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Bassanite is a
calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar ...
sulfate mineral The sulfate minerals are a class of minerals that include the sulfate ion () within their structure. The sulfate minerals occur commonly in primary evaporite depositional environments, as gangue minerals in hydrothermal veins and as secondary mine ...
with formula CaSO4· H2O or 2CaSO4·H2O. In other words it has half a water molecule per CaSO4 unit, hence its synonym ''calcium sulfate hemihydrate''. Bassanite was first described in 1910 for an occurrence on
Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
. It was named for Italian paleontologist Francesco Bassani (1853–1916). At Vesuvius it occurs as alterations from
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...
within
leucite Leucite is a rock-forming mineral of the feldspathoid group, silica-undersaturated and composed of potassium and aluminium tectosilicate KAlSi2O6. Crystals have the form of cubic icositetrahedra but, as first observed by Sir David Brewster in ...
tephrite and as
fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
deposits. It occurs in dry lake beds in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. It also occurs interlayered with gypsum in
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s. H. Schmidt and coinvestigators reported in 2011 that under dry conditions, the structure is
monoclinic In crystallography, the monoclinic crystal system is one of the seven crystal systems. A crystal system is described by three vectors. In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal lengths, as in the orthorhombic ...
with space group ''C2'', but at 75% humidity, the structure is
trigonal In crystallography, the hexagonal crystal family is one of the six crystal families, which includes two crystal systems (hexagonal and trigonal) and two lattice systems (hexagonal and rhombohedral). While commonly confused, the trigonal crystal ...
with space group ''P3221''. This reflects the incorporation of additional water of hydration, such that the trigonal form has the formula CaSO4·0.625H2O


References

Sulfate minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 5 Minerals in space group 152 or 154 Mount Vesuvius Geology of Italy {{sulfate-mineral-stub