Tourmaline is an extremely important mineral whose significance goes well beyond being another attractive mineral. Tourmaline gives information on the thermal and fluid history of rocks in which it develops, is intimately associated with some of the world's premier metallic ore deposits, retains chemical signatures of the sources of tourmaline detritus in clastic rocks, yields isotopic evidence for the environmental sources of the boron that makes up tourmaline, is an extremely critical link in the boron cycle on the Earth and has many other useful petrogenetic features.
 

Tourmaline research at LSU

Tourmaline resources

Tourmaline and its response to reactive fluids

Unusual chemical zoning characteristics in tourmaline

Tourmaline as a indicator of fluid compositions

Tourmaline as a robust provenance indicator

Bibliography of tourmaline publications from LSU
 

Tourmaline crystal structure

Tourmaline classification

Relatively comprehensive tourmaline bibliography

Unofficial world records for highest concentrations of cations and anions in tourmaline

Unsual applications of tourmaline in products

Darrell Henry is the Campanile Charities Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Louisiana State University whose research specialty is metamorphic petrology. Further details of his professional background are included in an accompanying vita or faculty profile.

To contact Darrell Henry call (225)-578-2693, fax (225)-578-2302 or e-mail dhenry@geol.lsu.edu . Address: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.

This page was last updated on 04/26/06.

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