Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces
We live in an oxidized world: oxygen makes up 22 percent of the atmosphere and by reacting with organic matter produces most of our energy, including the energy our bodies use to function: breathe, think, move, etc. It has not always been thus. Originally the Earth, in common with most of the Solar...
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crwiley:10.1111/gto.12106 2024-06-02T08:07:36+00:00 Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces Brooks, Kent 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gto.12106 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgto.12106 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gto.12106 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Geology Today volume 31, issue 5, page 176-180 ISSN 0266-6979 1365-2451 journal-article 2015 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.12106 2024-05-03T11:27:17Z We live in an oxidized world: oxygen makes up 22 percent of the atmosphere and by reacting with organic matter produces most of our energy, including the energy our bodies use to function: breathe, think, move, etc. It has not always been thus. Originally the Earth, in common with most of the Solar System, was reduced. The oxidized outer layers of the Earth have formed by two processes. Firstly, water is decomposed to oxygen and hydrogen by solar radiation in the upper parts of the atmosphere, the light hydrogen diffusing to space, leaving oxygen behind. Secondly, plants, over the course of geological time have utilized solar energy in the process of photosynthesis to produce carbon‐rich materials and release oxygen to the atmosphere. Of these, the second is by far the most important. It is a consequence of life and since about 2.4 billion years ago we have had an oxidizing atmosphere, a situation unique in the Solar System. In such a world, iron metal is unstable and, as we all know, oxidizes to the ferric iron compounds we call ‘rust’. If we require iron metal it must be produced at high temperatures by reacting iron ore, usually a mixture of ferrous (Fe 2+ ) and ferric (Fe 3+ ) oxides (Fe 2 O 3 , hematite, or FeO.Fe 2 O 3 , magnetite), with carbon in the form of coke. This is carried out in a blast furnace. Although the Earth's core consists of metallic iron, which may also be present in parts of the mantle, this is inaccessible to us, so we must make our own. In West Greenland, however, some almost unique examples of iron metal, otherwise called ‘native iron’ or ‘telluric iron’, occur naturally. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Wiley Online Library Greenland Geology Today 31 5 176 180 |
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We live in an oxidized world: oxygen makes up 22 percent of the atmosphere and by reacting with organic matter produces most of our energy, including the energy our bodies use to function: breathe, think, move, etc. It has not always been thus. Originally the Earth, in common with most of the Solar System, was reduced. The oxidized outer layers of the Earth have formed by two processes. Firstly, water is decomposed to oxygen and hydrogen by solar radiation in the upper parts of the atmosphere, the light hydrogen diffusing to space, leaving oxygen behind. Secondly, plants, over the course of geological time have utilized solar energy in the process of photosynthesis to produce carbon‐rich materials and release oxygen to the atmosphere. Of these, the second is by far the most important. It is a consequence of life and since about 2.4 billion years ago we have had an oxidizing atmosphere, a situation unique in the Solar System. In such a world, iron metal is unstable and, as we all know, oxidizes to the ferric iron compounds we call ‘rust’. If we require iron metal it must be produced at high temperatures by reacting iron ore, usually a mixture of ferrous (Fe 2+ ) and ferric (Fe 3+ ) oxides (Fe 2 O 3 , hematite, or FeO.Fe 2 O 3 , magnetite), with carbon in the form of coke. This is carried out in a blast furnace. Although the Earth's core consists of metallic iron, which may also be present in parts of the mantle, this is inaccessible to us, so we must make our own. In West Greenland, however, some almost unique examples of iron metal, otherwise called ‘native iron’ or ‘telluric iron’, occur naturally. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brooks, Kent |
spellingShingle |
Brooks, Kent Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces |
author_facet |
Brooks, Kent |
author_sort |
Brooks, Kent |
title |
Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces |
title_short |
Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces |
title_full |
Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces |
title_fullStr |
Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces |
title_full_unstemmed |
Native iron: Greenland's natural blast furnaces |
title_sort |
native iron: greenland's natural blast furnaces |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gto.12106 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgto.12106 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gto.12106 |
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Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
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Greenland |
op_source |
Geology Today volume 31, issue 5, page 176-180 ISSN 0266-6979 1365-2451 |
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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.12106 |
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Geology Today |
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31 |
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5 |
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176 |
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180 |
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