Why mineral interfaces matter
Throughout Earth, rocks respond to changing physical and chemical conditions by converting one rock type to another. These conversions have conventionally been described in terms of solid-state mechanisms, in which new minerals nucleate and grow through exchange of elements by diffusion. The slow ra...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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The American Association for the Advancement of Science
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18999 |
| _version_ | 1848749908196065280 |
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| author | Putnis, Andrew |
| author_facet | Putnis, Andrew |
| author_sort | Putnis, Andrew |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Throughout Earth, rocks respond to changing physical and chemical conditions by converting one rock type to another. These conversions have conventionally been described in terms of solid-state mechanisms, in which new minerals nucleate and grow through exchange of elements by diffusion. The slow rates of solid-state diffusion suggested geological time scales for these processes. However, rocks in Earth's crust are not dry (1), and even very low concentrations of aqueous solutions can increase reaction rates substantially (2). In the presence of a fluid phase, mineral conversions turn out to proceed not via solid-state diffusion but through dissolution and recrystallization at the mineral-fluid interface (3). Well beyond mineralogy, these insights may prove useful in developing new methods of materials synthesis, for carbon removal from the atmosphere, and for safe nuclear waste storage. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:28:24Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-18999 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:28:24Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | The American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-189992018-07-31T05:00:48Z Why mineral interfaces matter Putnis, Andrew Throughout Earth, rocks respond to changing physical and chemical conditions by converting one rock type to another. These conversions have conventionally been described in terms of solid-state mechanisms, in which new minerals nucleate and grow through exchange of elements by diffusion. The slow rates of solid-state diffusion suggested geological time scales for these processes. However, rocks in Earth's crust are not dry (1), and even very low concentrations of aqueous solutions can increase reaction rates substantially (2). In the presence of a fluid phase, mineral conversions turn out to proceed not via solid-state diffusion but through dissolution and recrystallization at the mineral-fluid interface (3). Well beyond mineralogy, these insights may prove useful in developing new methods of materials synthesis, for carbon removal from the atmosphere, and for safe nuclear waste storage. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18999 10.1126/science.1250884 The American Association for the Advancement of Science restricted |
| spellingShingle | Putnis, Andrew Why mineral interfaces matter |
| title | Why mineral interfaces matter |
| title_full | Why mineral interfaces matter |
| title_fullStr | Why mineral interfaces matter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why mineral interfaces matter |
| title_short | Why mineral interfaces matter |
| title_sort | why mineral interfaces matter |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18999 |