BACKGROUND There is growing interest in mining polymetallic nodules from the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Despite having been the focus of environmental studies for decades, the benthic megafauna of the CCZ remain poorly known. To predict and manage the environmental impacts of mining in the CCZ, baseline knowledge of the megafauna is essential. The ABYSS...

The use of mineral resources has always been critical for human development [...]

We assembled a microfluidic device that enables highresolution structural studies of nucleic acids. The device contains a mineral matrix capable of rapidly generating hydroxyl radicals to cleave the solvent accessible backbone of nucleic acids. Protection from radical cleavage (footprinting) can identify protein binding sites or the presence of tertiary structure. Here we report the fabrication...

Ambient pyrites of two distinct types were described from middle Precambrian rocks of the Lake Superior area. A new class of this phenomenon is here described from middle Precambrian chert from western Australia. The newly found ambient pyrites are quite minute and characteristically occur in groups forming a "starburst" pattern. All three types of ambient pyrite may be explained in terms of pr...

The supercritical water-pyrite interface has been studied by ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Extreme conditions are relevant in the iron-sulfur world (ISW) theory where prebiotic chemical reactions are postulated to occur at the mineral-water interface. We have investigated the properties of this interface under such conditions. We have come to the conclusion that hot-pressurized water...

Almost three centuries have passed since Henckel’s monumental work on pyrite (Henckel, 1725, 1757). The new book by David Rickard, world authority on sulfide chemistry, geochemistry, geomicrobiology, biogeochemistry and ore geology, is a most welcome state-of-the-art report about this humble but fascinating mineral. As stated in the preface, the book targets a popular rather than an academic au...

The mineralogy of S-bearing phases, S-contents, and S-isotopic compositions of sediments and interstitial waters were determined for three cores drilled during Leg 129 in the western Pacific. Pelagic clays, chalks, and radiolarites generally contain 350-1200 ppm S, with essentially all S present as sulfate. Volcanogenic turbidite units contain about 400 ppm S, with about 10%-20% of total sulfur...

Environmentally and technologically sulphur is a deleterious constitute in coal which makes it unsuitable for use in metallurgical industries unless the sulphur level can be reduced to the tolerable limit. Characterization of the various forms of sulphur and their associations in coal is an essential issue to find and propose a suitable desulphurization method. In this research, to evaluate sul...

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cells grown on sulfur, pyrite, and chalcopyrite exhibit greater hydrophobicity than ferrous ion-grown cells. The isoelectric points of sulfur-, pyrite-, and chalcopyrite-grown cells were observed to be at a pH higher than that for ferrous ion-grown cells. Microbe-mineral interactions result in change in the surface chemistry of the organism as well as that of the miner...