Topical fields

The school addresses methods of experimentation and instrumental analysis as well as the theoretical foundations for analysing reaction kinetics. Worked examples from experiment and nature will be presented to illustrate recent advances in our understanding of geo-materials properties and behaviour. The program is subdivided into four topical fields starting with fundamentals and moving towards applications.

• Part A will give an introduction to geo-materials research, including a brief account of equilibrium thermodynamic concepts, a summary of kinetic controls, and classification schemes that can be applied to mineral reactions.

• Part B will discuss recent methodological developments in mineralogical and petrological experimentation, instrumental analyses such as electron beam, ion beam and synchrotron based techniques as well as theoretical approaches including irreversible thermodynamics and atomistic modeling.

• Part C will deal with the most important processes underlying the kinetics of mineral reactions including diffusion, interface motion, nucleation and growth. Both theoretical foundations and applications in geo-materials will be discussed.

• Part D will integrate knowledge from experimentation, theory and modeling with contemporary analytics to address problems in geological/planetary research. Crystallization from the melt, minerals reacting with aqueous fluids, solid-state reactions, chemical–mechanical feedback and links between mineral reaction and (isotope) geochemical signatures will all be addressed.

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