mortiz085

Weathering is the physical, chemical, and biological alteration of minerals in rocks, sediments, and soils at or near the Earth’s surface. It is an important link in the global rock cycle and is also an essential process for the formation of soils and landforms. Chemical weathering of silicate minerals which compose over 90% of the Earth’s crust, removes CO 2 from the atmosphere so it helps regulate the Earth’s climate over long time scales. Basalts are among the more easily weathered crystalline rocks thus, weathering of these rocks acts as a major CO 2 sink. Chemical weathering of rocks likewise releases nutrient elements for use by the biota in the ecosystem and also produces clay minerals which are the central components of soils. We studied the weathering of basalt by evaluating the gain and loss of elements, stream water composition, weathering indices, and clay mineral formation in the soil derived from basalt under the humid tropical conditions (average annual rainfall of ...

Clay minerals are a major component of soils. They are an important source of negative charge which enable the soil to hold nutrients and pollutants. In recent years, the medicinal effect of clay minerals has gained increased interest among medical researchers. In a recent paper in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Haydel et al. (2008) reported: "The capacity to properly address the worldwide incidence of infectious diseases lies in the ability to detect, prevent, and effectively treat these infections. Therefore, identifying and analyzing inhibitory agents are worthwhile endeavors in an era when few new classes of effective antimicrobials have been developed. The use of geological nanomaterials to heal skin infections has been evident since earliest recorded history, and specific clay minerals may prove valuable in the treatment of bacterial diseases." The researchers found that specific clay mineral products have antibacterial properties which have potential to tre...