mirabilite

plural mirabilites

1. chemistryAn evaporite, consisting of sodium sulfate, with the chemical formula Na₂SO₄·10H₂O.

   Mirabilite could have been and probably was scooped up off the cave floor and out of breakdown hollows, or brushed off ceilings and walls where it forms abundantly.

   2002, George M. Crothers, Charles H. Faulkner, Jan F. Simek, Patty Jo Watson, P. Willey, “23: Woodland Cave Archaeology in Eastern North America”, in David G. Anderson, Robert C. Mainfort, editors, The Woodland Southeast, University of Alabama Press, page 512

   2 more examples

   Mounds of mirabilite have been observed near the north-west side of White Island, (e.g., Debenham 1965). These mirabilites probably originated by infiltration of sea water into the ice shelf, followed by ablation of the surface until the brines were exposed to evaporation and freeze concentration with precipitation of mirabilite on the surface.

   1975, M. K. Stewart, “Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Studies on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica”, in New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, Volume 18, Number 1, page 61

   Bedded deposits of mirabilite occur in coastal areas of East Antarctica, such as the Vestfold Hills and in the Skarvsnes area of Lutzow-Holm Bay, about 1500 km further west (Fig 1.3).

   1987, I. B. Campbell, G. G. C. Claridge, Antarctica: Soils, Weathering Processes and Environment, Elsevier, page 253

   Synonyms: Glauber's salt