From microscopic minerals to global climate change?

The study of minerals is often focused on their crystallographic properties, chemistry and economic importance, and so their breakdown, or ‘weathering’, by physical, chemical and biological processes is less well understood. However, mineral weathering is of considerable environmental significance. The interaction of minerals with water and microbes, such as algae and bacteria, controls soil fertility, the transportation of pollutants through the ground, and ultimately the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere over geological timescales. Therefore, minerals are a key factor in moderating global climate change. This article introduces conventional and new techniques that are being used by geologists to investigate these processes