Olivine
| Olivine | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General | |
| Category | Nesosilicate Olivine group Olivine series |
| Formula (repeating unit) |
(Mg, Fe)2SiO4 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Yellow to yellow-green |
| Crystal habit | Massive to granular |
| Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
| Cleavage | Poor |
| Fracture | Conchoidal – brittle |
| Mohs scale hardness | 6.5–7 |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Streak | White |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent |
| Specific gravity | 3.27–3.37 |
| Optical properties | Biaxial (+) |
| Refractive index | nα = 1.630–1.650 nβ = 1.650–1.670 nγ = 1.670–1.690 |
| Birefringence | δ = 0.040 |
| References | [1][2][3] |
The ratio of magnesium and iron varies between the two endmembers of the solid solution series: forsterite (Mg-endmember) and fayalite (Fe-endmember). Compositions of olivine are commonly expressed as molar percentages of forsterite (Fo) and fayalite (Fa) (e.g., Fo70Fa30). Forsterite has an unusually high melting temperature at atmospheric pressure, almost 1900 °C, but the melting temperature of fayalite is much lower (about 1200 °C). The melting temperature varies smoothly between the two endmembers, as do other properties. Olivine incorporates only minor amounts of elements other than oxygen, silicon, magnesium and iron. Manganese and nickel commonly are the additional elements present in highest concentrations.
Olivine gives its name to the group of minerals with a related structure (the olivine group) which includes tephroite (Mn2SiO4), monticellite (CaMgSiO4) and kirschsteinite (CaFeSiO4).
Contents
Identification and paragenesis
Translucent olivine is sometimes used as a gemstone called peridot (péridot, the French word for olivine). It is also called chrysolite (or chrysolithe, from the Greek words for gold and stone). Some of the finest gem-quality olivine has been obtained from a body of mantle rocks on Zabargad island in the Red Sea.
Olivine/peridot occurs in both mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks and as a primary mineral in certain metamorphic rocks. Mg-rich olivine crystallizes from magma that is rich in magnesium and low in silica. That magma crystallizes to mafic rocks such as gabbro and basalt. Ultramafic rocks such as peridotite and dunite can be residues left after extraction of magmas, and typically they are more enriched in olivine after extraction of partial melts. Olivine and high pressure structural variants constitute over 50% of the Earth's upper mantle, and olivine is one of the Earth's most common minerals by volume. The metamorphism of impure dolomite or other sedimentary rocks with high magnesium and low silica content also produces Mg-rich olivine, or forsterite.
Fe-rich olivine is relatively much less common, but it occurs in igneous rocks in small amounts in rare granites and rhyolites, and extremely Fe-rich olivine can exist stably with quartz and tridymite. In contrast, Mg-rich olivine does not occur stably with silica minerals, as it would react with them to form orthopyroxene ((Mg,Fe)2Si2O6).
Mg-rich olivine is stable to pressures equivalent to a depth of about 410 km within Earth. Because it is thought to be the most abundant mineral in Earth’s mantle at shallower depths, the properties of olivine have a dominant influence upon the rheology of that part of Earth and hence upon the solid flow that drives plate tectonics. Experiments have documented that olivine at high pressures (e.g. 12 GPa, the pressure at depths of about 360 kilometers) can contain at least as much as about 8900 parts per million (weight) of water, and that such water contents drastically reduce the resistance of olivine to solid flow; moreover, because olivine is so abundant, more water may be dissolved in olivine of the mantle than contained in Earth's oceans.[4]
Extraterrestrial occurrences
Mg-rich olivine has also been discovered in meteorites,[6] the Moon, Mars,[7] in the dust of comet Wild 2, within the core of comet Tempel 1,[8] falling into infant stars,[9] as well as on asteroid 25143 Itokawa.[10] Such meteorites include chondrites, collections of debris from the early solar system; and pallasites, mixes of iron-nickel and olivine.The spectral signature of olivine has been seen in the dust disks around young stars. The tails of comets (which formed from the dust disk around the young Sun) often have the spectral signature of olivine, and the presence of olivine has recently been verified in samples of a comet from the Stardust spacecraft.[11] Comet-like (magnesium-rich) olivine has also been detected in the planetesimal belt around the star Beta Pictoris.[12]
Crystal structure
There are three distinct oxygen sites (marked O1, O2 and O3 in figure 1), two distinct metal sites (M1 and M2) and only one distinct silicon site. O1, O2, M2 and Si all lie on mirror planes, while M1 exists on an inversion center. O3 lies in a general position.
High pressure polymorphs
At the high temperatures and pressures found at depth within the Earth the olivine structure is no longer stable. Below depths of about 410 km (250 mi) olivine undergoes an exothermic phase transition to the sorosilicate, wadsleyite and, at about 520 km (320 mi) depth, wadsleyite transforms exothermically into ringwoodite, which has the spinel structure. At a depth of about 660 km (410 mi), ringwoodite decomposes into silicate perovskite ((Mg,Fe)SiO3) and ferropericlase ((Mg,Fe)O) in an endothermic reaction. These phase transitions lead to a discontinuous increase in the density of the Earth's mantle that can be observed by seismic methods. They are also thought to influence the dynamics of mantle convection in that the exothermic transitions reinforce flow across the phase boundary, whereas the endothermic reaction hampers it.[13]The pressure at which these phase transitions occur depends on temperature and iron content.[14] At 800 °C (1,070 K; 1,470 °F), the pure magnesium end member, forsterite, transforms to wadsleyite at 11.8 gigapascals (116,000 atm) and to ringwoodite at pressures above 14 GPa (138,000 atm). Increasing the iron content decreases the pressure of the phase transition and narrows the wadsleyite stability field. At about 0.8 mole fraction fayalite, olivine transforms directly to ringwoodite over the pressure range 10.0–11.5 GPa (99,000–113,000 atm). Fayalite transforms to Fe
2SiO
4 spinel at pressures below 5 GPa (49,000 atm). Increasing the temperature increases the pressure of these phase transitions.
Weathering
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia. (March 2013) |
Uses
A worldwide search is on for cheap processes to sequester CO2 by mineral reactions, called enhanced weathering. Removal by reactions with olivine is an attractive option, because it is widely available and reacts easily with the (acid) CO2 from the atmosphere. When olivine is crushed, it weathers completely within a few years, depending on the grain size. All the CO2 that is produced by burning 1 liter of oil can be sequestered by less than 1 liter of olivine. The reaction is exothermic but slow. To recover the heat produced by the reaction to produce electricity, a large volume of olivine must be thermally well-isolated. The end-products of the reaction are silicon dioxide, magnesium carbonate and small amounts of iron oxide.[17][18]The aluminium foundry industry uses olivine sand to cast objects in aluminium. Olivine sand requires less water than silica sands while still holding the mold together during handling and pouring of the metal. Less water means less gas (steam) to vent from the mold as metal is poured into the mold.[19]
In Finland, olivine is marketed as an ideal rock for sauna stoves because of its comparatively high density and resistance to erosion under repeated heating and cooling. Olivine is also used to tap blast furnaces in the steel industry, acting as a plug, removed in each steel run.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Olivine |
References
- ^ Olivine. Webmineral.com Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
- ^ Olivine. Mindat.org Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
- ^ Klein, Cornelis; and C. S. Hurlburt (1985). Manual of Mineralogy (21st ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-80580-7.
- ^ Smyth, J. R.; Frost, D. J.; Nestola, F.; Holl, C. M.; Bromiley, G. (2006). "Olivine hydration in the deep upper mantle: Effects of temperature and silica activity". Geophysical Research Letters 33 (15). Bibcode:2006GeoRL..3315301S. doi:10.1029/2006GL026194.
- ^ Brown, Dwayne (October 30, 2012). "NASA Rover's First Soil Studies Help Fingerprint Martian Minerals". NASA. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
- ^ Fukang and other Pallasites. Farlang.com (2008-04-30). Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
- ^ Pretty Green Mineral.... Planetary Science Research Discoveries, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
- ^ Mission Update 2006... UMD Deep Impact Website, University of Maryland Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. retrieved June 1, 2010
- ^ Spitzer Sees Crystal Rain... NASA Website
- ^ Japan says Hayabusa brought back asteroid grains... retrieved November 18, 2010
- ^ Press Release 06-091. Jet Propulsion Laboratory Stardust website, retrieved May 30, 2006.
- ^ De Vries, B. L.; Acke, B.; Blommaert, J. A. D. L.; Waelkens, C.; Waters, L. B. F. M.; Vandenbussche, B.; Min, M.; Olofsson, G. et al. (2012). "Comet-like mineralogy of olivine crystals in an extrasolar proto-Kuiper belt". Nature 490 (7418): 74–76. doi:10.1038/nature11469. PMID 23038467.
- ^ Christensen, U.R. (1995). "Effects of phase transitions on mantle convection". Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 23: 65–87. Bibcode:1995AREPS..23...65C. doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.23.050195.000433.
- ^ Deer, W. A.; R. A. Howie, and J. Zussman (1992). An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals (2nd ed.). London: Longman. ISBN 0-582-30094-0.
- ^ Kuebler, K.; Wang, A.; Haskin, L. A.; Jolliff, B. L. (2003). "A Study of Olivine Alteration to Iddingsite Using Raman Spectroscopy". Lunar and Planetary Science 34: 1953.
- ^ Swindle, T. D.; Treiman, A. H.; Lindstrom, D. J.; Burkland, M. K.; Cohen, B. A.; Grier, J. A.; Li, B.; Olson, E. K. (2000). "Noble Gases in Iddingsite from the Lafayette meteorite: Evidence for Liquid water on Mars in the last few hundred million years". Meteoritics and Planetary Science 35 (1): 107–115. Bibcode:2000M&PS...35..107S. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2000.tb01978.x.
- ^ Philip Goldberg, Zhong-ying Chen, William O Connor, Richard Walters, Hans Ziock (2000). "CO2 Mineral Sequestration Studies in US". Technology 1 (1): 1–10.
- ^ Schuiling, R. D.; Krijgsman, P. (2006). "Enhanced Weathering: An Effective and Cheap Tool to Sequester Co2". Climatic Change 74: 349–354. doi:10.1007/s10584-005-3485-y.
- ^ Ammen, C.W. (1980). The Metal Caster's Bible. Blue Ridge Summit PA: TAB. p. 331. ISBN 0-8306-9970-8.
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