Science of Rocks

Rocks:

The rock cycle

Fault lines lead to gold

Cratons, why are you still here?

Composition of the Earth's crust

A tiny grain helps reveal the history of a rock

Found: ancient, primitive mantle from deep Earth

An explanation, at last, for mysterious 'Zen Stones'

Geometry reveals how the world is assembled from cubes

Ancient rocks record first evidence for photosynthesis that made oxygen

In situ direct displacement information on fault reactivation during fluid injection

Weathering of rocks by mosses may explain climate effects during the Late Ordovician

Before plants or animals existed, this 250,000-ton rock fell in the mud. Here's how we know

Rock types:

Rhyolite

Feldspar

Hematite

Composition of rocks

The rock identification key

New mineral shows nature's infinite variability

Magmatic differentiation: chemical variations in rock suites

Rock formation processs:

Lithification 

Petrification

Thermochemistry

Mercury mineral evolution

Geochemistry of igneous rocks

Sculpting of rocks by reactive fluids

Lightning reshapes rocks at the atomic level

Selective silicate-directed motility in diatoms

Computer simulation explains mysterious rock patterns

Mechanisms behind solid-solid phase transitions discovered

Sorting minerals differently could usher a new era for mineralogy

Meteorite bombardment likely to have created the Earth's oldest rocks

Sedimentary processesand the temporal resolution of sedimentary strata

The elusive iron-sappingmechanism that reults in Earth's continental crust

Rock mechanics, strength & deformation:

Rock mechanics

Is old rock really as 'solid as a rock'?

Feeling the force between sand grains

Principles of risk-based rock engineering design

New technique tracks rock deformation at a micrometric scale

Muography and its potential applications to mining and rock engineering

Fracture assessment of quasi-brittle rock simulated by modified discrete element method

An experimental investgation into the salt-weathering susceptability of building limestones

Numerical analysis of the failure process of soil-rock mixtures through CT and PFC3D models

Alternative approaches for the determination of unconfined rock deformation and strength properties

Viscoplasticity-embedded discontinuity model for 3D description of rock failure under dynamic loading

Magnetism in rocks:

Magnetic recording in rocks

Pressure alters rock magnetization

Grand challenges in geomagnetism and paleomagnetism

Unique geologic insights from "non-unique" gravity and magnetic interpretation

Rock detection and mining:

Muography and its potential applications to mining and rock engineering

Regional:

USA:

Old copper culture: North America's forgotten metal workers

Yosemite granite 'tells a different story' about geologic history

Europe:
 
Australia:
 
China:

 China's mysterious egg-laying mountain that spews out stone eggs