On the Origin of Minerals
The abstract of the paper, titled simply "Mineral Evolution," puts things succinctly: "The stages of mineral evolution arise from three primary mechanisms: (1) the progressive separation and concentration of the elements from their original relatively uniform distribution in the pre-solar nebula; (2) an increase in range of intensive variables such as pressure, temperature, and the activities of H2O, CO2, and O2; and (3) the generation of far-from-equilibrium conditions by living systems. The sequential evolution of Earth’s mineralogy from chondritic simplicity to Phanerozoic complexity introduces the dimension of geologic time to mineralogy and thus provides a dynamic alternate approach to framing, and to teaching, the mineral sciences."
I can just imagine the pleasure with which the paper's authors (Robert Hazen and Dominic Papineau of the Carnegie Institute plus six others) worked this idea out. Gary Ernst, a genuine grand old man in mineralogy, calls it "breathtaking" in the institute's press release.
I wonder a few things. Do they count olivine as one mineral or two? The question applies to several major minerals, like biotite and plagioclase, that mineralogical "splitters" have defined into groups rather than single minerals. And how about this: have any minerals gone extinct? I'm also wondering if this grand-scale idea will end up less like the new Darwinism and more like the new Gaia hypothesis—catchy and entertaining, but scientifically barren.
Comments
I listened to a Teaching Company course titled “The Orgins of Life” by Robert Hazen and it was fascinating, especially concerning theories about life arising from clay and other neosilicates.
Mr Hazen is a wonderful speaker with the great ability to clearly pass on the enthusiasm and richenss of scientific research to the layman. He and his colleaques at the Carnegie Institute are opening up new theories on how complex life arose form humble beginnings.
The theory that minerals and biological life co-evolved is another indication of how the whole universe is remarkably inter-connected.
Here is a link to the Carnegie website article.
http://www.ciw.edu/news/mineral_kingdom_has_co_evolved_life
Thank you for your informative site also Mr Alden.
I listened to that course too, it was very good. I’ve just started listening to his “Joy of Science” course.
Where can an amateur scientist get ahold of this journal article without paying through the nose?
Benton, the cheapest way to read the article is at your nearest university with a geology department library, if they subscribe. Sometimes you can beg the author for a PDF. I checked some of the authors’ home pages, and no one is sharing it.
is there a geology magazine that i could subscribe to that you know of? my knowledge in geology in general is very limited, so i would need something i could easily understand? thanks caroline
What am I missing here? Seems like stating the obvious. This concept is not new and as I recall was well understood and discussed when I studied geology in the 1960’s. Classic and not so classic texts and papers on economic geology have been discussing the evolution of minerals and mineral assemblages for a long time, perhaps not using the catchy word “evolution”. Even the mineralogical contributions of biological agents is old stuff to economic geologists. The mineral suites in Archean volcanic stacks are noticeably more primitive than those found, for instance, in post-Paleozoic epithermal systems and this information has been commonly appreciated for over a century.
Caroline. I take EARTH Magazine.(newly named). The online address is: www.earthmagazine.org
Yopu can subscibe to the magazine from there if you wish.
Believe me, I look forward to every issue!
thanks andrea. posted my comment in wrong place obviously, but im new to all of this and have developed an interest in all of this. thanks for your help caroline
This is very interesting. Had no idea that minerals could become extinct. I wonder: is there a table which orders minerals chronologically, from primordial to modern?
Klaus, nobody said that; I merely wondered. Obviously minerals can become locally “extinct,” for instance olivine from the deep mantle breaks down at the Earth’s surface to become clays, and vice versa.
Form the perspective of the world of Mineralogy, as collector, I believe that there are some specimens considered extinct, which are those you can not find anywhere in the trade shows, such as Brazilianite, or Legrandite, however this brings me to your point of extinct minerals, in this case it was humankind the one causing such extinction, as we collected from Earth, traded them, and buried the crystals somewhere in a collection.
It may sound funny or even ironic, but don’t you believe this is true? Or does anyone believe that Al Gore is actually right with his theory of global warming, which may be another cause for mineral extinction, in this case ice?
Happy New Year.
Oscar G. Shelly