite

Apatite can have several different chemical compositions, such as Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(F)₂, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(Cl)₂ and Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(Br)₂. It is one of the only minerals that is produced and consumed by biological creatures. In fact, our bones and teeth have a mineral in them called hydroxylapatite that makes up the majority of our bone mass.


Stibnite

Stibnite is an sulfide mineral, Sb2S3, and it is the primary source of antimony. This mineral can be found in small deposits around the world but is very rarely seen in large amounts naturally.

Rainfall patterns in Georgia

Kamchatka, RU

 The area seen above is known as Kamchatka, Russia. It is one of the most geologically and volcanically active areas in the world. In addition it is also home to one of natures most rare phenomenon, geysers. These geysers provide valuable nutrients to the frozen tundra surrounding the area and play a large part in the development of the unique ecosystem. The rocky areas of Kamchatka are home to vast fields of basalt, a volcanic rock. Usually these rocks only occur in shades of grey or black however due to concentrations of unique chemicals deposited by geysers they take on all manner of colors.

Basalt sample

Geo-Engineering

The idea of Geo-Engineering is a relatively new one, in fact, some people still regard it as a conspiracy theory. The fact of the matter however is that different Geo-Engineering ideas have been and are still being tested today.

These experiments are designed to both assess and alter the climate by using chemical and biological agents. Currently, experiments are underway to assess the feasibility of ocean fertilization as well as climate alteration. This suggests the presence of a planetary engineering program that is affecting and targeting all living things. Synthetic biology is science's most exciting new frontier, combining genetics, robotics and nano-technology with artificial intelligence, hybridizing natural forms and engineering tissues beyond our wildest dreams.

While the idea of spraying chemical and biological agents into the air and oceans seems to terrify the average citizen, it may already be going on. Several prominent members of the scientific community have suggested that the American government is actively participating in several Geo-Engineering programs without the consent of the general public. These activists argue that they have observed a distinctive difference between contrails (water vapor trails that occur behind large aircraft flying at a high altitude) and chemtrails (chemical/biological vapors designed to alter climate). However, these scientists also claim that the application of these chemicals goes far beyond spraying for mosquitos, to the extent that they are actively altering the geography and climate of the United States.

This theory seems very far fetched to an average American citizen but the proof is in the pudding. Not only do we have the technology to create these complex chemical agents, but we are actually using them! The United States has a long history of using chemical agents without extensive testing so the use of aerosol based geo-engineering chemicals would not surprise me at all.

I will continue to observe this issue with interest and will not speculate on it currently at the risk of sounding like a kook. I hope that as humans we would understand the danger associated with placing synthetic chemicals into our ecosystem and not act without a deep understanding of the potential effects.

For more information on Geo-Engineering go to:
http://www.stopgeoengineering.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoengineering