Mineral Spectroscopy

DOI -- https://doi.org/10.7907/jywr-qq57

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

This server provides information about mineralogy and is primarily dedicated to providing information about color in minerals and access to data on Mineral Absorption Spectra in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum and Raman spectra of minerals. Most data on the server were obtained in the Caltech mineral spectroscopy labs. Other types of spectroscopic data on minerals are also available.

Visible, near-infrared and infrared absorption spectra are available for a number of minerals. Examples include common rock-forming minerals, gem minerals, and other minerals of particular interest.

Spectroscopic Data Mineral Spectroscopy References Causes of Color in Minerals

Special Topics: Ametrine Manganese Dendrites Desert Varnish Silica Polymorphs Painite Rossmanite Tourmaline Blue Cap Tourmaline

Spectroscopic Data: hundreds of files and graphs

Have a look at our List of Data Files

This is the ever growing list of the minerals available on this server. Available are single crystal optical spectra, some IR spectra, and links to other data sites with reflectance data, emission specra,Mössbauer spectra, and luminescence data. Under the single crystal transmission data link, data are available both as images of the spectra and as ASCII text with X,Y format following two header lines, plus many references to the spectra of minerals..

Data from our Publications

This is a list of all our publications with many links to abstracts of the papers, and sometimes graphics or even links to the data in the papers.

Extensive references to Mineral Optical Spectroscopic data are available

Numerous references are found in our Mineral Spectroscopy Data Files section

References arranged by first author's name

Have a look at our updated List of References Hydrous components (OH, H₂O) in minerals

Learn why minerals have the colors they do

Be sure to see the sections illustrating and explaining the origin of color in minerals. You can learn about metal ions in crystals, intervalence charge transfer, and radiation-induced colors. Many examples are shown and explained.

Spectroscopy Laboratory Instruments Signup

Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences

This page last upgraded: 24-May-2025

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

George R. Rossman grr @caltech.edu Mineralogy at Caltech

Required fine print:

This material is based upon work supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 1322082, 0947956, 0550216, 0337816, 0125767, 9804871, 9405438, 9725897, 9218980, 9104059, 8916064, 8915909, 8816006, 8618200, 8313098, 8212549, 7923606, 7904801, 7919987, 7723147, and 7602014.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).