Progress of the nanomineral study in Earth sciences

Nanomineral, the vital part of the Earth system, is widely spread in the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere of the Earth. It has unique structure characteristics, physicochemical properties, and geological behaviors that differ from macroscopic minerals due to its nano size. To study the formation mechanism, distribution characteristics and transformation laws of various kinds of nanominerals in the solid earth systems for further understanding the geological processes from the microscopic perspective has become a hotspot in the field of international geoscience research. In this paper, we summarized the research methods of nanominerals in the earth science and introduced the non-traditional processes of mineral growth, trace element adsorption and mineral phase transformation with the participation of nanominerals. At the same time, we reviewed the formation mechanism of inorganic nanominerals and their indicative significances to geological processes, including the crystallization processes in magmatic, hydrothermal, or colloidal systems, the dissolution-reprecipitation process of pre-existing minerals (mineral-fluid interaction), as well as the deformation process of pre-existing rocks or minerals under stresses (meteorite impact, tectonic activity, volcanic activity), discussed the relationship between nanominerals and mineralization, and finally proposed a prospective for future research directions of the nano-earth science.