Just to clarify here: oxides like the ones discussed in this video are not technically considered ‘clay minerals’ by clay mineralogists or hydrogeologists, however, there are still considered (unofficial) ‘clays’ when formed in soils and ‘pelagic clays’ when formed on lake or seafloors. Also, sorry for the typo at the end again with the ‘planetary geo’ playlist, that should say ‘mineralogy’ 😉
The deep ocean Mn nodules story is utterly fascinating. Spys and Howard Hughes and cold war intrigue... Also possibly the slowest growing mineral structure I'm aware of - millions of years per cm. I have handled one of the nodules that a friend had in his collection - he would not tell me how he acquired it though...
Proof that pedagogy and an enthusiastic disseminator can rapidly speed up the pace of learning. Love the chemistry breakdowns...and...is that an SEM image on the opening slide??! 😎
Yes it is an SEM image! ;D haha I had to include one, the clays are SO cool under SEM! Thanks for the comment and kind words, so glad you enjoyed it! ;)
There is an old iron sulfate mine in Templeton, MA where I found fossil oak leaves in the layers of melanterite mixed with or altering into limonite. I have no idea what the actual age of the fossils would be. I used to like collecting Oligocene fossil "nuts" and seeds at the old "stucco-pink" kaolin pits where clay was quarried for the Bennington Pottery in Brandon, VT. First the beavers dammed it up, leaving the kaolin deposits below the surface. Now developers have chased the beavers out, filled in the pitts and turned it into a housing development. Like the old Braintree, MA, Paradoxides beds that are now under the Quintree Mall, another New England fossil site is underneath a building. You don't suppose the beavers will fight back any time soon.
I would not count those beavers out. There is a mated pair living in the creek running through our (Rachel's parents) suburban backyard. They delight in eating the Crape Myrtles, willows, roses, Western Red Cedars and pear trees in yards along the creek, oblivious to dogs, lawnmowers, leaf blowers etc.
Any video that has me reaching for a copy of DH&Z (Intro to rock forming minerals) is a good video. Illite versus Smectite (Montmorillonite) - gosh they seem awfully similar in so many ways except the cation layer. The one difference I did note was the Paragenisis, with DHZ stating that Illites derive from shales and mudstones while Montmorillonites derive from eruptive igneous rocks... so that's a thing...
Thank you for the most clear and concise delivery of the subject. I would've stayed in school if my ceramics professor was as fluent and pleasant as GEO_GIRL.
Hi there again :) Another great, informative talk. When I learned about clay in the 80s, it wasn’t about the different elements in their structure, but more about their size with regard to how rocks erode and weather. You know drill: Boulders to large-rocks, to large pebbles, then small pebbles, then sand, then silt, then clay - and the clay was basically teeny-tiny mica flecks. When this clay was finally consolidated, it became shale, and because the tiny flecks of mica had settled one atop the other in layers, it gave the shale more of an chance to be broken in layers, then say sandstone or limestone. With blocky mudstones, worms and such mucking through mica layers, eliminated most of the layering that would have occurred, had the layers not been compromised. I’ve learned a bunch here and hope I can do more, though I’m mostly focused these days on paleobotany, plus my career as a composer. Cheers, gfs ps - I forgot to mention that today, the Winter Solstice, is generally considered to be sign that Winter is here. For me though, it's kinda the beginning of Spring, because day light starts to get longer - by about 2 minutes, 6 seconds every day. That's great new for someone who has to cope with seasonal depression :)
@22:47 - my understanding is that Illite is considered distinct from Smectite clays, in that it has the ability to morph between Illitic and Smectitic structures depending on hydration and concentration of K within the lattice, where K substitutes for Na.
Another excellent video. I am going to have to recommend your videos to my brother who teaches agriculture at the high school level. He also coaches his high school's soil judging team. Those who are not involved in agriculture tend to take soil for granted; those who are involved in agriculture do not - cannot.
I feel like that was me before making these clays and soils videos! I totally took soil for granted and now I have such a broader appreciation for them! ;D
Texas slab on grade foundations and the performance on expansive clays is a billion dollar industry of academics and worldwide science experiment studying how the PT slabs perform. The interaction of clay and water and the corresponding volume changes are THE KEY. Chemical injection into these clays occurs all over Dallas and now Austin. As a structural guy I am lacking…right here.
It's all because of you for asking about it, thank you!! I never would've made a clay video and I NEVER thought clays would do well, especially not THIS well hahaha, I have gained over 2000 subscribers from the first clay video alone! ;D 😂😍
Really great lecture. You really have a gift for teaching, as you explain things very clearly and concisely. I have studied this topic previously and you still taught me several things. Thanks a lot.
Rachel: Excellent lecture on clays! Also, I really wanted to thank for last week’s discussion of carbon sequestration. It was an eye opener to me and gave me much to think about.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this as well as last week's video as much as I have enjoyed making them! I had a lot of fun making the C sequestration video because before I researched for that video I has no clue about soil's incredible capability for C sequestration, it is so incredible ;D
Thanks for this geo girl. This is so informative, the detail you articulate is astounding and the ability you have to communicate makes a ‘difficult subject ‘ fascinating
OMG I am so glad you are facinated by that! Because that is actually one of my research topics (well not directly) but it is related to what I research (which is how trace metal signatures in the rock record (preserved in Mn oxides) form and whether this process involved biological mediation by Mn cycling bacteria (or if Mn oxides produced by bacteria scavenge metals differently or more efficiently than abiotic mn oxides). It is super facinating to me! I just never thought anybody else would be as excited about it because most people like bigger life haha. Maybe I should make a video about the research after we publish :D
Thank you very much for the great content .your videos are so beautifully presented with relavent images and i find them very helpful for my studies. lots of appreciation from India.
Great info,Minerals in Clay different types and the understanding of how its formed. Helped me out for my pond lining the bottom holding water ,stopping leaks.. Thank U.....
I must say, I enjoy that you have links to Earth-friendly items in your description. I use Ecosia, the Earth-friendly search engine, myself. There's also things like my reusable straws, my own titanium eating implements go with me in case it's one of the very rare times I stop to eat, and such, too. Just needed to say thanks yet again for supporting sustainability!
Hi there Geo girl loved the lecture, I think I’m the only one watching who makes pottery out of clay , even tho I’m an artist I still a science nerd / clay nerd , Love you’re presentation, I subscribed when I saw the first clay video
Wow, I’ve been reading about ceramics clays and the topic is more complex and chemistry-ish than I was expecting. I’d love to know how an artist thinks through what type of clay to use for different type of projects. If you ever do a TH-cam video I’ll watch 😊👍🏼
Barbara Durfee yes I have been thinking about doing a video for a while now , to quickly answer your question tho there are a lot of different clays so depending on if you want to make something fine and thin porcelain or thick and large sculpture clay that has sand and grog added (grog is bisque fired clay that’s ground up to a course size) then there is the temperature range from low fire earthenware to mid fire stoneware to high fire stoneware and porcelain and the color of the clay from near black to light and dark brown, red , and white, well that’s a basic answer I could go on , you’re right I should do a video, I hope I helped.
I have to dig out a sedimented-up irrigation ditch here in Phoenix, between now and Boxing Day. I will be thinking about all your fine videos on the finest of sediments as I dig. Arizona always makes for good geology, even in the mud.
Thank you so much for these videos. I have always had an interest in geology, but most introductory materials I can find are either far too interesting in laying a foundation for a degree or are far too basic and provide little scientific insight. These videos are accessible to people who have first year chemistry, but give enough specifics that I can appreciate the overall processes involved.
Illite is separated because it is primarily formed by mica-containing material in high K+ environments and the layers are bounded by mostly K+ in the layers and does not swell like smectites do.
Part of my dissertation was examining uptake of Fe and Mn in wetland plants. I got pretty tired of explaining the whole redox cascade at the beginning of every presentation.
I was wondering where you were! I am sooo glad you finally saw this and I am so sorry it took so long! I hope you enjoy both the clay videos that are currently out, I have another one coming soon about clay minerals and their potential role in the origin of life ;)
@@GEOGIRL I had a few problems, I was busy, but I love your videos and I tell my friends about your videos, thanks for the video blog, I love you and wish you success😊
the white part you are referring to on minute 16:39 that you mention as silver part, it is not silver part but it is white paint. The iron that has been painted white has managed to oxidize and broke the white paint. This is a very good presentation though. Congratualtions Geo Girl
I find that with too little rain minerals may be present, but they are often unavailable for plants to find and take up. Phosphorous and boron are the most sensitive to this effect. In moderately alkaline soils this is a problem. It gets worse. Less moisture in the soil profile means less water to dissolve in. It also means some of the water will become unavailable because soluble salts reduce water potential. Further, sodium ions can reduce soil permeability leading to reduced water infiltration and increased runoff. So too little rainfall can reduce mineral uptake too. It's a rainy day Sunday here in Northern Arizona. That's what is behind all the comments. Good for the nutrients though.
You are right in the lions den my bro…wow. This is good. TX-ASCE, publications, guidelines for the performance of residential slab on grade foundations. Can take this geo stuff and put to some real world stuff…like your mom’s new house…sitting on…you guessed it….20 feet of Kta…house moves 6” in 3 years.
thank you that was very information , could you please let me know the difference between laterite and illite ? can red clay illite powder be a great substitution for an iron rich laterite ? i am looking for a high iron source of clay to be used in aquariums and the most abundant material i can see the replace laterite is a red clay substance that is from illite clay
Thanks! And yea, I realized after I filmed this that I really didn't mention zeolites by name which I should have because I think they are more generally known than many clays, but technically all this information applies to them as well! They also have a general aluminosilicate composition and are layered, I just completely forgot to list them in the table (my bad). For reference the zeolite group includes minerals such as: Clinoptilolite, Mordenite, Analcime, Chabazite, Natrolite, Stilbite. Hope that helps! ;)
Love the clay. I think that's how The Algorithm landed me on your channel. I've got a video idea/request: Geology (areology? :P) of the sites where Perseverance has collected samples from. I'd love to hear in detail what sorts of rocks we've been gathering, how they might've formed, what we'd expect to find, what we'd hope to find, etc. I've only heard this type of stuff from general science channels, but not a geoscience channel specifically. I think you'd do a good presentation on the topic, especially considering we're looking for signs of (past) alien life :D A whole series (a video for each sample site?) would be rad, but idk how much unique differences there are between each site to warrant that? Just a thought!
This is a great idea! I have wanted to do a mars geo video, I just don't have enough knowledge on mars to do so yet, but I have found a few references that may help me to make a video, so maybe I should get those and start studying for a mars video, or a whole series! I love the series of different sites idea! :D
I would love to have some clarification on the following : There seems to be a bit of blurry for me as if the clay particles are systematically dissolved in the water and then reprecipitated when the concentration is high enough. I suppose not, because if that was the case why would they precipitate in pelagic cases ? Also, can you get the same kind of secondary precipitation with bigger particle like sill, or is this process really specific to clay ? Secondly, I saw in Waterton Nation park ( Alberta) some huge stripes of shale, they alternated between red and green. What is that green shale and why would they alternate like that ? Thanks a lot for this series, for some reasons I've asked myself a lot of questions about clay in my life haha !
Ok, so first re-precipitation vs precipitation. In soils, the process is more so re-precipitation because you have the primary mineral, such as feldspar, then it gets partially dissolved and the ions that become dissolved get transported downward in the soil and then re-precipitate in the 'zone of accumulation' because the saturation state of the water got too high for those ions to remain in solution. The process of pelagic clay formation is different. These typically are primary precipitates rather than secondary (meaning they precipitate directly from seawater). However, there are some that form secondarily due to the diagenetic or hydrothermal alteration of primary pelagic clays, and this alters the mineralogy of the original clay. Second, some of these minerals can precipitate as larger grains or plates in certain conditions, but in sedimentary conditions (like soils or sea/lake floors) this is typically not the case. The only time you get larger grains or plates of these minerals is from igneous or metamorphic conditions (at least I think, I am not an expert haha), for example, if you have ever seen mica minerals, like muscovite, in metamorphic rocks, it can get really large! Third, red and green alternating shale would indicate a region that underwent redox instability or transition (meaning it went from oxidizing to reducing conditions or vice versa). This just means it went from high O2 concentrations to low or absent O2 conditions. The Fe in the shale is what causes the colors. In well oxygenated conditions, Fe minerals are red, but in reducing (poorly oxygenated conditions), the Fe minerals are green. Hope this helps clear things up! Feel free to ask more, I love this topic as well! ;D
@@GEOGIRL I didn't expect such a complete answer, thanks for you time :D let me rephrase it, pelagic clay are already * existing* clay that got wash out and then settle very slowly to the floor of the ocean/lake/pond.. They are not actually *created* in the water body like they are in the soil.. ?? 😬 And another maybe stupid question but... how come does the iron doesn't oxidize straight away in these green bands of shales. I mean iron oxidizes pretty quickly under the right conditions 🤔( ask my car -_-) Even if they were generated under anoxic conditions, these bands I saw were exposed to the air for quite some time, the surface should be oxidized quickly after being exposed.... no ?
illite is characterized differently because of it's structure. It is a double layered phylosillicate with K+ layers whereas the Smectite(montromillionite ) group is triple layered with more H20 and no K and therefore acts very differently structurally. Slope failures look to smectite, it so often the cause whereas illite sticks tight. There are the mixed layer clays that combine both of course and that is where it gets more complicated as life does with clays.
There is a belief in the gardening community that if you add sand to clay, you create an almost concrete-like soil. Here in western Oregon I add copious amounts of sand to my dense clay and the resulting structure is excellent. Any idea why some clays turn into pseudo-concrete when combined with sand?
In my black clay garden in TX I had to add organic matter and sand and even gravel in order to lighten it up and overcome the glue-like behavior when wet. Maybe your clay is more organic rich.
A lot of good information here about clays but hoping you can help with a practical problem. I live in Maryland near the Potomac river. Lots of felspar and iron here, and of course lots of clay. I'm working on a old, large pile of rocks from a prior digging project and need to quickly separate the clay from the rocks (want to keep the rocks for another project). Is there a quick way to "wash" or separate the clay off the rocks? Was thinking of just plain water washing in a trommel-like tumbler but am not certain if that will work. Any ideas?
I think for the most part it is, but I am not entirely sure if there are other clay minerals in the mix as well or not. If somebody looking at this comment knows, please reply to this chain! Thanks ;D
Good day my dear and hapy new year from Greece. I want to builnding a wood stove for my home. Can you tel me please what type can I use to make fire bricks? (I mean the analogy of clay, sand and silt) Thank you so much! 💓
No! It's acidic from Nitric Acid, mostly. Our atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen. H2O plus nitrogen oxides equals nitric acid. Lightning and other ionizing events creates nitrogen oxides.
Right that is one cause of acid rain, but to my understanding the contribution from nitric is relatively low because most atmospheric N is N2 whereas N oxides are very low in concentration, right? I could be wrong about that. Let me know thanks!
@@GEOGIRL well, the entire carbonic acid thing is really weak, especially because there is so little CO2 in the air, CO2 doesn't really dissolve in water very well, especially when it's warmer and at atmospheric pressures. Once the CO2 is in the water, only ≈1% actually forms carbonic acid. The pH of sparkling seltzer water is usually not less than 4 and CO2 bubbles out of it spontaneously until it goes flat. The pH of Coke-a-cola is around 2.5 but that's because it has phosphoric acid. So, it would seem to me... Major proton donors in rain water are nitric and sulfuric acid, followed by nitrous and sulfurous acid with carbonic acid being last place.
@@GEOGIRL humans might cause rain to be more acidic with car exhaust and burning dirty coal, these do contain A LOT of nitrogen and sulfur oxides in addition to CO2, but the additional CO2 is not a major contributor. Besides, acid rain is a much smaller concern in most cities these days since scrubbers and catalytic converters have been put on anything that emits sulfur and nitrogen oxides.
@@GEOGIRL I used to think that hydrofluoric acid was the main culprit in causing granite to disintegrate and I have found kaolin clay in fluorite pockets. But the kaolin pits in Vermont seemed to have plant matter altered to iron sulfide, acted upon by carbonic acid to make sulfuric acid which can attack feldspar and biotite. When considering the large deposits of ochre, bog iron and wad (manganese dioxide) were quarried out of clay pitts where plant matter contributed nitrogen and animal bones contributed phosphorus, it is not surprising that huge travertine caverns were created with the help of aqua regia and phosphoric acids.
I was confused cuz I just saw she say that clay is smaller and sand is larger then now clay is thicker and others are thinner and I was like what then I realized why this does make sense because of there is less air in the smaller soil so it is not “thicker” based on the size of the particle but based on the density of the soil.
Yep, mica is formed by igneous processes by the crystallization of magma as you say, but it can then transform into clay minerals when it is physically and chemically broken down. Essentially, micas in clays are just more hydrated (contain more water molecules) and are very fine grained compared to the big flakes of mica that can form from igneous processes. Some examples of clay micas include: Hydro-muscovite, illite, and phengite. Hope that makes more sense! ;)
@@GEOGIRL respected MAM. When it comes to mica minerals.the group is divided into two classes that is dioctahedral mica and trioctahederal mica . Muscovite paragonite and margarite are kinds of dioctahedral mica is it? And biotite clintonite and lepidolite is a kind of trioctahederal mica. Apart from confirming this? Please also tell me about what do we means by dioctahedral mica and trioctahederal mica? What I know is by octahedral we mean when a central atom like Mg or Al is surrounded by six hydroxyl ion we call it octahedral but what is dioctahedral and trioctahederal ?
Just some feedback. I think this is really interesting but I found it to be a bit too much all at once for me as someone who isn't already immersed in this topic.
Thanks for the feedback! I originally started the channel for undergraduate and graduate level geology students, so my topics were a bit more advanced, but I have since tried to broaden the scope and include things that everyone could enjoy and learn from. So, your feedback is super helpful! Thank you, I will work on that :)
Yep exactly. Basalt is mafic and granite is felsic. The definition of felsic and mafic is just based on relative silica abundance. Both basalts and granites are silicate minerals, but granites (and rhyolites) are much more silica rich than basalts and are therefore more 'felsic' whereas more silica poor lavas/igneous rocks (like basalt, gabbro, peridotite) are more 'mafic'. There are also 'intermediate' igenous rocks which have silica content in between felsic and mafic compositions and these include things like andesite and diorite. Hope that makes sense ;) And Thanks for supporting the channel!!
Yea, for some reason there was a problem with the publication of this video and that happened for lots of people. Hopefully that doesn't happen again, sorry about that! ;)
Just to clarify here: oxides like the ones discussed in this video are not technically considered ‘clay minerals’ by clay mineralogists or hydrogeologists, however, there are still considered (unofficial) ‘clays’ when formed in soils and ‘pelagic clays’ when formed on lake or seafloors.
Also, sorry for the typo at the end again with the ‘planetary geo’ playlist, that should say ‘mineralogy’ 😉
Rust is boring... looks at rust... Rust is fascinating...
The deep ocean Mn nodules story is utterly fascinating. Spys and Howard Hughes and cold war intrigue... Also possibly the slowest growing mineral structure I'm aware of - millions of years per cm.
I have handled one of the nodules that a friend had in his collection - he would not tell me how he acquired it though...
Wow. Your so... former potter. ❤
Proof that pedagogy and an enthusiastic disseminator can rapidly speed up the pace of learning. Love the chemistry breakdowns...and...is that an SEM image on the opening slide??! 😎
Yes it is an SEM image! ;D haha I had to include one, the clays are SO cool under SEM!
Thanks for the comment and kind words, so glad you enjoyed it! ;)
Go play with your trains, Sheldon
@@geoffgeoff143Sheldon wouldn't be here, he's not interested in geology 🤓
There is an old iron sulfate mine in Templeton, MA where I found fossil oak leaves in the layers of melanterite mixed with or altering into limonite. I have no idea what the actual age of the fossils would be. I used to like collecting Oligocene fossil "nuts" and seeds at the old "stucco-pink" kaolin pits where clay was quarried for the Bennington Pottery in Brandon, VT. First the beavers dammed it up, leaving the kaolin deposits below the surface. Now developers have chased the beavers out, filled in the pitts and turned it into a housing development. Like the old Braintree, MA, Paradoxides beds that are now under the Quintree Mall, another New England fossil site is underneath a building. You don't suppose the beavers will fight back any time soon.
I would not count those beavers out. There is a mated pair living in the creek running through our (Rachel's parents) suburban backyard. They delight in eating the Crape Myrtles, willows, roses, Western Red Cedars and pear trees in yards along the creek, oblivious to dogs, lawnmowers, leaf blowers etc.
Any video that has me reaching for a copy of DH&Z (Intro to rock forming minerals) is a good video.
Illite versus Smectite (Montmorillonite) - gosh they seem awfully similar in so many ways except the cation layer. The one difference I did note was the Paragenisis, with DHZ stating that Illites derive from shales and mudstones while Montmorillonites derive from eruptive igneous rocks... so that's a thing...
Thank you for the most clear and concise delivery of the subject. I would've stayed in school if my ceramics professor was as fluent and pleasant as GEO_GIRL.
As a ceramist/potter, curious to explore the nature and chemistry of all things ceramics related, these videos are a wonderful source of information.
Thank you! So glad you are finding helpful info in my videos :)
Hi there again :) Another great, informative talk.
When I learned about clay in the 80s, it wasn’t about the different elements in their structure, but more about their size with regard to how rocks erode and weather. You know drill: Boulders to large-rocks, to large pebbles, then small pebbles, then sand, then silt, then clay - and the clay was basically teeny-tiny mica flecks.
When this clay was finally consolidated, it became shale, and because the tiny flecks of mica had settled one atop the other in layers, it gave the shale more of an chance to be broken in layers, then say sandstone or limestone. With blocky mudstones, worms and such mucking through mica layers, eliminated most of the layering that would have occurred, had the layers not been compromised.
I’ve learned a bunch here and hope I can do more, though I’m mostly focused these days on paleobotany, plus my career as a composer.
Cheers,
gfs
ps - I forgot to mention that today, the Winter Solstice, is generally considered to be sign that Winter is here. For me though, it's kinda the beginning of Spring, because day light starts to get longer - by about 2 minutes, 6 seconds every day. That's great new for someone who has to cope with seasonal depression :)
@22:47 - my understanding is that Illite is considered distinct from Smectite clays, in that it has the ability to morph between Illitic and Smectitic structures depending on hydration and concentration of K within the lattice, where K substitutes for Na.
Another excellent video. I am going to have to recommend your videos to my brother who teaches agriculture at the high school level. He also coaches his high school's soil judging team. Those who are not involved in agriculture tend to take soil for granted; those who are involved in agriculture do not - cannot.
I feel like that was me before making these clays and soils videos! I totally took soil for granted and now I have such a broader appreciation for them! ;D
I work on a red clay horse racetrack, and today, we were talking about the type and structure of the clay. Perfect timing for me to watch your video.
Texas slab on grade foundations and the performance on expansive clays is a billion dollar industry of academics and worldwide science experiment studying how the PT slabs perform. The interaction of clay and water and the corresponding volume changes are THE KEY. Chemical injection into these clays occurs all over Dallas and now Austin. As a structural guy I am lacking…right here.
We have a lot of clay in my neck of the woods. How can I find out more about it?
Though about making tile, brick, or pottery.
I can't believe Clay Minerals beat the Paleozoic Era! 😮😂
Thats outrageous! I feel a little bit proud! You are amazing- watching now 💖💖💖
It's all because of you for asking about it, thank you!! I never would've made a clay video and I NEVER thought clays would do well, especially not THIS well hahaha, I have gained over 2000 subscribers from the first clay video alone! ;D 😂😍
@@GEOGIRL that is astounding, I think you made my day 😁😂
@@GEOGIRL proof that asking questions helps more people than you think 👍🏼
Really great lecture. You really have a gift for teaching, as you explain things very clearly and concisely. I have studied this topic previously and you still taught me several things. Thanks a lot.
Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words! I am so happy you find my lectures clear and concise! ;D
Rachel: Excellent lecture on clays! Also, I really wanted to thank for last week’s discussion of carbon sequestration. It was an eye opener to me and gave me much to think about.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this as well as last week's video as much as I have enjoyed making them! I had a lot of fun making the C sequestration video because before I researched for that video I has no clue about soil's incredible capability for C sequestration, it is so incredible ;D
Thanks for this geo girl. This is so informative, the detail you articulate is astounding and the ability you have to communicate makes a ‘difficult subject ‘ fascinating
Geology student from India
Love ur efforts 👏✊🤗
Thank you, I am so glad you enjoy my videos, best of luck with your geo studies!!
@@GEOGIRL
Ho thanks for recognising me
And glad to your reply
Hope u reach 1lakh subscription soon 🤝
Greetings from the BIG SKY. Bentonite clay in eastern Montana has gained my respect.
Thanks for making clays interesting, twice! I'm fascinated by the bacteria whose energy cycles revolve around manganese...
OMG I am so glad you are facinated by that! Because that is actually one of my research topics (well not directly) but it is related to what I research (which is how trace metal signatures in the rock record (preserved in Mn oxides) form and whether this process involved biological mediation by Mn cycling bacteria (or if Mn oxides produced by bacteria scavenge metals differently or more efficiently than abiotic mn oxides). It is super facinating to me! I just never thought anybody else would be as excited about it because most people like bigger life haha. Maybe I should make a video about the research after we publish :D
Thank you very much for the great content .your videos are so beautifully presented with relavent images and i find them very helpful for my studies. lots of appreciation from India.
So glad to hear that my videos are helpful for your studies! Thanks for the kind words ;)
Great info,Minerals in Clay different types and the understanding of how its formed. Helped me out for my pond lining the bottom holding water ,stopping leaks.. Thank U.....
I must say, I enjoy that you have links to Earth-friendly items in your description. I use Ecosia, the Earth-friendly search engine, myself. There's also things like my reusable straws, my own titanium eating implements go with me in case it's one of the very rare times I stop to eat, and such, too. Just needed to say thanks yet again for supporting sustainability!
Thank you! I love Ecosia as well :D
Hi there Geo girl loved the lecture, I think I’m the only one watching who makes pottery out of clay , even tho I’m an artist I still a science nerd / clay nerd , Love you’re presentation, I subscribed when I saw the first clay video
Thank you so much for subscribing and for helping answer some of the other commenters questions about pottery clay! ;D
Wow, I’ve been reading about ceramics clays and the topic is more complex and chemistry-ish than I was expecting. I’d love to know how an artist thinks through what type of clay to use for different type of projects. If you ever do a TH-cam video I’ll watch 😊👍🏼
Barbara Durfee yes I have been thinking about doing a video for a while now , to quickly answer your question tho there are a lot of different clays so depending on if you want to make something fine and thin porcelain or thick and large sculpture clay that has sand and grog added (grog is bisque fired clay that’s ground up to a course size) then there is the temperature range from low fire earthenware to mid fire stoneware to high fire stoneware and porcelain and the color of the clay from near black to light and dark brown, red , and white, well that’s a basic answer I could go on , you’re right I should do a video, I hope I helped.
I have to dig out a sedimented-up irrigation ditch here in Phoenix, between now and Boxing Day. I will be thinking about all your fine videos on the finest of sediments as I dig.
Arizona always makes for good geology, even in the mud.
Thank you so much for these videos. I have always had an interest in geology, but most introductory materials I can find are either far too interesting in laying a foundation for a degree or are far too basic and provide little scientific insight. These videos are accessible to people who have first year chemistry, but give enough specifics that I can appreciate the overall processes involved.
Would love to see a lecture about clay from a geotech pov! I learned so much about clay that i never covered in my time at college.
Loved the lecture !
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it ;D
I can't stress enough how much i like this video ! Good job
Illite is separated because it is primarily formed by mica-containing material in high K+ environments and the layers are bounded by mostly K+ in the layers and does not swell like smectites do.
Part of my dissertation was examining uptake of Fe and Mn in wetland plants. I got pretty tired of explaining the whole redox cascade at the beginning of every presentation.
Oooo my dear Geo Girl, thank you very much, finallly l was raitinggg this videoooo, respect
I was wondering where you were! I am sooo glad you finally saw this and I am so sorry it took so long! I hope you enjoy both the clay videos that are currently out, I have another one coming soon about clay minerals and their potential role in the origin of life ;)
@@GEOGIRL I had a few problems, I was busy, but I love your videos and I tell my friends about your videos, thanks for the video blog, I love you and wish you success😊
Finally something I can relate to in the Netherlands.
the white part you are referring to on minute 16:39 that you mention as silver part, it is not silver part but it is white paint. The iron that has been painted white has managed to oxidize and broke the white paint. This is a very good presentation though. Congratualtions Geo Girl
Your videos are so informative! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much! ;D
I have now watched this 3 times & some how dirt is interesting
Wow thank you for racking up that watch time ;) I am so glad you like the video!
Digging the clay series
So glad! I never expected it to do as well as it has, but I am so glad people are enjoying the info on clays as much as I am ;D
"Digging the clay series"...I see what you did there! :)
@@charlesadams41 😂
Wow this is just packed with info!
I find that with too little rain minerals may be present, but they are often unavailable for plants to find and take up. Phosphorous and boron are the most sensitive to this effect. In moderately alkaline soils this is a problem. It gets worse. Less moisture in the soil profile means less water to dissolve in. It also means some of the water will become unavailable because soluble salts reduce water potential. Further, sodium ions can reduce soil permeability leading to reduced water infiltration and increased runoff. So too little rainfall can reduce mineral uptake too.
It's a rainy day Sunday here in Northern Arizona. That's what is behind all the comments. Good for the nutrients though.
You are right in the lions den my bro…wow. This is good. TX-ASCE, publications, guidelines for the performance of residential slab on grade foundations. Can take this geo stuff and put to some real world stuff…like your mom’s new house…sitting on…you guessed it….20 feet of Kta…house moves 6” in 3 years.
am learning so much, tks
Thank you very much for the lecture! Helps a lot to understand our clays.
Of course, so glad you found it helpful! ;)
💟🖤I am interested in geology as an amateur, so I learn a lot from you. Thank you.
Nice! Loving it
Could you do a video on what happens when we bake clay and turn them into ceramics?
thank you that was very information , could you please let me know the difference between laterite and illite ? can red clay illite powder be a great substitution for an iron rich laterite ? i am looking for a high iron source of clay to be used in aquariums and the most abundant material i can see the replace laterite is a red clay substance that is from illite clay
I never saw red clay until I went south of the Mason Dixon line.
Excellent clay information. Will you be covering zeolites?
Thanks! And yea, I realized after I filmed this that I really didn't mention zeolites by name which I should have because I think they are more generally known than many clays, but technically all this information applies to them as well! They also have a general aluminosilicate composition and are layered, I just completely forgot to list them in the table (my bad). For reference the zeolite group includes minerals such as: Clinoptilolite, Mordenite, Analcime, Chabazite, Natrolite, Stilbite. Hope that helps! ;)
Love the clay. I think that's how The Algorithm landed me on your channel.
I've got a video idea/request:
Geology (areology? :P) of the sites where Perseverance has collected samples from. I'd love to hear in detail what sorts of rocks we've been gathering, how they might've formed, what we'd expect to find, what we'd hope to find, etc. I've only heard this type of stuff from general science channels, but not a geoscience channel specifically. I think you'd do a good presentation on the topic, especially considering we're looking for signs of (past) alien life :D
A whole series (a video for each sample site?) would be rad, but idk how much unique differences there are between each site to warrant that?
Just a thought!
This is a great idea! I have wanted to do a mars geo video, I just don't have enough knowledge on mars to do so yet, but I have found a few references that may help me to make a video, so maybe I should get those and start studying for a mars video, or a whole series! I love the series of different sites idea! :D
I would love to have some clarification on the following : There seems to be a bit of blurry for me as if the clay particles are systematically dissolved in the water and then reprecipitated when the concentration is high enough. I suppose not, because if that was the case why would they precipitate in pelagic cases ? Also, can you get the same kind of secondary precipitation with bigger particle like sill, or is this process really specific to clay ?
Secondly, I saw in Waterton Nation park ( Alberta) some huge stripes of shale, they alternated between red and green. What is that green shale and why would they alternate like that ?
Thanks a lot for this series, for some reasons I've asked myself a lot of questions about clay in my life haha !
Ok, so first re-precipitation vs precipitation. In soils, the process is more so re-precipitation because you have the primary mineral, such as feldspar, then it gets partially dissolved and the ions that become dissolved get transported downward in the soil and then re-precipitate in the 'zone of accumulation' because the saturation state of the water got too high for those ions to remain in solution. The process of pelagic clay formation is different. These typically are primary precipitates rather than secondary (meaning they precipitate directly from seawater). However, there are some that form secondarily due to the diagenetic or hydrothermal alteration of primary pelagic clays, and this alters the mineralogy of the original clay.
Second, some of these minerals can precipitate as larger grains or plates in certain conditions, but in sedimentary conditions (like soils or sea/lake floors) this is typically not the case. The only time you get larger grains or plates of these minerals is from igneous or metamorphic conditions (at least I think, I am not an expert haha), for example, if you have ever seen mica minerals, like muscovite, in metamorphic rocks, it can get really large!
Third, red and green alternating shale would indicate a region that underwent redox instability or transition (meaning it went from oxidizing to reducing conditions or vice versa). This just means it went from high O2 concentrations to low or absent O2 conditions. The Fe in the shale is what causes the colors. In well oxygenated conditions, Fe minerals are red, but in reducing (poorly oxygenated conditions), the Fe minerals are green.
Hope this helps clear things up! Feel free to ask more, I love this topic as well! ;D
@@GEOGIRL I didn't expect such a complete answer, thanks for you time :D let me rephrase it, pelagic clay are already * existing* clay that got wash out and then settle very slowly to the floor of the ocean/lake/pond.. They are not actually *created* in the water body like they are in the soil.. ?? 😬 And another maybe stupid question but... how come does the iron doesn't oxidize straight away in these green bands of shales. I mean iron oxidizes pretty quickly under the right conditions 🤔( ask my car -_-) Even if they were generated under anoxic conditions, these bands I saw were exposed to the air for quite some time, the surface should be oxidized quickly after being exposed.... no ?
After watching your first clay video, I'm craving clay.
SAME :D
illite is characterized differently because of it's structure. It is a double layered phylosillicate with K+ layers whereas the Smectite(montromillionite ) group is triple layered with more H20 and no K and therefore acts very differently structurally. Slope failures look to smectite, it so often the cause whereas illite sticks tight. There are the mixed layer clays that combine both of course and that is where it gets more complicated as life does with clays.
Oh how cool, thank you for this insight, it is very helpful! ;D
There is a belief in the gardening community that if you add sand to clay, you create an almost concrete-like soil. Here in western Oregon I add copious amounts of sand to my dense clay and the resulting structure is excellent. Any idea why some clays turn into pseudo-concrete when combined with sand?
In my black clay garden in TX I had to add organic matter and sand and even gravel in order to lighten it up and overcome the glue-like behavior when wet. Maybe your clay is more organic rich.
I wish you had shown samples of the different types of clays.
Not that you are bored…how does the volume expansion occur in the montmorillinite group with moisture content change?
Good stuff . I live around some quality clay ya know
Really? Where at? :D
@@GEOGIRL Sault Ste. Marie mi/ont . It’s the future haha. You sent me down a twisted rabbit hole with this one
Ooohhhh….this is good.
A lot of good information here about clays but hoping you can help with a practical problem. I live in Maryland near the Potomac river. Lots of felspar and iron here, and of course lots of clay. I'm working on a old, large pile of rocks from a prior digging project and need to quickly separate the clay from the rocks (want to keep the rocks for another project). Is there a quick way to "wash" or separate the clay off the rocks? Was thinking of just plain water washing in a trommel-like tumbler but am not certain if that will work. Any ideas?
Yes!
did illite get its own group because of it's fire resistance? I hear it's the stuff firebricks are made out of.
You the truth❤
we want to build a furnace out of clay covered with iron what do you think will happen?
phyllosilicates --> layered. Now I know why it is called phyllo dough.
Kaolinite is what porcelain is made from, right?
I think for the most part it is, but I am not entirely sure if there are other clay minerals in the mix as well or not. If somebody looking at this comment knows, please reply to this chain! Thanks ;D
Yes but bone ash is also added to get the translucency
And ball clay for plasticity
Nice video! Did you already a video about reverse wheatering? 😊
Good day my dear and hapy new year from Greece. I want to builnding a wood stove for my home.
Can you tel me please what type can I use to make fire bricks? (I mean the analogy of clay, sand and silt)
Thank you so much! 💓
No! It's acidic from Nitric Acid, mostly. Our atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen. H2O plus nitrogen oxides equals nitric acid. Lightning and other ionizing events creates nitrogen oxides.
Right that is one cause of acid rain, but to my understanding the contribution from nitric is relatively low because most atmospheric N is N2 whereas N oxides are very low in concentration, right? I could be wrong about that. Let me know thanks!
@@GEOGIRL well, the entire carbonic acid thing is really weak, especially because there is so little CO2 in the air, CO2 doesn't really dissolve in water very well, especially when it's warmer and at atmospheric pressures. Once the CO2 is in the water, only ≈1% actually forms carbonic acid. The pH of sparkling seltzer water is usually not less than 4 and CO2 bubbles out of it spontaneously until it goes flat.
The pH of Coke-a-cola is around 2.5 but that's because it has phosphoric acid.
So, it would seem to me... Major proton donors in rain water are nitric and sulfuric acid, followed by nitrous and sulfurous acid with carbonic acid being last place.
@@GEOGIRL humans might cause rain to be more acidic with car exhaust and burning dirty coal, these do contain A LOT of nitrogen and sulfur oxides in addition to CO2, but the additional CO2 is not a major contributor. Besides, acid rain is a much smaller concern in most cities these days since scrubbers and catalytic converters have been put on anything that emits sulfur and nitrogen oxides.
@@GEOGIRL I used to think that hydrofluoric acid was the main culprit in causing granite to disintegrate and I have found kaolin clay in fluorite pockets. But the kaolin pits in Vermont seemed to have plant matter altered to iron sulfide, acted upon by carbonic acid to make sulfuric acid which can attack feldspar and biotite. When considering the large deposits of ochre, bog iron and wad (manganese dioxide) were quarried out of clay pitts where plant matter contributed nitrogen and animal bones contributed phosphorus, it is not surprising that huge travertine caverns were created with the help of aqua regia and phosphoric acids.
I was confused cuz I just saw she say that clay is smaller and sand is larger then now clay is thicker and others are thinner and I was like what then I realized why this does make sense because of there is less air in the smaller soil so it is not “thicker” based on the size of the particle but based on the density of the soil.
Please rectify me if I'm wrong mica minerals are formed from magma is it? Mica is different from clay .and tell me few examples of mica
Yep, mica is formed by igneous processes by the crystallization of magma as you say, but it can then transform into clay minerals when it is physically and chemically broken down. Essentially, micas in clays are just more hydrated (contain more water molecules) and are very fine grained compared to the big flakes of mica that can form from igneous processes. Some examples of clay micas include: Hydro-muscovite, illite, and phengite. Hope that makes more sense! ;)
@@GEOGIRL respected MAM. When it comes to mica minerals.the group is divided into two classes that is dioctahedral mica and trioctahederal mica . Muscovite paragonite and margarite are kinds of dioctahedral mica is it? And biotite clintonite and lepidolite is a kind of trioctahederal mica. Apart from confirming this? Please also tell me about what do we means by dioctahedral mica and trioctahederal mica? What I know is by octahedral we mean when a central atom like Mg or Al is surrounded by six hydroxyl ion we call it octahedral but what is dioctahedral and trioctahederal ?
Just some feedback. I think this is really interesting but I found it to be a bit too much all at once for me as someone who isn't already immersed in this topic.
Thanks for the feedback! I originally started the channel for undergraduate and graduate level geology students, so my topics were a bit more advanced, but I have since tried to broaden the scope and include things that everyone could enjoy and learn from. So, your feedback is super helpful! Thank you, I will work on that :)
Is chlorite a kind of clay
Yep, it is a common clay mineral :)
yo. noobie here. so is felsic vs mafic relative to basalt vs graniite?
Yep exactly. Basalt is mafic and granite is felsic. The definition of felsic and mafic is just based on relative silica abundance. Both basalts and granites are silicate minerals, but granites (and rhyolites) are much more silica rich than basalts and are therefore more 'felsic' whereas more silica poor lavas/igneous rocks (like basalt, gabbro, peridotite) are more 'mafic'. There are also 'intermediate' igenous rocks which have silica content in between felsic and mafic compositions and these include things like andesite and diorite. Hope that makes sense ;) And Thanks for supporting the channel!!
Right I’m now going to take your associated multiple choice test
Hahaha, well the chocolate answer kinda skewed the results of that test, but I had to put it lol ;)
Clays are interesting, and are important to daily living. I eat off of clay, and I go to the bathroom on clay.
Thank you. This didn't show up on my subscriptions. Rotten TH-cam.
Yea, for some reason there was a problem with the publication of this video and that happened for lots of people. Hopefully that doesn't happen again, sorry about that! ;)
I think it would be cool to be the first human to taste Mars clay.
Yes totally!!
Great video, very interesting.
Thank you for sharing.
I ate a small amount of Grey clay today while in the creek, I farted a second ago an I can definitely tell