Heavy-mineral suite
Definition
The assemblage of high-specific-gravity minerals (greater than about 2.85 g/cm3) present in a sediment sample, typically including zircon, tourmaline, garnet, and hornblende. The proportions reflect the bedrock that eroded to form the sediment, making the suite a geographic fingerprint.
Related terms
- Comparative mineralogy
- The systematic comparison of mineral assemblages from a questioned sample and a reference sample to assess whether they share the same geographic...
- Forensic geology
- The application of geological sciences to legal and investigative problems, treating earth materials such as soil, rock, mineral, sediment, and dust as...
- Geo-provenance
- The determination of geographic origin of a geological material based on its physical, mineralogical, or geochemical characteristics. The same concept that geologists...
- Polarised light microscopy (PLM)
- A microscopy technique in which polarised light is passed through a thin section or grain mount, revealing optical properties (birefringence, extinction angle,...
- Trace evidence
- Small quantities of material transferred between people, objects, and locations during contact. Forensic geology focuses on the geological subset of trace evidence:...
Explained in
- History and Pioneers of Forensic GeologyThe assemblage of high-specific-gravity minerals (greater than about 2.85 g/cm3) present in a sediment sample, typically including zircon, tourmaline, garnet,...