Recent findings indicate that industrial waste can transform into rock in just 35 years, challenging the long-held belief that this process takes thousands or even millions of years. This revelation prompts a reassessment of our understanding of rock formation, introducing the concept of a new “anthropomorphized rock cycle.”
Researchers found that waste from coastal industrial facilities converts into rock at an accelerated pace, influenced by seawater and air. These elements activate minerals like calcium and magnesium in the waste, allowing for a quicker cementation process compared to natural sediments. As noted in a statement.
“Historically, we’ve viewed the rock cycle as a natural process spanning thousands to millions of years,” said Amanda Owen, a senior lecturer in sedimentology at the University of Glasgow and the study’s lead author. “What’s remarkable is that we have discovered that these human materials can integrate into natural systems and evolve.”
Researchers dubbed this newfound process the “rapid anthropomorphic rock cycle.” The study’s results contradict long-standing theories about rock formation, suggesting that industries have significantly less time to manage waste disposal than previously assumed, according to Owen. The findings appeared in a journal on April 10th. Geological.
Researchers discovered initial evidence of this transformation at Derwent Howe, a large heap of waste from defunct iron and steel mills on the northwest coast of England. Irregular features on these slag “cliffs” prompted scientists to investigate further, as mentioned in the statement.
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The team examined samples from 13 locations along Derwent Howe using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, uncovering a presence of calcium, iron, magnesium, and manganese in the slag. These chemically active elements contribute to the production of natural cements such as calcite, getite, and brucite, thereby accelerating the process of bonding minerals to form rocks, as noted in the statement.
One sample contained an aluminum drink tab, which allowed researchers to gauge the slag’s time frame for dissolution. “We identified both a 1934 King George V coin and aluminum designs that couldn’t have been manufactured prior to 1989 when they were incorporated into the material,” said research co-author John McDonald, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow focusing on artificial earth materials.
For the tab to be enveloped in rock, the slag must have solidified and curled over the past 35 years. McDonald confirmed that it could take up to that time for slag to convert into rock, with geological processes possibly ceasing sooner.
“This showcases how human activities on the Earth’s surface inevitably contribute to a geological record, and this transformation is occurring at an unexpectedly rapid rate,” he emphasized.
Similar observations have previously been documented on the Spanish coasts in the Gorondattocs region, according to the study, but lacked a specific time frame.
“It’s highly probable that this phenomenon is also occurring in analogous slag sediments along similarly exposed coastlines, influenced by wave activity,” noted co-author David Brown, a senior lecturer in volcanology and sedimentology at the University of Glasgow.
Source: www.livescience.com