Advances in the Petrography of Natural Fine-Grained Materials: A Microscale Answer to Their Genetic Pathways and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Fine-grained materials are difficult to study petrographically due to the small size of their constituents, especially those consisting of clay-sized particles (<2–4 µm). Many papers include petrographic descriptions of fine-grained materials, especially in the silt and clay size range (<63 µm), as a complement to other procedures and techniques—either a facies analysis or compositional characterization. Commonly, these fine-grained materials correspond to sediments and rocks formed by inherited minerals and, more rarely, those formed by authigenic phases.

This Special Issue is focused on the petrography of fine-grained (mostly clay-sized) materials composed of minerals resulting from authigenesis, either from the transformation of previous crystalline or amorphous phases (precursors) or from direct precipitation (neoformation). The correct interpretation of their textural features is of great help in the genetic interpretation of their constituent minerals and thus of their formation environment. These genetic environments include both continental and marine settings in which syngenetic, diagenetic and edaphic processes are responsible for the textural variations presented by the materials. Fine-grained materials related to hydrothermal processes are also included in this.

In addition, many fine-grained materials of authigenic origin, especially claystones, exhibit physical and physico-chemical properties that lend them to important industrial and technological applications. These properties may vary in materials of the same mineral composition, even within the same deposit, with one of the causes being texture. For this reason, in addition to the determination of mineralogical and chemical composition, petrographic characterization and its correct interpretation is fundamental in order for these materials to provide an adequate response during specific applications. The use of polarized light microscopy supplemented with both scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and associated analytical procedures and techniques, are of particular relevance.

Prof. Dr. Manuel Pozo Rodríguez
Prof. Dr. Emilia García Romero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• clay and clay minerals
• petrography
• electron microscopy
• texture and microfabric
• properties
• genesis
• paleoenvironment
• applications