Soil Micromorphology
2. Micromorphography Soil description under the microscope	3. Micromorphology Soil interpretation under the microscope	4. Thin section images Big microscopic browsing images	Soil carbonatation	Clay Illuviation	Hydromorphy	Coarse sand mineralogy

OpticalMine 3.0

Optical Mineralogy

Study of minerals with the petrographic microscope

Carlos Dorronsoro Díaz*, Bernabé Dorronsoro Díaz**, Carlos Dorronsoro Fdez*** and Arturo García Navarro ****

* Instituto de Optica "Daza Valdés". Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Madrid

** Dpto. Lenguas y Ciencias de la computación. Facultad de Ingeniería Informática. Universidad de Málaga

*** Dpto Edafología. Facultad de Ciencias. Universidad de Granada

**** Dpto Edafología. Facultad de Ciencias. Badajoz. Univ Extremadura

Translated into English by Gillian Butcher

This programme aims to study how and why optical properties are presented by minerals under the transmitted light petrographic microscope.

The most common method for studying the constituent minerals of rocks and soils is by examining the optical properties shown by minerals with a polarising, or petrographic microscope.

The procedure involves analysing the optical phenomena that occur when polarised light is passed through the minerals.

1. INTRODUCTION

The petrographic microscope

Thin sections