2024-02-02 06:42:10
Feldspars are among the most important rock-forming minerals in the earth’s crust. These silicates are a ubiquitous component of many types of effluent rocks such as granite. But they also occur in numerous metamorphic rocks. It is largely unknown that feldspar also plays an important role in weather events in the atmosphere. As dust particles, feldspars are extremely active aerosols that serve as condensation nuclei for water droplets. An Austrian research group has now investigated why these silicate minerals are so effective in forming clouds.
Feldspar dust is created when rocks are ground up during erosion and the minerals contained in the rock dust are then carried into the atmosphere by the wind. A typical example are the huge clouds of loess that are blown up on the terminal moraines of glaciers on windy days.
#feldspar #aerosols #influence #weather #patterns