Bowen’s Reaction

Samantha Abel-Zurstadt

First, olivine weathers to dust –
the inverse of precipitation,
like melted, molten snowflakes
fallen up from the mantle.

To be in that mafic splendor
is to hear its sparkling phenocrysts
whisper of heat and history.
Such delicate geology rests
above mud soon to be.

Kimberlites we might call them;
else one Eddie, another Abigail;
come of semisolid below,
where they starve of water, wind,
and all that respire.

Upon tasting those wonders
of the felsic world,
lattices of genesis finally shudder and
ionized fingers bring geologic disease:

oxidation, hydration,
carbonation, hydrolysis.

The Science

This poem’s namesake, Bowen’s reaction series, describes the order in which crystals form and settle out of basaltic magmas of various chemical compositions. They also weather in the same sequence – first, olivine. Various processes can hasten their degradation at Earth’s surface, but four of the most common chemical means are listed in the last stanza. Each one can be thought of as a geologic disease that systematically destroys every rock it encounters. Then, the cycle can eventually start again.

The Poet

Samantha "Mandy" Abel-Zurstadt is a geoscience student from Oregon, in the United States. Her academic interests are rooted in environmental stewardship and science communication. Though this is her first official publication, she plans to pursue future projects that also marry geoscience concepts and creativity through both nonfiction and reality-informed fiction. You can follow her at @MAbelZurstadt on Twitter.

Next poem: Erratics by Craig Holt Segall