Data-Driven Discovery in Mineralogy: Recent Advances in Data Resources, Analysis, and Visualization
Robert M. Hazen,
Robert T. Downs,
Ahmed Eleish,
Peter Fox,
Olivier C. Gagné,
Joshua J. Golden,
Edward S. Grew,
Daniel R. Hummer,
Grethe Hystad,
Sergey V. Krivovichev,
Congrui Li,
Chao Liu,
Xiaogang Ma,
Shaunna M. Morrison,
Feifei Pan,
Alexander J. Pires,
Anirudh Prabhu,
Jolyon Ralph,
Simone E. Runyon,
Hao Zhong
Affiliations
Robert M. Hazen
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA; Corresponding author.
Robert T. Downs
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0077, USA
Ahmed Eleish
Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Peter Fox
Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Olivier C. Gagné
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
Joshua J. Golden
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0077, USA
Edward S. Grew
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Daniel R. Hummer
Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
Grethe Hystad
Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN 46323-2094, USA
Sergey V. Krivovichev
Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Murmansk Region 184209, Russia
Congrui Li
Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Chao Liu
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
Xiaogang Ma
Department of Computer Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1010, USA
Shaunna M. Morrison
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
Feifei Pan
Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Alexander J. Pires
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0077, USA
Anirudh Prabhu
Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Jolyon Ralph
Mindat.org, Mitcham CR4 4FD, UK
Simone E. Runyon
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA; Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071-2000, USA
Hao Zhong
Tetherless World Constellation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Large and growing data resources on the diversity, distribution, and properties of minerals are ushering in a new era of data-driven discovery in mineralogy. The most comprehensive international mineral database is the IMA database, which includes information on more than 5400 approved mineral species and their properties, and the mindat.org data source, which contains more than 1 million species/locality data on minerals found at more than 300 000 localities. Analysis and visualization of these data with diverse techniques—including chord diagrams, cluster diagrams, Klee diagrams, skyline diagrams, and varied methods of network analysis—are leading to a greater understanding of the co-evolving geosphere and biosphere. New data-driven approaches include mineral evolution, mineral ecology, and mineral network analysis—methods that collectively consider the distribution and diversity of minerals through space and time. These strategies are fostering a deeper understanding of mineral co-occurrences and, for the first time, facilitating predictions of mineral species that occur on Earth but have yet to be discovered and described. Keywords: Mineral evolution, Mineral ecology, Skyline diagrams, Network analysis, Cluster analysis, Chord diagrams, Klee diagrams
