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Robert Hazen's field -- mineralogy -- might seem like the most appropriate scientific specialty for studying what's happening below Earth's surface. But, he says, that job requires partnering with scientists from as many different disciplines as possible. Over more than two decades, NSF supported Hazen's research to address fundamental questions about what happens to minerals in hot, high-pressure environments as found in the deep interiors of Earth and other planets, and how minerals interact with the molecules of living beings. Now, Hazen is working in an area where NSF has also made significant investments: the study of "deep carbon," or...

For hundreds of millions of years, Earth's climate has remained on a fairly even keel, with some dramatic exceptions: Around 80 million years ago, the planet's temperature plummeted, along with carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The Earth eventually recovered, only to swing back into the present-day ice age 50 million years ago. Now geologists at MIT have identified the likely cause of both ice ages, as well as a natural mechanism for carbon sequestration. Just prior to both periods, massive tectonic collisions took place near the Earth's equator -- a tropical zone where rocks undergo heavy weathering due to...

New research from a team led by Carnegie's Robert Hazen predicts that Earth has more than 1,500 undiscovered minerals and that the exact mineral diversity of our planet is unique and could not be duplicated anywhere in the cosmos. Minerals form from novel combinations of elements. These combinations can be facilitated by both geological activity, including volcanoes, plate tectonics, and water-rock interactions, and biological activity, such as chemical reactions with oxygen and organic material.

Scientists have discovered a rare form of solid - a quasicrystal - in a rock sample from Russia's Koryak mountains. Quasicrystals have unusual properties and have previously only been made in the laboratory. The discovery could redefine the field of mineralogy and expand our understanding of how quasicrystals form, leading to new applications.Quasicrystals are a type of solid with structures in between those of crystals and glasses. They are often compared to Penrose tilings, where two different shapes of tile are tessellated in patterns with local symmetry but more complex overall periodicity. The materials have interesting properties, often being harder or...

In one of the largest lead and silver mines in the world, workers discovered what researchers are calling the “cathedral” of giant gypsum crystals about 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) belowground. The Naica mine in Mexico contains “huge crystalline beams,” with moonlight luster that is “unforgettable,” says Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, a crystallographer at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. The giant, faceted crystals of gypsum — a soft, whitish mineral — are as long as 11 meters (36 feet) and up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) thick. To figure out how the crystals grew so large, García-Ruiz and colleagues...

Very definitely not green Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes.A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia. According to movie and comic-book storylines, kryptonite is supposed to sap Superman's powers whenever he is exposed to its large green crystals. The real mineral is white and harmless, says Dr Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London's Natural History Museum. "I'm afraid it's not green and it doesn't glow either - although it will react to ultraviolet light by...

Partly because I missed a week for various reasons, this week I offer something a bit different: fundamental to the practice of geology and mineralogy, but far different from pictures of volcanoes, geological formations, or remote-sensing from space. These are thin-sections; slices out of rocks viewed with a microscope (frequently with a polarizer to bring out remarkable and beautiful colors and patterns). First up: I don't know what this is, but there's a lot in it! Thin section from the Nakhla (Martian) meteorite, primarily pyroxene and feldspar: Monzonite porphyry: there's a bit more information on this one: "This rock is...

Round in circles Rodney Chester 28sep02 IF THE "croppies" are right, there is a race of aliens who travel across the universe to communicate with the people of Earth, and the way they choose to leave their message is through crop circles that no one understands. And if you are a croppie, like Nancy Talbott, this type of scenario could make perfect sense. What's more, she believes she can prove it. Well, at least she believes she can prove that there is something about these crop circles that is definitely not man-made. Talbott is part of the group who believes...