Humans are reshaping the Earth's geological makeup every day, and the evidence is rock solid.
Scientists believe that human ingenuity and industry continue to impact the distribution and diversity of Earth's minerals, possibly signaling a new time interval in Earth's history known as the Anthropocene epoch.
These claims are not without support. In a new study, a team of experts from Washington, Maine, and Arizona have identified 208 new man-made mineral species that formed either exclusively or fundamentally because of human activities.
The number covers 4 percent of the list of 5,200 official minerals acknowledged by the International Mineralogical Association, researchers said.
Man-made Minerals
Existing minerals emerged around 2 billion years ago during the Great Oxidation, when oxygen generated by photosynthetic bacteria rose in our planet's atmosphere.
During this period, minerals increased from at least 2,000 varieties to 4,000 and counting, scientists said. These minerals are typically formed out of life-led processes.
Oxygen in the atmosphere help generate metal-rich minerals, including iron oxides. Marine organisms with hard bodies often accumulate thick deposits of carbon minerals such as aragonite.
After the Great Oxidation, however, the formation of new minerals went on plateau, until man-made activities changed everything.
Study lead author Robert Hazen said the Great Oxidation had been a punctuation event in the history of Earth, while the extensive and rapid impact of the Anthropocene is an exclamation mark.
"Simply put, we live in an era of unparalleled inorganic compound diversification," he said.
Researchers said humans contributed to the formation of these minerals in three ways:
1. First, when mineral-like compounds are formed because of human activities. Humans directly produce synthetic but mineral-like compounds, which tend to form minerals as by-products. Some examples are the yttrium aluminum garnet crystal used in lasers or silicon chips used in semiconductors. Humans also indirectly contribute to mineral formation through mining, with mineral-like compounds appearing in mine dumps or on mine walls.
2. Second, when human activities require the movement of large rocks, minerals, and sediments. Researchers say mining operations transport rocks, minerals, and sediments from their original locations into new areas. These operations also strip the near-surface environment of fossil fuels and ores, leaving tunnel complexes and large open pits, and shearing off mountaintops.
3. Lastly, when highly valued natural minerals are redistributed globally. Rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and other precious stones are kept in shops and households across the world. Scientists say these minerals are often collected and juxtaposed along others with which they do not occur naturally. If in the future, these minerals are buried and subsequently unearthed, it would reveal "unambiguously" the passion of humans for minerals, they said.
Anthropocene Epoch: Dawn Of A New Era?
Although many studies have focused on the supposed start of an Anthropocene epoch, the International Union of Geological Sciences have yet to recognize this period in Earth's history. There is growing advocacy among scientists for the recognition of Anthropocene, which follows the Holocene epoch that started about 11,500 years ago. It may take years before officials finally decide on the Anthropocene's formal designation.
The findings of the study are featured in the journal American Mineralogist.
