Merrihueite

Merrihueite

Caspar quarry, Ettringen, Vordereifel, Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Merrihueite, etc.

Basalt quarry, Pauliberg, Markt Sankt Martin, Oberpullendorf District, Burgenland, Austria

Merrihueite

Caspar quarry, Ettringen, Vordereifel, Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Merrihueite, etc.

Basalt quarry, Pauliberg, Markt Sankt Martin, Oberpullendorf District, Burgenland, Austria

Merrihueite

Caspar quarry, Ettringen, Vordereifel, Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Merrihueite, etc.

Basalt quarry, Pauliberg, Markt Sankt Martin, Oberpullendorf District, Burgenland, Austria

About MerrihueiteHide

Craig M. Merrihue

Formula:

K(◻Na)Fe²⁺₂Fe²⁺₃[Si₁₂O₃₀]

Colour:

Greenish-blue

Hardness:

5 - 6

Specific Gravity:

2.87 (Calculated)

Crystal System:

Hexagonal

Member of:

Osumilite Group

Name:

Named by R.T. Dodd Jr., W.R. van Schmus, and U.B. Marvin in 1965 in honor of Craig Morris Merrihue (8 July 1933, Schenectady, New York, USA - 14 March 1965, Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA), physicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysics Observatory. He developed the 40Ar/39Ar argon dating technique for measuring the ages of meteorites. He died tragically in a mountain climbing accident.

Type Locality:

ⓘ Mezö-Madaras meteorite (Fekete; Madaras; Maros; Mesö-Madarasz; Mezoe-Madaras; Weiler [NHM Cat.]), Harghita County, Romania

Osumilite Group.

Unique IdentifiersHide

IMA Classification of MerrihueiteHide

Classification of MerrihueiteHide

Mineral SymbolsHide

Physical Properties of MerrihueiteHide

Optical Data of MerrihueiteHide

Type:

Uniaxial (-)

RI values:

n_ω = 1.570 n_ε = 1.559 - 1.592

2V:

Measured: 5° to 10°

Birefringence:

Low to moderate

Max Birefringence:

δ = 0.011

Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness)
and does not take into account mineral colouration.

Surface Relief:

Low

Pleochroism:

Visible

Comments:

Colorless to greenish-blue

Comments:

Anomalously biaxial.

Chemistry of MerrihueiteHide

Crystallography of MerrihueiteHide

Crystal StructureHide

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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Link	Year	Locality	Pressure (GPa)	Temp (K)
0009423	Merrihueite	Khan A A, Baur W H, Forbes W C (1972) Synthetic magnesian merrihueite, dipotassium pentamagnesium dodecasilicate: a tetrahedral magnesiosilicate framework crystal structure Acta Crystallographica B28 267-272		1972	synthetic	0	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to closedata_global _chemical_name_mineral 'Merrihueite' loop_ _publ_author_name 'Khan A A' 'Baur W H' 'Forbes W C' _journal_name_full 'Acta Crystallographica, Section B' _journal_volume 28 _journal_year 1972 _journal_page_first 267 _journal_page_last 272 _publ_section_title ; Synthetic magnesian merrihueite, dipotassium pentamagnesium dodecasilicate: a tetrahedral magnesiosilicate framework crystal structure ; _database_code_amcsd 0009423 _chemical_compound_source 'Synthetic' _chemical_formula_sum 'K2 Mg5 Si12 O30' _cell_length_a 10.222 _cell_length_b 10.222 _cell_length_c 14.152 _cell_angle_alpha 90 _cell_angle_beta 90 _cell_angle_gamma 120 _cell_volume 1280.620 _exptl_crystal_density_diffrn 2.637 _symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'P 6/m c c' loop_ _space_group_symop_operation_xyz 'x,y,z' '-x,-x+y,1/2+z' 'x,x-y,1/2-z' '-x+y,-x,-z' 'x-y,x,z' '-y,-x,1/2+z' 'y,x,1/2-z' 'y,-x+y,-z' '-y,x-y,z' 'x-y,-y,1/2+z' '-x+y,y,1/2-z' 'x,y,-z' '-x,-y,z' 'x,x-y,1/2+z' '-x,-x+y,1/2-z' 'x-y,x,-z' '-x+y,-x,z' 'y,x,1/2+z' '-y,-x,1/2-z' '-y,x-y,-z' 'y,-x+y,z' '-x+y,y,1/2+z' 'x-y,-y,1/2-z' '-x,-y,-z' loop_ _atom_site_label _atom_site_fract_x _atom_site_fract_y _atom_site_fract_z _atom_site_occupancy K1 0.00000 0.00000 0.25000 1.00000 K2 0.33333 0.66667 0.00000 0.50000 Mg1 0.33333 0.66667 0.25000 1.00000 Mg2 0.50000 0.00000 0.25000 1.00000 Si 0.11260 0.34840 0.11240 1.00000 O1 0.12390 0.37880 0.00000 1.00000 O2 0.21830 0.27630 0.13960 1.00000 O3 0.15510 0.49680 0.17080 1.00000 loop_ _atom_site_aniso_label _atom_site_aniso_U_11 _atom_site_aniso_U_22 _atom_site_aniso_U_33 _atom_site_aniso_U_12 _atom_site_aniso_U_13 _atom_site_aniso_U_23 K1 0.01270 0.01270 0.02334 0.00635 0.00000 0.00000 K2 0.01112 0.01112 0.01826 0.00556 0.00000 0.00000 Mg1 0.00635 0.00635 0.01420 0.00318 0.00000 0.00000 Mg2 0.01191 0.00794 0.01218 0.00397 0.00000 0.00000 Si 0.00834 0.01151 0.00812 0.00516 -0.00063 -0.00127 O1 0.02461 0.02461 0.00913 0.01270 0.00000 0.00000 O2 0.01985 0.02184 0.01725 0.01548 0.00063 0.00190 O3 0.01270 0.01151 0.01420 0.00596 -0.00063 0.00000

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Geological EnvironmentHide

Type Occurrence of MerrihueiteHide

Synonyms of MerrihueiteHide

Other Language Names for MerrihueiteHide

Relationship of Merrihueite to other SpeciesHide

Common AssociatesHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

Other InformationHide

Internet Links for MerrihueiteHide

References for MerrihueiteHide

Reference List:

Dodd, R.T., Van Schmus, W.R., Marvin, U.B. (1965) Merrihueite, a new alkali-ferromagnesian silicate from the Mezö-Madaras chondrite. Science: 149: 972-974.

Fleischer, Michael (1965) New Mineral Names. American Mineralogist, 50 (11-12). 2096-2111

Dodd, R.T., Van Schmus, W.R., Marvin, U.B. (1965) Merrihueite, a new alkali-ferromagnesian silicate from the Mezö-Madaras chondrite. Science: 149: 972-974.

Khan, A.A., Baur, W.H., Forbes, W.C. (1972) Synthetic magnesian merrihueite, dipotassium pentamagnesium dodecasilicate. Tetrahedral magnesiosilicate framework crystal structure. Acta Crystallographica: B28: 267-272.

Armbruster, T. (1989) Crystal chemistry of double-ring silicates: structure of roedderite at 100 and 300 K. European Journal of Mineralogy: 1: 715-718.

Localities for MerrihueiteHide

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This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

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- This locality has map coordinates listed. - This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. - Good crystals or important locality for species. - World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). Struck out - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.

Austria
Burgenland Oberpullendorf District Markt Sankt Martin Pauliberg ⓘ Basalt quarry ?	Weiss, S. (2002): Lapis issue 4, p. 38/39 U. Kolitsch, W. Postl, H.-P. Bojar and W. Trattner (2009): Die Mineralvorkommen im Basalt des Pauliberges. In: Autorenkollektiv (Red. M. A. Götzinger und P. Huber) (2009): Die Mineralien des Burgenlandes - Geologie, Mineralogie und mineralische Rohstoffe. – Wissenschaftliche Arbeiten aus dem Burgenland, Band 126, Amt der Burgenländischen Landesregierung, Abteilung 7 - Landesmuseum, Eisenstadt, 83-99.
Styria Südoststeiermark District Klöch ⓘ Basalt quarry	Postl, W., Taucher, J. & Moser, B. (1996): Neue Mineralfunde im oststeirischen Vulkangebiet. Mitt. Abt. Miner. Landesmuseum Joanneum, 60/61, 3-76. "Aus der Tiefe der Vulkane", Fritz-Jandl-Postl (2011)
Germany
Rhineland-Palatinate Mayen-Koblenz Vordereifel Ettringen ⓘ Caspar quarry	Blass, G., Graf, H.W., Neue Mineralienfunde aus der Vulkaneifel, Mineralien-Welt 12/1, 17-25, 2001
Romania (TL)
Harghita County ⓘ Mezö-Madaras meteorite (Fekete; Madaras; Maros; Mesö-Madarasz; Mezoe-Madaras; Weiler [NHM Cat.]) (TL)	Science 149 (1965), 972 Michel‐Lévy, M. C. (1988). A New Component of the Mezö‐Madaras Breccia: A Microchondrule‐and Carbon‐Bearing L‐Related Chondrite. Meteoritics, 23(1), 45-48. Krot, A.N. & Wasson, J.T. (1994) Silica-merrihueite/roedderite-bearing chondrules and clasts in ordinary chondrites: New occurrences and possible origin: Meteoritics 29(5):707–718. (Sept 1994).
Russia
Saratov Oblast ⓘ Saratov meteorite	Lewis, J.A., Jones, R.H., and Garcea, S.C. (2018) Chondrule porosity in the L4 chondrite Saratov: Dissolution, chemical transport, and fluid flow. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 240, 293–313.