From: Robert Hazen Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2016 17:52 To: Bob Downs; Joshua Golden; Daniel Hummer; Chao Liu; Grethe Hystad; Dimitri Sverjensky; Jihua Hao; Peter Fox; Marshall X Ma; Paul Falkowski; Elisha K. Moore; Shaunna Morrison; Andrew Knoll; Drew Muscente; Michael Meyer; Edward Grew; Mihai Ducea; Derek Hoffman; Sophie Kolankowski Subject: Database progress Attachments: ParageneticModeTable-RMH-MAR2016.xlsx; ParageneticCodes- Short-MAR2016.docx Flag Status: Flagged Dear Colleagues, This message is an update on the mineral database developments in anticipation of the Keck- sponsored RPI Data Science meeting June 8-10. I worked on the mineral database all weekend; finished 2 of 6 Handbook of Mineralogy (HoM) volumes to add paragenetic modes for about 1200 minerals, plus new fields (0 or 1) for primary, secondary, abiotic, and biotic. I attach the interim Excel file, along with the working list of paragenetic modes, just FYI. Don't do anything now; I'll try to complete the HoM entries over the next 3 weeks and then we'll have about 1500 species to look up one-by-one. I'll be recruiting help for that. The idea is to have a more or less complete spreadsheet for the Data Science meeting at RPI in June so we can look for various correlations and apply some visualization tools. Question: Does anyone know the source of phosphate nodules in complex granite pegmatites? Is there a possible biological source? Are phosphate nodules only associated with S-type granites? What about phosphates in alkali igneous complexes? Just wondering if we can ascribe a biological origin to some of the many pegmatite phosphate minerals. Question: We have fields for composition, numbers of localities, paragenetic mode, primary vs. secondary minerals, and abiotic vs. biotic minerals. Can we fold in crustal abundances of elements, age ranges or earliest appearance, and/or tectonic setting? What other fields should we be considering at this point? Thanks, Bob -- Robert M. Hazen Senior Staff Scientist, Geophysical Laboratory Executive Director, Deep Carbon Observatory 5251 Broad Branch Road NW Washington, DC 20015 phone: 202-478-8962 e-mail: rhazen@ciw.edu Personal web site: http://hazen.gl.ciw.edu DCO website: deepcarbon.net Keck Deep-Time Project website: http://dtdi.carnegiescience.edu