American Mineralogist, Volume 95, pages 185–187, 2010 Abbreviations for names of rock-forming minerals DONNA L. WHITNEY 1,* AN D BERNAR D W. EVANS 2 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, U.S.A. 2Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Box 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98185, U.S.A. Nearly 30 years have elapsed since Kretz (1983) provided riebeckite (Rbk); and albite (Ab) and anorthite (An) as well as the mineralogical community with a systematized list of abbre- plagioclase (Pl), recognizing that some petrologists have uses for viations for rock-forming minerals and mineral components. Its these mineral names. In addition, although our focus is on rock- logic and simplicity have led to broad acceptance among authors forming minerals, some hypothetical and/or synthetic phases are and editors who were eager to adopt a widely recognized set of included in our list, as well as an abbreviation for “liquid” (Liq). mineral symbols to save space in text, tables, and figures. We have also included some abbreviations for mineral groups, Few of the nearly 5000 known mineral species occur in e.g., aluminosilicates (Als, the Al2SiO5 polymorphs), and other nature with a frequency sufficient to earn repeated mention in descriptive terms (e.g., opaque minerals). The choice of abbre- the geoscience literature and thus qualify for the designation viations attempts as much as possible to make the identity of the “rock-forming mineral,” but a reasonable selection of the most mineral instantly obvious and unambiguous. common and useful rock-forming minerals likely numbers in the several hundreds. The original list by Kretz (1983) contained UP D ATE D L IST OF MINERA L A bb REVIATIONS abbreviations for 193 of these. In this contribution, abbreviations from Kretz (with some We propose an expansion to the list initiated by Kretz (1983) modifications) and new abbreviations are listed (Table 1, next (see next page). Modest expansions and revisions were made by page). The following format was used for assigning abbrevia- Spear (1993), Holland and Powell (1998), the Mineralogical As- tions: sociation of Canada, and Siivola and Schmid (2007). Our revised (1) The first letter is capitalized; the other letter(s) are lower list of abbreviations has 371 entries. Significant numbers of the case, with the exception of Phase A, abbreviated as PhA. new entries are the result of three decades of research in high- and (2) The first letter of the abbreviation is the first letter of the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic terrains, the explicit inclusion of mineral name; subsequent letters are selected from the mineral Mg and Fe end-members of solid-solution series (as in the amphi- name. boles), recent work on extraterrestrial samples, and the increased (3) Most abbreviations consist of 2 or 3 letters, but a 4-letter relevance to petrology of numerous accessory minerals. abbreviation is used when the addition of F for ferro- or M for The two systems of abbreviations currently most in use— magnesio- resulted in ambiguity in the 3-letter version (e.g., Kretz (1983), including modifications; and Holland and Powell Mcar for magnesiocarpholite). (1998)—differ in terms of style and concept. Kretz abbreviations (4) Mineral abbreviations were selected so as not to corre- are 2–3 letters and use uppercase first letters for minerals and spond to abbreviations for elements. Note that rule 4 was violated lower case letters throughout for mineral components (e.g., the by a few of the original Kretz abbreviations (Mo for molybdenite; almandine component of garnet); the Holland and Powell sys- Ne for nepheline), so some original Kretz abbreviations have tem varies from 1–5 letters and uses lowercase throughout. The been changed to follow this rule. Others have been modified to Kretz system provides abbreviations for selected intermediates avoid ambiguity with minerals added to the list. in solid-solution mineral series. The Holland and Powell system is restricted to abbreviations for end-members for which there ACKNO wl E D GMENT are available thermodynamic data that have been included in the We thank Marc Hirschmann and Howard Day for input on the updated ab- breviation system. Holland and Powell database. The two systems have the same abbreviations for some minerals (other than capitalization), but REFERENCES CITE D in many cases use different symbols for the same mineral, for Kretz, R. (1983) Symbols of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 68, example, “Crn” (Kretz) and “cor” (H&P). 277–279. Holland, T.J.B. and Powell, R. (1998) An internally-consistent thermodynamic The selection of minerals to include in a list of abbreviations data set for phases of petrologic interest. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, is subjective, but we have tried to err on the side of being inclu- 16, 309–343. sive, listing some minerals for which the status is questionable Siivola, J. and Schmid, R. (2007) Recommendations by the IUGS Subcommission on the Systematics of Metamorphic Rocks: List of mineral abbreviations. Web according to the International Mineralogical Association. For version 01.02.07. (http://www.bgs.ac.uk/scmr/docs/papers/paper_12.pdf) example, we accommodate alternative choices such as titanite IUGS Commission on the Systematics in Petrology. (Ttn) and sphene (Spn); hypersthene (Hyp), enstatite (En), and Spear, F.S. (1993) Metamorphic Phase Equilibria and Pressure-Temperature-Time Paths. Monograph 1, Mineralogical Society of America, Chantilly, Virginia. orthopyroxene (Opx); glaucophane (Gln), crossite (Crt), and MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED AUGUST 11, 2009 MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED AUGUST 13, 2009 * E-mail: [email protected] MANUSCRIPT HANDLED BY BRYAN CHAKOU M AKOS 0003-004X/10/0001–185$05.00/DOI: 10.2138/am.2010.3371 185 186 WHITNEY AND Evans: MINERAL abbreviations TABLE 1. Updated list of abbreviations Symbol Mineral Name IMA status* Symbol Mineral Name IMA status* Symbol Mineral Name IMA status* Chu clinohumite G Ged gedrite Rd Acm acmite D Cpt clinoptilolite A Gh gehlenite G Act actinolite A Cpx clinopyroxene GROUP Gk geikielite G Adl adularia I Czo clinozoisite G Gbs gibbsite A Aeg aegirine A Cln clintonite A Gis gismondine A Ak åkermanite G Coe coesite A Glt glauconite GROUP Ab albite G Coh cohenite G Gln glaucophane Rd Afs alkali feldspar GROUP Crd cordierite G Gme gmelinite A Aln allanite A Crr corrensite G Gth goethite A Alm almandine G Crn corundum G Gdd grandidierite G Als aluminosilicate Cv covellite G Gr graphite G Crs cristobalite G Gre greenalite G (Al2SiO5 polymorphs) GROUP Alu alunite Rd Crt crossite D Grs grossular A Amk amakinite Rd Crl cryolite G Gru grunerite Rd Ame amesite G Cbn cubanite G Gp gypsum G Amp amphibole GROUP Cum cummingtonite Rd Anl analcime (analcite) A Cpr cuprite G Hl halite G Ant anatase A Csp cuspidine G Hrm harmotome A And andalusite G Hst hastingsite Rd Adr andradite G Dph daphnite not listed Hsm hausmannite G Ang anglesite G Dat datolite G Hyn haüyne G Anh anhydrite G Dbr daubreelite G Hzl heazlewoodite G Ank ankerite G Dee deerite A Hd hedenbergite A Ann annite A Dia diamond G Hem hematite A An anorthite G Dsp diaspore G Hc hercynite G Ano anorthoclase I Dck dickite G Hul heulandite A Ath anthophyllite Rd Dg digenite A Hbn hibonite G Atg antigorite Rn Di diopside A Hbs hibschite Rn Ap apatite GROUP Dpt dioptase G Hgb högbomite D Apo apophyllite GROUP Dol dolomite G Hol hollandite G Arg aragonite G Drv dravite G Hlm holmquistite Rd Arf arfvedsonite A Dum dumortierite G Hbl hornblende GROUP Arm armalcolite Rd Hw howieite A Apy arsenopyrite A Eas eastonite Rd Hu humite G Aug augite A Ec ecandrewsite A Hgr hydrogrossular GROUP Awr awaruite G Eck eckermannite A Hyp hypersthene D Ax axinite GROUP Ed edenite A Elb elbaite G Ilt illite GROUP Bab babingtonite G Ell ellenbergerite A Ilm ilmenite G Bdy baddeleyite G Eng enargite G Ilv ilvaite G Brt barite (baryte) A En enstatite (ortho-) A Brs barroisite Rd Ep epidote GROUP Jd jadeite A Bei beidellite G Eri erionite A Jrs jarosite Rd Brl beryl G Esk eskolaite G Jim jimthompsonite A Bt biotite GROUP Ess esseneite A Jhn johannsenite A Bxb bixbyite G Eud eudialite A Bhm böhmite (boehmite) G Krs kaersutite Rd Bn bornite A Fas fassaite D Kls kalsilite G Brk brookite G Fa fayalite G Kam kamacite (α-FeNi) D Brc brucite G Fsp feldspar GROUP Kln kaolinite A Bst bustamite G Fac ferro-actinolite Rd Ktp katophorite Rd Fath ferro-anthophyllite Rd Kfs K-feldspar informal Cal calcite G Fbrs ferrobarroisite A Khl K-hollandite H Ccn cancrinite G Fcar ferrocarpholite A Kir kirschsteinite G Cnl cannilloite H Fcel ferroceladonite A Krn kornerupine G Cb carbonate mineral GROUP Fec ferro-eckermannite Rd Kos kosmochlor A Car carpholite G Fed ferro-edenite Rd Kut kutnohorite (kutnahorite) G Cst cassiterite G Fgd ferrogedrite Rd Ky kyanite A Cel celadonite A Fgl ferroglaucophane Rd Clt celestine A Fkrs ferrokaersutite A Lrn larnite G Cls celsian G Fny ferronyboite H Lmt laumontite A Cer cerussite G Fprg ferropargasite Rd Lws lawsonite G Cbz chabazite A Frct ferrorichterite A Lzl lazulite A Cct chalcocite G Fs ferrosilite Rn Lzr lazurite G Ccp chalcopyrite G Fts ferrotschermakite Rd Lpd lepidolite GROUP Chm chamosite G Fwn ferrowinchite Rd Lct leucite G Chs chesterite A Fi fibrolite (fibrous Lm limonite not listed Chl chlorite GROUP sillimanite) informal Liq liquid Cld chloritoid G Fl fluorite G Lz lizardite G Chn chondrodite G Fo forsterite G Lo löllingite (loellingite) G Chr chromite G Fos foshagite G Ccl chrysocolla A Frk franklinite G Mgh maghemite