PULI

Pannonian Uniform Lithospheric Infrared Spectral Database

Welcome

The purpose of PULI (Pannonian Uniform Lithospheric Infrared spectral Database)


The purpose of the PULI database is to provide direct access to the electronic and editable version of many previously published infrared spectra of nominally anhydrous minerals (NAMs) especially for the ‘hydroxyl (OH-)’ region (~ 3800 - 3000 cm-1). The respective physico-chemical data of the NAMs will be also made available online. This website can be used a “scientific youtube” where you can share your spectra and ideas/comments with the broader scientific community.

The access to the PULI database requires registration, but it is free of charge. After registration, and checking the validity of the data you entered upon registration, you will be provided with a password which will give you full access to the PULI website after the administrator approves your request (an email notification will be sent to the email address you used at the registration).

If you use any material from the website either electronic or intellectual we would greatly appreciate if you could make proper reference to it. We are open to be the part of any future collaboration which would involve the PULI database. We would be pleased if you could send us pdf copies of future publications which involved the resources provided by the PULI database.

Any suggestion for the improvement of the website and also spectral contributions are more than welcome! We would be pleased if you could call our attention to any omitted spectrum or study in spite of doing our best to make the database as complete as possible. Your feedback is important for us!

The database is continuously upgraded and extended so please check us back regularly and please inform any concerned colleague about the existence of the PULI database.


The uncertainty arising from the application of deifferent analytical techniques and quantitative evaluation protocols makes it rather difficult - if not even impossible - to see systematic changes of 'water' concentrations in the Earth's upper mantle. As noted by Anne Peslier in her excellent review paper:

Despite all efforts to make all water contents comparable, the quantification methods will still introduce significant albeit unavoidable and unquantifiable uncertainties to the water concentration calculations.

(Peslier, 2010; Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 197, 1, 239-255)

This inspired us for the development of an infrared analytical and quantitative evaluation protocol, to provide us with more accurate and comparable concentrations when analyzing structurally bound "water" in NAMs, At an informal meeting following the session on 'Water in nominally anhydrous minerals’ at the IMA2010 world conference in Budapest (August, 2010) – with the participation of some seasoned infrared experts of the world - i.e.:

  • Prof. George Rossman (CALTECH),
  • Dr. Monika Koch-Müller (GFZ),
  • Prof. Roland Stalder (University of Innsbruck),
  • Dr. Jannick Ingrin (Université Lille 1),
  • Dr. Henrik Skogby (Swedish Museum of Natural History)

The need for the development of such a quantitative evaluation protocol was acknowledged and the idea of a complex infrared spectral database for the nominally anhydrous minerals of the shallow upper mantle and crust (< 250 km) was raised. Now we restrict the database only to the shallow upper mantle and crust (<~ 250 km) as it seems that the most of the geologically important and better explored processes happen in the lithosphere-asthenosphere system. It is likely, however, that depending on the demand, the database will be extended to include other minerals and deeper regions of the Earth’s interior.

In the present version of the PULI database, the infrared spectral database would include the nominally anhydrous silicate minerals of the upper mantle (olivine, pyroxenes). The construction of PULI has raised many challenges because in original publications the digital format of infrared spectra is not provided and the exact explanation of the analytical settings how the spectra were obtained are often missing. Thus, these spectra could be only reproduced by the digitalization of the printed versions, which is in fact, a long and labour intensive exercise. The digitalization has been and is being implemented at the Geological and Geophysical Institute of Hungary (GGIH). The digitalized spectra then are converted in txt format which is compatible with most of the spectra evaluation softwares (Resolution Pro, OPUS, Omnic etc.). The database is an integral part of the GGIH’s geological database. Not only the mineral infrared spectra but also the relating physical and chemical parameters are summarized.
Please note that the data will be uploaded gradually and the website will be also regularly updated to include accidentally omitted references and new publications.