Calciobetafite is a relatively new subgroup of the uranium-rich betafites and typically occurs as a primary mineral in pegmatite, a type of igneous rock. The mineral was previously found only in Europe until Richard Munschauer '09 (Buffalo, N.Y.) unearthed the first case of calciobetafite in the United States during a field trip with his Minerology class to the St. Lawrence region of New York State. Munschauer has since been awarded a summer research grant to study his unique rock samples with Associate Professor of Geosciences David Bailey.
As part of the Geosciences 220: Minerology curriculum, students spend three days visiting different sites in the Adirondacks. They are tasked with accurately identifying as many minerals as possible in the rock samples they excavate. During a dig in DeKalb, NY, Munschauer discovered a pegmatite rock containing calciobetafite. He has found it again at the same location on subsequent trips.
Back at Hamilton, Munschauer has crushed up his rock samples and used a scanning electron microscope to image the individual mineral grains. In addition to the calciobetafite, he has identified several other interesting minerals, such as uranite and tantalum. Because the pegmatite he found came from waste piles created when the area was mined for road fill, Munschauer does not know the original geological layer his rocks came from. Thus, in order to determine how long ago his rocks formed and perhaps gain a better understanding of the calciobetafite's origins, he will measure the mineral's radioactive decay. (Unstable radioactive elements like uranium give off particles in a process known as decay to form more stable elements. Because uranium decays at a known constant rate, Munschauer can compare the relative abundance of uranium and its decay products to calculate the rock's age.)
Munschauer is a geosciences major and environmental studies minor. This is his first summer of research and he plans on continuing his current project for his senior thesis. He is a member of the squash team, the Student Athletic Activities Committee, and the Hamilton Gilded Bicycle Guild.
-- by Nick Berry '09
As part of the Geosciences 220: Minerology curriculum, students spend three days visiting different sites in the Adirondacks. They are tasked with accurately identifying as many minerals as possible in the rock samples they excavate. During a dig in DeKalb, NY, Munschauer discovered a pegmatite rock containing calciobetafite. He has found it again at the same location on subsequent trips.
Back at Hamilton, Munschauer has crushed up his rock samples and used a scanning electron microscope to image the individual mineral grains. In addition to the calciobetafite, he has identified several other interesting minerals, such as uranite and tantalum. Because the pegmatite he found came from waste piles created when the area was mined for road fill, Munschauer does not know the original geological layer his rocks came from. Thus, in order to determine how long ago his rocks formed and perhaps gain a better understanding of the calciobetafite's origins, he will measure the mineral's radioactive decay. (Unstable radioactive elements like uranium give off particles in a process known as decay to form more stable elements. Because uranium decays at a known constant rate, Munschauer can compare the relative abundance of uranium and its decay products to calculate the rock's age.)
Munschauer is a geosciences major and environmental studies minor. This is his first summer of research and he plans on continuing his current project for his senior thesis. He is a member of the squash team, the Student Athletic Activities Committee, and the Hamilton Gilded Bicycle Guild.
-- by Nick Berry '09
