News

By: Ed Freeman, Toronto

Paul Karrow, 
Quaternary Sciences Institute,
University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, Ontario,
N2L 3G1
Publication QSI PFK 11

But this bar is dry! Yessir, you'll get mighty thirsty looking for a drink at this bar! When I tell you this bar is actually an old beach, you needn't run to get your bathing suit either, `cause the water's long gone!

By: Paul Karrow

By: Paul Karrow, 
Quaternary Sciences Institute,
University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, Ontario,
N2L 3G1
Publication QSI PFK 12

By: Jason M. Payne

By: Joe Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History

By: Kelly Snyder and Peter Russell

Calcite

A mineral consisting largely of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃ ). Next to quartz, it is the most abundant of the Earth's minerals. Crystallizing in the hexagonal system, calcite is noted for its wide variety of crystalline forms.

By: Mario Coniglio

By: Xanxin Wang, Ph.D., 
China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)
Visiting professor at the University of Waterloo (1998-1999)

The element fluorine, ranking thirteenth in abundance in the Earth's Crust, is used by higher life forms in the structure of bones and teeth. The importance of fluoride in forming human teeth and the role of fluoride intake from drinking water in controlling the characteristics of tooth structure was recognized during the 1930s. Fluoridation of drinking water since then has been a common practice in many countries.

Peter Russell