Department
of Mineral Sciences
About
the Department of MINERAL SCIENCE & GEOLOGY
- The
mission of the Department of Mineral Sciences
is to seek answers to questions about the origin
of the solar system, planetary differentiation,
the debate about possible traces of ancient
extraterrestrial life, insights into crustal
and mantle processes that are linked to understanding
volcanism, earthquakes and plate tectonics,
and improved knowledge of interactions of minerals
with the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
Research:
Broad, long-term research now underway in the
Department of Mineral Sciences includes studies
of rocks dredged and drilled from the deep oceans;
field and laboratory investigations of active
volcanoes; systematic investigations of major
mineral groups, including crystallographic and
structural examination; analysis of global volcanic
patterns for the past 10,000 years; chemical
and mineralogical analysis of meteorites; geochemistry
of metamorphic rocks and fluids; and the tectonic
evolution of high pressure low temperature metamorphic
terrains. Research strengths include meteoritics,
mineralogy, petrology, and volcanology.
Mineral Sciences Collection
Profile
- Number of Specimens: 730,000
- New Acquisitions: 884 |
Collections:
The Department of Mineral Sciences curates collections
of minerals, gems, rocks, ores, meteorites,
tektites, and volcanologic data/images that
are among the largest and most complete in the
world. The ever-expanding collections constitute
large reservoirs of source material for a great
variety of research questions in meteoritics,
mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, and economic
geology.
National
Meteorite Collection:
The U.S. National Meteorite Collection is one
the largest and among the best museum-based
collections of meteorites in the world, particularly
strong in iron meteorites. The collection includes
over 40,000 meteorite samples representing about
13,000 different meteorites, including important
named specimens, as well as meteorites from
the Moon and Mars, including 7 of the approximately
30 known Martian meteorites. The collection
has over 7,000 polished thin sections and contains
pieces of every type of meteorite.
National
Gem and Mineral Collection:
The National Gem and Mineral Collection is one
of the greatest collections of its kind in the
world with highly prized objects in the National
Gem Collection as well as comprehensive mineralogical
reference material. There are over 375,000 individual
specimens in the collection including such famous
pieces as the Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia
Sapphire.
National
Rock and Ore Collection:
There are 14 discrete collections within the
National Rock and Ore Collection. These collections
together number about 265,000 catalogued and
computer inventoried specimens with an additional
50,000 specimens awaiting curation. Large and
very well documented collections of mantle xenoliths,
ocean basin lavas, ores and edifice and eruption
keyed volcanic rocks have worldwide coverage.
Additional highlights include historically significant
collections, especially of the United States
Geological Survey specimens, island rocks, petrologic
features, petrographic and lithologic reference
collections, building stones, and impactites.
Important collections awaiting formal accession
include the Shoemaker impactites, Yoder mililites,
Boyd and Wilshire xenoliths, Chao and Cameron
ore deposits, and the Bateman granites
Most
of the rocks and ores are part of the Locality
Collection (over 67,500 specimens). This collection
is organized into small suites of rocks from
the same locality, such as a particular quadrangle
or geologic setting. These are typically petrogenetically
related and usually described in at least one
reference. The Volcanological Reference Collection
(6,445 specimens) includes specimens from 291
different volcanoes or volcanic fields. Many
are from dated eruptions. This collection, organized
by eruption year, includes a large suite (1,400
specimens) from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
of eruptive material from Kilauea and Mauna
Loa volcanoes. The collection also includes
369 drill cores from the Kilauea Iki and Makaopuhi
lava lakes.
The
Ore Collection (19,221 specimens) is a systematic
collection of metallic ores and mineral commodities.
The collection includes metal-bearing minerals
and massive ore-bearing material (primarily
from major U.S. mines opened prior to 1930),
as well as some non-metallic minerals and commodities
such as pigments, abrasives, salts, clays, and
hydrocarbons.
The
Sea Floor Rock Collection (9,904 specimens plus
840 manganese nodule specimens) includes dredged
and cored specimens from mid-ocean ridges, seamounts,
and fracture zones.
The
Impactite Collection includes shocked rocks
from impact structures around the world. Often
the corresponding meteoritic material is also
represented in the National Meteorite Collection.
Facilities:
The Department of Mineral Sciences is well equipped
for the study of rocks and minerals. In addition
to a capability for classical gravimetric analysis
in the wet-chemistry laboratory, the instrumentation
includes an electron microprobe and an analytical
scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction
and X-ray fluorescence facilities. Also available
are an infrared spectrometer, CCD imaging and
spectroscopy with a cathodoluminescence microscope,
an atomic absorption spectrophotometer, and
numerous optical microscopes. The Department
has recently acquired a time-of-flight secondary
ion mass spectrometer, which can analyze the
elemental compositions of minerals on the nanoscale,
and a microdiffractometer, which can non-destructively
obtain an X-ray diffraction pattern from a small
area on a polished sample. A well-equipped shop
for preparation of thin and polished sections
provides supporting services to the scientific
staff. The facilities include a room-size rock
saw to section exceptionally large rocks as
well as meteorites. At the Museum Support Center
in Suitland, Maryland, the Department maintains
a clean room modeled on the facility used for
Moon rocks at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Fieldwork:
Geologists from the Department conduct fieldwork
at sites around the world. Recent research areas
have included: the famous jade mines of Myanmar
(Burma) and Mesoamerican jade quarries in Guatemala;
deep submersible study of a large submarine
caldera south of Japan, where active ore forming
processes are occurring; and young lava flows
and ash deposits erupted from Volcán
Colima in southwestern México and Kilauea
in Hawaii.
Publications:
The Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network
is published monthly by the Department's Global
Volcanism Program, reporting typically on 15-25
individual volcanoes from around the world.
Education
and Outreach:
Members of the Department are actively involved
in a number of education-related and outreach
programs within and outside of the Institution
such as public lectures, hosting of interns
and fellows, and collaborating with a variety
of university and other agency partners.
Libraries:
The Mineral Sciences library contains about
8,500 volumes and 45 journal subscriptions and
focuses on mineralogy, gemology, volcanology,
meteorites, petrology, and geochemistry.
Programs
and Affiliations
The
Global Volcanism Program: The Global Volcanism
Program (GVP) is the hub of an international
network for monitoring, reporting, and maintaining
data related to volcanic activity around the
world. The GVP plays a leadership role in global
volcano information - tracking events as they
happen, building the database of critical information,
and using these resources both for NMNH research
projects and for answering questions about volcanology
from other scientists, the media, and the public.
The large and growing database contains information
for more than 3,000 active volcanoes from around
the world and more than 9,000 of their known
eruptions. Most of these data are now available
on our website, along with our systematic monthly
and weekly volcanic activity reports, the latter
in collaboration with the USGS Volcano Hazards
Program. The GVP also maintains extensive collections
of maps, images, and other resources for Earth's
active volcanoes. The GVP collaborates with
non-Smithsonian scientists and organizations
concerned with volcano hazards, airline safety,
geothermal energy, and global climate change,
including the USGS, the Department of Energy,
the National Aeronautical and Space Administration
(NASA), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Contact: James F. Luhr.
The
Antarctic Meteorite Program:
The Antarctic Meteorite Program was established
in 1976. The Smithsonian Institution, the National
Science Foundation, and NASA cooperatively administer
the program. The focus of the Program is the
collection, curation, and long-term storage
of meteorites recovered from the Antarctic ice
sheets each year by U.S. Scientists. Curators
in the Department of Mineral Sciences classify
each of the meteorites returned and publish
these results in the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter,
issued twice a year by NASA's Johnson Space
Center. The Smithsonian also curates Antarctic
meteorites, where the entire collection will
eventually reside. Of the 13,000 distinct meteorites
in the Smithsonian's National Meteorite Collection,
more than 7,500 come from Antarctica. Contact:
Timothy McCoy
For
more information about the NMNH Department of
Mineral Sciences, including a complete staff
listing and research initiatives, visit the
Mineral
Sciences website.
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