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Minerals
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Clay Minerals–Life Interplay
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Clay Minerals–Life Interplay

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Clays and Engineered Mineral Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 23787

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Javier Cuadros

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
Interests: clay geochemistry and processes; clay on Mars; clay–life interaction; past environments as recorded by clays; mechanisms of clay processes; crystal-chemistry of clays

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Parallel to the evolution of life, some authors use the term “mineral evolution” to refer to the changes and diversification of minerals in the history of the Solar System and our planet. Such mineral evolution is certainly driven by inorganic processes, but life has contributed heavily to it on the Earth’s surface by modifying deeply the inorganic conditions (such as atmospheric oxygen, ocean chemistry or climate), by mineral weathering and biomineralization, and by modifying geomorphological features. As minerals contribute nutrients and physical support to organisms, there is a mutual feed-back that justifies the use of the concept of mineral-life co-evolution. Clay minerals are those most greatly engaged with living organisms due to their physical and chemical properties. This issue is devoted to studies that explore the mutual influence between living organisms and clay minerals, including generation of clay minerals by biological activity, in all settings: from the deep subsurface to submarine, natural, and agricultural soils and laboratory experiments.

Dr. Javier Cuadros
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biogeochemistry
  • clay minerals
  • mineral–life co-evolution

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 3182 KiB  
Article
Unusual Perforations in Phlogopite Crystals from Caldara di Manziana (Italy) Caused by Sulphuric Acid Generated by Microbial Oxidation of H2S Emanations
by Flavia Pinzari and Javier Cuadros
Minerals 2021, 11(5), 547; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11050547 - 20 May 2021
Viewed by 2122
Abstract
Phlogopite flakes strewn on the soil of Caldara di Manziana (Italy) display multiple minute perforations. The site is a caldera linked to recent volcanism (90 ka to 0.8 Ma) with present emanations of CO2 (~150 t d−1) and H2 [...] Read more.
Phlogopite flakes strewn on the soil of Caldara di Manziana (Italy) display multiple minute perforations. The site is a caldera linked to recent volcanism (90 ka to 0.8 Ma) with present emanations of CO2 (~150 t d−1) and H2S (~2.55 t d−1). Stereomicroscopy and SEM–EDX observation of the phlogopite crystals shows holes and depressions <200 µm to 2 mm across. They are circular, pseudo-hexagonal, or irregular. Within the depressions, there are deposits of phlogopite alteration products consistent with a sulphuric acid attack, showing loss of Mg and K. Some are thin and homogeneous; others are thick, irregular, and chemically heterogeneous, including plates, flakes, tubes of Fe-beidellite or Fe-bearing halloysite, silica, Fe oxides, and gypsum. Areas of phlogopite surface are also altered. Sulphuric acid is produced from the H2S gas by the mediation of sulphur-oxidizing bacteria. Pseudo-hexagonal perforations are interpreted to result from slow acid attack with dissolution controlled by phlogopite crystal symmetry. Some depressions developed surrounding films of pseudo-hexagonal shape, interpreted as jarosite crystallizing radially outwards from the depressions. This style of acid attack is possibly promoted by local high humidity and precipitation that generate long-lived water droplets and films on mineral surfaces where sulphuric acid is active for prolonged times. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clay Minerals–Life Interplay)
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27 pages, 8457 KiB  
Article
Contamination Alters the Physicochemical and Textural Characteristics of Clays in the Sediments of the Peri Urban Reconquista River, Affecting the Associated Indigenous Microorganisms
by Ana E. Tufo, Susana Vázquez, Natalia F. Porzionato, María Celeste Grimolizzi, María Belén Prados, Mauricio Sica and Gustavo Curutchet
Minerals 2021, 11(3), 242; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11030242 - 26 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3030
Abstract
The physicochemical and textural characteristics of river sediments and, essentially, their clays, are at the center of a network of biological and geochemical factors that are mutually modifying. Therefore, the contamination, the characteristics of the clays, and the associated microorganisms strongly influence each [...] Read more.
The physicochemical and textural characteristics of river sediments and, essentially, their clays, are at the center of a network of biological and geochemical factors that are mutually modifying. Therefore, the contamination, the characteristics of the clays, and the associated microorganisms strongly influence each other. In this work, sediments from two sites of the urban Reconquista River, near Buenos Aires City, Argentina, exposed to different environmental contexts were characterized. The huge differences in the organic matter content in the vertical profile between both sediments strongly evidenced the polluted status of San Francisco (SF) site as opposed to the Dique Roggero (DR) site. Thorough physicochemical and textural characterization of the sediments and their clay fraction performed by pH, Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), spectrophotometry, XRD, laser diffraction, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, EDS, and SEM measurements revealed that organic matter (DR: 41 ± 5 g kg−1; SF: 150 ± 30 g kg−1) intervened in the retention of heavy metals (DR: 5.6 mg kg−1 Zn, 7 mg kg−1 Cu, 3.1 kg−1 Cr; SF: 240 mg kg−1 Zn, 60 mg kg−1 Cu, 270 mg kg−1 Cr) and affected the level of association and the formation of mineral–organic aggregates (DR: 15 ± 3 μm; SF: 23 ± 4 μm). This can be decisive in the surface interaction required for the establishment of bacterial assemblages, which determine the biogeochemical processes occurring in sediments and have a key role in the fate of contaminants in situ and in the remediation processes that need to be applied to restore the anoxic contaminated sediments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clay Minerals–Life Interplay)
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18 pages, 4057 KiB  
Article
Smectitization as a Trigger of Bacterially Mediated Mn-Fe Micronodule Generation in Felsic Glass (Livno-Tomislavgrad Paleolake, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
by Luka Badurina, Branimir Šegvić, Oleg Mandic and Giovanni Zanoni
Minerals 2020, 10(10), 899; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min10100899 - 10 Oct 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3284
Abstract
Miocene tuffs preserved in argillaceous sediment interbedded with lacustrine successions are commonly encountered throughout the Dinarides Lake System (DLS) in south-eastern Europe. In this contribution the volcanic glass degradation and co-genetic Mn-Fe precipitation were studied in a 14.68 Ma felsic tuff from DLS [...] Read more.
Miocene tuffs preserved in argillaceous sediment interbedded with lacustrine successions are commonly encountered throughout the Dinarides Lake System (DLS) in south-eastern Europe. In this contribution the volcanic glass degradation and co-genetic Mn-Fe precipitation were studied in a 14.68 Ma felsic tuff from DLS Livno-Tomislavgrad Basin. Microbial activity has been involved in both reactions thus adding the interest of revealing effects of biotic and abiotic processes taking place during tuff eogenesis. X-ray diffraction and electron microbeam analysis with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed the pitting or granular structures developed at glass rims along with smectite flakes protruding from a degrading glass. Mn-Fe mineralization emerges in the form of Mn-Fe coatings, an initial step to micronodule formation, where traces of biogenetic influence included a high content of phases rich in structural Mn (IV) (i.e., ranciéite and jacobsite) and presence of microbial microfossils. Co-genetic ties between glass degradation and Mn-Fe precipitation were established through the report of dioctahedral smectite formed out of altered glass; which then served as nuclei of the ongoing biotic and abiotic Mn-Fe mineralization. These processes manifest on a continuous involvement of microbial life in the course of eogenesis of pyroclastic material in lacustrine environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clay Minerals–Life Interplay)
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Review

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54 pages, 2456 KiB  
Review
Microbial Interaction with Clay Minerals and Its Environmental and Biotechnological Implications
by Marina Fomina and Iryna Skorochod
Minerals 2020, 10(10), 861; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min10100861 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 70 | Viewed by 14744
Abstract
Clay minerals are very common in nature and highly reactive minerals which are typical products of the weathering of the most abundant silicate minerals on the planet. Over recent decades there has been growing appreciation that the prime involvement of clay minerals in [...] Read more.
Clay minerals are very common in nature and highly reactive minerals which are typical products of the weathering of the most abundant silicate minerals on the planet. Over recent decades there has been growing appreciation that the prime involvement of clay minerals in the geochemical cycling of elements and pedosphere genesis should take into account the biogeochemical activity of microorganisms. Microbial intimate interaction with clay minerals, that has taken place on Earth’s surface in a geological time-scale, represents a complex co-evolving system which is challenging to comprehend because of fragmented information and requires coordinated efforts from both clay scientists and microbiologists. This review covers some important aspects of the interactions of clay minerals with microorganisms at the different levels of complexity, starting from organic molecules, individual and aggregated microbial cells, fungal and bacterial symbioses with photosynthetic organisms, pedosphere, up to environmental and biotechnological implications. The review attempts to systematize our current general understanding of the processes of biogeochemical transformation of clay minerals by microorganisms. This paper also highlights some microbiological and biotechnological perspectives of the practical application of clay minerals–microbes interactions not only in microbial bioremediation and biodegradation of pollutants but also in areas related to agronomy and human and animal health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clay Minerals–Life Interplay)
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