ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Micas are among the most common minerals in the Earth crust: 4.5% by volume. They are widespread in most if not all metamorphic rocks (abundance: 11%), and common also in sediment and sedimentary and igneous rocks. Characteristically, micas form in the uppermost greenschist facies and remain stable to the lower crust, including anatectic rocks (the only exception: granulite facies racks). Moreover, some micas are stable in sediments and diagenetic rocks and crystallize in many types of lavas. In contrast, they are also present in association with minerals originating from the very deepest parts of the mantle—they are the most common minerals accompanying diamond in kimberlites. The number of research papers dedicated to micas is enormous, but knowledge of them is limited and not as extensive as that of other rock-forming minerals, for reasons mostly relating to their complex layer texture that makes obtaining crystals suitable for careful studies with the modern methods time-consuming, painstaking work. Micas were reviewed extensively in 1984 (Reviews in Mineralogy 13, S.W. Bailey, editor). At that time, “Micas” volume …

Description / Table of Contents: The scientific discoveries that have been made with noble gas geochemistry are of such a profound and fundamental nature that earth science textbooks should be full of examples. Surprisingly, this really is not so. The "first discoveries" include presolar components in our _ solar system, extinct radionuclides, primordial volatiles in the Earth, the degassing history of Mars, secular changes in the solar wind, reliable present day mantle degassing fluxes, the fluxes of extraterrestrial material to Earth, groundwater paleotemperatures and the ages of the oldest landscapes on Earth. Noble gas geochemistry has scored so many such "firsts" or "home runs" that it should permeate a lot of earth science thinking and teaching. Yet rather surprisingly it does not. Noble gas geochemistry also is a broader and more versatile field than almost any other area of geochemistry. It pervades cosmochemistry, Earth sciences, ocean sciences, climate studies and environmental sciences. Yet most modern Earth, planetary and environmental science departments do not consider noble gas geochemistry to be at the top of their list in terms of hiring priorities these days. Furthermore, with the exception of Ar geochronologists, noble gas geochemists are a surprisingly rare breed. Why is the above the case? Perhaps the reasons lie in the nature of the field itself. First, although noble gas geochemists work on big problems, the context of their data is often woefully under-constrained so that it becomes hard to make progress beyond the first order fundamental discoveries. Noble gas data are often difficult to interpret. Although some concepts are straightforward and striking in their immediate implications (e.g. mantle 3He in the oceans), others are to this day shrouded in lack of clarity. The simple reason for this is that in many situations it is only the noble gases that offer any real insights at all and the context of other constraints simply does not exist. Some examples of the big issues being addressed by noble gases are as follows and I have deliberately posed these as major unresolved questions that only exist because noble gas geochemistry has opened windows through which to view large-scale issues and processes that otherwise would be obscure. (1) Is the presolar noble gas component present in a tiny fraction of submicroscopic meteoritic C or is it ubiquitously distributed? (2) How did solar noble gases get incorporated into the Earth? (3) How did solar noble gases survive the protracted accretion of the Earth via giant impacts? (4) What is the origin of the noble gas pattern in the Earth's atmosphere? (5) Why are the Earth and Mars almost opposites in terms of the relative isotopic differences between atmosphere and mantle? (6) What is the Eresent source of Earth's primordial helium? Can we ignore the core? (7) What is the 2~e/ 2Ne of the mantle, how was it acquired and why is it different from the atmosphere? (8) How does one reconcile the stronlJ fractionation in terrestrial Xe with data for other noble gases? (9) How much radiogenic Ar should the Earth have? How well do we know KIU? (10) Are the light isotopes of Xe the same in the mantle and the atmosphere? If not, why not? (11) How are noble gases transported through the creeping solid earth? (12) How does one explain the heat - helium paradox? (13) How incompatible are the noble gases during melting? (14) How are atmospheric components incorporated into volcanic samples? (15) How are the excess air components incorporated into groundwater? (16) Why are continental noble gas paleotemperature records offset from oceanic temperature records? Noble gas data tell us that the Earth and solar system represent very complex environments. When we make our simple first order conclusions and models we are only at the tip of the iceberg of discoveries that are needed to arrive at a thorough understanding of the behavior of volatiles in the solar system. Who wants to hear that things are complicated? Who wants to hire in a field that will involve decades of data acquisition and analysis in order to sort out the solar system? Sadly, too few these days. This is the stuff of deep scientific giants and bold, technically difficult long-term research programs. It is not for those who prefer superficiality and quick, glamorous, slick answers. Noble gas geochemists work in many areas where progress is slow and difficult even though the issues are huge. This probably plays a part in the limited marketability of noble gas geochemistry to the nonspecialist. Second, noble gases is a technically difficult subject. That is, noble gas geochemists need to be adept 11t technique development and this has to include skills acquired through innovation in the lab. Nobody can learn this stuff merely with a book or practical guide. Reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (by Robert Pirsig) would give you a clearer picture. This magnificent MSA-GS volume is going to be enormously useful but on its own it won't make anybody into a noble gas geochemist. Although the mass spectrometry principles are not complex, the tricks involved in getting better data are often self taught or passed on by working with individuals who themselves are pushing the boundaries further. Furthermore, much of the exciting new science is linked with technical developments that allow us to move beyond the current measurement capabilities. Be they better crushing devices, laser resonance time of flight, multiple collection or compressor sources - the technical issues are central to progress. Lastly, noble gas geochemists need a broad range of other skills in order to make progress. They have to be good at mass spectrometry as already stated. However, nowadays they also need to be able to understand fields as different as mantle geochemistry, stellar evolution, cosmochemistry, crustal fluids, oceanography and glaciology. They are kind of "Renaissance" individuals. Therefore, if you are thinking broadly about hiring scientists who love science and stand a good chance of making a major difference to our understanding of the solar system, earth and its environment - I would recommend you hire a really good noble gas geochemist. However, the results may take a while. If you want somebody who will crank out papers at high speed and quickly increase the publication numbers of your department then you may need to think about somebody else. The two are not mutually exclusive but think hard about what is really important. There was no short course associated with this volume, although an attempt was undertaken to get the volume printed in time for the V. M. Goldschmidt conference in Davos, Switzerland (mid-August 2002) at which there was a major symposium on noble gases.

Description / Table of Contents: Several years ago, John Rakovan and John Hughes (colleagues at Miami of Ohio), and later Matt Kohn (at South Carolina), separately proposed short courses on phosphate minerals to the Council of the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA). Council suggested that they join forces. Thus this volume, Phosphates: Geochemical, Geobiological, and Materials Importance, was organized. It was prepared in advance of a short course of the same title, sponsored by MSA and presented at Golden, Colorado, October 25-27. We are pleased to present this volume entitled Phosphates: Geochemical, Geobiological and Materials Importance. Phosphate minerals are an integral component of geological and biological systems. They are found in virtually all rocks, are the major structural component of vertebrates, and when dissolved are critical for biological activity. This volume represents the work of many authors whose research illustrates how the unique chemical and physical behavior of phosphate minerals permits a wide range of applications that encompasses phosphate mineralogy, petrology, biomineralization, geochronology, and materials science. While diverse, these fields are all linked structurally, crystal-chemically and geochemically. As geoscientists turn their attention to the intersection of the biological, geological, and material science realms, there is no group of compounds more germane than the phosphates. The chapters of this book are grouped into five topics: Mineralogy and Crystal Chemistry, Petrology, Biomineralization, Geochronology, and Materials Applications. In the first section, three chapters are devoted to mineralogical aspects of apatite, a phase with both inorganic and organic origins, the most abundant phosphate mineral on earth, and the main mineral phase in the human body. Monazite and xenotime are highlighted in a fourth chapter, which includes their potential use as solid-state radioactive waste repositories. The Mineralogy and Crystal Chemistry section concludes with a detailed examination of the crystal chemistry of 244 other naturally-occurring phosphate phases and a listing of an additional 126 minerals. In the Petrology section, three chapters detail the igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary aspects of phosphate minerals. A fourth chapter provides a close look at analyzing phosphates for major, minor, and trace elements using the electron microprobe. A final chapter treats the global geochemical cycling of phosphate, a topic of intense, current geochemical interest. The Biomineralization section begins with a summary of the current state of research on bone, dentin and enamel phosphates, a topic that crosses disciplines that include mineralogical, medical, and dental research. The following two chapters treat the stable isotope and trace element compositions of modern and fossil biogenic phosphates, with applications to paleontology, paleoclimatology, and paleoecology. The Geochronology section focuses principally on apatite and monazite for U-ThPb, (U- Th)/He, and fission-track age determinations; it covers both classical geochronologic techniques as well as recent developments. The final section-Materials Applications-highlights how phosphate phases play key roles in fields such as optics, luminescence, medical engineering and prosthetics, and engineering of radionuclide repositories. These chapters provide a glimpse of the use of natural phases in engineering and biomedical applications and illustrate fruitful areas of future research in geochemical, geobiological and materials science. We hope all chapters in this volume encourage researchers to expand their work on all aspects of natural and synthetic phosphate compounds.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume was produced in response to the need for a comprehensive introduction to the continually evolving state of the art of synchrotron radiation applications in low-temperature geochemistry and environmental science. It owes much to the hard work and imagination of the devoted cadre of sleep-deprived individuals who blazed a trail that many others are beginning to follow. Synchrotron radiation methods have opened new scientific vistas in the earth and environmental sciences, and progress in this direction will undoubtedly continue. The organization of this volume is as follows. Chapter 1 (Brown and Sturchio) gives a fairly comprehensive overview of synchrotron radiation applications in low temperature geochemistry and environmental science. The presentation is organized by synchrotron methods and scientific issues. It also has an extensive reference list that should prove valuable as a starting point for further research. Chapter 2 (Sham and Rivers) describes the ways that synchrotron radiation is generated, including a history of synchrotrons and a discussion of aspects of synchrotron radiation that are important to the experimentalist. The remaining chapters of the volume are organized into two groups. Chapters 3 through 6 describe specific synchrotron methods that are most useful for single-crystal surface and mineral-fluid interface studies. Chapters 7 through 9 describe methods that can be used more generally for investigating complex polyphase fine-grained or amorphous materials, including soils, rocks, and organic matter. Chapter 3 (Fenter) presents the elementary theory of synchrotron X-ray reflectivity along with examples of recent applications, with emphasis on in situ studies of mineral-fluid interfaces. Chapter 4 (Bedzyk and Cheng) summarizes the theory of X-ray standing waves (XSW), the various methods for using XSW in surface and interfaces studies, and gives a brief review of recent applications in geochemistry and mineralogy. Chapter 5 (Waychunas) covers the theory and applications of grazing-incidence X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy, with recent examples of studies at mineral surfaces. Chapter 6 (Hirschmugl) describes the theory and applications of synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy. Chapter 7 (Manceau, Marcus, and Tamura) gives background and examples of the combined application of synchrotron X-ray microfluorescence, microdiffraction, and microabsorption spectroscopy in characterizing the distribution and speciation of metals in soils and sediments. Chapter 8 (Sutton, Newville, Rivers, Lanzirotti, Eng, and Bertsch) demonstrates a wide variety of applications of synchrotron X-ray microspectroscopy and microtomography in characterizing earth and environmental materials and processes. Finally, Chapter 9 (Myneni) presents a review of the principles and applications of soft X-ray microspectroscopic studies of natural organic materials. All of these chapters review the state of the art of synchrotron radiation applications in low temperature geochemistry and environmental science, and offer speculations on future developments. The reader of this volume will acquire an appreciation of the theory and applications of synchrotron radiation in low temperature geochemistry and environmental science, as well as the significant advances that have been made in this area in the past two decades (especially since the advent of the third-generation synchrotron sources). We hope that this volume will inspire new users to "see the light" and pursue their research using the potent tool of synchrotron radiation.

Description / Table of Contents: This book has been several years in the making, under the experienced and careful oversight of Ed Grew (University of Maine), who edited (with Larry Anovitz) a similar, even larger volume in 1996: Boron: Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry (RiMG Vol. 33, reprinted with updates and corrections, 2002). Many of the same reasons for inviting investigators to contribute to a volume on B apply equally to a volume on Be. Like B, Be poses analytical difficulties, and it has been neglected in many studies. However, with recent improvements in analytical technology, interest in Be and its cosmogenic isotopes has increased greatly. Chapter 1 (Grew) is an overview of Be studies in the earth sciences backed by an extensive reference list, and an annotated list of the 110 mineral species reported to contain essential Be as of 2002, together with commentary on their status. A systematic classification of Be minerals based on their crystal structure is presented in Chapter 9 (Hawthorne and Huminicki), while analysis of these minerals by the secondary ion mass spectroscopy is the subject of Chapter 8 (Hervig). Chapter 13 (Franz and Morteani) reviews experimental studies of systems involving Be. Chapter 2 (Shearer) reviews the behavior of Be in the Solar System, with an emphasis on meteorites, the Moon and Mars, and the implications of this behavior for the evolution of the solar system. Chapter 3 (Ryan) is an overview of the terrestrial geochemistry of Be, and Chapter 7 (Vesely, Norton, Skrivan, Majer, Krám, Navrátil, and Kaste) discusses the contamination of the environment by this anthropogenic toxin. The cosmogenic isotopes Be-7 and Be-10 have found increasing applications in the Earth sciences. Chapter 4 (Bierman, Caffee, Davis, Marsella, Pavich, Colgan and Mickelson) reports use of the longer lived Be-10 to assess erosion rates and other surficial processes, while Chapter 5 (Morris, Gosse, Brachfeld and Tera) considers how this isotope can yield independent temporal records of geomagnetic field variations for comparison with records obtained by measuring natural remnant magnetization, be a chemical tracer for processes in convergent margins, and can date events in Cenozoic tectonics. Chapter 6 (Kaste, Norton and Hess) reviews applications of the shorter lived isotope Be-7 in environmental studies. Beryllium is a lithophile element concentrated in the residual phases of magmatic systems. Residual phases include acidic plutonic and volcanic rocks, whose geochemistry and evolution are covered, respectively, in Chapters 11 (London and Evensen) and 14 (Barton and Young), while granitic pegmatites, which are well-known for their remarkable, if localized, Be enrichments and a wide variety of Be mineral assemblages, are reviewed in Chapter 10 (Cerny). Not all Be concentrations have obvious magmatic affinities; for example, one class of emerald deposits results from Be being introduced by heated brines (Chapters 13; 14). Pelitic rocks are an important reservoir of Be in the Earth's crust and their metamorphism plays a critical role in recycling of Be in subduction zones (Chapter 3), eventually, anatectic processes complete the cycle, providing a source of Be for granitic rocks (Chapters 11 and 12).

Description / Table of Contents: This volume highlights some of the frontiers in the study of plastic deformation of minerals and rocks. The research into the plastic properties of minerals and rocks had a major peak in late 1960s to early 1970s, largely stimulated by research in the laboratory of D. T. Griggs and his students and associates. It is the same time when the theory of plate tectonics was established and provided a first quantitative theoretical framework for understanding geological processes. The theory of plate tectonics stimulated the study of deformation properties of Earth materials, both in the brittle and the ductile regimes. Many of the foundations of plastic deformation of minerals and rocks were established during this period. Also, new experimental techniques were developed, including deformation apparatus for high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, electron micros-copy study of defects in minerals, and the X-ray technique of deformation fabric analysis. The field benefited greatly from materials science concepts of deformation that were introduced, including the models of point defects and their interaction with dislocations. A summary of progress is given by the volume Flow and Fracture of Rocks: The Griggs Volume, published in 1972 by the American Geophysical Union. Since then, the scope of Earth sciences has greatly expanded. Geodynamics became concerned with the Earth's deep interior where seismologists discovered heterogeneities and anisotropy at all scales that were previously thought to be typical of the crust and the upper mantle. Investigations of the solar system documented new mineral phases and rocks far beyond the Earth. Both domains have received a lot of attention from mineralogists (e.g., summarized in MSA's Reviews in Mineralogy, Volume 36, Planetary Materials and Volume 37, Ultra-High Pressure Mineralogy). Most attention was directed towards crystal chemistry and phase relations, yet an understanding of the deformation behavior is essential for interpreting the dynamic geological processes from geological and geophysical observations. This was largely the reason for a rebirth of the study of rock plasticity, leading to new approaches that include experiments at extreme conditions and modeling of deformation behavior based on physical principles. A wide spectrum of communities emerged that need to use information about mineral plasticity, including mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, seismology, geodynamics and engineering. This was the motivation to organize a workshop, in December 2002 in Emeryville, California, to bridge the very diverse disciplines and facilitate communication. This volume written for this workshop should help one to become familiar with a notoriously difficult subject, and the various contributions represent some of the important progress that has been achieved. The spectrum is broad. High-resolution tomographic images of Earth's interior obtained from seismology need to be interpreted on the bases of materials properties to understand their geodynamic significance. Key issues include the influence of deformation on seismic signatures, such as attenuation and anisotropy, and a new generation of experimental and theoretical studies on rock plasticity has contributed to a better understanding. Extensive space exploration has revealed a variety of tectonic styles on planets and their satellites, underlining the uniqueness of the Earth. To understand why plate tectonics is unique to Earth, one needs to understand the physical mechanisms of localization of deformation at various scales and under different physical conditions. Also here important theoretical and experimental studies have been conducted. In both fields, studies on anisotropy and shear localization, large-strain deformation experiments and quantitative modeling are critical, and these have become available only recently. Complicated interplay among chemical reactions (including partial melting) is a key to understand the evolution of Earth. This book contains two chapters on the developments of new techniques of experimental studies: one is large-strain shear deformation (Chapter 1 by Mackwell and Paterson) and another is deformation experiments under ultrahigh pressures (Chapter 2 by Durham et al.). Both technical developments are the results of years of efforts that are opening up new avenues of research along which rich new results are expected to be obtained. Details of physical and chemical processes of deformation in the crust and the upper mantle are much better understood through the combination of well controlled laboratory experiments with observations on "real" rocks deformed in Earth. Chapter 3 by Tullis and Chapter 4 by Hirth address the issues of deformation of crustal rocks and the upper mantle, respectively. In Chapter 5 Kohlstedt reviews the interplay of partial melting and deformation, an important subject in understanding the chemical evolution of Earth. Cordier presents in Chapter 6 an overview of the new results of ultrahigh pressure deformation of deep mantle minerals and discusses microscopic mechanisms controlling the variation of deformation mechanisms with minerals in the deep mantle. Green and Marone review in Chapter 7 the stability of deformation under deep mantle conditions with special reference to phase transformations and their relationship to the origin of intermediate depth and deep-focus earthquakes. In Chapter 8 Schulson provides a detailed description of fracture mechanisms of ice, including the critical brittle-ductile transition that is relevant not only for glaciology, planetology and engineering, but for structural geology as well. In Chapter 9 Cooper provides a review of experimental and theoretical studies on seismic wave attenuation, which is a critical element in interpreting distribution of seismic wave velocities and attenuation. Chapter 10 by Wenk reviews the relationship between crystal preferred orientation and macroscopic anisotropy, illustrating it with case studies. In Chapter 11 Dawson presents recent progress in poly-crystal plasticity to model the development of anisotropic fabrics both at the microscopic and macroscopic scale. Such studies form the basis for geodynamic interpretation of seismic anisotropy. Finally, in Chapter 12 Montagner and Guillot present a thorough review of seismic anisotropy of the upper mantle covering the vast regions of geodynamic interests, using a global surface wave data set. In Chapter 13 Bercovici and Karato summarize the theoretical aspects of shear localization. All chapters contain extensive reference lists to guide readers to the more specialized literature. Obviously this book does not cover all the areas related to plastic deformation of minerals and rocks. Important topics that are not fully covered in this book include mechanisms of semi-brittle deformation and the interplay between microstructure evolution and deformation at different levels, such as dislocation substructures and grain-size evolution ("self-organization"). However, we hope that this volume provides a good introduction for graduate students in Earth science or materials science as well as the researchers in these areas to enter this multidisciplinary field.

Description / Table of Contents: The first half-century of X-ray crystallography, beginning with the elucidation of the sodium chloride structure in 1914, was devoted principally to the determination of increasingly complex atomic topologies at ambient conditions. The pioneering work of the Braggs, Pauling, Wyckoff, Zachariasen and many other investigators revealed the structural details and underlying crystal chemical principles for most rock-forming minerals (see, for example, Crystallography in North America, edited by D. McLachlan and J. P. Glusker, NY, American Crystallographic Association, 1983). These studies laid the crystallographic foundation for modem mineralogy. The past three decades have seen a dramatic expansion of this traditional crystallographic role to the study of the relatively subtle variations of crystal structure as a function of temperature, pressure, or composition. Special sessions on "High temperature crystal chemistry" were first held at the Spring Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (April 19, 1972) and the Ninth International Congress of Crystallography (August 30, 1972). The Mineralogical Society of America subsequently published a special 11-paper section of American Mineralogist entitled "High Temperature Crystal Chemistry," which appeared as Volume 58, Numbers 5 and 6, Part I in July-August, 1973. The first complete three-dimensional structure refinements of minerals at high pressure were completed in the same year on calcite (Merrill and Bassett, Acta Crystallographica B31, 343-349, 1975) and on gillespite (Hazen and Burnham, American Mineralogist 59, 1166-1176, 1974). Rapid advances in the field of non-ambient crystallography prompted Hazen and Finger to prepare the monograph Comparative Crystal Chemistry: Temperature, Pressure, Composition and the Variation of Crystal Structure (New York: Wiley, 1982). At the time, only about 50 publications documenting the three-dimensional variation of crystal structures at high temperature or pressure had been published, though general crystal chemical trends were beginning to emerge. That work, though increasingly out of date, remained in print until recently as the only comprehensive overview of experimental techniques, data analysis, and results for this crystallographic sub-discipline. This Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry volume was conceived as an updated version of Comparative Crystal Chemistry. A preliminary chapter outline was drafted at the Fall 1998 American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco by Ross Angel, Robert Downs, Larry Finger, Robert Hazen, Charles Prewitt and Nancy Ross. In a sense, this volume was seen as a "changing of the guard" in the study of crystal structures at high temperature and pressure. Larry Finger retired from the Geophysical Laboratory in July, 1999, at which time Robert Hazen had shifted his research focus to mineral-mediated organic synthesis. Many other scientists, including most of the authors in this volume, are now advancing the field by expanding the available range of temperature and pressure, increasing the precision and accuracy of structural refinements at non-ambient conditions, and studying ever more complex structures. The principal objective of this volume is to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the field of high-temperature and high-pressure crystal chemistry, both as a guide to the dramatically improved techniques and as a summary of the voluminous crystal chemical literature on minerals at high temperature and pressure. The book is largely tutorial in style and presentation, though a basic knowledge of X-ray crystallographic techniques and crystal chemical principles is assumed. The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces crystal chemical considerations of special relevance to non-ambient crystallographic studies. Chapter 1 treats systematic trends in the variation of structural parameters, including bond distances, cation coordination, and order-disorder with temperature and pressure, while Chapter 2 considers P-V-T equation-of-state formulations relevant to x-ray structure data. Chapter 3 reviews the variation of thermal displacement parameters with temperature and pressure. Chapter 4 describes a method for producing revealing movies of structural variations with pressure, temperature or composition, and features a series of "flip-book" animations. These animations and other structural movies are also available as a supplement to this volume on the Mineralogical Society of America web site at (http://www.minsocam.orgIMSAlRimlRim41.html). Part II reviews the temperature- and pressure-variation of structures in major mineral groups. Chapter 5 presents crystal chemical systematics of high-pressure silicate structures with six-coordinated silicon. Subsequent chapters highlight temperature- and pressure variations of dense oxides (Chapter 6), orthosilicates (Chapter 7), pyroxenes and other chain silicates (Chapter 8), framework and other rigid-mode structures (Chapter 9), and carbonates (Chapter 10). Finally, the variation of hydrous phases and hydrogen bonding are reviewed in Chapter 11, while molecular solids are summarized in Chapter 12. Part III presents experimental techniques for high-temperature and high-pressure studies of single crystals (Chapters 13 and 14, respectively) and polycrystalline samples (Chapter 15). Special considerations relating to diffractometry on samples at non-ambient conditions are treated in Chapter 16. Tables in these chapters list sources for relevant hardware, including commercially available furnaces and diamond-anvil cells. Crystallographic software packages, including diffractometer operating systems, have been placed on the Mineralogical Society web site for this volume. This volume is not exhaustive and opportunities exist for additional publications that review and summarize research on other mineral groups. A significant literature on the high-temperature and high-pressure structural variation of sulfides, for example, is not covered here. Also missing from this compilation are references to a variety of studies of halides, layered oxide superconductors, metal alloys, and a number of unusual silicate structures.

Description / Table of Contents: PREFACE Sulfate is an abundant and ubiquitous component of Earth’s lithosphere and hydrosphere. Sulfate minerals represent an important component of our mineral economy, the pollution problems in our air and water, the technology for alleviating pollution, and the natural processes that affect the land we utilize. Vast quantities of gypsum are consumed in the manufacture of wallboard, and calcium sulfates are also used in sculpture in the forms of alabaster (gypsum) and papier-mâché (bassanite). For centuries, Al-sulfate minerals, or “alums,” have been used in the tanning and dyeing industries, and these sulfate minerals have also been a minor source of aluminum metal. Barite is used extensively in the petroleum industry as a weighting agent during drilling, and celestine (also known as “celestite”) is a primary source of strontium for the ceramics, metallurgical, glass, and television face-plate industries. Jarosite is a major waste product of the hydrometallurgical processing of zinc ores and is used in agriculture to reduce alkalinity in soils. At many mining sites, the extraction and processing of coal or metal-sulfide ores (largely for gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc) produce waste materials that generate acid-sulfate waters rich in heavy metals, commonly leading to contamination of water and sediment. Concentrated waters associated with mine wastes may precipitate a variety of metal-sulfate minerals upon evaporation, oxidation, or neutralization. Some of these sulfate minerals are soluble and store metals and acidity only temporarily, whereas others are insoluble and improve water quality by removing metals from the water column. There is considerable scientific interest in the mineralogy and geochemistry of sulfate minerals in both high-temperature (igneous and hydrothermal) and low-temperature (weathering and evaporite) environments. The physical scale of processes affected by aqueous sulfate and associated minerals spans from submicroscopic reactions at mineral-water interfaces to global issues of oceanic cycling and mass balance, and even to extraterrestrial applications in the exploration of other planets and their satellites. In mineral exploration, minerals of the alunite-jarosite supergroup are recognized as key components of the advanced argillic (acid-sulfate) hydrothermal alteration assemblage, and supergene sulfate minerals can be useful guides to primary sulfide deposits. The role of soluble sulfate minerals formed from acid mine drainage (and its natural equivalent, acid rock drainage) in the storage and release of potentially toxic metals associated with wet-dry climatic cycles (on annual or other time scales) is increasingly appreciated in environmental studies of mineral deposits and of waste materials from mining and mineral processing. This volume compiles and synthesizes current information on sulfate minerals from a variety of perspectives, including crystallography, geochemical properties, geological environments of formation, thermodynamic stability relations, kinetics of formation and dissolution, and environmental aspects. The first two chapters cover crystallography (Chapter 1) and spectroscopy (Chapter 2). Environments with alkali and alkaline earth sulfates are described in the next three chapters, on evaporites (Chapter 3). barite-celestine deposits (Chapter 4), and the kinetics of precipitation and dissolution of gypsum, barite, and celestine (Chapter 5). Acidic environments are the theme for the next four chapters, which cover soluble metal salts from sulfide oxidation (Chapter 6), iron and aluminum hydroxysulfates (Chapter 7), jarosites in hydrometallugy (Chapter 8), and alunite-jarosite crystallography, thermodynamics, and geochronology (Chapter 9). The next two chapters discuss thermodynamic modeling of sulfate systems from the perspectives of predicting sulfate-mineral solubilities in waters covering a wide range in composition and concentration (Chapter 10) and predicting interactions between sulfate solid solutions and aqueous solutions (Chapter 11). The concluding chapter on stable-isotope systematics (Chapter 12) discusses the utility of sulfate minerals in understanding the geological and geochemical processes in both high-and low-temperature environments, and in unraveling the past evolution of natural systems through paleoclimate studies. We thank the authors for their comprehensive and timely efforts, and for their cooperation with our various requests regarding consistency of format and nomenclature. Special thanks are due to the numerous scientists who provided peer reviews, which substantially improved the content of the chapters. This volume would not have been possible without the usual magic touch and extreme patience of Paul H. Ribbe, Series Editor for Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry. Finally, we thank our families for their support and understanding during the past several months.

Description / Table of Contents: PREFACE Phase transformations occur in most types of materials, including ceramics, metals, polymers, diverse organic and inorganic compounds, minerals, and even crystalline viruses. They have been studied in almost all branches of science, but particularly in physics, chemistry, engineering, materials science and earth sciences. In some cases the objective has been to produce materials in which phase transformations are suppressed, to preserve the structural integrity of some engineering product, for example, while in other cases the objective is to maximise the effects of a transformation, so as to enhance properties such as superconductivity, for example. A long tradition of studying transformation processes in minerals has evolved from the need to understand the physical and thermodynamic properties of minerals in the bulk earth and in the natural environment at its surface. The processes of interest have included magnetism, ferroelasticity, ferroelectricity, atomic ordering, radiation damage, polymorphism, amorphisation and many others—in fact there are very few minerals which show no influence of transformation processes in the critical range of pressures and temperatures relevant to the earth. As in all other areas of science, an intense effort has been made to turn qualitative under-standing into quantitative description and prediction via the simultaneous development of theory, experiments and simulations. In the last few years rather fast progress has been made in this context, largely through an inter-disciplinary effort, and it seemed to us to be timely to produce a review volume for the benefit of the wider scientific community which summarises the current state of the art. The selection of transformation processes covered here is by no means comprehensive, but represents a coherent view of some of the most important processes which occur specifically in minerals. A number of the contributors have been involved in a European Union funded research network with the same theme, under the Training and Mobility of Researchers programme, which has stimulated much of the most recent progress in some of the areas covered. This support is gratefully acknowledged.