Meridianiite Mineral Data

General Meridianiite Information

Chemical Formula:

MgSO4•11H2O

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 318.54 gm

Magnesium 7.63 % Mg 12.65 % MgO

Hydrogen 6.96 % H 62.21 % H₂O

Sulfur 10.07 % S 25.14 % SO₃

Oxygen 75.34 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Mg(SO₄)•11(H₂O)

Environment:

Frozen pond on waters high in MgSO4 below 2 Deg C. Dehydrates to amorphous sodium sulfate or kieserite. Decomposes above 2 Deg C to epsomite and water.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 2007 (Dana # Added)

Locality:

Venables Valley, 20 km SSW of Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

The name, meridianiite, was chosen to reflect the locality on Mars where the MER rover Opportunity observed crystal molds in sedimentary rock that are thought to be caused by minera ls that have since dehydrated or disso

Synonym:

Fritzsche's salt

IMA2007-011

Meridianiite Image

Images:

Meridianiite

Comments: Red arrow points meridianiite on the underside of a post in a frozen pond. Ice, in the form of snow covers the top of the post and the frozen pond surface (AmMin, v92:1757). This in an analoge for probable Martian occurrences.
Location: The ponds are on the Basque claims, which occur in a small valley in the Thompson region of central British Columbia. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Meridianiite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.9895:1:2.5347

Cell Dimensions:

a = 6.7459, b = 6.8173, c = 17.2799, Z = 2; alpha = 88.137°, beta = 89.481°, gamma = 62.719° V = 705.89 Den(Calc)= 1.50

Crystal System:

Triclinic - Pinacoidal H-M Symbol ( 1) Space Group: P1

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.958(1), 4.85(0.9), 4.91(0.84),2.94(0.67), 2.988(0.58), 5.62(0.56), 5.41(0.54), 5.73(0.35),

Physical Properties of Meridianiite

Color:

White.

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Luster:

Vitreous - Dull

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Meridianiite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI calc= -0.026 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2887,KC= 0.2813
Ncalc = 1.42

Optical Data:

Biaxial (?), a=1.418, g=1.448, bire=0.0300

Calculated Properties of Meridianiite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=1.60 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Meridianiite =1.50 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.0087572862
Boson Index = 0.9912427138

Photoelectric:

PE_Meridianiite= 0.96 barns/electron
U=PE_Meridianiite x rElectron Density= 1.54 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Meridianiite is Not Radioactive

Meridianiite Classification

Dana Class:

29.06.14.01 (29)Hydrated Acid and Sulfates

(29.06)where A XO4 ï¿½ x(H2O)

(29.06.14)Dana Group

29.06.14.01 Meridianiite! MgSO4•11H2O P1 1

Strunz Class:

07.CB.90 07 - SULFATES (SELENATES, TELLURATES)

07.C - Sulfates (selenates, etc.) without Additional Anions, with H2O

07.CB -With only medium-sized cations

07.CB.90 Meridianiite! MgSO4•11H2O P1 1

Other Meridianiite Information

References:

NAME( AmMin, v92:1756) PHYS. PROP.(AmMin, v92:1756) OPTIC PROP.(AmMin, v92:1756)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Meridianiite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - GeoScienceWorld
4 - Google Images
5 - Google Scholar
6 - MinDAT
7 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
8 - Online Mineral Museum
9 - QUT Mineral Atlas
10 - Ruff.Info

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Meridianiite Specimen Label here :

Meridianiite

MgSO4•11H2O
Dana No: 29.06.14.01 Strunz No: 07.CB.90
Locality:

Notes:

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