• ISBN13: 9780199682843
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: Earth-Science/Environment
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: June 15, 2014
• Pages: 152
• Original Price: INR 350.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 110 grams

Minerals existed long before any forms of life, playing a key role in the origin and evolution of life; an interaction with biological systems that we are only now beginning to understand. Exploring the traditional strand of mineralogy, which emphasises the important mineral families, the well-established analytical methods (optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction) and the dramatic developments made in techniques over recent decades, David Vaughan also introduces the modern strand of mineralogy, which explores the role minerals play in the plate tectonic cycle and how they interact with the living world.