A major degradation scenario within safety assessment analysis of nuclear waste repositories is decalcification of cementitious materials due to long-term contact with groundwater. Understanding the changes in Physical and Chemical properties of cementitious barriers is of high importance. In order to decrease the uncertainty in the assessments due to extrapolating short term data sets, acceler...

If life ever existed, or still exists, on Mars, its record is likely to be found in minerals formed by, or in association with, microorganisms. An important concept regarding interpretation of the mineralogical record for evidence of life is that, broadly defined, life perturbs disequilibria that arise due to kinetic barriers and can impart unexpected structure to an abiotic system. Many featur...

Introduction: In the study presented here, a technique based on the wavelet transform and described in the accompanying abstract ([1]) is applied to the nearinfrared spectra of Phobos obtained by ISM in 1989 from the Phobos-2 spacecraft. Small mineralogical variations are observed across the red, optically altered, unit of Phobos. The mineralogical composition appears to comprise olivine in the...

The chemicalmineralogical composition of the sand fractions of mortars found in Roman villas dating from the 1 st century A.C. located in Northern Italy has been investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy plus energy dispersive spectroscopy microanalysis and x-ray diffractometry. The petrographic results on the mortar samples have been compared with mineralogical data avai...

Along a long-term ecosystem development gradient, soil nutrient contents and mineralogical properties change, therefore probably altering soil microbial communities. However, knowledge about the dynamics of soil microbial communities during long-term ecosystem development including progressive and retrogressive stages is limited, especially in mineral soils. Therefore, microbial abundances (qua...

It has been recognized since at least as early as the mid-1500s that inhaled minerals (i.e., inorganic particles) can pose a risk. Extensive research has focused on the biological mechanisms responsible for asbestos- and silica-induced diseases, but much less attention has been paid to the mineralogical properties and geochemical mechanisms that might influence a mineral's biological activity. ...

Landslides in tropical and sub-tropical regions are generally associated with weathered rock profiles which often possess chemical and mineralogical heterogeneities at materialand mineral-scales. Such heterogeneities reach a climax by the occurrences of oxyhydroxideand clayrich zones. Weakness and low permeability of these zones makes them ideal for the development of slip zones along which lan...