Newsletter of the Department of Mineral Sciences
Volume 4, Number 1
In this Issue
 New GVP Website
 DMS Open House
 In Search of the
Chelyabinsk Meteorite
| Rocks ∙ Meteorites ∙ Gems ∙ Volcanoes ∙ Minerals |
Summer 2013
The Global Volcanism Program Launches VOTW4.0
- Contributed by Liz Cottrell
As far as volcanoes are concerned, May
20th is an important date. You might think I’m
referring to the infamous magnitude 6 eruption of Krakatau volcano, Indonesia, in 1833
that killed tens of thousands – but you’d be
wrong. On May 20th, 2013 Smithsonian’s
Global Volcanism Program (GVP) launched a
new website at www.volcano.si.edu, bringing
an entirely new look and increased functionality to over 1 million unique visitors annually. At year three, the launch marks a major
milestone in GVP’s six-year strategic plan as
one of the Programs funded by the NMNH
Director’s Office. The project was motivated
by the desire to give scientists, civil authorities, and the public, access to GVP’s database
of volcanoes and eruptive histories, now
known as “Volcanoes of the World 4.0.” The
name refers to the 3rd Edition of the
“Volcanoes of the World” book published in
2010 by Siebert et al. – a compendium and
gazetteer of the last 10,000 years of volcanic
eruptions. The book stands as one of volcanology’s most trusted and valued resources and
the new website empowers the user to access
the book’s exhaustive tables through intelligent and customizable queries of a relational
database and to download the information in
spreadsheet format for further analysis.
Screenshot of the GVP homepage at www.volcano.si.edu.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
GVP Website Launch (cont.)
Web-enabled access to the database will allow GVP to participate in numerous data-driven
collaborative research and civil service opportunities in the coming decade with partners at universities in the US and overseas, domestic and international government agencies, and other international organizations.
Partial screenshot of the Weekly Volcano Activity Report page.
Chair of Mineral Sciences
Tim McCoy
Newsletter Editor
Michael Wise
Dept. of Mineral Sciences
MRC 119
[email protected]
In response to a survey of GVP’s online community, the new site also boasts a new look and
navigation that brings our most up-to-date volcano information from the Smithsonian/USGS
Weekly Volcano Activity Reports and volcano images to the fore.
GVP data researcher and webmaster Ed Venzke led the project team from GVP, which also included GVP Director Liz Cottrell and GVP volcanologist Ben Andrews. In order to enable the
database to be searched online, Venzke had to first migrate the content to a new platform and
redesign the schema. This entailed the first true audit of GVP’s database in the program’s 45year history. As such, the launch was three years in the making. The project was funded through
GVP’s programmatic funding (Director’s Office), a CIS IRM (Collections Information Systems
and Information Resources Management) Pool Award, and a contract from the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO), housed within the Earth Observatory of Singapore.
WOVO is one of the many international organizations that rely on GVP to provide “backbone”
cyber infrastructure for volcano-related research, monitoring, and hazards-response.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
Education & Outreach
On June 5, 2013,
volcanologist Ben
Andrews and mineralogist Michael
Wise were stationed in the Janet
Annenberg Hooker
Hall of Geology,
Gems and Minerals
(GGM) as part of
the Museum of
Natural History
annual “Morning in
the Museum” event
where interns from
throughout the
Smithsonian had an
opportunity to explore the exhibiBen Andrews talks to a group of Smithsonian interns in the Plate Tectonics tions before the
Gallery of GGM during NMNH’s Morning in the Museum event. Photo by Museum’s doors
open to the public.
Michael Wise.
Rick Wunderman, Christoph Popp and Brendan McCormick (not pictured) participated in
the Smithsonian's "Become a Pilot Day" (June 15, 2013) held at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Chantilly, VA. The three DMS volcanologists used
photographs and maps to explain to visitors about the hazards of volcanic ash to aviation. Photo
by Brendan McCormick.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
Education & Outreach (cont.)
A special Mineral Sciences Seminar was
held on the morning of June 19, 2013 and
featured some recent findings made using
the Department’s Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (ToF-SIMS).
Researchers from within (Departments of
Mineral Sciences and Paleobiology) and
outside (Carnegie Institution of Washington) of the National Museum of Natural
History presented the results of four
unique projects which highlighted some of
the capabilities of the ToF-SIMS instrument.
To learn more about the DMS ToF-SIMS
instrument please visit the Department of
Mineral Sciences website at http://
mineralsciences.si.edu/facilities/tofsims.htm. Also read the article in the
Department’s Newsletter Vol. 3, No.1
(Summer 2012) at http://
mineralsciences.si.edu/news/newsletters/
DMSSummer2012Newsletter.pdf.
DMS Open House
The Department of Mineral Sciences held
a laboratories open house for the entire museum on the afternoon of Wednesday, June
26, 2013. The purpose of the event was to
educate museum staff about our experimental and analytical capabilities and how
important these labs are to the increase and
diffusion of knowledge. The laboratories
that were showcased included the scanning
electron microscope (SEM), electron microprobe, high-pressure experimental petrology
and geobiomineralogy laboratories and the
Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (ToF-SIMS). Many of the DMS
staff who are frequent users of our lab facilities were on hand to demonstrate and explain the capabilities of each analytical instrument to our visitors. About 60 visitors
attended the event.
Top photo: Cari Corrigan demonstrates
the use of the scanning electron microscope
(SEM). Bottom photo: Brent Grocholski
and Liz Cottrell explain the workings of the
high pressure experimental petrology laboratory. Photos by Linda Welzenbach.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
Research—Hunting the Chelyabinsk Meteorite
- Contributed by Marina Ivanova
At 9:22 a.m. (local time) on February 15, 2013 a bright fireball was seen by numerous observers in parts of the Kurgan, Tyumen, Ekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk districts (Russia). The burning
meteor illuminated the early morning sky and images of the fireball were captured by many video
cameras especially in Chelyabinsk. Residents of the Chelyabinsk district heard the sound of a
large explosion as the meteor passed overhead and the impact wave destroyed many window
glasses in Chelyabinsk and surrounding cities. Numerous (thousands) stones fell as a shower
around Pervomaiskoe, Deputatsky and Yemanzhelinka villages ~40 km S of Chelyabinsk. The
largest stones probably reached Chebarkul Lake, located 70 km W of Chelyabinsk. It is suggested
that a stone broke the ice of the lake, but only small meteorite fragments were found around a 8
meter-sized hole in the ice, and divers did not find any stones on the bottom of the lake.
Left photo: Bolide (fireball) over Russia. Photo by Marat Ahmetvaleev. Right photo: A 8
meter diameter hole in the ice of the Chebarkul lake. Photo courtesy of the Vernadsky Institute.
Smithsonian meteorite expert Marina Ivanova and a team of scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences arrived three days after the event to search for meteorite fragments near Deputatskoe village. Despite the fact that snow cover was ~60 cm, meteorite fragments were easily
detected by the holes in the snow surface. The meteorite pieces were recovered and collected out
of snow by local people who also helped in our search for the meteorite and investigation of its
strewn field and trajectory. Stuck in the
snow, fallen meteorite fragments created
channels in the snow that led to the surface
and were surrounded by a dense shell of
coarse-grained snow that continued into vertical columns 15-25 cm in height. These columns were nicknamed “snow carrots. Big
fragments reached the frozen ground surface
while small fragments got stuck in the snow.
In rare cases the smallest fragments were
found lying on the thin ice crust over the
snow. The snow could be punched through by
slow melting if stones were “warm”, then the
snow probably was recrystallized as a result
of higher temperatures, or alternatively the Marina Ivanova (left) and colleague Svetlana
crystals may have grown from vapor on the Demidova (right) beginning their search for mewalls of the original channel, i.e. condensa- teorites. Photo by Cyril Lorenz.
tion or hoarfrost.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
Research—Hunting the Chelyabinsk Meteorite (cont.)
“Snow carrots” containing meteorite fragment. “Snow carrot” is inverted in the right image.
Photos by Svetlana Demidova and Cyril Lorenz.
 About 400 meteorite stones weighing 3.5 kg in total were recovered and are currently at the
Vernadsky Institute. The meteorite stones and fragments are from 1 g to 1.8 kg in weight and
from a few mm to 10 cm (mainly 3-6 cm) in size. The total mass collected by local people is
certainly > 100 kg and perhaps > 500 kg. It is only <0.02% from the estimated pre-atmospheric
size, 99.9% of the main mass was not found and probably presents atmospheric loss. The explosive break-up of the fireball was probably facilitated by its pre-entry shock-induced structure.
The pre-atmospheric size of the meteorite was ~ 15-20 m, the total mass was ~7,000-10,000 t
with the total energy of (100-500) kton TNT.
Trajectory of the Chelyabinsk meteorite calculated by the coordinates of 211 collected samples
(red line) in comparison with the trajectory determined by Czech researchers (blue line).
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
Research—Hunting the Chelyabinsk Meteorite (cont.)
Samples recovered immediately
after the fall are generally fresh but
in some pieces there is evidence of
weak oxidation of metal grains.
The majority (2/3) of the stones
are composed of a light lithology
with a typical chondritic texture. A
significant portion (1/3) of the
stones consist of a dark finegrained impact melt containing
mineral and chondrule fragments.
On the territory of Russian Federation no fall this large has ever been
observed. It is proposed that the
A slice (a cut) of one of samples of the Chelyabinsk meteor- Chelyabinsk fall is the most draite. In this section you can see round grains (chondrules)
matic LL5 chondrite fall and was
and cracks (veins) filled with shock melt. Photo courtesy of the biggest meteorite fall in Russia
www.meteorites.ru.
since the Tunguska event in 1908.
Recent Acquisitions
The Division of Meteorites recently completed a purchase of a 81.9g sample of the Choteau
pallasite meteorite, which found its way from a Montana estate sale to a variety of museums and
institutions. The Choteau meteorite is classified as an ungrouped pallasite with some similarities
to a very small group of pyroxene pallasites. The full slice contains a very
good representation of the various silicate and metal phases that makes this
pallasite unusual. In addition, the oxygen isotopic composition is unlike those
for any other pallasites, and falls on the
broad trend for acapulcoites and
lodranites. The sample also exhibits a
preserved heat altered zone, indicating a
high degree of post fall preservation.
Choteau is the second of its type represented in our collection, and adds breadth
to a historically strong assemblage of
iron meteorites.
Did you know?
There are three major classes of meteorites; stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron
meteorites. Stony meteorites are by far the most common. More than 95% of meteorites observed to fall to Earth are stony. They can be divided into chondrites (which contain millimetersized spherical bodies called chondrules) and achondrites. Both types are composed mostly of
silicate minerals, but the great majority also contain metallic iron in small-scattered grains.
Stony-iron meteorites, contain about equal proportions of metal and silicate material, and are
rare (less than 2% of all known meteorites). Pallasites are stony-irons composed of a network of
iron-nickel metal surrounding a greenish, silicate mineral called olivine. Iron meteorites are really composed of iron and nickel and are extremely dense. They are pieces of the cores of asteroids.
Page 8
Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
New faces in DMS
Tsing Bohu, a new visiting graduate student
in the Department of Mineral Sciences, is currently studying biogenic manganese oxide minerals at University of Jena, Germany. Supported by the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Tsing graduated from the Department of Microbiology, Inner Mongolia University. Tsing will
work with Cara Santelli on studies of ROS
initiated Mn (II) oxidation for 3 months.
Tyler Imfeld, a returning intern from the
2012 NHRE program, recently graduated from
Xavier University in Cincinnati with a BS in
Biology. He is presently taking a year off from
study, but is planning to begin a PhD program
in the fall of 2014. This summer, he will be
collaborating with Cara Santelli to investigate
the presence of reactive oxygen species in manganese-oxidizing fungi. The ultimate goal of
his project is to reveal the enzymatic processes
behind the production of reactive oxygen species and manganese oxides in fungal species
through culturing experiments and transcriptomics.
Kristyn Hill is a senior at the Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Geology. She is interested in mineralogy, structural geology, and meteorites, and has previously studied pallasites (a group of
iron-silicate meteorites thought to represent the coremantle boundary of a large, differentiated asteroid).
During her internship in the Department of Mineral
Sciences, she has been working with Cari Corrigan
and Emma Bullock on the mineralogy and petrology
of primitive enstatite chondrites. Kristyn is using the
scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscopy in looking at the sulfide mineral assemblages
found in these enstatite chondrites, in order to unravel
their thermal history on their parent asteroid.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
New faces in DMS (cont.)
Kelsey Livingston is working with Michael
Evan Becker is a geology major (senior) at
Virginia Tech of Blacksburg, Virginia. Evan is
interested in mineralogy and is currently working with Michael Wise on a project to characterize the textures of graftonite-triphylitesarcopside intergrowths from granitic pegmatites. Using the textural features and chemistry
of these phosphate minerals, Evan will attempt
to better understand the processes of exsolution
and replacement that are responsible for the
development of this mineral association.
Wise on a project that will investigate the crystallization history of apatite in the Black Mountain pegmatite from western Maine. Kelsey
will use the cathodoluminescence properties of
apatite to identify and characterize the textural
relationship of apatite with other minerals within all zones and units of the pegmatite. She will
also investigate the chemical evolution of apatite throughout the pegmatite. Kelsey is a junior geology major at Kutztown University,
Pennsylvania.
Michael Kebede is a rising senior at Montgom-
ery Blair High School in Montgomery County,
Maryland and is an intern with the YES! (Youth
Engagement through Science) program this summer. Michael will be working with Michael Wise
on understanding the development of exsolution
textures in beusite-triphylite intergrowths in a
pegmatite from the Yellowknife pegmatite field,
Northwest Territories, Canada.
Gabrielle Ramirez, a 2013 NHRE sum-
mer intern, is a junior geology major at the
University of Texas at Austin. She is working with Ben Andrews and Rob Dennen
running experiments in the newly built volcanology lab at the MSC. The experiments
are designed to study the dynamics and
deposition of dilute pyroclastic flows of
volcanoes. They will simulate scaled pyroclastic density currents and will quantify the
run out characteristics and sedimentology of
the experimental currents. They will be addressing the following questions: (1) What
factors affect how far and how long a pyroclastic density current will travel? (2) How
do the particles interact with each other and
the air? (3) How are transport processes
recorded by deposits?
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
In The Media
Tim Rose was interviewed for a piece entitled “Mining For A 'Mother Lode' Of Gold In
Montgomery County “ by American University Radio (WAMU 88.5). The interview can be
heard on the American University Radio website at http://wamu.org/programs/
metro_connection/13/05/10/mining_for_a_mother_lode_of_gold_in_montgomery_county.
Selected Publications
The cover of the
June 14, 2013
issue of Science
(lower right)
features a
polished thin
section
(70 micrometers
thick) of volcanic
glass viewed in
transmitted light.
The sample
(catalog number
NMNH115296-3)
was selected from
the Smithsonian’s
Petrology
Collection.
The image credit
goes to Glenn
Macpherson, Tim
Gooding, and Liz
Cottrell. The issue
also contains an
article on MidOcean ridge
basalts authored
by Liz Cottrell.
Beck A. W., McSween H. & Bodnar R.
(2013) In situ laser ablation ICP-MS determination of trace element concentrations in
dimict diogenites: Further evidence for
harzburgitic and orthopyroxenitic lithologies. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. 48,
1050–1059.
Carmichael, M. J., Carmichael, S. K., Santelli, C. M., Strom, A. & Bräuer, S. L. (2013)
Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria are abundant and
environmentally relevant members of ferromanganese deposits in caves of the upper
Tennessee River Basin. Geomicrobiology
Journal, doi:10.1080/01490451.2013.769651
Cottrell, E. & Kelley, K. A. (2013) Redox
Heterogeneity in Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts as
a Function of Mantle Source. Science, 340,
1314-1317.
birnessite. American Mineralogist, 98, 671679.
Kita, N. T., Welten, K. C., Valley, J. W.,
Spicuzza, M. J., Nakashima, D., Tenner, T. J.,
Ushikubo, T., MacPherson, G. J., Welzenbach, L., Heck, P. R., Davis, A. M., Meier,
M. M. M., Wieler, R., Caffee, M. W., Laubenstein, M. & Nishiizumi, K.. (2013) Fall,
classification, and exposure history of the
Mifflin L5 chondrite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 48, 641-655.
Pohwat, P. W. (2013) Connoisseur's Choice:
Diopside Merelani, Arusha Region, Tanzania.
Rocks & Minerals, 88, 166-173.
Pohwat, P.W. (2013) Connoisseur's Choice:
Fluorite, Part 2, Huanggang Mine, Inner
Mongolia, China. Rocks and Minerals, 88,
250-261.
Reddy, V., Le Corre, L., O'Brien, D. P.,
Nathues, A., Cloutis, E. A., Durda, D. D.,
Bottke, W. F., Bhatt, M. U., Nesvorny, D.,
Buczkowski, D., Scully, J. E. C., Palmer, E.
M., Sierks, H., Mann, P. J., Becker, K. J.,
Beck, A. W., Mittlefehldt, D., Li, J-Y., Gaskell, R., Russell, C. T., Gaffey, M. J.,
McSween, H. Y., McCord, T.B., Combe, J-P.
& Blewett, D. T. (2013) Corrigendum to
"Delivery of dark material to Vesta via carbonaceous chondritic impacts" [Icarus 221
(2012) 544–559]. Icarus, 223(1): 632.
Singerling, S. A., McSween, H. Y. & Taylor,
L. A. (2013), Glasses in howardites: Impact
melts or pyroclasts?. Meteoritics & Planetary
Science, 48, 715–729.
Fleeger, C. R., Heaney, P. J. & Post, J. E.
(2013) A time-resolved X-ray diffraction
study of Cs exchange into hexagonal H-
Tang, Y., Zeiner, C. A., Santelli, C. M. &
Hansel, C M. (2013) Fungal oxidative dissolution of the Mn(II)-bearing mineral rhodochrosite and the role of metabolites in manganese oxide formation. Environmental Microbiology, 15, 1063-1077.
Page 11
Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
Meetings & Abstracts
Wise, M.A. (2013) Crystallization conditions of epidote in granitic pegmatites.
Moretz, L., Heimann, A., Bitner, J., Wise, M.,
Rodrigues Soares, D. & Mousinho Ferreira,
A.C. (2013) The composition of garnet as an
indicator of rare metal (Li) mineralization in
granitic pegmatites.
New Hampshire and Maine
May 26 - June 2, 2013
Wise, M.A. (2013) The discrimination of LCT
and NYF granitic pegmatites using mineral
chemistry: A pilot study.
Yonts, J., Heimann, A., Bitner, J., Wise, M., Soares, D. & Ferreira, A. (2013) The composition of gahnite as an indicator of rare metal (Li) mineralization in granitic pegmatites.
Cottrell, E. (2013) Mantle Redox Heterogeneity. – Keynote Address
Awards & Grants
Five projects from Mineral Sciences were recently funded by the 2013 Small Grants Awards.
Congratulations go out to the following individuals:
Ben Andrews - Magma decompression rates during volcanic eruptions, $4,860.
Cari Corrigan - Impact cratering on the Earth and Moon, $4,700.
Yulia Goreva - Optimizing sample selection and instrument capabilities for surface analyses,
$4,230.
Tim Rose - The Masks of Teotihuacan: Sourcing their raw materials, $4,550.
Cara Santelli - Identifying the genetic pathways of Mn oxidation and biomineralization in fungi
that promote remediation in Mn polluted environments, $5,000.
Kudos
Liz Cottrell was elected to office on the Infrastructure Development Committee for COMPRES
(Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences).
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
“Blue Room” Makeover
The Gem Vault area, best known as the “Blue Room”, in the Department of Mineral Sciences is currently being renovated. The “Blue Room” is the principal storage area for the Gem
Collection and display-quality mineral specimens of the Mineral Collection. As part of the
renovation project, the old glass display cases (which were about 50 years old) are being replaced by sturdier, more secure cabinets that will better accommodate many of the collection’s
oversize specimens. Through the support of Carol Butler (Chief of Collections), the renovation project was made possible by funds from the NMNH Collections Program.
View of the Blue Room before (left) and during (right) renovations. Photos by Michael
Wise.
Update to X-ray Diffraction Laboratory
The Department of Mineral Sciences recently added a second Rigaku D/Max Rapid micro-Xray diffractometer unit to the X-ray laboratory. The X-ray diffractometer is the critical tool used
for the identification of minerals and other crystalline materials. Data collection is extremely
fast (it typically takes 5 minutes to acquire X-ray data) and diffraction data can be collected from
powdered samples, aggregates, or single crystals. Diffraction patterns can also be collected from
gems, archeological artifacts, and art pieces.
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Volume 4, Number 1
Summer 2013
New Experimental Volcanology Laboratory
In early June, the Experimental Volcanology Laboratory became operational – since that time, Ben Andrews,
Gabby Ramirez (NHRE intern) and
Rob Dennen (contractor) have been
busy running pyroclastic flow experiments. The laboratory is located at the
Museum Support Center (MSC) in
Suitland, MD. The facility permits the
study of unconfined, particle-laden
density currents that model dilute pyroclastic flows from volcanoes. Several aspects of this facility make it
unique and one-of-a-kind. The “tank”
is big: the interior space measures 28
Experimental volcanology “tank” showing illufeet long, 20 feet across and 8.5 feet
minated lasers. Photo by Rob Dennen.
tall. The facility uses a custom set of
laser sheets (built by Rob Dennen and
Tim Gooding) to illuminate different planes within the experiments and provide 3D insights.
Warm experiments can be run and thus processes dependent on thermal effects can be examined – for example, coignimbrite plumes can be generated. Sediment traps sample the deposits
and allow for reconstruction of the deposit architecture. Splits from those sediment traps can
also be brought back to Mineral Sciences from grain size analysis using a particle laser size analyzer. The experiments
run within this lab are scaled such that
they are dynamically similar to natural
currents on Earth (or even Mars). These scaling parameters allow laboratory
currents (20 cm thick, 5 degrees warmer
than the room, and traveling at 10 cm/s)
to improve our understanding of natural
pyroclastic flows (200 m thick, 500
degrees, and traveling at 50 m/s). Currently, the research team is investigating
the effects of eruption duration, eruption rate, and temperature on current
Schematic diagram of the “tank”.
runout and deposit morphology.
Oblique image looking
down on a flowing current. A) Illumination of
the current with orthogonal laser sheets. B)
Cross-stream slice using 650nm laser sheet.
C) Horizonal slice of
current with 532nm
sheet. D) Streamwise,
vertical slice with 450
nm laser sheet. Field of
view is 8’ (streamwise)
by 20’ (cross-stream).