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Silicate Minerals

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Definition

A silicate mineral is a salt of silicate anions and cations formed by geological processes. Silica minerals [SiO2], such as quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite, and the hydrous phases [SiO2•nH2O], opal and mogánite, are often classified into the silicate minerals. A silicate anion is an oxo acid of silicon, and commonly consists of one centered Si and four O atoms forming a SiO4 tetrahedron, or rarely of one centered Si with six O atoms forming a SiO6 octahedron.

Classification

Tetrahedral (SiO4)4− anions are isolated in the crystal structures of nesosilicates . Forsterite [Mg2SiO4] of the olivine group and almandine [Fe2+ 3Al2(SiO4)3] of the garnet super group are typical examples of nesosilicate. In the other silicates, tetrahedral (SiO4)4− anions are polymerized by means of sharing the apical oxygen atom(s) to form dimers, trimers, or polymers. Solosilicates consist of the dimer (Si2O7)6− and/or trimer (Si3O10)8−, e. g., epidote [Ca2Fe3+Al2(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH)] of the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan

    Ritsuro Miyawaki

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  1. Ritsuro Miyawaki
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Correspondence to Ritsuro Miyawaki .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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Miyawaki, R. (2017). Silicate Minerals. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_319-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_319-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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