Mineralogy is the branch of the geosciences that investigates the chemical composition, crystal structure, physical properties, and genesis of minerals, which are naturally occurring, inorganic solids with ordered atomic arrangements and defined (though sometimes variable) chemical formulas. It integrates crystallography, solid-state chemistry, and thermodynamics to characterize mineral phases, their stability fields, and phase transitions under varying pressure–temperature–composition conditions. Mineralogical research underpins petrology, ore deposit studies, and environmental and planetary sciences by providing quantitative tools for identifying minerals, modeling geochemical processes, and interpreting rock-forming and alteration histories at microscopic to planetary scales.
Two related discoveries detailing nanocrystalline mineral formation and dynamics have broad implications for managing nuclear waste, predicting soil weathering, designing advanced bioproducts and materials and optimizing ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 5, 2026
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While scientists have long known that iron oxide minerals help lock away enormous amounts of carbon—sequestering it from the atmosphere—a new Northwestern University study now reveals exactly why these minerals are such powerful ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2025
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Because oxygen-bearing sulfate minerals trap and preserve signals from Earth's atmosphere, scientists closely study how they form. Sulfates are stable over billions of years, so their oxygen isotopes are seen as a time capsule, ...
Astrobiology
Oct 23, 2025
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Unless you've owned reptiles, you might not know that many of them "pee" crystals. Researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society investigated the solid urine of more than 20 reptile species and found ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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Identifying a mineral might sound straightforward: Analyze its chemistry, compare it to known minerals and voilà. But for geologists, this process can be a time-consuming puzzle requiring specialized expertise and a lot of ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 20, 2025
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In 2024, NASA's Mars rover Perseverance collected an unusual rock sample. The rock, named Sapphire Canyon, features white, leopardlike spots with black borders within a red mudstone and might hold clues about sources of organic ...
Space Exploration
Aug 12, 2025
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A new study published in Science Advances by researchers from the National Graphene Institute at University of Manchester and the University of Oviedo, has revealed a previously unseen behavior of light in gypsum, a mineral ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 21, 2025
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Researchers from Nagoya City University, Tohoku University, and other institutions have used numerical simulations to replicate how a peculiar mineral texture called barred olivine forms inside chondrules—millimeter-sized ...
Planetary Sciences
May 23, 2025
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A QUT-led study analyzing data from NASA's Perseverance rover has uncovered compelling evidence of multiple mineral-forming events just beneath the Martian surface—findings that bring scientists one step closer to answering ...
Astrobiology
Apr 16, 2025
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A team of geologists at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, the Institute of Space Sciences and the Shandong Institute of Geological Sciences, all in China, has found evidence in soil samples collected from the far ...
