>>NARRATOR: On Earth, there are over five thousand different kinds of minerals.
Scientists estimate that’s 10-times more mineral species than anywhere else in our solar system.
One reason for Earth’s amazing mineral diversity?
Life. That’s right—you’re a part of this story! But let’s start at the beginning.
Minerals are naturally occurring crystals made of elements.
Elements were created early in the universe,
as the very first generation of stars died in massive supernova explosions.
Shock waves from these exploding stars hit gas clouds, fusing the new elements
into tiny mineral crystals, including diamonds. About 12 mineral species arose,
seeding the universe with microscopic mineral grains we call cosmic dust.
Fast forward to when our solar system formed around 4.6 billion years ago.
Our Sun’s explosive birth and the churning cauldron of planet formation
led to the creation of about 250 new mineral species.
On young Earth, mineral evolution got turbocharged. As our dynamic planet evolved,
molten rock rose to the surface, and rare elements became concentrated.
As the magma cooled, new kinds of minerals crystallized.
Once cool, Earth’s crust began to shift and break apart. Giant plates collided and bent.
The enormous pressure enabled even more mineral species to form.
Mineral evolution continued as the presence of water,
and the process of weathering, triggered the formation of hundreds of new mineral species.
Many of these geologic conditions exist, or
once existed, on other planets and moons in our solar system. But one factor sets Earth apart:
Life. Over three and a half-billion years ago, the first life on Earth emerged in the ocean.
Single-celled life evolved, using sunlight to grow and releasing oxygen into the air.
Over many millions of years, oxygen built up in our atmosphere.
Oxygen triggered chemical reactions, giving rise to thousands of additional mineral species,
like hematite, one of the first oxidized minerals.
Oxygen also enabled more varieties of ocean life to flourish, including animals, which evolved to
produce their own minerals, biominerals, found in shells, skeletons, and teeth.
Thick layers of shells fossilized, forming sedimentary minerals.
Mineral fragments formed the soil, allowing plants to take hold, and animals to thrive, on land.
In short, life on Earth led to a diversification of minerals—which
in turn led to a diversification of life.
This didn’t happen on any other planet or moon in our solar system, as far as we know.
Of the more than 5,000 minerals on Earth, a dozen were present in the early universe.
Hundreds were forged by our young Sun, and in planet-forming processes.
But most emerged because of conditions on Earth itself.
Earth’s mineral-forming processes and environments emerged long ago and continue to this day.
And now, human civilization is also changing the planet on a geologic scale,
through massive mining and smelting operations, constructing our built environment,
and mass-producing synthetic mineral crystals. We have become part of the ongoing story of
mineral evolution on Earth. A story that will be recorded in rocks for millions of years to come.
Explore the Hall to learn more about how minerals form,
the environments in which they grow and the surprising connections between minerals...and you!