珪藻

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 珪藻 is read as けいそう and means a diatom, a microscopic alga found in water.
• Basic usage: It appears in microscopic observation and as evidence used to infer an earlier environment.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Observing with a microscope
  • 水の中の小さな珪藻 refers to the tiny diatoms observed in the water. Example: 顕微鏡で水の中の小さな珪藻を観察した。
• Inferring a past environment
  • 湖底の珪藻から marks lakebed diatoms as the evidence for an environmental inference. Example: 研究者は湖底の珪藻から昔の環境を推測した。