Biominerals
Microbial Life in Agates and other Minerals
by Marco Campos-Venuti
In this book we analyze those minerals that precipitate thanks to the interaction with bacterial colonies. These are extremophile bacteria characteristic of the deep biosphere that live in environments normally characterized by the abiotic precipitation of crystals.
The result is real microbialites composed of minerals normally present in mineral collections, but with geometries that are difficult to explain by following the rules of classical mineralogy. Moss agates, manganese Dendrites, Moqui Stones, Pyrite Suns, Feather malachite, Turquoise, are just few examples of biominerals.
528 pages, +1000 figures, 78 diagrams and 55 photo cards!!
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About the author
The author, born in 1965, is a volcanologist with a PhD, has produced numerous scientific publications and was the founder and editor of the Rivista Gemmologica Italiana.
He has thoroughly studied the genesis of agate and jasper and is probably the most prominent scientist in the world on this subject. Since childhood he has been a passionate collector of stones, and has always been curious to investigate their origin, amassing an important collection of minerals, mostly agates and jaspers.
