UM Photo Gallery

Category
Earth System Port, The Enhydro Evidence

Water Rocks

These crystals encapsulate an air bubble easily seen as it moves in water trapped within the specimens shown. We call rocks that contain observable water and air bubbles enhydros. We find these naturally formed specimens of quartz and calcite all around the world, almost always near the surface of the Earth. Though unfamiliar to many, the enhydro rocks demonstrate profoundly that these grew in a water environment under immense pressure; they did not originate from a melt. We do not find them deep in the crust or in lava flows. Chapter 8 The Hydroplanet Model explains enhydros and why they represent an important key to our understanding about how all rocks form naturally, and the important role water plays in this process.