Geology
The Bradley University Chemistry Club Demo Crew is grateful for support from the Illinois Heartland Section of the American Chemical Society and the Illinois Space Grant Consortium.
Simulating Volcanic Eruptions with Carbonated Beverages
What happens during a meteor impact?
The Glasford Disturbance and a Meteor Impact Demo
A visit to the Glasford Disturbance, a 400+ million year old buried meteor impact structure located between Glasford and Peoria, Illinois. Also featured is a meteor impact demo adapted from one that I learned from the American Chemical Society. I apologize for any errors in the video, maybe someday I will do a warm weather reshoot.
What is the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide? Is the catalyst a part of the decomposition?
Hydrogen Peroxide Foam Volcano
In this adaptation of the classic elephant's toothpaste video, oxygen gas produced by the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide creates soapy foam which erupts out of a container. CAUTION: Do not try this "elephant's toothpaste" demo variation - we had multiple protection measures in place.
What other science concepts could you relate Maple Seed Helicopters to?
Maple Seed "Helicopters" on a Windy Driveway
This is not chemistry so much as it is physics and biology, but I find it fascinating watching the maple seeds acting as little weather vanes, with the heavy seed end resting on the driveway and the wing orienting away from the direction of the airflow. Reminds me a little of ribbons on structures in wind tunnels. The chaotic ripples in the seed motion sort of remind me of oscillating reactions in a thin layer in a Petri dish.
Why does the sediment in the salt water solution settle more quickly?
Salt Settles Muddy Water
The video shows two vials of water and sticky soft mud (almost lost a boot in it) from a nearby creek after a rain event. Table salt (sodium chloride) was added to the vial at right, and both vials were shaken before starting the video. The sediment (for example, clay particles) in the salt water settled out more quickly than the sediment in the fresh creek water. At higher salt concentrations, the layers of electrical charge surrounding the sediment particles were diminished and the particles could come together and settle out more easily. This phenomenon could contribute to the formation of deltas where muddy freshwater rivers meet saltwater oceans. Elapsed time in this short clip was about ten minutes.
What are glacial chatter marks?
Glacial Chatter Marks and Scratches on Rock in Northern Wisconsin
Glacial chatter marks and scratches on 1.5 billion year old quartz monzonite of the Wolf River batholith in northern Wisconsin.
What do the vertical fractures in the rock do?
Chemical Contamination via Cracks in Door County Bedrock
Vertical cracks in the Silurian dolomite bedrock in Door County, WI, enable surface water (and any contaminants it might contain) to travel downward to reach groundwater fairly quickly.
What are banded iron formations?
A Banded Iron Formation Rock
Banded iron formations are found throughout the world (this one was found in northern WI). They are believed to have been formed as oxygen produced by cyanobacteria increased in the atmosphere and oceans a couple of billion years ago (part of the Great Oxidation Event). Iron(II) species in the ocean were oxidized by the oxygen to produce iron(III), and then magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (Fe2O3) precipitated out to form dark bands in the rock. This particular rock can actually be attracted to a strong magnet. The light colored bands are chert (SiO2). Most of the banded iron formation processes are believed to have stopped about 1.8 billion years ago.
Why are the soil layers in this video red?
Ancient Soil Layers in the Badlands are Red from Iron(III)
The red bands in these formations in Badlands National Park in South Dakota are ancient soil layers that are red due to iron in its +3 oxidation state (probably because it was once close to the surface of the soil where it could be oxidized).
What happens as the pressure decreases and the magma rises to the surface?
Volcanic Outgassing Analogy Using Soda at Mt. St. Helens
Magma underground often contains dissolved volatile compounds such as water and carbon dioxide. As the pressure decreases when the magma rises to the surface, these compounds convert to the gas phase, creating bubbles in the lava and often making volcanic eruptions more violent. This sort of conversion of dissolved gases to gas bubbles can easily demonstrated by decreasing pressure on a soda (e.g., by opening the bottle). This video was shot at the crater rim of Mt. St. Helens, where a violent landslide and eruption took place on May 18, 1980. For more information see: Campbell, D. J. “Mt. St. Helens 40 Years Later: Getting More from Soda Volcano Demonstrations.” ChemEd Exchange. May 17, 2020. https://www.chemedx.org/article/mt-st-helens-40-years-later-getting-more-soda-volcano-demonstrations .
I'm super thankful Kristine Campbell and I got to and from this location (seems miraculous we made it) and shot this video. Sorry for any errors, we only had one opportunity to shoot this video.
What happens when sulfur compounds in coal are burned?
Eagle Butte Coal Mine (WY) Pit and Truck (sound garbled, read description)
Sorry the sound is garbled in this clip of one of the pits of the Eagle Butte Coal Mine in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The sub-bituminous coal produced this mine is about 0.34% sulfur on average. This and much of the coal produced in this basin is low in sulfur, which is why some of the coal in this basin is shipped 1,000 miles away to Central Illinois to burn. Sulfur compounds in coal are burned to form oxides which often convert to sulfuric acid in the atmosphere. Central Illinois has its own coal, but that and other eastern US coal can be more polluting, having sulfur concentrations ten times or more than that of the Powder River Basin. A couple of other comments about the clip: 1) The tour guide noted that that the view was hazy due to wildfire smoke in the air (but I wonder if continued coal burning will produce more carbon dioxide climate change to produce more fires) 2) The huge mining truck whizzing by at 35 miles an hour was returning from dumping dirt in an area that was already mined and was being reclaimed (soil added, plants replanted, etc.) 3) The guide noted that even though coal-burning power plants have been shutting down as the nation's energy supplies shift, there have been more recent orders for coal during this hot summer (to provide energy for air-conditioning demands. This strikes me as a bit of a positive feedback loop: hotter weather causes more coal to be burned and produce more carbon dioxide which in turn could produce more hot weather...
Why do they want to keep the lake level below the surrounding groundwater?
Berkeley Mine Pit, Butte, Montana 2021
The Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana, is the open pit from a former copper mine. The mile- long pit is one of the largest Superfund sites, containing a lake roughly a thousand feet deep with a pH of about 2.5 and containing a wide variety of metals and arsenic. Some of the water is being removed and treated to keep the lake level below that of the surrounding groundwater (this way the groundwater flows toward the lake to help contain the pollutants rather than away). Listen for the noisemakers used to scare wildlife away from the water.
What is the goal of the Silver Mine Tailing Retention Pond?
Silver Mine Tailing Retention Pond in Idaho
Seen near I-90 in Idaho near the Montana border. The sign at the overlook reads "Welcome to the Silver Valley - More than 1.2 billion ounces of silver have been mined in Idaho's Silver Valley where once hundreds of mines were actively worked. Today, there are just a few active operations remaining. Below you is the impoundment that stores tailings from Hecla's Lucky Friday Mine. These tailings are the fine grained rock that remains after the valuable silver, lead, and zinc minerals have been removed. This impoundment is a synthetically lined, earthen fill dam that will store 2.64 million tons of tailings. When it is complete the area will be covered and planted to native grasses and shrubs."
Model of runoff from natural surfaces vs paved surfaces
Model of runoff from natural surfaces vs paved surfaces from exhibit near Barton Springs, Austin, TX. Note that water on the paved surface (at right) runs off more quickly and with a greater maximum flow than water from the natural surface (at left).
Calcium carbonate containing rocks in Austin, TX
Calcium carbonate containing rocks (Cretaceous limestone and fossils) at Walnut Creek, in Austin, TX. UPDATE: It turns out the oyster fossils fluoresce yellowish under a blacklight.