Spring 2015 Volume 5, Number 4

Newsletter of the Department of Mineral Sciences

| Rocks ∙ Meteorites ∙ Gems ∙ Volcanoes ∙ Minerals |

In this Issue

Mineral Science webcast

stars

New Rock and Mineral

Acquisitions

The highly successful webcast Smithsonian ScienceHow?, now in its second season, featured

three scientists from the Department of Mineral Sciences. Cara Santelli, Michael Wise and

Tim McCoy each par ticipated in two 25-minute live programs that highlighted their particu-

lar research interests. Cara, a geomicrobiologist, studies the relationship between minerals and microbes, such as bacteria and fungi. In her webcast program (Mineral Transformations - De-

mystifying Microbes) Cara explained what microbes are, what defines a mineral and how the

two are connected. According to Cara, microbes live everywhere and are not all bad as some

might think. In fact, they are important microorganisms that play a significant role in the pro-

duction of some minerals (biominerals) and in the cleanup or remediation of polluted sites

such as abandoned coal mines.

Cara Santelli (r ight) shows host Maggy Benson (left) an example of mineral-producing fungi that was

grown in the Department of Mineral Sciences’ geomicrobiology lab.

Page 2

Chair of Mineral Sciences

Jeffrey Post

Newsletter Editor

Michael Wise

Dept. of Mineral Sciences

MRC 119

wisem@si.edu

Volume 5, Number 4 Spring 2015

Education & Outreach

Meteoriticist Tim McCoy’s webcast (Astrogeology - Meteorites and Spacecraft Missions)

focused on what meteorites can tell us about the formation of the solar system. Tim addressed

how meteorites are identified and classified, and where meteorites come from. Tim also spoke

about meteorite falls, such as the 2010 Lorton, Va event and the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteorite that

fell in Russia. The show concluded with Tim discussing his work on a number of spacecraft

missions including the Martian exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity and a new planned mis-

sion to an asteroid scheduled to launch in 2016.

Tim McCoy (r ight) holds a sample of the 4 billion year -old Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001

(commonly abbreviated ALH84001) which is currently stored in the National Meteorite Collection.

Michael Wise (r ight) holds a sample of liddicoatite, a uniquely zoned tourmaline, that was collected

from a pegmatite in Madagascar.

Geologist Michael Wise talked about the unusual rocks known as pegmatites in the webcast

Mineral Dependence - Gemstones to Cellphones. Mike explained how these rocks, which are

characterized by “giant” crystals and a host of rare-elements, are formed and how humans are

dependent on some of the resources, like gemstones and rare metals, that are mined from these

special rocks.

Page 3

New faces in DMS

Volume 5, Number 4 Spring 2015

Post-doctoral fellow, Laura Waters

completed her PhD degree in Igneous

Geochemistry and Experimental Petrology from the University of

Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, working on

determining the origins of phenocryst-

poor glassy rhyolite-obsidians through

detailed petrographic and experimental

investigation of phenocrysts within

those lavas. Laura’s research at the

Smithsonian is an experimental study

that utilizes both the Robert Smith

Obsidian Collection and the externally

heated cold-seal pressure vessels in the

hydrothermal lab of Ben Andrews, to

constrain and quantify the kinetic pro-

cesses that result in the crystallization of sparse phenocrysts and allow for the ascent and erup-

tion of lavas that consists of >97% glass. This work, funded by the Peter Buck Postdoctoral

Fellowship, will ultimately provide insights into the conditions within the crust where efficient-

crystal liquid separation occurs, which will limit possible mechanisms by which differentiation

occurs in the Earth. The results of the experimental series conducted at the National Museum of

Natural History will also quantify kinetics of feldspar phenocryst growth and may be applied to

natural systems as a speedometer that may be applied to determine ascent rates of natural sam-

ples (e.g., the Robert Smith Obsidian Collection). Lastly, the experimental series will provide

water-saturated phase equilibrium experiments, from which mineral-melt compositions may be

collected and used for calibration of thermodynamic hygrometers.

Post-doctoral fellow, Mattia Pistone completed his PhD degree in Earth Sciences (Igneous

Petrology, Physical Volcanology, Rock Physics) at ETH – Zurich, Switzerland, working on

physical properties of multiphase magmas. Mattia performed his first postdoctoral fellowship at

the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, work-

ing on the influence of volatiles on the interaction

between mafic and felsic magmas in the Earth’s

crust. Mattia’s research at the Smithsonian

(started last November 2014) focuses on simulat-

ing liquid lines of descent of calc-alkaline basaltic

magmas from Alaska-Aleutians. This project,

currently sponsored by NSF as part of the Ge-

oPRISMS, is aimed at determining experimental-

ly how water and oxygen fugacity control magma

differentiation in arc-related settings characterised

by young and thin continental crust (i.e. no crustal

assimilation involved), such as that of the Alaska-

Aleutians. The project will also include fieldwork

in the Western Aleutians where the experimental

and analytical results will be tested and compared

with natural rock specimens and structures. In the

next year of the interdisciplinary fellowship,

Mattia will work with Elizabeth Cottrell (DMS),

Katherine A. Kelley (University of Rhode Island)

and Matthew G. Jackson (UC Santa Barbara).

Page 4 Volume 5, Number 4 Spring 2015

New Acquisitions

Five new mineral specimens from the famous

Hiddenite emerald locality (North Carolina)

have recently been added to the National

Mineral Collection. The newly acquired

specimens include the carbonate minerals

siderite (right - 9 cm across), calcite (lower

right - 7 cm across) and dolomite (lower left -

13 cm across). All of these are commonly

associated with emerald from the North

American Emerald Mine. Photos by Michael

Wise.

A very nice collection of komatiites from Gor-

gona Island, Columbia has been added to the Mu-

seum’s Rock and Ore Collection. Komatiites are

rare and unusual volcanic rocks that are primarily

composed of the minerals pyroxene and olivine.

They are characterized by their unique “spinifex

texture” that consists of needle-like or blades of

olivine crystals which indicates rapid growth of

the mineral. Komatiites are not produced by mod-

ern-day volcanic eruptions, but are primarily

found in Earth’s mantle. The beautiful komatiite

from Gorgona Island is the youngest komatiite

formation known on the planet.

Upper photo: Field shot of a komatiite flow. Elon-

gated white crystals of olivine displaying

“spinifex texture”. Bottom photo: Close-up of

criss-crossed olivine crystals. Horizontal field of

view= 2.2 mm. Photos courtesy of Lina María

Echeverría.

Page 5 Volume 5, Number 4 Spring 2015

Bullock, E.S., Tenner , T.J ., Nakashima, D.,

Kita, N.T., MacPherson, G.J., Ivanova,

M.A., Krot, A.N., Petaev, M.I. & Jacobsen,

S.B. (2015) High precision Al-Mg systemat-

ics of forsterite-bearing Type B CAIs.

Corrigan, C.M., Lunning, N.G. & Ziegler ,

K. (2015) An H chondrite melt clast in an LL

chondrite: evidence for mixing of ordinary

chondrite parent bodies.

Corrigan, C.M. & Velbel, M.A. (2015) Na-

khlite Northwest Africa (NWA) 5790: discus-

sions on cooling rate, oxidation state and lack

of alteration.

Craddock, R.A. & Rose, T. (2015) Charac-

teristics of basaltic particles transported by

different geologic processes.

Davidson, J., Alexander, C.M.O'D., Schrader,

D.L., Nittler , L.R. & Bowden, R. (2015)

Miller Range 090657: A very pristine Re-

nazzo-like (CR) carbonaceous chondrite.

Fu, R.R., Weiss, B.P. & Schrader, D.L.,

(2015) Magnetic fields in the late-stage solar

nebula recorded in CR chondrites.

Goreva, Y.G., Allums, K.K., Gonzalez,

C.P., Jurewicz, A.J., Burnett, D.S., Allton,

J.H., Kuhlman, K.R. & Woolum, D. (2015)

Genesis solar wind collector cleaning assess-

ment: update on 60336 sample case study.

Hollister, L.S., MacPherson, G.J., Bindi, L.,

Lin, C., Guan, Y., Yao, N., Eiler, J.M. &

Steinhardt, P.J. (2015) Redox reactions be-

tween Cu-Al metal and silicates in the

Khatyrka meteorite.

Ivanova, M.A., Krot, A.N., MacPherson,

G.J. (2015) Genetic link between fluffy

Type A, compact Type A and Type B CAIs

from CV3 chondrites NWA 3118 and

Efremovka.

Lunning, N.G., Corrigan, C.M., McSween,

H.Y., Tenner, T.J. & Kita, N.T. (2015) Im-

pact melting of CV and CM chondrites.

MacPherson, G.J., Nagashima, K., Krot,

A.N., Doyle, P.M. & Ivanova, M.A. (2015) 53Mn-53Cr systematics of Ca-Fe silicates in

CV3 chondrites.

McAdam, M. M., Sunshine, J.M., Howard, K.

T., McCoy T.J., Alexander, C.M.O'D. & Da-

vidson, J. (2015) Aqueous alteration in CR

meteorites as seen with VIS/NIR and MIR

spectroscopy.

McCoy, T.J., Gardner -Vandy, K.G., Bull-

ock, E.S. & Corrigan, C.M. (2015) Low-

temperature, disequilibrium partial melting of

CV chondrites: insights into the early stages

of core formation.

Schrader, D.L., McCoy, T.J. & Davidson,

J. (2015) Widespread evidence for high-

temperature formation of pentlandite in chon-

drites.

Simkus, D.N., Goreva, Y.G., McCoy, T.J. &

Herd, C.D.K. (2015) ToF-SIMS analysis of

prebiotic organic compounds in the Murchi-

son meteorite.

Waeselmann, N., Humayun, M., Goreva,

Y.S., Burnett, D.S. & Jurewicz, A. (2015)

Impact of acid-cleaning on the solar wind

layer of Genesis flight wafers—partial disso-

lution and recovery of the lithium–6 implant.

Whallon, E.J., Craddock, R.A., Crowe, D. &

Rose, T. (2015) Analyses of basaltic sedi-

ments subjected to wave erosion and their

implications for past Martian coastal process-

es.

Meetings & Abstracts

Page 6 Volume 5, Number 4

Bindi, L., Yao, N., Lin, C., Hollister, L.S.,

Andronicos, C.L., Distler, V.V., Eddy, M.P.,

Kostin, A., Kryachko, V., MacPherson, G.J.,

Steinhardt, W.M., Yudovskaya, M. & Stein-

hardt, P.J. (2015) Natural quasicrystal with

decagonal symmetry. Scientific Reports, 5,

9111; doi:10.1038/srep09111.

Bryson, K.L., Salama, F., Elsaesser, A.,

Peeters, Z., Ricco, A.J., Foing, B.H. &

Goreva, Y. (2015). Fir st results of the OR-

GANIC experiment on EXPOSE-R on the

ISS. International Journal of Astrobiology,

14, Special Issue 1, 55-66.

Carn, S.A., Yang, K., Prata, A.J . & Krot-

kov, N.A. (2015) Extending the long-term

record of volcanic SO2 emissions with the

Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite nadir map-

per. Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 925–

932.

Hwang, G.C., Post, J.E. & Lee, Y. (2015) In

situ high-pressure synchrotron X-ray powder

diffraction study of tunnel manganese oxide

minerals: hollandite, romanechite, and

todorokite. Physics and Chemistry of Miner-

als, 42, 405-411.

Jay, J.A., Delgado, F.J ., Torres, J .L.,

Pritchard, M.E., Macedo, O. & Aguilar, V.

(2015) Deformation and seismicity near

Sabancaya Volcano, southern Peru, from

2002-2015. Geophysical Research Letters,

42, 2780-2788.

Kristiansen, N.I., Prata, A.J., Stohl, A. &

Carn, S.A. (2015) Stratospher ic volcanic

ash emissions from the 13 February 2014

Kelut eruption. Geophysical Research Letters,

42, 588–596.

McCoy, T.J., Beck, A.W., Prettyman, T.H.

& Mittlefehldt, D.W. (2015) Asteroid (4)

Vesta II: Exploring a geologically and geo-

chemically complex world with the Dawn

Mission. Chemie Der Erde - Geochemistry,

doi:10.1016/j.chemer.2014.12.001

Peterson, K.M., Heaney, P.J., Post, J.E. &

Eng, Peter J. (2015) A refined monoclinic

structure for a variety of "hydrohematite".

American Mineralogist, 100, 570-579.

Spring 2015

Selected Publications

Michael Wise was quoted in a Smithsonian Science News online ar ticle descr ibing re-

search on an unknown mineral from the Merelani tanzanite occurrence in Tanzania. The min-

eral is a molybdenum-lead sulfide and was first discovered in 2012 by Mike and an intern. The

mineral is unusual in its morphology and textural features and is unlike anything previously

described from the Merelani locality. You can read more about the ongoing research at http://

smithsonianscience.org/2015/04/rolled-up-mystery-mineral-may-cause-craving-for-piroulines/.

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