Halide mineralHalide minerals are those minerals with a dominant halide anion (, , and ). Complex halide minerals may also have polyatomic anions. Examples include the following: Atacamite Avogadrite (K,Cs)BF Bararite (β) Bischofite Brüggenite Calomel Carnallite Carnallite Cerargyrite/Horn silver AgCl Chlorargyrite AgCl, bromargyrite AgBr, and iodargyrite AgI Cryolite Cryptohalite (a) Dietzeite Eglestonite Embolite AgCl+AgBr Eriochalcite Fluorite Halite NaCl Lautarite Marshite CuI Miersite AgI Nantokite CuCl Sal Ammoniac Sylvite KCl Terlinguaite Tolbachite Villiaumite NaF Yttrocerite (Ca,Y,Ce)F2 Yttrofluorite (Ca,Y)F2 Zavaritskite (BiO)F Many of these minerals are water-soluble and are often found in arid areas in crusts and other deposits as are various borates, nitrates, iodates, bromates and the like.
Silicate mineralSilicate minerals are rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. They are the largest and most important class of minerals and make up approximately 90 percent of Earth's crust. In mineralogy, silica (silicon dioxide, ) is usually considered a silicate mineral. Silica is found in nature as the mineral quartz, and its polymorphs. On Earth, a wide variety of silicate minerals occur in an even wider range of combinations as a result of the processes that have been forming and re-working the crust for billions of years.
Ring speciesIn biology, a ring species is a connected series of neighbouring populations, each of which interbreeds with closely sited related populations, but for which there exist at least two "end populations" in the series, which are too distantly related to interbreed, though there is a potential gene flow between each "linked" population and the next. Such non-breeding, though genetically connected, "end populations" may co-exist in the same region (sympatry) thus closing a "ring".
Suspension (chemistry)In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually settle, although the mixture is only classified as a suspension when and while the particles have not settled out. A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture in which the solid particles do not dissolve, but get suspended throughout the bulk of the solvent, left floating around freely in the medium.
On the Origin of SpeciesOn the Origin of Species (or, more completely, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) is a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin that is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology; it was published on 24 November 1859. Darwin's book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection.
Environmental remediationEnvironmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and may also be based on assessments of human health and ecological risks where no legislative standards exist, or where standards are advisory. In the United States, the most comprehensive set of Preliminary Remediation Goals (PRGs) is from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Screening Levels (RSLs).
Electron acceptorAn electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. It is an oxidizing agent that, by virtue of its accepting electrons, is itself reduced in the process. Electron acceptors are sometimes mistakenly called electron receptors. The electron accepting power of an acceptor molecule is measured by its electron affinity (A) which is the energy released when filling the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO).
Anaerobic respirationAnaerobic respiration is respiration using electron acceptors other than molecular oxygen (O2). Although oxygen is not the final electron acceptor, the process still uses a respiratory electron transport chain. In aerobic organisms undergoing respiration, electrons are shuttled to an electron transport chain, and the final electron acceptor is oxygen. Molecular oxygen is an excellent electron acceptor. Anaerobes instead use less-oxidizing substances such as nitrate (NO3-), fumarate (C4H2O42-), sulfate (SO42-), or elemental sulfur (S).
BioremediationBioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluents etc., in natural or artificial settings. The natural ability of organisms to adsorb, accumulate, and degrade common and emerging pollutants has attracted the use of biological resources in treatment of contaminated environment.
Iron(III)In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the element iron in its +3 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+. The adjective ferric or the prefix ferri- is often used to specify such compounds, as in ferric chloride for iron(III) chloride (). The adjective ferrous is used instead for iron(II) salts, containing the cation Fe2+. The word ferric is derived from the Latin word ferrum, meaning "iron".
