Some Fundamentals of Mineralogy and

Geochemistry
© L. Bruce Railsback, Department of Geology,
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-
2501 U.S.A.

http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/
FundamentalsIndex.html

http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/
 This website 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 as Powerpoint illustrations.
Virtually all of the individual documents provided here involve graphic presentations or explanations of ideas that are
intended to make concepts more accessible to students. The principle driving this work is that things are best understood
when seen in their broadest possible context. The documents are made freely available on the world-wide web, rather
than in a paper book produced by a publisher, with the conviction that ideas should move freely through the world, rather
than be trapped in the legalisms of ownership and copyright law.

The pages are available here independently in pdf and jpeg formats. Users of these illustrations in Powerpoint
lectures to students are reminded that some of the illustrations carry a lot of information. Users can customize their
lectures by using Powerpoint's "basic shapes" tools to add filled rectangles that conceal a part or parts of any given
illustration. Removal or reduction of the rectangles can then unveil more of that illustration in successive Powerpoint
"slides".

Educators are welcome to use these documents in their lectures and presentations; a message to Railsback reporting
such use would be appreciated. Permission from Railsback is required for reproduction of any of these documents.

There is also a page indexing the pages below that are concerned with carbonates. Every page listed there should
also appear below.

This document was first made public in 2006. Pages have since been added, and more pages will be added as they are
generated. The most recent additions occurred on 22 August 2015.
Table of Contents:
A Basics of Geochemistry:
1- Abundance and speciation of the elements
2-Redox chemistry
3-Solutions and aqueous speciation of ions
4-Solutions, CO2, HCO3-, CO32- and CaCO3

B-The Geochemistry of Minerals:

5-Growth and stability of minerals: nano-scale models
6-Nucleation vs. syntaxial overgrowth
7-Phenomena at mineral surfaces
8-Incorporation of trace elements
9-The solubility of minerals

C-Basics of Mineralogy:
10-The meaning of "mineral"
11-Crystallinity, coordination, and chemistry
12-Systematic mineralogy
D- Mineral Groups:
13-Silicate minerals
14-Bowen's Reaction Series and igneous rocks
15-Clay minerals
16-Carbonate minerals

E- Properties of Minerals:
17-Density of minerals
18-Hardness of minerals
19-Density and hardness of minerals
20-Melting temperature and hardness of minerals
21-Compressibility of minerals
22-Color of minerals

F- Topics in Geochemistry:
23-Isotopic geochemistry
24-Terrestrial carbonates
25-Organic geochemistry
26-Atmospheric geochemistry
27-Geochemistry of some natural waters
28-Weathering, soils, and soil development
29-Environmental issues: DDT, CFCs, Pb, etc.
30-Geochemistry of deep-basin brines

G-The Oceans:
31-The Geography and Geology of the Oceans
32-Ocean circulation: winds, surface currents, and deep circulation
33-Chemistry of seawater / marine chemistry / chemical oceanography
34-The Black Sea

H- The Cenozoic, Quaternary, Pleistocene, and Holocene:

35-Isotopic records of the Cenozoic
36-The Quaternary

Appendix: Contextual Materials

A- Basics of Geochemistry

1-Abundance and speciation of the elements

1.1-Atoms
1.2-Abundance of the elements
1.3-Binding energy and elemental abundance
1.4-Abundance and form of the most abundant elements in Earth's continental crust
1.5-Cations and anions I: definitions
1.6-Cations and anions I: some geochemical realities
1.7-Cations and anions III: geochemical perspectives on ionic bonding
1.8-Cations and anions IV: the meaning of the superscripts
1.9-Variation in ionic radius between and within elements
1.10-Ionic Potential
1.11-Hardness and softness of ions I: an introduction
1.12-Hardness and softness of ions II: a spectrum across the periodic table
1.13-An Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions
1.14-A bit of the Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions as a cross-section
of the Earth
1.15-Categorizing cations
1.16-Categorizing anions
1.17-The importance of oxygen
1.18-The special situation of silicon
2- Redox chemistry

2.1-A brief review of redox chemistry

2.2-A periodic table of redox behavior
2.3-Common redox reactions in the oxidation of organic matter
2.4-Characterization of solutions by pH and Eh - the canonical view
2.5-Characterization of solutions by pH and Eh - a data-based view
2.6-Why oxidation commonly leads to acidification
2.7-Redox, ionic potential, and the behavior of cations
2.8-The geochemical redox conditions of some important elements
Also see the section on Organic geochemistry below.
3-Solutions and aqueous speciation of ions

3.1-Solutions, colloids, and suspensions

3.2-Speciation of cations in aqueous solution I
3.3-Speciation of cations in aqueous solution II
3.4-The power of polydentate ligands
3.5-Aqueous speciation of some hard cations across the periodic table
3.6-Variation in hydrated radius of ions
3.7-Aquoacidity of cations, in context
3.8-Activity and activity coefficients I
3.9-Activity and activity coefficients II: the logic of the Debye-Hückel equation
3.10-Activity and activity coefficients III: Ionic strength
3.11-Activity and activity coefficients IV: brines and γ > 1
3.12-Activity and activity coefficients V: from infinitely dilute solutions to brines
3.13-Activity and activity coefficients VI: Specific ion interaction
3.14-Activity and activity coefficients VII: Specific ion interaction constants
3.15-Silicon in aqueous solution
3.16-Conductivity as a proxy for total dissolved solids
3.17-The typical solutes of geochemical solutions (i.e., of natural waters)
Nanometro=10-9
Micrometro=10-6