© L. Bruce Railsback, Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2501 U.S.A.
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This page makes available some one-page explanations of fundamental ideas in mineralogy and geochemistry. The individual documents are designed as stand-alone explanations or illustrations, and they can be used as course handouts or Powerpoint illustrations. Virtually all of the individual documents involve graphic presentations or explanations of ideas intended to make concepts more accessible to students. The pages are available here independently in pdf and jpeg formats. In addition, a powerpoint file of the entire collection is available here, with landscape-format jpegs loaded into that powerpoint file. More documents will be added as they are generated - the most recent additions occurred on 31 March 2008. The author hopes to string together these documents into a coherent e-book someday. For both reasons, persons who find some of these documents useful are encouraged to check back later to see what has been added.
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Table of Contents: Basics of Geochemistry: Abundance and speciation of the elements Redox chemistry Solutions and aqueous speciation of ions Solutions, CO2, HCO3-, CO32- and CaCO3
Basics of Mineralogy:
Mineral Groups:
Properties of Minerals:
Topics in Geochemistry: |
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Abundance of the elements |
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Binding energy and elemental abundance |
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Abundance and form of the most abundant elements in Earth's continental crust |
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Cations and anions I: definitions |
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Cations and anions I: some geochemical realities |
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Cations and anions III: geochemical perspectives on ionic bonding |
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Cations and anions IV: the meaning of the superscripts |
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Variation in ionic radius between and within elements |
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Ionic Potential |
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Hardness and softness of ions |
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An Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions |
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A bit of the Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions as a cross-section of the Earth |
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The importance of oxygen |
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The special situation of silicon |
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A brief review of redox chemistry |
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Common redox reactions in the oxidation of organic matter |
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Characterization of solutions by pH and Eh - the canonical view |
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Characterization of solutions by pH and Eh - a data-based view |
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Redox, ionic potential, and the behavior of cations |
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The geochemical redox conditions of some important elements |
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| Also see the section on "Organic geochemistry" below. | ||||||
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Speciation of cations in aqueous solution I |
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Speciation of cations in aqueous solution II |
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Aqueous speciation of some hard cations across the periodic table |
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Variation in hydrated radius of ions |
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Silicon in aqueous solution |
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Conductivity as a proxy for total dissolved solids |
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Speciation of inorganic carbon in aqueous solution |
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Reactions for the dissolution of CaCO3 |
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Reactions for the precipitation of CaCO3 |
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| Also see the page on "Solubility of common carbonate minerals" below. | ||||||
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Crystallinity and mineral stability I |
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Crystallinity and mineral stability II |
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The ubiquity of crystallinity |
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Coordination of anions around cations |
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Two-fold and three-fold coordination |
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Four-fold (tetrahedral) coordination |
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Six-fold (octohedral) coordination |
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Eight-fold (cubic) coordination |
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Twelve-fold coordination |
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Coordination and radius ratios |
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Variation in C-O and Si-O coordination |
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Chemical Bonding |
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Mineralogical implications of the hardness and softness of ions |
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Repulsion between cations, and mineral stability |
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A table of systematic mineralogy I: basic categories |
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A table of systematic mineralogy II: redox implications |
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A table of systematic mineralogy III: redox pairs |
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A table of systematic mineralogy IV: numbers of minerals |
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Notes to accompany "A table of systematic mineralogy" |
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A table of hybrid minerals |
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Radical groups in minerals, and the oxysalts, |
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Surface features on a growing or dissolving crystal: terraces, kinks, and steps |
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Particle size and reactivity: It's all about edges and corners, rather than surface area |
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An explanation of the free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystals |
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Thermodynamics of nucleation of a new crystal vs. growth on an existing crystal |
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A thermodynamic perspective on Ostwald ripening |
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A thermodynamic perspective on Ostwald's Step Law |
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An explanation of transport-limited and surface-reaction-limited crystal growth |
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How rate of solute supply can control crystal morphology |
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Adsorption of cations, and adsorption isotherms |
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An explanation of "point of zero charge" - Part I |
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An explanation of "point of zero charge" - Part II |
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An explanation of why distribution coefficients vary with precipitation rate and temperature |
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Generalized trends in silicate minerals in igneous rocks |
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Bowen's Reaction Series I: The original document |
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Bowen's Reaction Series II: A silicon-centered explanation |
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Bowen's Reaction Series III: Melting temperatures of oxides |
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Bowen's Reaction Series IV: Toward a broader explanation |
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Bowen's Reaction Series V: A summary explanation |
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Clay Mineralogy I: Phyllosilicate Minerals |
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Clay Mineralogy II: T-O-T phyllosilicate Minerals |
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Clay Mineralogy III: Compositions of T-O-T phyllosilicate minerals |
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Why clay (Al-phyllosilicates) is clay (fine-grained minerals) |
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X-ray diffraction and the powder method |
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Cation sites in the common carbonate minerals |
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CaCO3 minerals |
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Factors favoring precipitation of CaCO3 as calcite or as aragonite |
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Mg-bearing carbonate minerals |
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Solubility of common carbonate minerals |
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Occurrence of common carbonate minerals |
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The diversity of carbonate minerals |
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Density of Minerals I: Inter-radical cations |
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Density of Minerals II: Complex anions in oxysalts |
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Density of Minerals III: Oxides and stoichiometry |
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Density of Minerals IV: Simple anions |
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Density of Minerals V: Coordination |
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Density of Minerals VI: The effect of structural H2O |
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Density of Minerals VII: The effect of OH- in oxysalts |
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Density of Minerals VIII: The significance of crystal structure |
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Hardness of Minerals I: the Mohs Scale |
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Hardness of Minerals II: Variation with structure and bonding |
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Hardness of Minerals III: hydrous vs. anhydrous minerals |
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Hardness of Minerals IVa: variation with bond length and cation size |
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Hardness of Minerals IVb: variation with bond length and anion size |
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Hardness of Minerals Va: Variation among oxides and oxysalts |
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Hardness of Minerals Vb: Variation among oxides and oxysalts |
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Hardness of Minerals VI: Effect of crystal face and direction |
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Density and hardness I: a first look |
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Density and hardness II: a look using normalized density |
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Density and hardness III: Knoop hardness and normalized density |
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Melting temperature and hardness of minerals |
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Color of minerals |
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Color in the olivine-group minerals |
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Color in carbonate minerals |
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Commonly used stable isotopes |
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Isotope notations: %s, δ values, and ε values |
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Isotopic mixing curves |
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C isotopic fractionation by C3 and C4 plants |
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Oxgyen isotope composition of calcite as a function of temperature and water composition |
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A graphic explanation of fractionation of oxygen isotopes between water and calcite |
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Rock-water ratios and the stability of δ13C and δ18O values in carbonate materials |
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Correlation of charge and δ13C in Earth-surface C-bearing materials |
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Parallels in fractionation of isotopes and partitioning of trace elements |
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Organic structures and functional groups relevant to geochemistry and environmental chemistry |
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C-H-O chemistry of some naturally occurring organic substances |
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C-H-O chemistry of some naturally occurring redox reactions |
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| Also see the section on "Redox chemistry" above. | ||||||
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere I |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere II: the big two |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere III: the noble gases |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere IV: water vapor |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere V: the major carbon-bearing species |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere VI: anthropogenic inputs |
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The multiple forms of oxygen |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere VII: the O-bearing radicals |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere VIII: the role of the OH radical |
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The chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere IX: residence times |
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Chemistry of some river waters with respect to bedrock lithology |
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Variation in groundwater chemistry with host lithology |
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Variation in groundwater pH and total dissolved solids with depth |
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Change in pH and total dissolved solids of groundwater with depth and time |
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Variation in concentration of dissolved silica with depth |
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Variation in dissolved O2 with depth in groundwater |
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Chemistry of lacustrine waters |
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Goldich's Weathering Series explained in terms of bond strength |
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Mineralogy of soils from the Piedmont and Blue Ridge of the southeastern United States |
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Soil development through time I |
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Soil development through time II |
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Deep-basin brines I: Density, TDS, and chloride |
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Deep-basin brines II: Variation in major cations |
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Deep-basin brines III: Dominance of Ca2+ among cations |
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Deep-basin brines IV: Dominance of Cl- among anions |
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Deep-basin brines V: Effect of Ca2+'s dominance on pH and SO42- concentration |
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Deep-basin brines VI: Comparison with shallower groundwater |
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The Earth at a glance |
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The size of things |
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| Finally, for those who feel the need for one: | ||||||
Title page |
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Terms of use: Academic instructors are encouraged to use the material above in their classes, either as in-class illustrations or as handouts. Permission from the author for such use is not required, but notice to the author of such use is appreciated. Permission from the author is required for use in publications, Web-based documents, or other non-classroom use.
e-mail to Bruce Railsback (rlsbk@gly.uga.edu)
Railsback's main web page
UGA Geology Department web page