Topic Review
Polar Forests of the Cretaceous
Cretaceous polar forests were temperate forests that grew at polar latitudes during the final period of the Mesozoic Era, known as the Cretaceous Period 145–66 Ma. During this period, global average temperature was about 10 °C (18 °F) higher and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were approximately 1000 parts per million (ppm), 2.5 times the current concentration in Earth's atmosphere. The abundance of atmospheric carbon dioxide had a very significant impact on global climate and Earth's natural systems as its concentration is considered one of the main factors in the development of a pronounced greenhouse Earth during the Cretaceous with a very low average global temperature gradient. As a consequence, high paleolatitudes in both hemispheres were much warmer than at present. This temperature gradient was partly responsible for the lack of continental ice sheets in polar regions. As a response to elevated global temperatures, the Earth's hydrologic cycle was significantly enhanced due to greater volume of moisture evaporation from the surface of the ocean. In turn, the absolute sea level during this time period stood at elevations much higher than the present level. Continental encroachment of seawater formed widespread shallow seas, including expanses of epeiric seas. An increase in surface area between shallow, warm epeiric seawater and the atmosphere permits higher evaporation rates and more precipitation at various latitudes, producing a more temperate global climate. A widespread temperate climate also had significant effects on high latitude ecosystems.
  • 772
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Gas Emissions from Arctic Permafrost
The active emission of gas (mainly methane) from terrestrial and subsea permafrost in the Russian Arctic has been confirmed by ample evidence. A generalization and some systematization of gas manifestations recorded in the Russian Arctic is carried out. The published data on most typical gas emission cases have been summarized in a table and illustrated by a map. All events of onshore and shelf gas release are divided into natural and man-caused and the natural ones are further classified as venting from lakes or explosive emissions in dryland conditions that produce craters on the surface. a description of the observed man-caused gas manifestations associated with the drilling of geotechnical and production wells in the Arctic region is given.
  • 764
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Geochemical Characteristics of Oceanic Carbonatites
The occurrence of carbonatites in oceanic settings is very rare if compared with their continental counterpart, having been reported only in Cape Verde and Canary Islands. This entry provides an overview of the main geochemical characteristics of oceanic carbonatites, around which many debates still exist regarding their petrogenesis.
  • 756
  • 26 Mar 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Physical-Chemical Properties of Nano-Sized Phyllosilicates: Recent Environmental and Industrial Advancements
Phyllosilicates are common minerals that include the most widely known micas and clay minerals. These minerals are found in several natural environments and have unique physical-chemical features, such as cation exchange capacity (CEC) and surface charge properties. When phyllosilicates are nano-sized, their physical-chemical properties are enhanced from those of the micro-sized counterpart. Because of their unique crystal chemical and physical-chemical features, kinetics, and particle size, nano-sized clay minerals (i.e., kaolinite, montmorillonite/illite) and micas (i.e., muscovite) are of great interest in several fields spanning from environmental applications to engineered materials. This paper aims to overview the recent developments of environmental protection and technological applications employing nano-sized natural micas and clay minerals. Emphasis is given to the role that the unique physical-chemical properties of montmorillonite, vermiculite, kaolinite, and muscovite play in nanoparticle formulations, manufacture, and technical performance.
  • 753
  • 06 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Microorganisms in the Nucleation of Carbonates
Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an important process in the synthesis of carbonate minerals, and thus, it is widely explored as a novel approach with potential for many technological applications. The processes and mechanisms involved in carbonate mineral formation in the presence of microbes are not yet fully understood. This research covers the current knowledge regarding the role of microbial cells and metabolic products (e.g., extracellular polymeric substances, proteins and amino acids) on the adsorption of divalent metals, adsorption of ionic species and as templates for crystal nucleation. Moreover, they can play a role in the mineral precipitation, size, morphology and lattice. By understanding how microbes and their metabolic products promote suitable physicochemical conditions (pH, Mg/Ca ratio and free carbonate ions) to induce carbonate nucleation and precipitation, the manipulation of the final mineral precipitates could be a reality for (geo)biotechnological approaches. The applications and implications of biogenic carbonates in areas such as geology and engineering are presented and discussed in this research, with a major focus on biotechnology.
  • 748
  • 03 Jan 2023
Topic Review
List of Minerals Approved by IMA (E)
This list includes those recognised minerals beginning with the letter E. The International Mineralogical Association is the international group that recognises new minerals and new mineral names, however minerals discovered before 1959 did not go through the official naming procedure, although some minerals published previously have been either confirmed or discredited since that date. This list contains a mixture of mineral names that have been approved since 1959 and those mineral names believed to still refer to valid mineral species (these are called "grandfathered" species). The list is divided into groups: The data was exported from mindat.org on 29 April 2005; updated up to 'IMA2018'. The minerals are sorted by name, followed by the structural group (rruff.info/ima and ima-cnmnc by mineralienatlas.de, mainly) or chemical class (mindat.org and basics), the year of publication (if it's before of an IMA approval procedure), the IMA approval and the Nickel–Strunz code. The first link is to mindat.org, the second link is to webmineral.com, and the third is to the Handbook of Mineralogy (Mineralogical Society of America).
  • 722
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Global Isotopic Hydrograph Separation
Isotopic Hydrograph Separation (IHS) is a novel research field that has shown a great shift in separating runoff into pre-event and event water throughout its production lifetime.
  • 721
  • 24 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Geology and Geomorphology of Mare Fecunditatis
Mare Fecunditatis is a ~310,000 km2 flat basalt plain located in the low-latitude area of the Moon. Mare Fecunditatis basin was formed in the pre-Nectarian period, followed by the mare basalts eruption in the Imbrian period, and the volcanic activity continued until the early Eratosthenian period. There is no mass concentration in the center of Mare Fecunditatis, while there are positive Bouguer anomalies on the east and west sides of the basin. A diversity of geological features is found in Mare Fecunditatis.
  • 713
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Adelaide Superbasin
The Adelaide Superbasin is a series of geologically related rift to passive margin sedimentary basins formed during the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian. They are located at the south-eastern margin of Proterozoic Australia.
  • 699
  • 18 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Ferromanganese Crusts
Late Pleistocene–Holocene rocks from the western part of Cocos-Nazca Spreading Centre (C-NSC) include ferromanganese crusts that elucidate the geochemistry and mineralogy of a deep-sea geological setting. Geochemical, mineralogical and petrological signatures indicate complex formation influenced by mild hydrothermal processes. These crusts consist mostly of mixed birnessite, todorokite-buserite, and Mn-(Fe) vernadite with traces of diagenetic manganates (asbolane), Fe-oxides and oxyhydroxides or hydrothermally associated and relatively pure Mn-oxyhydroxides (manganite). The average Mn/Fe ratio is 2.7, which suggests predominant mixed hydrogenous-early diagenetic crusts with hydrothermal influences. The mean concentrations of three prospective metals (Ni, Cu and Co) are low: 0.17, 0.08 and 0.025 wt %, respectively. The total content of ΣREY is also low, and ranges from 81 to 741 mg/kg (mean 339 mg/kg).
  • 687
  • 27 May 2022
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