1st Age - Lucifer giving rulership of Original Earth during Eternal Past 

2nd Age - Lucifer and 1/3 of the Angels rebellion causing Chaotic Earth and Watery Bath.

3rd Age - Earth Replenished until Noah's Flood

4th Age - Abraham until John the Baptist

5th Age - Jesus until end of this Church Age

6th Age - Christ Reign of Righteousness during His Millennial Reign and the Perfected Earth

7th Age - When God is All in All throughout Eternal Future (The end of flesh bodies)

Now remember after the deluge of the Original Earth our current Planet before the recreation had no atmosphere yet. And because the surface of the earth is covered with water, the water itself is being exposed to the absolute zero of space, and the vacuum of space. Water on the surface, when exposed to vacuum of space, boils even in sub zero temps.  As soon as it turns into vapor, it would freeze, and crystallized. This process is known as desublimation. In a vacuum most liquids have such a low boiling point that they vaporize almost instantly. For that reason, most substances exist in space in either the gaseous or the solid state.

Since water is made up of oxygen and hydrogen (H2O). We will look at some oxygen and hydrogen facts to determined what happened while the water was being exposed to absolute zero, and the vacuum of space.

Hydrogen, having a lower boiling point, would separate from the water first. It would boil off, turn to gas, then crystallize.

But there is another physical law of water. This is called the triple point of water. This is where water can exist in three phases (solid, liquid, and gas). When this is done in a vacuum the boiling point of water is lowered to it's freezing point. In other words: the point where the freezing and boiling points of water take place are in equilibrium.

Side note: The triple point of water (link) is actually done under different conditions to get the desired result. But has never been tested under the conditions explained on this page to see if this would happen in another condition.

gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

"Divide the waters from the waters" is God's expression of water reaching it's triple point, and therefore becoming divided into it's three phases (solid, liquid, and gas). But this is done in a vacuum which also means the water was boiling at it's triple point. It is at this point the the magnetic field of the earth played a role in creating the firmament (crystalline canopy).

The word firmament means to compress, it also means to have a arch, or expansion. For the waters to recede in one day, off the face of the earth. There had to be a great force pushing it under ground. This force would have to be generated on the surface of the water, which would compress the hydrogen gas that just separated from the water due to boiling off. While the water went under ground. The gravity of the earth, being made much stronger for a day, could have achieved this.

gen. 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so* (happened on third day).

 And because this would not take place on the very surface of the water exposed to space, some water would be left to boil and crystallize on the other side of this canopy. What would be left would contain more oxygen (more oxygenated) because most of the hydrogen molecules separated from it to form the canopy. Or it could be just crystallized oxygen (this would explain how the O4 molecules, for the ozone layer, got placed there after the fall of the canopy). This would also explain why these verses say this:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0522shuttleshine_prt.htm

These ice clouds form in the thermosphere (link) region of the earth's atmosphere. Which starts 74 miles (120 km) from the surface of the earth. And extends 372 miles (600 km) above the earth's surface. The thermoshere is also the 7th part of our atmosphere. 7 being God's number of completion and perfection. The exosphere is beyond what is considered part of our atmosphere.

This is where the second firmament is given the distinction of being a heaven (a realm). This is because our atmosphere contains to types of life. Physical, which is all that we can see. And spiritual. Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan), (Fallen Angels), the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. (Luciferians)

A deeper meaning is that in the past age, 1/3 of the angels chose to rebel against God and that is why we have deal with all the rulers of darkness within the first heaven(atmospheric realm) from all our enemies during this flesh age.

The Devil - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickeness in high places. Eph-6:12 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The Third Heaven where God's Throne resides is protected by a Frozen (Sea of Glass) made of...

Molecules, Ice Crystal's, Heat & Water.