OHFUJI Hiroaki

Professor

Department of Earth and Planetary Environmental Science (UG), Department of Earth and Planetary Physics (UG), Department of Earth and Planetary Science (GR), Graduate School of Science

Current Research

Minerals are the smallest building blocks of our planet, Earth. In practice, however, what we typically observe in the field are “rocks”, which are aggregates of minerals, or “strata” and “rock bodies” formed through their layering. However, under the suitable conditions, minerals can preferentially form and concentrate, exhibiting a variety of crystal shapes and textures. In our laboratory, we use electron microscopy to investigate the microtextures and chemical compositions of natural and synthetic samples in detail down to the nanometer scale, in order to understand the origin and formation mechanism of minerals. Investigating the occurrence, genesis, and physicochemical properties of minerals leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms of geological phenomena at larger scales and helps to elucidate the underlying physical and chemical principles. We pursue the fundamental question of “why?” across a wide range of scales, from field surveys to micro- and nanoscale observations. By extrapolating information obtained at the local level to the macroscopic level, we aim to address unresolved problems and explore new research topics.

Keywords

Mineralogy, Crystal growth, Microtexture, Electron Microscopy, Mineral fertilizer