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2.9: Atlas of Minerals in Thin Section

  • Page ID
    11110
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    Now that you are familiar with how to use a petrographic microscope and some of the optical characteristics that can be observed for minerals, it is possible to identify minerals under the polarizing light microscope (or at least to eliminate some possibilities).

    This section is intended for use as a reference for students who have completed the earlier sections of this chapter. Sources to locate optical data as well as images of igneous and metamorphic minerals are compiled below in alphabetical order by reference name.

    Please note that this is intentionally NOT a comprehensive table of data for each mineral. In the next section of this chapter (2.10) there is a student synthesis assignment in which students compile their own tables and criteria to distinguish commonly-occurring rock-forming minerals.

    Resources: Optical Properties

    John Fathfull (ret. 1/12/2020) Identification Tables for Common Minerals in Thin Section. http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/geol426/Handouts/mintable.pdf

    Smith College Geoscience Students (ret. 1/12/2020) Petrographic Data Files. http://www.science.smith.edu/geosciences/petrology/petrography/mineral_list.html

    Webmineral.com (ret. 1/12/2020) A to Z listing of minerals . http://webmineral.com/Alphabetical_Listing.shtml#.XhtMwchKhGM

    Resources: Minerals in Thin Section

    Atlas of Metamorphic Minerals (ret. 1/12/2020) http://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/~oesis/atlas/metmins/index.html

    Hollocher, Kurt (ret. 1/12/2020) Igneous Minerals in Thin Section: https://minerva.union.edu/hollochk/c_petrology/ig_minerals.html

    Hollocher, Kurt (ret. 1/12/2020) Metamorphic Minerals in Thin Section: https://minerva.union.edu/hollochk/c_petrology/met_minerals.html

    Mazdab, Frank K. (ret. 1/12/2020) thin section scans. https://www.rockptx.com/thin-section-scans/

    rockPTX (ret. 1/12/2020) Playlist of mineral videos in thin section (ppl, xpl): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClRPHZ4xYNB6BCQ3zaIv9Pw/playlists

    Siddall, R., 2014, Minerals Menu: a catalogue of minerals & textures in thin section. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucfbrxs/PLM/PLMhome.html

    Optical and Crystallographic Axes Diagrams

    The diagrams below show the geometric relationships between principle optical axes and crystallographic axes for some common biaxial rock-forming minerals. In these diagrams, OA = optic axis; X, Y, and Z are principal optic axes; a, b, and c are crystallographic axes. Crystal faces are labelled with Miller Indices (e.g. 001, 110, etc.).

    Feldspar Group

    2_9-AlbitePlagioclaseFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-OligoclasePlagioclaseFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-LabradoritePlagioclaseFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-BytownitePlagioclaseFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-AnorthitePlagioclaseFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-AnorthoclaseAlkaliFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-SanidineAlkaliFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-OrthoclaseAlkaliFeldspar-1024x592.png
    2_9-MicroclineAlkaliFeldspar-1024x592.png

    Talc

    2_9-Talc-1024x592.png

    Mica Group

    2_9-BiotiteMica-1024x592.png
    2_9-MuscoviteMica-1024x592.png

    Chlorite Group

    2_9-ChloriteMica-1024x592.png

    Amphibole Group

    2_9-HornblendeAmphibole-1024x592.png

    Pyroxene Group

    2_9-OrthopyroxenePyroxene-1024x592.png
    2_9-PigeonitePyroxene-1024x592.png
    2_9-AugitePyroxene-1024x592.png
    2_9-DiopsidePyroxene-1024x592.png
    2_9-OmphacitePyroxene-1024x592.png

    Epidote Group

    2_9-Epidote-1024x592.png

    Olivine Group

    2_9-ForsteriteOlivine-1024x592.png
    2_9-FayaliteOlivine-1024x592.png

    Aluminosilicates

    2_9-KyaniteAluminosilicate-1024x592.png
    2_9-AndalusiteAluminosilicate-1024x592.png
    2_9-SillimaniteAluminosilicate-1024x592.png

    References

    Optical and crystallographic axes data for figures are taken from:

    Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A., and Zussman, J. (1992) An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals (2nd Edition). Prentice Hall. 712 p.

    Nesse, W.D. (1991) Introduction to Optical Mineralogy. Oxford University Press, 335 p.

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    This page titled 2.9: Atlas of Minerals in Thin Section is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Elizabeth Johnson and Juhong Christie Liu (Virtual Library of Virginia) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.