Nature's Sculptor: The Extraordinary Power of Water

In our previous exploration, we examined how water is ingeniously designed to ascend to the skies, ready to replenish the earth and its inhabitants across the globe. The wind carries the clouds, and the rain falls, but what ensures that water is stored wherever it's needed? If we were to attempt this mechanically, for instance, using the world's largest mining machine, the "Bagger 293," it would require tremendous efforts. This colossal machine stands 96 meters tall (about 35 stories high!), is 225 meters long, weighs 14,000 tons, and takes five people to operate. It runs on an external power source supplying 16.5 megawatts of electricity and features a cutting blade with a 21.3-meter diameter, capable of moving 218,880 tons of earth per day. Yet, even this massive output is trivial compared to the need for constant rainfall storage solutions for humans, animals, and plants. Even hundreds of "Bagger 293" machines would need thousands of years to create the necessary reservoirs. The Creator's plan is far more elegant: each drop of water becomes a miniature solar-powered mining machine. Water possesses chemical abrasion capability; its molecules are polar, acting like tiny magnets. When a water drop meets a mineral, it draws out its atoms with thousands of tiny arms, pulling and breaking it down. This is why water is an excellent solvent – many substances dissolve easily in it. Water absorbs carbon dioxide gas, forming carbonic acid, which accelerates mineral decomposition, especially limestone. Water's viscosity allows it to flow at an optimal speed – neither too fast nor too slow. It moves slowly enough to maximize its chemical effect on rocks, yet swiftly and densely enough to carry microscopic stone particles, enhancing their abrasive capability. Thus, water transforms into a type of 'liquid sandpaper' that efficiently dismantles rocks and dissolves stones. Due to their 'magnetic' properties, tiny water droplets are drawn into microscopic cracks within rocks, dragging more droplets along. Water has a unique feature; when it freezes, it expands by 10 percent instead of contracting. As the water within rock cracks freezes and expands, it exerts internal pressure that widens the cracks and fractures the rock. Another tool of nature is glacier erosion, formed when ice layers accumulate into colossal masses hundreds of meters high and weighing billions of tons. Here too, ice's unique attributes allow for its useful behavior in glacier formations. Ice has a much lower viscosity compared to other crystalline solids. Whereas the viscosity of rocks in Earth's crust is around 10^21-24, ice in glaciers is merely around 10^11, roughly ten orders of magnitude less. If ice's viscosity were similar to rock's, all Earth's water would be trapped in massive ice caps at the poles and mountain peaks. Not only would liquid water be scarce on Earth, but ice would also fail to play a key role in rock erosion. To erode rocks, ice must be somewhat mobile. Glacier movement would be extraordinarily slow if not for ice's weight lowering its viscosity, turning ice over 50 meters thick from a solid to a viscous liquid, allowing for plastic flow. Additionally, between the glacier's base and the ground lies a layer of liquid water acting as a lubricant, facilitating the glacier's slide (a similar process creates a thin layer of water between skate blades and ice, allowing skaters to glide on a rink). This combination of factors turns the glacier from a passive mound into an active excavation device. The glacier steadily slides, its massive weight acting like a colossal bulldozer crushing everything in its path: mountains, cliffs, hills. The glacier also entraps rocks and other materials that increase its friction and abrasion capabilities. The elegance of this solution is that once glaciers complete their work, they vanish: the glacier melts, its water flows away, leaving behind the mighty channels it carved, shaping a future riverbed. Water's abrasive power entails three simultaneous processes: glaciers crushing mountains, mechanical abrasion pulverizing rocks, and chemical erosion dissolving stones into sand grains. We can appreciate the efficiency of this excavation system when considering that Niagara Falls has retreated 10 kilometers over the last 12,000 years. Lawrence Joseph Henderson notes that rivers carry about five billion tons of mineral material to the sea yearly, roughly 14 million tons a day. Not bad for a digging machine that fits on a fingertip without needing an engine! In summary, the uniqueness of water: The only substance existing in Earth's temperature range in all three states of matter. A high level of polarity. Absorbing carbon dioxide and forming carbonic acid. Optimal viscosity level. Penetration into rocks due to high surface tension (thanks to hydrogen bonds). Expansion upon freezing. Ice's behavior under pressure lowers its viscosity. Water layer at the glacier's base allows for sliding.