Dolomite

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This article is about the rock and mineral. For other uses, see Dolomite (disambiguation).
Dolomite
Dolomite-Magnésite- Navarre.jpg
Dolomite and magnesite – Spain
General
Category Carbonate mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)		 CaMg(CO3)2
Strunz classification 05.AB.10
Crystal symmetry Trigonal rhombohedral, 3
Unit cell a = 4.8012(1) Å, c = 16.002 Å; Z = 3
Identification
Color White, gray to pink
Crystal habit Tabular crystals, often with curved faces, also columnar, stalactitic, granular, massive.
Crystal system Trigonal
Twinning Common as simple contact twins
Cleavage Perfect on {1011}, rhombohedral cleavage
Fracture Conchoidal
Tenacity Brittle
Mohs scale hardness 3.5 to 4
Luster Vitreous to pearly
Streak White
Specific gravity 2.84–2.86
Optical properties Uniaxial (-)
Refractive index nω = 1.679–1.681 nε = 1.500
Birefringence δ = 0.179–0.181
Solubility Poorly soluble in dilute HCl
Other characteristics May fluoresce white to pink under UV; triboluminescent.
References [1][2][3][4]

Dolomite /ˈdɒləmaɪt/ is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally CaMg(CO3)2. The word dolomite is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock, which is composed predominantly of the mineral dolomite (also known as dolostone).

History[edit]

Most probably the mineral dolomite was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1768.[5] In 1778, it was described by the Austrian naturalist Belsazar Hacquet as the "stinking stone" (German: Stinkstein, Latin: lapis suillus).[6][7] In 1791, it was described as a rock by the French naturalist and geologist, Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu (1750–1801) first from buildings in the old city of Rome and later as samples collected in what is now known as the Dolomite Alps of northern Italy. The mineral was given its name in March 1792 by Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure, naming it after De Dolomieu.[8] Hacquet and Dolomieu met in Laibach (Ljubljana) in 1784,[9] which may have contributed to De Dolomieu's work.[7]

Properties[edit]

The mineral dolomite crystallizes in the trigonal-rhombohedral system. It forms white, tan, gray, or pink crystals. Dolomite is a double carbonate, having an alternating structural arrangement of calcium and magnesium ions. It does not rapidly dissolve or effervesce (fizz) in dilute hydrochloric acid as calcite does. Crystal twinning is common.

Solid solution exists between dolomite, the iron-dominant ankerite and the manganese-dominant kutnohorite.[10] Small amounts of iron in the structure give the crystals a yellow to brown tint. Manganese substitutes in the structure also up to about three percent MnO. A high manganese content gives the crystals a rosy pink color. Lead, zinc, and cobalt also substitute in the structure for magnesium. The mineral dolomite is closely related to huntite Mg3Ca(CO3)4.

Because dolomite can be dissolved by slightly acidic water, areas of dolomite are important as aquifers and contribute to karst terrain formation.[11]

Formation[edit]

Recent research has found modern dolomite formation under anaerobic conditions in supersaturated saline lagoons along the Rio de Janeiro coast of Brazil, namely, Lagoa Vermelha and Brejo do Espinho. It is often thought that dolomite will develop only with the help of sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g. Desulfovibrio brasiliensis).[12] However, promising new research on low-temperature dolomite formation indicates that low-temperature dolomite may occur in natural environments rich in organic matter and microbial cell surfaces. This occurs as a result of magnesium complexation by carboxyl groups associated with organic matter.[13]

Dolomite

Vast deposits of dolomite are present in the geological record, but the mineral is relatively rare in modern environments. Reproducible, inorganic low-temperature syntheses of dolomite and magnesite were published for the first time in 1999. Those laboratory experiments showed how the initial precipitation of a metastable "precursor" (such as magnesium calcite) will change gradually into more and more of the stable phase (such as dolomite or magnesite) during periodical intervals of dissolution and re-precipitation. The general principle governing the course of this irreversible geochemical reaction has been coined "breaking Ostwald's step rule".[14]

There is some evidence for a biogenic occurrence of dolomite. One example is that of the formation of dolomite in the urinary bladder of a Dalmatian dog, possibly as the result of an illness or infection.[15]

Formation of dolomite from solution and its link with biogenic dolomite[edit]

In 2015, it was experimentally discovered that the direct crystallization of dolomite can occur from solution at temperatures between 60–220 °C. Dolomite forms through a three-stage process: 1) A nanoparticulate magnesium-deficient, amorphous calcium carbonate (Mg-ACC) forms; 2) After a temperature-dependent induction time, this Mg-ACC partially dehydrates and orders prior to its rapid (<5 min) crystallization to non-stoichiometric proto-dolomite (with a lower Mg/Ca ratio compared to dolomite). This occurs via the dissolution of Mg-ACC, followed by the secondary nucleation of proto-dolomite from solution. 3) Finally, the proto-dolomite crystallization proceeds via spherulitic growth that follows a growth front nucleation mechanism with a de-nuovo and continuous formation of nanocrystalline proto-dolomite subunits that form spherical aggregates. In stage three of the reaction, the proto-dolomite transforms to highly crystalline and stoichiometric dolomite on a much longer timescale (hours to days), via an Ostwald-ripening mechanism. Such a three-stage crystallization can explain microbially induced proto-dolomites observed in modern hypersaline settings and may also be the route by which the Cryogenian cap dolomite deposits of the Neoproterozoic formed.[16]

Uses[edit]

Dolomite with chalcopyrite from the Tri-state district, Cherokee County, Kansas (size: 11.4×7.2×4.6 cm)

Dolomite is used as an ornamental stone, a concrete aggregate, and a source of magnesium oxide, as well as in the Pidgeon process for the production of magnesium. It is an important petroleum reservoir rock, and serves as the host rock for large strata-bound Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) ore deposits of base metals such as lead, zinc, and copper. Where calcite limestone is uncommon or too costly, dolomite is sometimes used in its place as a flux for the smelting of iron and steel. Large quantities of processed dolomite are used in the production of float glass.

In horticulture, dolomite and dolomitic limestone are added to soils and soilless potting mixes as a pH buffer and as a magnesium source. Home and container gardening are common examples of this use.

Dolomite is also used as the substrate in marine (saltwater) aquariums to help buffer changes in pH of the water.

Calcined dolomite is also used as a catalyst for destruction of tar in the gasification of biomass at high temperature.[17]

Particle physics researchers like to build particle detectors under layers of dolomite to enable the detectors to detect the highest possible number of exotic particles. Because dolomite contains relatively minor quantities of radioactive materials, it can insulate against interference from cosmic rays without adding to background radiation levels.[18]

Dolomite is a popular choice for motorcycle speedway tracks throughout Australia and New Zealand.[why?]

Dolomite is used in the ceramic industry and in studio pottery as a glaze ingredient, contributing magnesium and calcium as glass melt fluxes.[why?]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dolomite.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Deer, W. A., R. A. Howie and J. Zussman (1966) An Introduction to the Rock Forming Minerals, Longman, pp. 489–493. ISBN 0-582-44210-9.
  2. ^ Dolomite. Handbook of Mineralogy. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-10-10.
  3. ^ Dolomite. Webmineral. Retrieved on 2011-10-10.
  4. ^ Dolomite. Mindat.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-10.
  5. ^ On p.41 of part 3 of his book "Systema naturae per regna tria naturae etc." (1768), Linnaeus stated: "Marmor tardum - Marmor paticulis subimpalpabilibus album diaphanum. Hoc simile quartzo durum, distinctum quod cum aqua forti non, nisi post aliquot minuta & fero, effervescens." In translation: "Slow marble - Marble, white and transparent with barely discernable particles. This is as hard as quartz, but it is different in that it does not, unless after a few minutes, effervesce with "aqua forti"".
  6. ^ Hacquet, B. (1778): Oryctographia Carniolica, oder physikalische Erdbeschreibung des Herzogthums Krain, Istrien und zum Theil der benachbarten Länder, J. G. I. Breitkopf, Leipzig, 162 p. In Volume 2 of this same book, published in 1781, Hacquet mentioned on p. 5 finding a fine, white powder that would not react with acid. This lack of a reaction with (dilute) acid was remarkable because the powder had originated from the underlying limestone. Hacquet (1781) stated that it reminded him of the "Marmor tardum" described earlier by Linnaeus (which decides about the priority of the discovery of the mineral that later became known as "dolomite").
  7. ^ a b Kranjc, Andrej (2006). "Balthasar Hacquet (1739/40-1815), the Pioneer of Karst Geomorphologists". Acta Carsologica 35 (2). 
  8. ^ Saussure le fils, M. de (1792): Analyse de la dolomie. Journal de Physique, vol.40, pp.161-173.
  9. ^ Šumrada, Janez (2001). "Žiga Zois in Déodat de Dolomieu". Kronika: časopis za slovensko krajevno zgodovino [The Chronicle: the Newspaper for the Slovenian History of Places] (in Slovene and with an English abstract) (Association of Slovenian Historical Societies, Section for the History of Places) 49 (1/2): 65–72. ISSN 0023-4923. 
  10. ^ Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, 20th ed., p. 339-340 ISBN 0-471-80580-7
  11. ^ Kaufmann, James. Sinkholes. USGS Fact Sheet. Retrieved on 2013-9-10.
  12. ^ Vasconcelos C., McKenzie J. A., Bernasconi S., Grujic D., Tien A. J. (1995). "Microbial mediation as a possible mechanism for natural dolomite formation at low temperatures". Nature 337 (6546): 220–222. Bibcode:1995Natur.377..220V. doi:10.1038/377220a0. 
  13. ^ Roberts, J. A.,Kenward, P. A., Fowle, D. A., Goldstein, R. H., Gonzalez, L. A., and Moore, D. S. (1980). "Surface chemistry allows for abiotic precipitation of dolomite at low temperature". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110 (36): 14540–5. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11014540R. doi:10.1073/pnas.1305403110. PMC 3767548. PMID 23964124. 
  14. ^ Deelman, J.C. (1999): "Low-temperature nucleation of magnesite and dolomite", Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Monatshefte, pp. 289–302.
  15. ^ Mansfield, Charles F. (1980). "A urolith of biogenic dolomite – another clue in the dolomite mystery". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 44 (6): 829–839. Bibcode:1980GeCoA..44..829M. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(80)90264-1. 
  16. ^ Rodriguez-Blanco, J.D., Shaw, S. and Benning, L.G. (2015) A route for the direct crystallization of dolomite. American Mineralogist, 100, 1172-1181. doi: 10.2138/am-2015-4963 [1]
  17. ^ A Review of the Literature on Catalytic Biomass Tar Destruction National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
  18. ^ Short Sharp Science: Particle quest: Hunting for Italian WIMPs underground. Newscientist.com (2011-09-05). Retrieved on 2011-10-10.
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