Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Mineral Physics
Revisiting the felsőbányaite-basaluminite question : nomenclatural synonymy and unresolved structural issues
Published: 2026-09-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Mineral Physics, Soil Science
Felsőbányaite (1853) and basaluminite (1948) share the formula Al4(SO4)(OH)10·4H2O, and were shown to be crystallographically identical in 1997, leading the IMA to discredit basaluminite in 2006 in favor of the older name. This nomenclatural choice is not an issue. Instead, this opinion article explores a more focused contemporary question: is the poorly crystalline material that geochemists [...]
Lab-based X-ray imaging for accurate seismic velocity measurements at high pressure
Published: 2026-09-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Mineral Physics
A novel approach for accurately measuring the compressional (P) and shear-wave (S) velocities of materials at high pressure is demonstrated up to ~6 GPa using a Paris-Edinburgh press. Typically, accurate ultrasonic velocity measurements at high pressure require synchrotron facilities to image the sample length in-situ and to determine the internal cell pressure using X-ray diffraction from an [...]
Mineral stability and porosity dynamics in Halite- and Kainite-bearing rocks after hydrogen batch reaction test: a case study of Realmonte mine, Sicily (Italy)
Published: 2026-08-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Mineral Physics, Mining Engineering, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Risk Analysis, Stratigraphy, Sustainability
Underground hydrogen storage in salt caverns is among the most mature geological storage options, yet the behaviour of potash-salt lithologies under hydrogen exposure remains entirely uncharacterised. This study presents a multi-technique characterisation, performed on selected representative samples, of Messinian halite and kainite-bearing evaporites from the Realmonte mine (Sicily) subjected to [...]
Fluorapatite Breakdown and Fluor-edenite Formation in the Pristine Winonaite Calate 047 from Chile's Atacama Desert
Published: 2026-08-13
Subjects: Cosmochemistry, Geochemistry, Mineral Physics, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Mineral Physics
We report the discovery and characterization of Calate 047, a new amphibole-bearing winonaite found in Chile's Atacama Desert. This meteorite exhibits a fine-grained granoblastic texture with equigranular silicates (70-350 μm) and extremely magnesian compositions (olivine Fa1.6-1.8, low-Ca pyroxene Wo1.46-1.7Fs0.44-1.17, high-Ca pyroxene Wo45.26-45.81Fs0.70-0.93, plagioclase An17.7-18.8). Calate [...]
Clay Characterization of Tiller Flotten Quick Clay
Published: 2026-07-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Mineral Physics, Other Earth Sciences, Soil Science
In this study, we investigate the mineralogical and physicochemical properties of the Tiller–Flotten quick clay formation in Trondheim, Norway. The objective is to enhance our understanding of particle interactions within this quick clay system, thereby contributing to the development of more environmentally friendly stabilization strategies. A comprehensive suite of analytical techniques was [...]
Trapped Lee-Wave Resonance Determines Antarctic Megadune Wavelength
Published: 2026-05-23
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Categorical Data Analysis, Design of Experiments and Sample Surveys, Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Mineral Physics, Other Earth Sciences, Paleontology, Physics, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Glaciology, Planetary Hydrology, Planetary Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology, Sedimentology, Statistical Methodology, Statistical Models, Statistics and Probability, Stratigraphy
Snow megadunes cover 5×105 km2 of the East Antarctic plateau, biasing surface mass balance estimates and overprinting ice-core signals—yet their 2–5 km wavelength has lacked a quantitative selection mechanism for two decades. We first falsify the standard formula λ∗ = 2πU0/N through a calibration-free spatial test: eight REMA 2 m tiles across two independent locations at 81.5–82.0°S show no [...]
Hamiltonian Monte Carlo applied to inverse petrological problems
Published: 2026-03-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Mineral Physics, Probability
Inversion is inherent in petrology and is used to investigate both experimental and natural field data. When field observations, petrography, geochronology and geochemistry are combined with numerical models, inversion is used to quantify important parameters that provide insights into natural processes involved in the petrogenesis of rocks. Additionally, with the current advances in the field of [...]
Backstress governs transient postseismic creep in the continental lithospheric mantle
Published: 2026-02-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Understanding the physical processes that control how the continental lithospheric mantle responds to sudden stress changes during the earthquake cycle is essential for interpreting postseismic deformation and constraining the rheological behaviour of the mantle. Laboratory studies have revealed that long-range elastic interactions among dislocations generate backstresses that strongly influence [...]
Mid-crustal Origin of Alkaline Magmas in the Arosa Zone: Evidence from Primary Analcime and Xenolith Interaction at the Rothplattenbach Complex (Germany)
Published: 2026-02-14
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
The Rothplattenbach Complex (Arosa Zone, Germany) hosts alkaline magmatic rocks that provide unique insights into the mid-crustal evolution of water-saturated melts. This study presents a detailed phase-analytical investigation using XRD and SEM/EDX to characterize the primary magmatic mineralogy and its subsequent autometasomatic alteration. A key discovery is the occurrence of primary magmatic [...]
The magnitude of equilibrium isotope fractionation of Mg between forsterite, diopside and melt at liquidus temperatures
Published: 2026-01-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Mineral Physics
We examine the equilibrium fractionation of Mg isotopes between forsterite, diopside, and a coexisting melt at liquidus temperatures using a combination of analyses of petrological-experiment products and atomic-scale simulations. Our experiment yields ∆²⁶Mgol/melt = -0.058 ± 0.032 ‰ (2s.e.) and ∆²⁶Mgcpx/melt = 0.060 ± 0.034 ‰ (2s.e.) for crystals grown from a near-cotectic basaltic melt in the [...]
A Static Enthalpy Equilibrium Approach to the Stability of Saturated Sands (Version 2)
Published: 2025-10-25
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering and Management, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
This preprint presents a physical formulaton for the stability of saturated granular systems based on a static enthalpy equilibrium. The approach definnes equilibrium as the balance between the gravitationel potential of the granular framework and the hydraulic work of the pore water. From this energetic condition, the limit state and the transition between stable, metastable, and liquefied [...]
Quantifying the intensity of crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO): some practical considerations and recommended practices
Published: 2025-08-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) commonly develop during the crystal-plastic deformation of rocks and minerals, and are widely used to infer strain intensity and geometry, reconstruct deformation conditions, and estimate mechanical anisotropy. Although CPO intensity is often quantified using scalar metrics that reduce the full orientation distribution to a single value, these [...]
Controls on Mg isotopic fractionation between deep mantle phases and relict signatures of a terrestrial magma ocean
Published: 2025-08-08
Subjects: Geochemistry, Mineral Physics
We use density functional theory to investigate the fractionation of Mg isotopes between phases in the lower mantle. Our results support previous work and show that coordination number plays an important role in controlling isotopic fractionation, with bridgmanite (perovskite-structured MgSiO3) preferentially incorporating lighter Mg isotopes into its highly coordinated site compared to periclase [...]
Exploration of Gold, Copper, Magnetite, Hematite, Manganese, Magnesium, Chromite, Antimony, Bauxite, Industrial soils, Nickel, Cobalt, Lead, Lithium minerals using Landsat8 satellite
Published: 2025-08-01
Subjects: Environmental Education, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Monitoring, Geophysics and Seismology, Mineral Physics, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences
In this study, we provided an accurate and complete method for exploration and analysis of Gold, Copper, Magnetite, Hematite, Manganese, Magnesium, Chromite, Antimony, Bauxite, Industrial soils, Nickel, Cobalt, Lead and Lithium minerals in the desired area. Mineral exploration can be done using the seven bands from Landsat8 satellite images, through combination of different maps, a specific color [...]
The link between water and ferric iron in Earth's lower mantle
Published: 2024-10-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Mineral Physics
As the most massive geochemical reservoir, the lower mantle affects Earth's budget of volatile elements, including hydrogen or H2O. The properties of minerals in Earth's lower mantle are further affected by changes in the electronic configurations of iron cations, i.e., spin transitions. Potential feedback between deep H2O retention and spin transitions in mantle minerals, however, remain [...]