By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Northern Ohio is the birthplace of one of the world’s new minerals.
Carlsonite, named after a longtime Kent State University geology professor, was discovered after a shale fire along the Huron River in 2009.
The discovery was named after Ernest H. Carlson (1933-2010), a Kent State professor starting in the 1966-1967 school year.
Carlson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, a master’s degree from the University of Colorado and a doctorate from McGill University.
He died Nov. 13, 2010, at the age of 76 after a long and fruitful geological career.
At the time of his death, Carlson had just revised his popular Minerals of Ohio book and was involved in a study of the Huron River shale fire. He also served on the Brady Lake Village Council from 1981 to 1993 and was active in many professional and local geology clubs.
The new mineral was discovered by Dr. Anthony Kampf of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and Dr. Peter Richards of Ohio’s Heidelberg University.
“It is always exciting when a new mineral is discovered — one that has never been seen before anywhere,” Richards told the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Geological Survey.
“Carlsonite is the first new mineral to be described from a location in Ohio, other than two that were discovered in a meteorite that just happened to fall here,” he said.
The shale fire occurred near Monroeville in Huron County. It appears likely that the fire began in shale in September 2009 due to spontaneous combustion and burned till March 2011.
In that time, the fire in the shale created a variety of exotic minerals, such as boussingaultite and lonecreekite as well as the never-before-seen carlsonite, officials said.
“The natural shale fire in which [carlsonite] formed is a rare mineral-forming environment, especially in an otherwise tame geological state like Ohio,” Richards said.
Carlsonite was produced by the condensation of gases in the oil-shale fire. The yellow to orange-brown crystals are best viewed through a high-powered microscope.
Carlsonite’s physical properties include perfect cleavage, irregular fracture pattern, tan streak and a glassy, transparent luster.
In addition to carlsonite, another new mineral species came from the Huron River fire site. It has yet to be named, pending further study.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
