Exploring Carbon Mineral Systems: Recent Advances in C Mineral Evolution, Mineral Ecology, and Network Analysis
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Authors
Morrison, S.M.
Buongiorno, J.
Downs, R. T.
Eleish, Ahmed
Fox, Peter
Giovannelli, D.
Golden, J. J.
Hummer, D.R.
Hystad, G.
Kellogg, L. H.
Issue Date
2020-08
Type
Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Large and growing data resources on the spatial and temporal diversity and distribution of the more than 400 carbon-bearing mineral species reveal patterns of mineral evolution and ecology. Recent advances in analytical and visualization techniques leverage these data and are propelling mineralogy from a largely descriptive field into one of prediction within complex, integrated, multidimensional systems. These discoveries include: (1) systematic changes in the character of carbon minerals and their networks of coexisting species through deep time; (2) improved statistical predictions of the number and types of carbon minerals that occur on Earth but are yet to be discovered and described; and (3) a range of proposed and ongoing studies related to the quantification of network structures and trends, relation of mineral “natural kinds” to their genetic environments, prediction of the location of mineral species across the globe, examination of the tectonic drivers of mineralization through deep time, quantification of preservational and sampling bias in the mineralogical record, and characterization of feedback relationships between minerals and geochemical environments with microbial populations. These aspects of Earth’s carbon mineralogy underscore the complex co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere and highlight the possibility for scientific discovery in Earth and planetary systems.
Description
Full Citation
Morrison SM, Buongiorno J, Downs RT, Eleish A, Fox P, Giovannelli D, Golden JJ, Hummer DR, Hystad G, Kellogg LH, Kreylos O, Krivovichev SV, Liu C, Merdith A, Prabhu A, Ralph J, Runyon SE, Zahirovic S and Hazen RM (2020) Exploring Carbon Mineral Systems: Recent Advances in C Mineral Evolution, Mineral Ecology, and Network Analysis. Front. Earth Sci. 8:208. doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00208
Publisher
Frontiers in Earth Science