A rusticle is a little similar to an icicle or stalactite in appearance, but occurs under water when wrought iron rusts. They may be familiar from underwater photographs of shipwrecks. Icicle on a tree An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from another object freezes. ... Water droplet coming out of the central canal of a stalactite A stalactite (Greek stalaktos, (Σταλακτίτης), dripping or dropped), or dripstone, is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling or wall of limestone caves. ... A wrought iron railing in Troy, New York. ... A blacksmith removing rust with sand prior to welding Rust damage in automobiles can create hidden dangers. ... Shipwreck of the SS American Star Shipwreck in the Saugatuck River mouth in Westport, Connecticut A shipwreck or sunken ship can refer to the remains of a wrecked ship or to the event that caused the wreck, such as the striking of something that causes the ship to sink, the...

The rusticle consists of up to 35% iron compounds including iron oxides, iron carbonates and iron hydroxides. The remainder of the structure is actually a complex community of symbiotic or mutualistic microbes including bacteria and fungi that use the rusting metal as a source of food, causing microbial corrosion and collectively producing the mineral compounds as waste products and hence forming the rusticle. General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Standard atomic weight 55. ... Iron oxide pigment There are a number of iron oxides: Iron oxides Iron(II) oxide or ferrous oxide (FeO) The black-coloured powder in particular can cause explosions as it readily ignites. ... In organic chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid. ... Hydroxide is a polyatomic ion consisting of oxygen and hydrogen: OH− It has a charge of −1. ... Meat Ants harvest Leaf Hoppers for their honey dew. ... Ant-aphid mutualism: the aphids are protected against predators by the ants who cultivate the aphids for their secretions of honeydew, a food source. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds between metal atoms. ... Microbial corrosion, or bacterial corrosion, is a corrosion caused or promoted by microorganisms, usually chemoautotrophs. ...

Since rusticles are found on wrought iron rather than other ferrous metals, it is supposed that the microbes also use the sulfur and phosphorus impurities found in the metal. Ferrous in chemistry is a term used for the iron with an oxidation number +2. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Standard atomic weight 32. ... General Name, Symbol, Number phosphorus, P, 15 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 3, p Appearance waxy white/ red/ black/ colorless Standard atomic weight 30. ...

Structurally, rusticles contain channels to allow water to flow through, and they seem to be built up in a ring structure similar to the growth rings of a tree. They are very delicate, and easily disintegrate into fine powder on even the slightest touch. The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ...

The outer surface of a rusticle is smooth red in appearance from the iron (III) oxide, while the core is bright orange due to the presence of Goethite (a hydrated iron oxide) crystals. Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625–750 nm. ... Iron(III) oxide - also known as ferric oxide, red iron oxide, synthetic maghemite, rouge,or rust - is one of several oxide compounds of iron, and is most notable for its ferromagnetic properties. ... The orange, a fruit from which the modern name of the orange colour comes. ... Goethite, named after the German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low temperature environments. ...

The word rusticle is a portmanteau of the words rust and icicle and was coined by Robert Ballard, who first observed them on the wreck of the Titanic in 1986. Rusticles on the Titanic were the first investigated in 1996 by Roy Cullimore, based at the University of Regina in Canada. Look up portmanteau word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A blacksmith removing rust with sand prior to welding Rust damage in automobiles can create hidden dangers. ... Icicle on a tree An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from another object freezes. ... Dr. Robert D. Ballard Robert Duane Ballard, Ph. ... For other uses, see Titanic. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The University of Regina is a degree granting institution located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. ...

For more on the Titanic and Robert Ballard visit www.titanic-nautical.com.