Geochemistry Assignment

Hazen, Robert M (2010) Evolution of Minerals. Scientific American, March 2012, 58-65 (for the big picture)

Hazen et al. (2008) Review Paper: Mineral Evolution. American Mineralogist 93: 1693-1720. (For digging into details)

For this assignment you will delve into the topic of Mineral Evolution. Begin by reading the paper from Scientific American; the American Mineralogist is provided as additional background material (both papers are on eCampus). Then answer the questions in the form of grammatically-correct sentences being sure to be precise in your responses and avoid vagueness. We will be discussing this on the due date – therefore no late assignments will be accepted.

For the class discussion – bring the articles & TWO copies of your assignment (one to turn in and one for reference during the discussion).

1. Define the following:
• Stellar ignition
• Chondritic meteorites
• Ur-minerals
• Theia
• Mineral evolution
2. What processes over earth’s history lead to mixing and redistribution of the elements on earth?
3. Why would you expect there to be fewer varieties of minerals on Mercury or the moon? Are those two the same?
4. The author refers to Black Earth, Red Earth, White Earth, and Green Earth – how do these differ? What critical processes or settings define each of these? Which minerals came into being in each of these?
5. This – and other papers – refer to the “co-evolution of the geo- and biospheres”. Explain what this means and why it is important to mineral evolution.
6. The two papers are written for different audiences. Find a piece of information included in both papers and compare the language, wording and detail. Here is a rare occasion when you can copy the exact words – just be sure to include them in quotes with a proper citation. An example citation………. Hazen et al. (2008) p. 1703. Please write a few sentences comparing the styles of the journals and their likely audiences.