Quartz morphology as an indicator of crystallization conditions on the example of quartz from the Miocene stratovolcano deposits near Banska Štiavnica in Slovakia 1300-TMKWWK
During the tutorial a collection of hydrothermal quartz crystals will be analysed derived from the abandoned quarry near Banská Belá in the east parts of the extinct Miocene stratovolcano in Banska Szczawnica (Banska Štiavnica) in Slovakia. The quartz crystals and their aggregates will be described in terms of crystallography and morphology. The origin of macroscopically visible physical and morphological features (skeletal structure, growth accessories, color, twinnigs, etc.) will be interpreted and discussed on the basis of the literature. The observed features will be used to interpret the environment and conditions of crystallization as well as the subsequent changes that the quartz crystals and aggregates underwent. The analyzed crystals will be compared with the similar quartz specimens of well-recognized genesis known from the mineralogical literature. The classes will provide the opportunity to learn in detail the crystallography and mineralogy of low-temperature quartz - one of the most common minerals on Earth, as well as selected issues of genetic mineralogy and ontogeny of minerals.
During the course, the following issues will be analyzed:
1) The crystallographic system of quartz, high and low temperature quartz and the conditions of their crystallization
2) Morphology and formation of quartz crystal faces, characteristic habits and crystal forms of quartz
3) Dependence of quartz morphology on internal structure in the light of the Hartman-Perdok theory of periodic bond chains, dependence of morphology on environmental factors, crystallization conditions and subsequent transformations
4) Crystallographic description of quartz, measurements of angles between faces and determination of their indexes
5) Enantiomorphic varieties of quartz (left and right quartz), their recognition on the basis of crystal morphology
6) Growth accessories and their genesis, growth and dissolution figures, striation of quartz faces, deformed and regenerated crystals, quartz cleavage
7) Anomalous, asymmetric development of quartz faces and its causes, skeletal quartz crystals and their genesis, curved and twisted quartz crystals
8) Color of quartz and its origin, varieties of colored quartz, inclusions in quartz, zones of growth, phantoms
9) Quartz twins, split crystals and parallel intergrowths of quartz, genesis of growth twins
10) Crystal brushes and druses and their genesis, common growth of crystals on the substrate, rules of competitive growth, orthotropism and "geotropism" of quartz, false faces and induction striations of quartz, growth of quartz crystals accompanied with other minerals
Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
During the tutorial, the student carries out at least 3 of the following effects (depending on the topic of the tutorial and the method of completion):
- characterizes the morphology of quartz crystals and knows how to determine the indexes of crystal faces;
- understands how and under what conditions vein quartz crystallizes;
- understands how the morphology of single quartz crystals and their aggregates develops and evolves, and knows how to design research leading to the reconstruction of crystal development over time
- knows the problems of genetic mineralogy of low-temperature quartz
- knows Polish and English-language scientific terminology concerning quartz crystallography and genetic mineralogy
- prepares a multimedia presentation based on printed literature and information contained in the Internet
Assessment criteria
The basis for passing the test is participation in all the meetings, each time documented by the tutor using cards of individual tutorial meetings. The evaluation of the tutorial consists of the evaluation of its final effect, which must be in a materialized form (e.g. a scientific essay or essays, a draft of a scientific or popular science article, a written final report, an extensive multimedia presentation). The main evaluation criteria are: student involvement in the implementation of the topic, independence and efficiency in searching for information sources, substantive correctness of interpretation, use of appropriate geological terminology. Each student is obliged to present a short summative talk (multimedia presentation) during a joint session of all tutees and their tutors, scheduled for the end of the academic year (June), in which the course takes place.
Practical placement
not applicable
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: