Is GEOKEM the Most Comprehensive Resource for Petrology and Geochemistry?

[Astronuc]

I found this site while looking for information on the mid-ocean ridges. I thought others might find it of use or interest.

http://www.geokem.com/index.html

With the amount of data being produced in the fields of Petrology and Geochemistry, we find that any statement or summary made more than two years ago is already greatly in need of revision. Nor can students being expected to read and remember the thousands of papers and publications produced annually. Approximately 4000 scientific papers likely to have some relevence to geochemistry were published in the last 12 months. The compilation of abstracts for the 2005 Fall AGU meeting included about 10,000 abstracts, mainly poster sessions. There has been no summary of the composition of the Hawaiian Islands written in the last 30 years, and no overview of the Oceanic crust, which constitutes 60% of the Earth's surface has ever been written. Even "Geokem" has far less on Oceanic sediments that we would like though we can clain a fairly complete coverage of Oceanic basalts. Due to the well known phenomena of mental inertia, outdated theory which has become fashionable or politically correct often cannot be questioned twenty years or more after it has become plain that it is not adequate so progress in knowledge is much slower than it should be.

GEOKEM aims at keeping at hand and referable to within seconds, a brief description of the composition of all volcanic and igneous centres world-wide (and some associated sediments) for which there is reasonable data, together with a regional variation diagram as well as a multi-element fingerprint, REE, metals, the alkaline Earth trace elements (Zr, Nb, Sr, Rb, Y, Ba) and other relevant diagrams for single centres. Short descriptions together with fractionation diagrams, comparisons between the different types of basalt known as ORB (Oceanic Ridge Basalt), NMORB, EMORB, OIB, IAB, CAB, (see Glossary for terminology) and other fundamental magma types, graphic comparisons between centres of similar and dissimilar type, and the primary basaltic parental magma trends and fractionation trends etc are all shown. It is continuously updated as new data comes to hand. There are still omissions, diagrams not yet done etc due to lack of finance and that ever scarce commodity, time. All data used has been identified by an abbreviated reference, necessarily so, as it must fit in the width of a computer plot. If any data used is missing a reference somewhere in the general text, we welcome communications pointing this out. Completed references to all published data are also to be found in the main databases PETDB and GEOROC and sometimes we show copies of these.

GEOKEM shows about 1200 diagrams and more than 240 illustrating pix but these are very hard to come by for places we have not visited personally.

The site is loaded with information.

I also found this interesting.
Suggestions for Field and Lab Work
http://www.geokem.com/lab_work.html

 

[matthyaouw]

Looks good- added to favorites. Thanks Astro! :)

 

[ravenprp]

Thank you for sharing this resource with others! It is always helpful to have reliable and up-to-date information on geology, especially in fields like Petrology and Geochemistry where new data is constantly being produced. It's impressive that GEOKEM aims to keep their information updated and easily accessible, even with the large amount of scientific papers and abstracts being published each year. The inclusion of regional variation diagrams and comparisons between different types of basalt is particularly useful for understanding the composition of volcanic and igneous centers worldwide. I also appreciate the suggestion for field and lab work, as hands-on experience is crucial in understanding geology. Overall, GEOKEM seems like a valuable resource for anyone interested in geology and I will definitely be checking it out. Thanks again for sharing!