Suggestions for Topics for Term Paper on Earth Materials

"Classical" Mineralogy Topics

• Mineral fluorescence
• Some selected aspect(s) of the cause of color in minerals, especially if you have a good physics background (conductive-band theory)
• Detailed discussion of the processing or manufacture of some mineral-based material (e.g., making of cement; processing of uranium ore into reactor pellets)
• Detailed discussion of the smelting process of some type of ore, e.g., iron oxides or copper sulfides
• Mineralogy and formation of opal, graphite, or other minerals
• Formation of "salt" (evaporite) deposits, bauxite (Al) deposits, or analogous deposits
• Natural and synthetic forms of silica
• Some aspects of crystallization of solids from melt or aqueous fluid
• Formation of soil
• A chemical/structural analysis technique for minerals or rocks, e.g., X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, infrared spectrocopy, Raman spectroscopy
• Formation of dolomite
• Some aspect of deformation or recrystallization in metamorphic rocks
• Metamictization (radiation damage) in a mineral(s)
• High-pressure phase(s) assumed to exist in the earth's mantle
• Chemical diffusion in minerals
• Aerogels
• Nanotubes
• Vapor-deposited diamond films
• Formation of nanocrystals
• Causes of zoning in minerals
• Formation of sulfide "chimneys" at ocean-ridge spreading centers
• Industrial process of converting rock ("ore") into usable metal (Cu or Al or Fe, etc.)

Biological and Environmental Mineralogy Topics

• Biomineralization, i.e., production of "minerals" by living organisms
• Natural mineral composites, e.g., bone, carbonate shells
• Formation of minerals in the body - what, where, why, how analyzed; e.g., kidney stones
• Processing of natural phosphates into fertilizer and the environmental impacts of this process
• Development of rock-like materials to contain nuclear waste (e.g., SYNROC)
• Some aspect(s) of the health effects of asbestos or some other minerals (e.g., quartz and silicosis) - from mineralogical viewpoint
• Clay minerals and cation exchange in enviromental processes
• Zeolites (natural and synthetic) and their use in enviromental clean-up
• Sulfide minerals and acid mine drainage
• Microbe-mineral interactions
• Environmental regulations for small (<10 and <2.5 mm) particles: mineral phases, particle analysis, health problems
• Clathrate hydrates, e.g., as a means of storing (sequestering) greenhouse gases, formation and effects on climate, destabilisation as a cause of underwater landslides and sudden release of CO₂ and CH₄

Requirements for term paper