Where did we leave off? Oh yeah, there were two "mysteries of nature" that I was trying to solve:
- A yellow flour-like powder veins in the clay; and a
- Very thin white crystalline crust on the soil surface.
|Freestyle soil sampling.|
Here is Mystery #1 in the field. See the yellow powder, look how fine it is. Can you see it spread on my fingers?
Here is Mystery #1 by microscope magnification. I think it is pollen!
|They appear circular, but I can't quite tell due to their small size. |
I'm gonna try and get some mineral oil magnification soon.
|Here, I'll "magnify" again, using my special magnifying lens.|
Here is Mystery #2 magnified under the microscope and at various angles.
|Thank you Eastside Memorial Green Tech and Mr. Moldenhauer for hosting my curiosity!|
Here are my future plans (if I can acquire a few supplies with limited effort on my part, ahem):
- Mystery #1 (yellow "flour" powder): Access a microscope with greater magnification and hopefully identify the pollen.
- Mystery #2 (tiny white crystalline crust): Attempt to dissolve the crystals in water. Then, add acetone to see if there is any precipitation reactions.
- Why? I'm testing to see if it is gypsum. I think it is gypsum because gypsum is a very common white evaporite. Also, the presence of gypsum indicates arid environments (like where I was standing at the time).
UPDATE: I haven't found a higher resolution microscope yet. Also, I tried the acetone experiment, but I don't believe I had enough crystal sample to get significant results; it's a very thin layer. Alas, the mystery continues...
Have a great weekend, everyone!