This latest volume in the second edition of Rock-Forming Minerals deals mainly with the sulphates, carbonates, phosphates and halides. This volume has been completely rewritten and considerably expanded, incorporating the many advances in knowledge arising from new and improved techniques for investigating minerals. Since the publication of the first edition, crystal structures are now far better known, and the use of the electron-probe microanalysis has led to an even greater appreciation of the chemical variations in many of the minerals. Furthermore studies of fluid inclusions and of stable isotope ratios have given new data temperatures of crystallization and genetic sequences. Each mineral chapter is divided into section on structure, chemistry, optical and physical properties, distinguishing features and paragenesis. Chapters are headed with brief tabulations of mineral data and a sketch of optical orientation. This book also includes results from the ocean floor experimentation and deep sea drilling.