Category: Geography Notes PPT

If you check out a World globe or map, you will notice some lines running across North-South and East-West. The lines running East-West are Latitude lines, and the ones running North-South are Longitude lines. The latitudes are also called parallel lines. There are other famous parallel words, like parallel lives and World, but they are not related to Geography.

Parallel universe meaning in Quantum Mechanics refers to a Universe existing alongside our own in the theories, which stays undetectable. In contrast, as mentioned in various literature, Parallel Lives meaning is the collection of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans that Plutarch wrote and Shakespeare used.

Latitude 

Latitude lines run across East-West and are paralleled. These lines indicate a point’s North-South position on the Earth. The parallel lines start at 0 degrees at the Equator and end at 90 degrees at the North and the South poles. Therefore, as the degree of the latitude increases, it goes closer to the poles. The North of the Equator in the Northern hemisphere and towards the South is the Southern Hemisphere.

Distance Between the Latitude Lines 

The latitude lines are called parallels, and in total, there are 180 degrees of latitude. The distance between each of the latitude degrees is around 69 miles (110 kilometers).

A Parallel 

A parallel is a line that connects all the points along the same latitude line.

Major Parallel Lines 

There are five significant parallel latitudes running across North-South: Equator, Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn. Latitude (parallel lines) appear as the horizontal lines whenever the map or the globe’s orientation is due North-South.

Here is a Brief on All 5 of Them:

1. The Equator 

It divides the Earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres and marks a 0-degree latitude location. The locations existing on the Equator are at equal distance from the North and the South pole. It crosses 21.3% of the land and 78.7% of the water and runs around 24,901 miles (40,075 Km) long.

2. Tropic of Cancer  

This parallel meaning is described as the line that marks the location where the Sun reaches Zenith. It does not represent a fixed point, and its measurement as of 2014 is 23° 26′ 14.675″. Every year on June 20th or 21st, Summer Solstice occurs, and that day marks the Sun shining vertically over this parallel.

3. Tropic of Capricorn 

Tropic of Capricorn is also a parallel line that moves every year and is currently located at 23° 26′ 14.440″. Every year on December 21st or 22nd, Winter Solstice occurs, and it marks the day when Sun shines vertically above this line.

4. Arctic Circle  

It is parallel to latitude, roughly lying at 66.5 degrees (66° 33′ 44″). The region lying above it includes the North pole, also famous as the Arctic.

5. Antarctic Circle 

It is parallel to latitude, roughly lying at 66.5 degrees (66° 33′ 44″). The region lying below it includes the South pole, also famous as the Antarctic.

 

Horse Latitudes 

It is located at around 30 degrees North and South of the Equators. It represents the area in the subtropical regions. In these regions, the winds diverge and flow towards the poles, known as the westerlies, or the Equator, known as the trade winds.

Longitude 

Longitude lines run across North-South and mark the positions East-West for any point. Latitude is thus referred to as the angular distance east or West of Prime Meridian. Longitude lines run across the poles crossing equators at the right angles. All the longitude lines are equal in length, and each of them is also half of a great circle.

There is an availability of 360 degrees of longitude, and a 0-degree longitude line is famous as Prime Meridian. It divides the World into Western and Eastern hemispheres.

Meridian 

As the latitude lines are popular as the parallel lines, the longitude lines are known as the Meridians. Distances towards the west of Prime Meridian are mentioned with a ‘-‘ in front of them (as negative numbers). The distances towards the East of Prime Meridian are the positive numbers.

You must like to visit the beach site for your vacations. Beach is nothing but a flatwater body which is also sometimes considered a dry lake. It does not have any kind of vegetation and these beaches or shores are more famous for tourists destinations and are a great source of income and economic development. They are known with different words at different geographical locations. In Spanish, it is called “Playa” or “laplaya”. 

Here, in this article, we will be talking about this laplaya only. We will learn its meaning or various characteristics and all other related phenomena. This topic will be useful whenever you are studying Geography, Geomorphology or Environment and Earth Sciences and especially whenever you’re studying the landforms.

Meaning of Playa

Playa is the Spanish word that means shore or beach. It is also called pan, flat, or dry lake. It is the basin from which water evaporates quickly. It has no vegetation. These types of lakes have the flattest form of geographical features in the whole world. It is also called a sink. It is adjacent to coasts within arid and semiarid regions, by time, it is covered by water that slowly filtrates into the groundwater and it evaporates into the atmosphere. Salt, sand, as well as mud deposition at the bottom as well as at the edges of the depression, is also caused by this process.

Another word for the playa is “WordHippo Thesaurus.”  It is defined as the flat-floored bottom of an undrained desert basin that becomes at times a shallow lake. They are the most kind of flattest known landforms. It occupies the flat central basins of desert plains. They require a drainage system from the place where evaporation takes place. When it floods, a laplaya lake forms where fine-grained sediment and salts concentrate. There is terminology that is confused for these types of lakes which have different local names. The saline playa may be called by different names which are salt flat, salt marsh, salada, salar, salt pan, or alkali flat or salina. A salt- free playa may be termed as a clay pan, hardpan, dry- lake bed or alkali flat. In other countries like – Australia and South Africa, the small types of playa are referred to as pans. The terms that are applied in Central Asia, Saudi Arabia and Iran are takyr, sabkha and Kavir respectively.

Examples: Playa Blanca is one of the best examples which is a kind of white beach and present in Spain and this white beach in Spanish is called as Playa Blanca, image of which given below. Playa Azul is a beach present in Mexico which is also famous for tourist attractions whereas Playa Pesquero is located in Cuba.

Characteristics

The basins of accumulation of salt & clay can originate because of various causes. There are some characteristics which are mentioned below:

• It includes faulting as tectonic causes, as in the East African Rift Valley and Death Valley.

• It includes warping in Lake Eyre in Australia, Lake Chad in central Africa.

• The shallow basins with downwind dunes are produced by Wind deflation as in southeastern Australia. 

• The playas in desert regions are produced from local cataclysmic disruptions of drainage that are volcanism, landslides and meteorite impacts.

• Modern playa surfaces are the important sources of dust and salts.

• The complex assemblages of minerals and sediments also occur on the surface of the playa.

• These types of the surface directly reflect the environment of deposition and may be used to interpret ancient environmental conditions.

• Sediments in playa are lacustrine, which is derived from the modern deposition processes.

• The second types of playa have no paleo lacustrine heritage. This type of playa are found in South Africa and are small salt pans known as vokils.

• If we talk about very thick playas, they can have alternating and multiple layers of salt beds as well as lacustrine clay. 

Flooding and Groundwater

The Playas are usually dry. It affected the surface by flood occasionally. The surface has deposits of silt and clay that entered through the floodwater to the basins. In the centre of the basin, the salts developed as a ponded floodwater. It gradually evaporates. By groundwater flow, water can also be supplied to closed basins. In these basins, the groundwater is in high inputs, sediment influxes are less and saline crusts are dominant. The areas of moist places may have persisted as groundwater flows to the lowest portion of playas. The very large playas can display moist as well as dry, salt, and sediment-dominated sections respectively.

Minerals

There are the minerals found in playa. The salt deposits are found in the playas. They are zoned like bathtub rings.  At the outer margin, less – soluble sulfates and highly soluble sodium chloride (table salt) at the centre. These salts crystallization can be compared with the evaporation of the brining process. The first precipitate found from evaporating brine is calcium carbonate (CaCO and magnesium carbonate (MgCO) which forms the outer ring ie. “bathtub ring” whereas the next ring consists of calcium sulphates and sodium sulphates. Because of the presence of calcium, the gypsum will form. If less calcium is present then thenardite and sodium carbonate may be deposited. The last brine of exceptionally high salinity, precipitate highly soluble chlorides of sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium. The dehydrated minerals like anhydrite that occurs on the areas of the surface protected against flooding as well as in wet saline areas. Some playas contain exotic minerals. The death valley playa is famous for borate minerals including borax and Meyerhofferite.

Relief and Structure

The surface properties of playas depend on sediments and these sediments include sand, silt, and clay. The groundwater present near to the surface may give rise to evaporate crusts generally formed by rigorous evaporative concentration. Due to rugged crusts, thick salts may form at Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley whereas due to regular flooding, various evaporative layers may form a very smooth surface in Utah at Bonneville Salt Flats. Dissolution may occur during fluctuations of a high water table for thick soluble crusts. Salt karst topography can be produced in the crust by solution cavities. The deposits of muds on the playa are drying and shrinking. On drying, smectite clays do experience the greatest shrinkage. During prolonged droughts, some clay-rich playa has experienced unusually deep drying and sediment contraction. The 90 metres giant polygons are formed under these conditions.

Impacts

Playas are exceptionally sensitive to environmental change.

• They have been influenced by changes in hydrologic regimen.

• Lakes have expanded due to other factors. It includes increased groundwater inflow and decreased evaporation/ transpiration.

• The technique of modern geochronologic, such as radiocarbon dating, permits the comparison of fluctuations in the paleo lakes. These are the predecessors of many modern playas and generally known as pluvial lakes.

• Playas & saline flats are particularly associated with wind action.

• In Australia, on their leeward side, large transverse crescentic foredunes can be found in various playas.

• Their composition of silt and clay, these features are sometimes called clay dunes.

• The linear dunes which are developed as Lee-side accumulations of sand are usually trapped by the lunettes growth.

Did You Know?

Some facts about Playas are:

• In the United States of America, in the southern high plains he playa lakes are like the round hollows in the ground.

• They are important because they store water for a country where there are no rivers and streams.

• Playas are important for the wildlife.

• Playas are used as lagoons to hold animal waste.

• To protect water sources from pollution, many farmers used playa farming techniques.

• They are a great source of income and useful for economic development.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can say that playa means beach or shore which usually remains dry. This is also known as WordHippo Thesaurus. It is the basin from which evaporates quickly. It has flat forms of geographical features. It has no vegetation. There are minerals found in the playa like saline minerals. The different types of playa are known by different names. Saline Paya is termed as salt flat, salt marsh, salar and salt pan. Saltless playa may be termed as clay pan, hardpan and dry lake bed. It is affected occasionally by floods. The properties of the surface depend on sediments. This article will be useful for you whenever you are studying geography or earth science.

You must have seen the weather forecasting or basic weather details on the mobile phones etc which generally shows these two things i.e the temperature of the place and the humidity. These two are also related to each other and show great impact as well. They both lead to having impacts on the flora, fauna as well as the environment as well. In this article, we will be only discussing the relation between temperature and humidity and other related concepts where we learn about the meaning of temperature, humidity, types of humidity, the relation between humidity and temperature formula, dew point or moisture, etc.

 

Temperature Humidity Relationship

Temperature is something that tells us about the coldness or warmness of any object which is generally measured in celsius and Fahrenheit. It determines the intensity of the heat whereas if we talk about humidity, it talks about the water content that is present in the air, or simply we can say it determines the moisture of the air. These two concepts are different but show a great impact on each other. We will see the relation between temperature and humidity further below. Before that, let’s understand more about humidity and its types.

 

Absolute Humidity & Relative Humidity

There are generally two types of humidity ie. absolute and relative. The former tells the humidity present in a parcel of air without taking temperature into consideration whereas the latter tells the humidity present in the air concerning the temperature of the air. The former defines the amount of water content by dividing the weight of the parcel by its volume whereas the latter is calculated by dividing the amount of water content present divided by the total capacity of the parcel of the air to hold multiplied by 100. The former decreases with height whereas the latter when reaching 100%, the air gets saturated.

 

Relation Between Relative Humidity and Temperature

We have already learned what is temperature and what is humidity and we have also learned two types of humidity. As we know, both these two concepts ie. Temperature and Humidity are different but they are related to each other. The relation between humidity and temperature formula simply says they are inversely proportional. If temperature increases it will lead to a decrease in relative humidity, thus the air will become drier whereas when temperature decreases, the air will become wet means the relative humidity will increase.

 

Here, in this graph, we can see that on the x-axis we have temperature whereas on the y – axis we have relative humidity, and the three different ranges in the graph shows which is an acceptable range and which is not. For example, a region with a temperature of 18° and relative humidity of 40% is considered too dry whereas the region with 23° temperature and 70% relative humidity comes in the range of too moist regions. The regions between these two extremes are acceptable such as regions with 24° temperature and 50% humidity. In this way, their relationship affects the region.

 

Relationship Between Humidity and Dew Point

Air usually contains moisture at a particular level and when the air contains this moisture up to its maximum capacity at a certain temperature, the air is said to be saturated which means at this point the air is not able to hold any more moisture content. The temperature at which the air gets saturated where it does not have any additional capacity to hold more moisture is known as the dew point. If we talk about the difference between relative humidity and dew point, the former is the concept that defines the presence of the water content in the air concerning the temperature whereas the latter one is the point of temperature where the air gets saturated. On the other hand, the air gets saturated when relative humidity reaches 100% which shows that now the air at a particular temperature does not have more capacity to hold the water content and this saturated air leads to the formation of the clouds which leads to various forms of precipitation. Thus, there is a direct relation between the relative humidity as well as the dew point.

 

At the dew point, it becomes difficult for the air to cool even more and it cannot hold more water content in the form of gas, thus it becomes necessary to come down in the form of droplets of precipitation. Usually, the higher dew point leads to having a higher moisture content in the air, which shows that it will be comfortable only when it flows out. Sometimes, if we talk about relative humidity, it can be misleading as well. If a region has a temperature of 40° with a dew point of 40 will lead to 100% relative humidity whereas, on the other hand, a region with a temperature of 80° with a dew point of 60 will lead to having 50% humidity. But in both cases, the regions with 80° temperature will feel more humidity than the other one which is having 100% relative humidity.

 

Relation Between Dew Point and Moisture Content

If we talk about the dew point, it is the point where the air gets saturated at a certain level. Usually, it is saturated at 100% relative Humidity whereas moisture is the water content present in the air. When the air gets saturated, it leads to the formation of clouds and then further leads to precipitation. When we move towards poles, the frequency of the cloud formation increases but there is no high rainfall whereas, at the equator, cloud formation does not occur so frequently but still there is heavy rainfall. In the colder areas, the air is almost saturated, thus frequent clouds form but in other warm areas air gets saturated only after reaching a certain height. This shows that it is not possible that rising air will get additional moisture from the troposphere. Air is not getting saturated because of getting additional moisture but because of the decreasing capacity of moisture. Thus, the frequency of the formation of clouds does not mean it will have more moisture and will lead to heavy precipitation nor does it mean that saturated air will surely lead to having extra moisture and will lead to heavy rainfall.

 

Relative Humidity

Water vapour, ice crystals, and precipitation all exist in the Earth’s atmosphere. The percentage of water vapour in the air that fluctuates when the temperature changes are referred to as relative humidity. At constant pressure, a fully saturated parcel of air cannot retain any more water molecules, resulting in a relative humidity of 100 percent. The air can store more water molecules as the temperature rises, reducing the relative humidity. Relative humidity rises when the temperature drops. When the air temperature reaches the dew point value, the relative humidity of the air rises. As a result, the temperature has a direct relationship with the quantity of moisture that the atmosphere can store.

Dew Point

Dew is formed when the relative humidity hits 100%. The temperature at which water molecules saturate the air is referred to as the dew point. Warmer air can store more water molecules, and when it cools, that warm air loses water vapour through condensation. A higher dew point signifies more moisture in the air, resulting in oppressively humid conditions with the possibility for cloud and precipitation. When the dew point reaches the same temperature as the air, the air becomes saturated. Dew points of 55 or less are drier and more pleasant for people than higher dew points. In 2003, the highest recorded dew point was 95 in Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion

Thus, in the end, we can conclude that temperature and humidity are some of the most important and basic concepts of climatology where one is determining the heat level of the object or any area whereas the other defines the moisture content in the air. In this article, we have covered the relationship between relative humidity and temperature, along with the relation between humidity and temperature formula and other concepts such as absolute and relative humidity, dew point, etc. This topic will help you to get one of the most common, basic as well as important concepts of the climatology of Geography which helps in increasing your daily life knowledge.

 

Numerous meteorological events occur in the Earth’s atmosphere, which has an impact on life and forms the planet. Understanding these occurrences necessitates an understanding of the temperature-humidity connection. Temperature influences humidity, which influences precipitation potential. Human health and well-being are also directly affected by the combination of temperature and humidity. The values of relative humidity and dew point, which are often employed by meteorologists, provide a way to comprehend this relationship.

Scientific modelling is defined as a process in which a particular part or feature of the earth is made easy to understand, simulate, visualize and define referencing existing common knowledge. After the Second World War, geographic methodologies and thought processes had undergone significant transformations. Over the past few decades, geographic generalisation and formulation of general laws, theories, and models have been increased for the subject to command the same respect as its sister disciplines. Scientific modelling has immense significance in the field of research and development. 

The Need for Science Model in Geography

Geography is a subject that interprets the relation between man and nature. However, the document for the study of this subject is the vast planet earth which in itself is hugely diverse and complex. Moreover, the subject is dynamic as various geographical phenomena change with time and space. The different examinations and studies in the field can be carried easily out with hypotheses, theories, and models. Models simplify complex situations and render them amenable to further investigation. Precisely a model is a device that allows you to understand the interaction between humanity and the natural environment on the surface of the earth. Below are specific reasons why scientific modelling is used in geography:

• Models are helpful in the quantification of unobserved phenomena like they come to use for weather forecast, change of climate, landform evolution, forest depletion, environmental pollution, etc. It also helps in the prediction of population growth and density, use of land, the intensity of cropping, etc.

• Models provide a structured framework within a particular theoretical statement that can be formally represented.

• An innovative science model will help you to understand the mechanism of interaction between micro and macro components of the environment.

Types of Scientific Models

It isn’t easy to classify and define the various types of models in science without ambiguity. Here we have a list of scientific models:

Scale models are also popularly called hardware models. These are static of a geographical feature of a dynamic model of a geological process. Being dynamic in nature helps in the study of each of the variables separately. Scale models are highly used by geomorphologists to carry out fundamental research about processes difficult to study under natural conditions like river action, glacial movement, marine processes, etc.

Maps are one of the most famous scientific models. It provides a virtual accurate scale model of the world. Maps use symbols to portray specific features like population density, distribution of forests, industries, agricultural maps, etc. It is practically impossible to represent a three-dimensional globe on a two-dimensional sheet of paper. Hence modification of area, distance, and directions are needed in a map.

Stochastic models deal with dynamic situations. It studies processes that occur by random choices. Example: Drainage development pattern can be explained by a stochastic model.

Mathematical models are highly reliable but quite challenging to construct. They have symbolic assertions of mathematical, logical terms. A mathematical model represents the equation of a specific process by means of mathematical equations which help study a certain situation or a process. Geologists and geomorphologists extensively use mathematical models. For example, the dimensions of a glacier or measuring flow patterns of a water body can be determined with mathematical models.

Analogue models are different from the remaining models as they use an analogy for geographical studies. The elements of an analogy are a positive analogy, a negative analogy, and a neutral analogy. Analogy models have been convenient in the study of human geography.

Complex geographical phenomena become easily understandable with the help of scientific models. Geographers need to be careful while constructing models. Oversimplification of models leads to bat prediction and misleads students and those who are studying it. However, when the aim of the model is fulfilled, that is, to simplify the analysis of geographical processes, then models are truly indispensable.

Did You Know?

You can create geographical models for yourself. Make a geographical model like a 3D map with only a few items. All you need is some cardboard, glue and poster colours. Refer to a map, website, or picture for a reference. Draw the feature on the cardboard and cut out the desired shape. Paint them according to the colour scheme of the map and stick the various elements together. You can feature forms like an escarpment, a valley, or mountains.

Earthquakes can take place anywhere between the Earth’s surface and about 700 kilometres beneath the surface. With respect to scientific purposes, this earthquake depth range of 0 – 700 km is classified into 3 zones: shallow, deep and intermediate.

Shallow quakes usually are disposed to be more damaging than deeper quakes. Seismic waves from deep quakes travel farther to the surface, depleting energy along the way.

Shallow Earthquake Geology

Shallow earthquakes are between the depth of 0 and 70 km; intermediate earthquakes, 70 – 300 km (43-186miles) deep; and deep earthquakes, 300 – 700 km (186-434 miles) deep. Usually, the word “deep-focus earthquakes” is used for earthquakes deeper than 70 km. All earthquakes deeper than 70 km are within high slabs of lithosphere which are sinking into the Earth’s mantle.

Deep Foci Earthquakes

The proof for deep-focus earthquakes first emerged in 1922 by H.H. Turner of Oxford, England. Earlier on, all earthquakes had been contemplated to have shallow focal depths. The presence of deep-focus earthquakes was validated in 1931 from researches of the seismograms of various earthquakes, which in turn results in the building of travel-time curves for deep and intermediate earthquakes.

How To Determine A Shallow Intermediate And Deep Foci Earthquake

1. A Seismograph: It is so far the most reliable method to determine the focal depth of an earthquake. That being said, the most obvious evidence on a seismogram that a great earthquake has a deep focus is the small height or amplitude of the recorded surface waves and an effortlessly simple attribute of the P and S waves. Although the surface-wave pattern does usually signal that an earthquake is either shallow or may contain some depth, the most appropriate technique method of identifying the focal depth of an earthquake is to read a depth phase recorded on the seismogram.

2. sP Phase: Another seismic wave used to identify the focal depth is the sP phase – an S wave considered as a P wave from the Earth’s surface at a point quite close to the epicenter. This wave is recorded after the pP by about ½ of the pP-P time duration. The depth of an earthquake is identified from the sP phase in a similar way as the pP phase by using the correct travel-time curves or depth tables for sP. If the pP and sP waves are able to be identified on the seismogram, an accurate focal depth can be established.

Difference Between Shallow and Deep Earthquakes

Remember that an earthquake’s destructive force is dependent not only on its strength but also on location, depth and distance from the epicenter.

Quakes can hit upon near the surface or deep within the Earth. Most earthquakes take place at shallow depths, as acclaimed by the U.S. Geological Survey.

That being said, Italy’s quake was recorded to be very shallow, originating between 4 km and 10 km underground. The magnitude measurements also differed a bit between magnitude 6 and 6.2.

In comparison, the 6.8 measurement of the quake in Myanmar was deeper at 84 km, which is regarded to be an intermediate depth. With that, let’s see how shallow differentiate from deep quakes. Refer to the table below:

Sorosilicate is an abundant type of rock-forming mineral that is found in the earth’s crust. They are the form of silicates. They are composed priorly with silicon and oxygen, coupled with other metals. a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron is the fundamental or core unit of these minerals.  These tetrahedra have a pyramid-like shape, complemented by small silicon cation (Si+4) which is in the center with four larger oxygen anions (O−2) which are present at the corners, this produces a net charge of negative 4 (−4).

More on Sorosilicate

Minerals that are formed combined by two silicon-oxygen which is tetrahedra that shares oxygen atoms are called Sorosilicate. The double tetrahedra contain two silicon cations with seven oxygen anions, which give them a net charge of −6. The various metal cations thereby neutralize their charges between the double tetrahedra. 

The minerals existing in the sorosilicate group are quite rare, and they are also present in metamorphic rocks. Examples of sorosilicate which form during the process of metamorphism also formed during the process of crystallization of the igneous rocks, including those in the epidote group. 

Epidote has the formula of Ca2(Al, Fe) Al2O (SiO4) (Si2O7) (OH). This epidote group minerals consist of both the single and double silicon-oxygen tetrahedra. Yet another sorosilicate mineral is hemimorphite (Zn4(Si2O7) (OH)2·H2O). Hemimorphite is a secondary mineral, which means fan alteration product, this is found in the oxidized portions of zinc ore deposits.

Aluminum cations (Al+3) may substitute for silicon, and various anions such as hydroxyl (OH^–) or fluorine (F^–) may substitute for oxygen. In order to form stable minerals, the charges that exist between tetrahedra must be neutralized. This can be accomplished by the sharing of oxygen atoms between the tetrahedra, or by binding them together of the adjacent tetrahedra by various other metal cations. This further creates characteristics of silicate structures which can be used to classify the silicate minerals into cyclosilicates, inosilicates, nesosilicates, phyllosilicates, sorosilicate, and tectosilicates.

Sorosilicate Minerals

Sorosilicate is the silicate-type mineral that possesses isolated double tetrahedra groups with (Si2O7)6− or 2:7 if expressed in a ratio. This is often referred to as the double island group as there are two interlinked tetrahedrons that are isolated from all the other tetrahedrons.

Silicate minerals are minerals that are rock-forming, they are made up of silicate groups.  They are considered to be the largest and most important class of minerals which makes up approximately 90 percent of this planet’s crust.  

In the study of mineralogy, silica is known as silicon dioxide (SiO2) is usually considered to be a silicate mineral. Silica is found in natural substances as in the mineral quartz and its polymorphs.

On this planet Earth, this is a wide variety of silicate min in which the minerals occur in an even and a wider range of combinations which as a result of the processes forms and with re-working the crust for billions of years. These processes include the partial melting process, crystallization, fractionation, metamorphism, weathering, and also diagenesis. 

Living organisms here contribute to the geological cycle. Like for example, a type of plankton which is known as diatoms is constructed through their exoskeletons. The silica extracted from the seawater. The frustules of dead diatoms are the major constituent of sediment which is of a deep ocean and of diatomaceous earth. 

Pyrosilicates

A pyrosilicates is a typical chemical compound that is either an ionic compound that contains this anion called the pyrosilicates anion Si2O6−7, or this is an organic compound with the hexavalent ≡O3Si-O-SiO3≡ group. This anion is also called disilicate or orthosilicate.

Ionic pyrosilicates can be considered as salts of the unstable pyrosilicates acid, H6Si2O7. Unlike the acid, the salts can be quite stable. Indeed, pyrosilicates may occur widely in nature as a class of silicate minerals, specifically in the form of sorosilicate.

The pyrosilicates anion is described as two SiO4 tetrahedra which share a vertex (or an oxygen atom). The vertices are not shared as a negative charge each.

The structure of solid sodium which is a pyrosilicates was described by Volker Kahlenberg and others in 2010.