AN EVOLUTIONARY SYSTEM OF MINERALOGY: NETWORK ANALYSIS OF PRE-TERRESTRIAL MINERALS

The evolutionary system of mineralogy amplifies the well-established International Mineralogical Association (IMA) classification system, which is based on mineral species that display unique combinations of idealized chemical composition and crystal structure. We expand on IMA protocols by incorporating time and parageneses as central aspects of mineral classification. The emphasis is thus on the historical sequence of physical, chemical, and ultimately biological processes that led to the observed diversity and distribution of minerals on Earth, as well as on other planets and moons. We contend that the information-rich natures of different mineral kinds, including their trace and minor elements, isotopic ratios, structural defects, solid and fluid inclusions, zoning, twinning, and myriad other physical and chemical characteristics, are direct consequences of their physical, chemical, and/or biological modes of origin and, in many cases, subsequent alteration. The evolutionary system thus embraces the intrinsic information-rich characters and varied historical contexts of minerals, while building on standard protocols of the IMA, which discriminate among mineral “species” based exclusively on the minimal information of idealized composition and structure. Here we explore the diversity, distribution, and attributes of more than 400 historical natural kinds of minerals by employing interactive, bipartite, force-directed network graphs of all known pre-terrestrial minerals, which formed in the atmospheres of highly-evolved stars, in interstellar molecular clouds, and in the solar nebula through a range of primary condensation and igneous processes, as well as aqueous alteration, thermal metamorphism, and/or impact processes. Network graphs reveal: (1) a systematic increase in the chemical and structural complexity of minerals during the earliest stages of mineral evolution; (2) the critical role of expanded P-T-X environments in fostering mineral diversity; (3) the recurring pattern of a few very abundant minerals and numerous rare species, notably volumetrically insignificant phases known only from micro- or nano-scale specimens; and (4) the dramatic role of water in producing a wide range of new minerals in varied chemical groups. These findings will be illustrated with a variety of interactive network graphs.