Newsletter of the Department of Mineral Sciences The Global ...

Summer 2013 Volume 4, Number 1

Newsletter of the Department of Mineral Sciences

| Rocks ∙ Meteorites ∙ Gems ∙ Volcanoes ∙ Minerals |

In this Issue

New GVP Website

DMS Open House

In Search of the

Chelyabinsk Meteorite

- Contributed by Liz Cottrell

As far as volcanoes are concerned, May

20th is an important date. You might think I’m

referring to the infamous magnitude 6 erup-

tion of Krakatau volcano, Indonesia, in 1833

that killed tens of thousands – but you’d be

wrong. On May 20th, 2013 Smithsonian’s

Global Volcanism Program (GVP) launched a

new website at www.volcano.si.edu, bringing

an entirely new look and increased function-

ality to over 1 million unique visitors annual-

ly. At year three, the launch marks a major

milestone in GVP’s six-year strategic plan as

one of the Programs funded by the NMNH

Director’s Office. The project was motivated

by the desire to give scientists, civil authori-

ties, and the public, access to GVP’s database

of volcanoes and eruptive histories, now

known as “Volcanoes of the World 4.0.” The

name refers to the 3rd Edition of the

“Volcanoes of the World” book published in

2010 by Siebert et al. – a compendium and

gazetteer of the last 10,000 years of volcanic

eruptions. The book stands as one of volcan-

ology’s most trusted and valued resources and

the new website empowers the user to access

the book’s exhaustive tables through intelli-

gent and customizable queries of a relational

database and to download the information in

spreadsheet format for further analysis.

The Global Volcanism Program Launches VOTW4.0

Screenshot of the GVP homepage at www.volcano.si.edu.

http://www.volcano.si.edu

http://www.volcano.si.edu

Chair of Mineral Sciences

Tim McCoy

Newsletter Editor

Michael Wise

Dept. of Mineral Sciences

MRC 119

[email protected]

Volume 4, Number 1 Summer 2013

GVP Website Launch (cont.)

Web-enabled access to the database will allow GVP to participate in numerous data-driven

collaborative research and civil service opportunities in the coming decade with partners at uni-

versities in the US and overseas, domestic and international government agencies, and other in-

ternational organizations.

In response to a survey of GVP’s online community, the new site also boasts a new look and

navigation that brings our most up-to-date volcano information from the Smithsonian/USGS

Weekly Volcano Activity Reports and volcano images to the fore.

GVP data researcher and webmaster Ed Venzke led the project team from GVP, which also in-

cluded GVP Director Liz Cottrell and GVP volcanologist Ben Andrews. In order to enable the

database to be searched online, Venzke had to first migrate the content to a new platform and

redesign the schema. This entailed the first true audit of GVP’s database in the program’s 45-

year history. As such, the launch was three years in the making. The project was funded through

GVP’s programmatic funding (Director’s Office), a CIS IRM (Collections Information Systems

and Information Resources Management) Pool Award, and a contract from the World Organiza-

tion of Volcano Observatories (WOVO), housed within the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

WOVO is one of the many international organizations that rely on GVP to provide “backbone”

cyber infrastructure for volcano-related research, monitoring, and hazards-response.

Partial screenshot of the Weekly Volcano Activity Report page.


Education & Outreach

Rick Wunderman, Christoph Popp and Brendan McCormick (not pictured) participated in

the Smithsonian's "Become a Pilot Day" (June 15, 2013) held at the National Air and Space Mu-

seum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Chantilly, VA. The three DMS volcanologists used

photographs and maps to explain to visitors about the hazards of volcanic ash to aviation. Photo

by Brendan McCormick.

On June 5, 2013,

volcanologist Ben

Andrews and min-

eralogist Michael

Wise were sta-

tioned in the Janet

Annenberg Hooker

Hall of Geology,

Gems and Minerals

(GGM) as part of

the Museum of

Natural History

annual “Morning in

the Museum” event

where interns from

throughout the

Smithsonian had an

opportunity to ex-

plore the exhibi-

tions before the

Museum’s doors

open to the public.

Ben Andrews talks to a group of Smithsonian interns in the Plate Tectonics

Gallery of GGM during NMNH’s Morning in the Museum event. Photo by

Michael Wise.


Education & Outreach (cont.)

DMS Open House The Department of Mineral Sciences held

a laboratories open house for the entire mu-

seum on the afternoon of Wednesday, June

26, 2013. The purpose of the event was to

educate museum staff about our experi-

mental and analytical capabilities and how

important these labs are to the increase and

diffusion of knowledge. The laboratories

that were showcased included the scanning

electron microscope (SEM), electron micro-

probe, high-pressure experimental petrology

and geobiomineralogy laboratories and the

Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spec-

trometer (ToF-SIMS). Many of the DMS

staff who are frequent users of our lab facili-

ties were on hand to demonstrate and ex-

plain the capabilities of each analytical in-

strument to our visitors. About 60 visitors

attended the event.

Top photo: Cari Corrigan demonstrates

the use of the scanning electron microscope

(SEM). Bottom photo: Brent Grocholski

and Liz Cottrell explain the workings of the

high pressure experimental petrology labor-

atory. Photos by Linda Welzenbach.

A special Mineral Sciences Seminar was

held on the morning of June 19, 2013 and

featured some recent findings made using

the Department’s Time-of-Flight Second-

ary Ion Mass Spectrometer (ToF-SIMS).

Researchers from within (Departments of

Mineral Sciences and Paleobiology) and

outside (Carnegie Institution of Washing-

ton) of the National Museum of Natural

History presented the results of four

unique projects which highlighted some of

the capabilities of the ToF-SIMS instru-

ment.

To learn more about the DMS ToF-SIMS

instrument please visit the Department of

Mineral Sciences website at http://

mineralsciences.si.edu/facilities/tof-

sims.htm. Also read the article in the

Department’s Newsletter Vol. 3, No.1

(Summer 2012) at http://

mineralsciences.si.edu/news/newsletters/

DMSSummer2012Newsletter.pdf.

Research—Hunting the Chelyabinsk Meteorite


- Contributed by Marina Ivanova

At 9:22 a.m. (local time) on February 15, 2013 a bright fireball was seen by numerous observ-

ers in parts of the Kurgan, Tyumen, Ekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk districts (Russia). The burning

meteor illuminated the early morning sky and images of the fireball were captured by many video

cameras especially in Chelyabinsk. Residents of the Chelyabinsk district heard the sound of a

large explosion as the meteor passed overhead and the impact wave destroyed many window

glasses in Chelyabinsk and surrounding cities. Numerous (thousands) stones fell as a shower

around Pervomaiskoe, Deputatsky and Yemanzhelinka villages ~40 km S of Chelyabinsk. The

largest stones probably reached Chebarkul Lake, located 70 km W of Chelyabinsk. It is suggested

that a stone broke the ice of the lake, but only small meteorite fragments were found around a 8

meter-sized hole in the ice, and divers did not find any stones on the bottom of the lake.

Smithsonian meteorite expert Marina Ivanova and a team of scientists from the Russian Acade-

my of Sciences arrived three days after the event to search for meteorite fragments near Depu-

tatskoe village. Despite the fact that snow cover was ~60 cm, meteorite fragments were easily

detected by the holes in the snow surface. The meteorite pieces were recovered and collected out

of snow by local people who also helped in our search for the meteorite and investigation of its

strewn field and trajectory. Stuck in the

snow, fallen meteorite fragments created

channels in the snow that led to the surface

and were surrounded by a dense shell of

coarse-grained snow that continued into verti-

cal columns 15-25 cm in height. These col-

umns were nicknamed “snow carrots. Big

fragments reached the frozen ground surface

while small fragments got stuck in the snow.

In rare cases the smallest fragments were

found lying on the thin ice crust over the

snow. The snow could be punched through by

slow melting if stones were “warm”, then the

snow probably was recrystallized as a result

of higher temperatures, or alternatively the

crystals may have grown from vapor on the

walls of the original channel, i.e. condensa-

tion or hoarfrost.

Left photo: Bolide (fireball) over Russia. Photo by Marat Ahmetvaleev. Right photo: A 8

meter diameter hole in the ice of the Chebarkul lake. Photo courtesy of the Vernadsky Insti-

tute.

Marina Ivanova (left) and colleague Svetlana

Demidova (right) beginning their search for me-

teorites. Photo by Cyril Lorenz.


About 400 meteorite stones weighing 3.5 kg in total were recovered and are currently at the

Vernadsky Institute. The meteorite stones and fragments are from 1 g to 1.8 kg in weight and

from a few mm to 10 cm (mainly 3-6 cm) in size. The total mass collected by local people is

certainly > 100 kg and perhaps > 500 kg. It is only <0.02% from the estimated pre-atmospheric

size, 99.9% of the main mass was not found and probably presents atmospheric loss. The explo-

sive break-up of the fireball was probably facilitated by its pre-entry shock-induced structure.

The pre-atmospheric size of the meteorite was ~ 15-20 m, the total mass was ~7,000-10,000 t

with the total energy of (100-500) kton TNT.

Research—Hunting the Chelyabinsk Meteorite (cont.)

“Snow carrots” containing meteorite fragment. “Snow carrot” is inverted in the right image.

Photos by Svetlana Demidova and Cyril Lorenz.

Trajectory of the Chelyabinsk meteorite calculated by the coordinates of 211 collected samples

(red line) in comparison with the trajectory determined by Czech researchers (blue line).


The Division of Meteorites recently completed a purchase of a 81.9g sample of the Choteau

pallasite meteorite, which found its way from a Montana estate sale to a variety of museums and

institutions. The Choteau meteorite is classified as an ungrouped pallasite with some similarities

to a very small group of pyroxene pal-

lasites. The full slice contains a very

good representation of the various sili-

cate and metal phases that makes this

pallasite unusual. In addition, the oxy-

gen isotopic composition is unlike those

for any other pallasites, and falls on the

broad trend for acapulcoites and

lodranites. The sample also exhibits a

preserved heat altered zone, indicating a

high degree of post fall preservation.

Choteau is the second of its type repre-

sented in our collection, and adds breadth

to a historically strong assemblage of

iron meteorites.

Recent Acquisitions

Research—Hunting the Chelyabinsk Meteorite (cont.)

Samples recovered immediately

after the fall are generally fresh but

in some pieces there is evidence of

weak oxidation of metal grains.

The majority (2/3) of the stones

are composed of a light lithology

with a typical chondritic texture. A

significant portion (1/3) of the

stones consist of a dark fine-

grained impact melt containing

mineral and chondrule fragments.

On the territory of Russian Federa-

tion no fall this large has ever been

observed. It is proposed that the

Chelyabinsk fall is the most dra-

matic LL5 chondrite fall and was

the biggest meteorite fall in Russia

since the Tunguska event in 1908.

Did you know? There are three major classes of meteorites; stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron

meteorites. Stony meteorites are by far the most common. More than 95% of meteorites ob-

served to fall to Earth are stony. They can be divided into chondrites (which contain millimeter-

sized spherical bodies called chondrules) and achondrites. Both types are composed mostly of

silicate minerals, but the great majority also contain metallic iron in small-scattered grains.

Stony-iron meteorites, contain about equal proportions of metal and silicate material, and are

rare (less than 2% of all known meteorites). Pallasites are stony-irons composed of a network of

iron-nickel metal surrounding a greenish, silicate mineral called olivine. Iron meteorites are re-

ally composed of iron and nickel and are extremely dense. They are pieces of the cores of aster-

oids.

A slice (a cut) of one of samples of the Chelyabinsk meteor-

ite. In this section you can see round grains (chondrules)

and cracks (veins) filled with shock melt. Photo courtesy of

www.meteorites.ru.

http://www.meteorites.ru

New faces in DMS


Tsing Bohu, a new visiting graduate student

in the Department of Mineral Sciences, is cur-

rently studying biogenic manganese oxide min-

erals at University of Jena, Germany. Support-

ed by the Institute of Genetics and Develop-

mental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,

Tsing graduated from the Department of Micro-

biology, Inner Mongolia University. Tsing will

work with Cara Santelli on studies of ROS

initiated Mn (II) oxidation for 3 months.

Tyler Imfeld, a returning intern from the

2012 NHRE program, recently graduated from

Xavier University in Cincinnati with a BS in

Biology. He is presently taking a year off from

study, but is planning to begin a PhD program

in the fall of 2014. This summer, he will be

collaborating with Cara Santelli to investigate

the presence of reactive oxygen species in man-

ganese-oxidizing fungi. The ultimate goal of

his project is to reveal the enzymatic processes

behind the production of reactive oxygen spe-

cies and manganese oxides in fungal species

through culturing experiments and tran-

scriptomics.

Kristyn Hill is a senior at the Lock Haven Universi-

ty of Pennsylvania, majoring in Geology. She is inter-

ested in mineralogy, structural geology, and meteor-

ites, and has previously studied pallasites (a group of

iron-silicate meteorites thought to represent the core-

mantle boundary of a large, differentiated asteroid).

During her internship in the Department of Mineral

Sciences, she has been working with Cari Corrigan

and Emma Bullock on the mineralogy and petrology

of primitive enstatite chondrites. Kristyn is using the

scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical mi-

croscopy in looking at the sulfide mineral assemblages

found in these enstatite chondrites, in order to unravel

their thermal history on their parent asteroid.

New faces in DMS (cont.)


Kelsey Livingston is working with Michael

Wise on a project that will investigate the crys-

tallization history of apatite in the Black Moun-

tain pegmatite from western Maine. Kelsey

will use the cathodoluminescence properties of

apatite to identify and characterize the textural

relationship of apatite with other minerals with-

in all zones and units of the pegmatite. She will

also investigate the chemical evolution of apa-

tite throughout the pegmatite. Kelsey is a jun-

ior geology major at Kutztown University,

Pennsylvania.

Evan Becker is a geology major (senior) at

Virginia Tech of Blacksburg, Virginia. Evan is

interested in mineralogy and is currently work-

ing with Michael Wise on a project to charac-

terize the textures of graftonite-triphylite-

sarcopside intergrowths from granitic pegma-

tites. Using the textural features and chemistry

of these phosphate minerals, Evan will attempt

to better understand the processes of exsolution

and replacement that are responsible for the

development of this mineral association.

Michael Kebede is a rising senior at Montgom-

ery Blair High School in Montgomery County,

Maryland and is an intern with the YES! (Youth

Engagement through Science) program this sum-

mer. Michael will be working with Michael Wise

on understanding the development of exsolution

textures in beusite-triphylite intergrowths in a

pegmatite from the Yellowknife pegmatite field,

Northwest Territories, Canada.

Gabrielle Ramirez, a 2013 NHRE sum-

mer intern, is a junior geology major at the

University of Texas at Austin. She is work-

ing with Ben Andrews and Rob Dennen

running experiments in the newly built vol-

canology lab at the MSC. The experiments

are designed to study the dynamics and

deposition of dilute pyroclastic flows of

volcanoes. They will simulate scaled pyro-

clastic density currents and will quantify the

run out characteristics and sedimentology of

the experimental currents. They will be ad-

dressing the following questions: (1) What

factors affect how far and how long a pyro-

clastic density current will travel? (2) How

do the particles interact with each other and

the air? (3) How are transport processes

recorded by deposits?

Volume 4, Number 1

Beck A. W., McSween H. & Bodnar R.

(2013) In situ laser ablation ICP-MS determi-

nation of trace element concentrations in

dimict diogenites: Further evidence for

harzburgitic and orthopyroxenitic litholo-

gies. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. 48,

1050–1059.

Carmichael, M. J., Carmichael, S. K., Santel-

li, C. M., Strom, A. & Bräuer, S. L. (2013)

Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria are abundant and

environmentally relevant members of ferro-

manganese deposits in caves of the upper

Tennessee River Basin. Geomicrobiology

Journal, doi:10.1080/01490451.2013.769651

Cottrell, E. & Kelley, K. A. (2013) Redox

Heterogeneity in Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts as

a Function of Mantle Source. Science, 340,

1314-1317.

Fleeger, C. R., Heaney, P. J. & Post, J. E.

(2013) A time-resolved X-ray diffraction

study of Cs exchange into hexagonal H-

birnessite. American Mineralogist, 98, 671-

679.

Kita, N. T., Welten, K. C., Valley, J. W.,

Spicuzza, M. J., Nakashima, D., Tenner, T. J.,

Ushikubo, T., MacPherson, G. J., Welzen-

bach, L., Heck, P. R., Davis, A. M., Meier,

M. M. M., Wieler, R., Caffee, M. W., Lau-

benstein, M. & Nishiizumi, K.. (2013) Fall,

classification, and exposure history of the

Mifflin L5 chondrite. Meteoritics & Plane-

tary Science, 48, 641-655.

Pohwat, P. W. (2013) Connoisseur's Choice:

Diopside Merelani, Arusha Region, Tanzania.

Rocks & Minerals, 88, 166-173.

Pohwat, P.W. (2013) Connoisseur's Choice:

Fluorite, Part 2, Huanggang Mine, Inner

Mongolia, China. Rocks and Minerals, 88,

250-261.

Reddy, V., Le Corre, L., O'Brien, D. P.,

Nathues, A., Cloutis, E. A., Durda, D. D.,

Bottke, W. F., Bhatt, M. U., Nesvorny, D.,

Buczkowski, D., Scully, J. E. C., Palmer, E.

M., Sierks, H., Mann, P. J., Becker, K. J.,

Beck, A. W., Mittlefehldt, D., Li, J-Y., Gas-

kell, R., Russell, C. T., Gaffey, M. J.,

McSween, H. Y., McCord, T.B., Combe, J-P.

& Blewett, D. T. (2013) Corrigendum to

"Delivery of dark material to Vesta via carbo-

naceous chondritic impacts" [Icarus 221

(2012) 544–559]. Icarus, 223(1): 632.

Singerling, S. A., McSween, H. Y. & Taylor,

L. A. (2013), Glasses in howardites: Impact

melts or pyroclasts?. Meteoritics & Planetary

Science, 48, 715–729. Tang, Y., Zeiner, C. A., Santelli, C. M. &

Hansel, C M. (2013) Fungal oxidative disso-

lution of the Mn(II)-bearing mineral rhodo-

chrosite and the role of metabolites in manga-

nese oxide formation. Environmental Micro-

biology, 15, 1063-1077.

Summer 2013

Selected Publications

Tim Rose was interviewed for a piece entitled “Mining For A 'Mother Lode' Of Gold In

Montgomery County “ by American University Radio (WAMU 88.5). The interview can be

heard on the American University Radio website at http://wamu.org/programs/

metro_connection/13/05/10/mining_for_a_mother_lode_of_gold_in_montgomery_county.

In The Media

The cover of the

June 14, 2013 issue of Science

(lower right) features a

polished thin section

(70 micrometers thick) of volcanic

glass viewed in transmitted light.

The sample (catalog number NMNH115296-3)

was selected from

the Smithsonian’s Petrology Collection.

The image credit goes to Glenn

Macpherson, Tim Gooding, and Liz

Cottrell. The issue also contains an article on Mid-

Ocean ridge basalts authored

by Liz Cottrell.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2013.769651

http://dx.doi.org/10.2138/am.2013.4287

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/maps.12077

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00357529.2013.763697


Meetings & Abstracts

Wise, M.A. (2013) Crystallization conditions of epidote in granitic pegmatites.

Moretz, L., Heimann, A., Bitner, J., Wise, M.,

Rodrigues Soares, D. & Mousinho Ferreira,

A.C. (2013) The composition of garnet as an

indicator of rare metal (Li) mineralization in

granitic pegmatites.

Wise, M.A. (2013) The discrimination of LCT

and NYF granitic pegmatites using mineral

chemistry: A pilot study.

Yonts, J., Heimann, A., Bitner, J., Wise, M., Soares, D. & Ferreira, A. (2013) The composi-

tion of gahnite as an indicator of rare metal (Li) mineralization in granitic pegmatites.

New Hampshire and Maine

May 26 - June 2, 2013

Cottrell, E. (2013) Mantle Redox Heterogeneity. – Keynote Address

Awards & Grants

Five projects from Mineral Sciences were recently funded by the 2013 Small Grants Awards.

Congratulations go out to the following individuals:

Ben Andrews - Magma decompression rates during volcanic eruptions, $4,860.

Cari Corrigan - Impact cratering on the Earth and Moon, $4,700.

Yulia Goreva - Optimizing sample selection and instrument capabilities for surface analyses,

$4,230.

Tim Rose - The Masks of Teotihuacan: Sourcing their raw materials, $4,550.

Cara Santelli - Identifying the genetic pathways of Mn oxidation and biomineralization in fungi

that promote remediation in Mn polluted environments, $5,000.

Kudos

Liz Cottrell was elected to office on the Infrastructure Development Committee for COMPRES

(Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences).

http://www.compres.us/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=444&Itemid=


“Blue Room” Makeover

The Gem Vault area, best known as the “Blue Room”, in the Department of Mineral Scienc-

es is currently being renovated. The “Blue Room” is the principal storage area for the Gem

Collection and display-quality mineral specimens of the Mineral Collection. As part of the

renovation project, the old glass display cases (which were about 50 years old) are being re-

placed by sturdier, more secure cabinets that will better accommodate many of the collection’s

oversize specimens. Through the support of Carol Butler (Chief of Collections), the renova-

tion project was made possible by funds from the NMNH Collections Program.

The Department of Mineral Sciences recently added a second Rigaku D/Max Rapid micro-X-

ray diffractometer unit to the X-ray laboratory. The X-ray diffractometer is the critical tool used

for the identification of minerals and other crystalline materials. Data collection is extremely

fast (it typically takes 5 minutes to acquire X-ray data) and diffraction data can be collected from

powdered samples, aggregates, or single crystals. Diffraction patterns can also be collected from

gems, archeological artifacts, and art pieces.

Update to X-ray Diffraction Laboratory

View of the Blue Room before (left) and during (right) renovations. Photos by Michael

Wise.


New Experimental Volcanology Laboratory

In early June, the Experimental Vol-

canology Laboratory became opera-

tional – since that time, Ben Andrews,

Gabby Ramirez (NHRE intern) and

Rob Dennen (contractor) have been

busy running pyroclastic flow experi-

ments. The laboratory is located at the

Museum Support Center (MSC) in

Suitland, MD. The facility permits the

study of unconfined, particle-laden

density currents that model dilute py-

roclastic flows from volcanoes. Sev-

eral aspects of this facility make it

unique and one-of-a-kind. The “tank”

is big: the interior space measures 28

feet long, 20 feet across and 8.5 feet

tall. The facility uses a custom set of

laser sheets (built by Rob Dennen and

Tim Gooding) to illuminate different planes within the experiments and provide 3D insights.

Warm experiments can be run and thus processes dependent on thermal effects can be exam-

ined – for example, coignimbrite plumes can be generated. Sediment traps sample the deposits

and allow for reconstruction of the deposit architecture. Splits from those sediment traps can

also be brought back to Mineral Scienc-

es from grain size analysis using a parti-

cle laser size analyzer. The experiments

run within this lab are scaled such that

they are dynamically similar to natural

currents on Earth (or even Mars). The-

se scaling parameters allow laboratory

currents (20 cm thick, 5 degrees warmer

than the room, and traveling at 10 cm/s)

to improve our understanding of natural

pyroclastic flows (200 m thick, 500

degrees, and traveling at 50 m/s). Cur-

rently, the research team is investigating

the effects of eruption duration, erup-

tion rate, and temperature on current

runout and deposit morphology. Schematic diagram of the “tank”.

Oblique image looking

down on a flowing cur-

rent. A) Illumination of

the current with orthog-

onal laser sheets. B)

Cross-stream slice us-

ing 650nm laser sheet.

C) Horizonal slice of

current with 532nm

sheet. D) Streamwise,

vertical slice with 450

nm laser sheet. Field of

view is 8’ (streamwise)

by 20’ (cross-stream).

Experimental volcanology “tank” showing illu-

minated lasers. Photo by Rob Dennen.

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