Elements is published jointly by the Mineralogical Volume 6, Number 1 • February 2010 ABOUT THE COVER: Society of America, the Mineralogical Society The copper carbonate azurite is of Great Britain and Ireland, the Mineralogical Mineral Evolution one of thousands of mineral Association of Canada, the Geochemical Society, species that fi rst appeared after The Clay Minerals Society, the European Guest Editor: Robert M. Hazen Earth’s Great Oxidation Event Association of Geochemistry, the Inter national (~2.4 Ga). Authors in this issue Association of GeoChemistry, the Société Mineral Evolution: Mineralogy suggest that azurite is thus a Française de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie, biomarker; specimens like this the Association of Applied Geochemists, 9 in the Fourth Dimension 4.6 cm crystal group from the Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft, Robert M. Hazen and John M. Ferry Touissit, Oujda, Morocco, are the Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia, unlikely to be found on nonliving the International Association of Geoanalysts, worlds. IMAGE COURTESY OF JEFFREY the Polskie Towarzystwo Mineralogiczne SCOVIL©; COLLECTION OF BRAD & (Mineralogical Society of Poland), the Sociedad The Evolution of Elements STARR VAN SCRIVER, HELIODOR Española de Mineralogía, and the Swiss Society 13 of Mineralogy and Petrology. It is provided as a and Isotopes benefi t to members of these societies. Hendrik Schatz Elements is published six times a year. Individuals are encouraged to join any one of the partici- Mineral Evolution of Meteorites pating societies to receive Elements. Institutional 19 subscribers to any of the following journals Timothy J. McCoy —American Mineralogist, Clay Minerals, Clays and Clay Minerals, Mineralogical Magazine, and The Canadian Miner alogist—also receive Elements as part of their 2010 subscription. Institu- Mineral Environments on the Earliest Earth tional subscriptions are available for US$160 25 Dominic Papineau (US$175.00 non-US addresses) a year in 2010. Contact the managing editor ([email protected]. ca) for information. Copyright 2010 by the Mineralogical Society The Great Oxidation Event of America 31 and Mineral Diversifi cation All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, Dimitri A. Sverjensky and Namhey Lee including translation to other languages, or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage 37 The Rise of Skeletal Biominerals and retrieval systems—without written permission Patricia M. Dove from the copyright holder is strictly prohibited. Publications mail agreement no. 40037944 Return undeliverable Themes and Variations in Complex Systems Canadian addresses to: 43 Robert M. Hazen and Niles Eldredge PO Box 503 RPO West Beaver Creek Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6 Departments Printed in Canada ISSN 1811-5209 (print) Editorial – Evolution and Extinction . 3 ISSN 1811-5217 (online) From the Editors – Welcoming Drever, Goldhaber, Yardley, www.elementsmagazine.org and Dutrow . 4 Triple Point – Do We Need More Applications of Geochemistry? . 5 Meet the Authors . 6 Mineral Matters – Dominant-Constituent Rule Revisited . 24 Society News Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia . .47 Sociedad Española di Mineralogía . .47 Geochemical Society . .48 Mineralogical Society of Poland . 50 International Association of Geoanalysts . .51 Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland . .52 Mineralogical Society of America . .54 The Clay Minerals Society . .56 Association of Applied Geochemists . .58 International Association of GeoChemistry . .58 Mineralogical Association of Canada . .59 Book Reviews – Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Water-Rock Interaction; Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology . 60 Calendar . 62 Parting Shots – Balthasar’s Feast . .64 Advertisers in This Issue . 64 1.