Earth, a big ball of air
Its quite odd to imagine, but there’s actually a higher ratio of oxygen bound in the minerals of the earth’s crust than there is free in our breathable atmosphere. 46-49% mass in the crust, 21% in the atmosphere in comparison. And that’s not all, the oxygen makes some 93% total volume of all mass on earth. Earth is not much more than a big ball of oxygen really. So take a big breath of fresh rock-air instead of that diluted atmosphere-air. Doctors advice 
(I know that this is not something new for any geologists out there, just trying to educate everybody else)
April 26, 2008 + Posted in Geoscience +
Studying rocks makes one think totally differently about common elements.
Cool blog! If you’re studying petrology, maybe you could post thin section photos once in awhile. At the school I attend (I’m a grad student), we can’t afford enough good microscopes, and so the undergraduates don’t get enough optical petrology. I encourage people to search the net for additional examples of whatever it is they want to identify.
One other comment, on your “Geoscience?” page: geology was originally a study of the earth, but is becoming more and more a study of any planetary body. I’ve seen many GSA-published papers on the geology of Mars. It still amazes me that we can do geology on another planet by means of roving vehicles.
I shall be a regular reader.
Comment by Karen — April 27, 2008 @ 2:59 am
Hello Karen and welcome! Thanks for your comment!
Comment by Antimonite — April 27, 2008 @ 7:17 am