Dr Jens Najorka
X Ray Lab Manager
Division: Imaging and Analysis Centre
Summary
I am a mineralogist and lead the X-ray diffraction laboratory at NHM, established by F. A. Bannister around 1929. I train and support students, postdocs and researchers in mineral identification, quantification, and crystal structure analysis.
My area of research is crystal structure analysis of minerals and synthetic phases and their behaviour at high pressure and temperature. This research uses single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction and includes experiments using diamond anvil cells at high pressures.
Recently I have been studying the crystal structures of hydroxide perovskite relevant to processes in the Earth’s cold subduction zones (MgSi(OH)6) and minerals with potentially important technological topologies (vismirnovite-mushistonite solid solutions, claringbullite, jarosite).
Qualifications
- PhD Mineralogy (Experimental Petrology), Technical University of Berlin, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany, 1996 - 2000
- Diploma Mineralogy, Technical University of Berlin, Freiberg Mining Academy, Germany
Degrees
Employment history
- X-ray Laboratory Manager, Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, 2008 - ongoing
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, United Kingdom, 2001 - 2001
Academic
Non-academic
Researcher Mineralogy, Tata Steel RD&T, Ceramics Research Centre, IJmuiden, Netherlands, Microstructure, Crystallography and Thermal Analysis Group, 2001 - 2008
Publications
Missen OP, Mills SJ, Rumsey MS, Weil M, Artner W, Spratt J, Najorka J (2022) Crystal structure and investigation of Bi2TeO6·nH2O (0 ≤ n ≤ $${\raise0.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$} \kern-0.1em/\kern-0.15em \lower0.25ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 3$}}$$): natural and synthetic montanite. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 49 (7) : doi: 10.1007/s00269-022-01198-2
Rumsey MS, Hawthorne FC, Spratt J, Najorka J, Montgomery W (2022) Bridgesite-(Ce), a new rare earth element sulfate, with a unique crystal structure, from Tynebottom Mine, Cumbria, United Kingdom. Mineralogical Magazine, 86 (4) : 570 - 576. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2022.41
Missen OP, Mills SJ, Rumsey MS, Spratt J, Najorka J, Kampf AR, Thorne B (2022) The new mineral tomiolloite, Al12(Te4+O3)5[(SO3)0.5(SO4)0.5](OH)24: A unique microporous tellurite structure. American Mineralogist, 107 (12) : 2167 - 2175. doi: 10.2138/am-2022-8368
Suttle MD, King AJ, Ramkissoon NK, Bonato E, Franchi IA, Malley J, Schofield PF, Najorka J, Salge T, Russell SS (2022) Alteration conditions on the CM and CV parent bodies – Insights from hydrothermal experiments with the CO chondrite Kainsaz. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 318 : 83 - 111. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2021.11.028
Pinzari F, Cuadros J, Jungblut AD, Najorka J, Humphreys-Williams E (2022) Fungal strategies of potassium extraction from silicates of different resistance as manifested in differential weathering and gene expression. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 316 : 168 - 200. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2021.10.010
Perna M, Zaccaria D, Rosatelli G, Stoppani F, Curti E, Spratt J, Humphreys-Williams E, Najorka J, Brownscombe W, Nestola F, Stoppa F (null) Dissolution-Repackaging of Hellandite-(Ce), Mottanaite-(Ce)/Ferri-Mottanaite-(Ce). Minerals, 11 (6) : 610 - 610. doi: 10.3390/min11060610
Welch MD, Najorka J, Rumsey MS, Spratt J (2021) The Hexagonal ↔ Orthorhombic Structural Phase Transition in Claringbullite, Cu4FCl(OH)6. The Canadian Mineralogist, 59 (1) : 265 - 285. doi: 10.3749/canmin.2000041
Santoro L, Putzolu F, Mondillo N, Herrington R, Najorka J, Boni M, Dosbaba M, Maczurad M, Balassone G (2021) Quantitative mineralogical evaluation of Ni-Co laterite ores through XRPD-QPA- and automated SEM-based approaches: The Wingellina (Western Australia) case study. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 223 : 106695 - 106695. doi: 10.1016/j.gexplo.2020.106695
Little SH, Archer C, Chatterjee A, McManus J, Najorka J, Wegorzewski AV, Vance D (2021) Corrigendum to “Towards balancing the oceanic Ni budget” [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 547 (2020) 116461]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 557 : 116733 - 116733. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116733
Spiro B, Ezra O, Najorka J, Delgado A, Bialik O, Ben-Avraham Z, Coleman D, Makovsky Y (2021) Mineralogical, chemical and stable C and O isotope characteristics of surficial carbonate structures from the Mediterranean offshore Israel indicate microbial and thermogenic methane origin. Geo-Marine Letters, 41 (1) : doi: 10.1007/s00367-021-00684-w
Little SH, Archer C, McManus J, Najorka J, Wegorzewski AV, Vance D (2020) Towards balancing the oceanic Ni budget. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 547 : 116461 - 116461. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116461
Missen OP, Rumsey MS, Mills SJ, Weil M, Najorka J, Spratt J, Kolitsch U (2021) Elucidating the natural–synthetic mismatch of Pb2+Te4+O3: The redefinition of fairbankite to Pb122+(Te4+O3)11(SO4). American Mineralogist, 106 (2) : 309 - 316. doi: 10.2138/am-2020-7536
Kirby ME, Watson JS, Najorka J, Kenney JPL, Krevor S, Weiss DJ (2020) Experimental study of pH effect on uranium (UVI) particle formation and transport through quartz sand in alkaline 0.1 M sodium chloride solutions. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 592 : 124375 - 124375. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2019.124375
Putzolu F, Abad I, Balassone G, Boni M, Cappelletti P, Graziano SF, Maczurad M, Mondillo N, Najorka J, Santoro L (2020) Parent rock and climatic evolution control on the genesis of Ni-bearing clays in Ni-Co laterites: New inferences from the Wingellina deposit (Western Australia). Ore Geology Reviews, 120 : 103431 - 103431. doi: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103431
Nava J, Suttle MD, Spiess R, Folco L, Najorka J, Carli C, Massironi M (2020) Hydrothermal activity on the
Plotinskaya OY, Shilovskikh VV, Najorka J, Kovalchuk EV, Seltmann R, Spratt J (2019) Grain-scale distribution of molybdenite polytypes versus rhenium contents: μXRD and EBSD data. Mineralogical Magazine, 83 (5) : 639 - 644. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2019.49
Najorka J, Kleppe AK, Welch MD (2019) The effect of pressure and composition on Cu-bearing hydroxide perovskite. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 46 (9) : 877 - 887. doi: 10.1007/s00269-019-01047-9
Veillard CMA, John CM, Krevor S, Najorka J (2019) Rock-buffered recrystallization of Marion Plateau dolomites at low temperature evidenced by clumped isotope thermometry and X-ray diffraction analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 252 : 190 - 212. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2019.02.012
Suttle MD, Folco L, Genge MJ, Russell SS, Najorka J, van Ginneken M (2019) Intense aqueous alteration on C-type asteroids: Perspectives from giant fine-grained micrometeorites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 245 : 352 - 373. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2018.11.019
Burgio L, Melchar D, Strekopytov S, Peggie DA, Melchiorre Di Crescenzo M, Keneghan B, Najorka J, Goral T, Garbout A, Clark BL (2018) Identification, characterisation and mapping of calomel as ‘mercury white’, a previously undocumented pigment from South America, and its use on a barniz de Pasto cabinet at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Microchemical Journal, 143 : 220 - 227. doi: 10.1016/j.microc.2018.08.010
D'Arcy M, Mason PJ, Roda-Boluda DC, Whittaker AC, Lewis JMT, Najorka J (2018) Alluvial fan surface ages recorded by Landsat-8 imagery in Owens Valley, California. Remote Sensing of Environment, 216 : 401 - 414. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.07.013
Loxton J, Spencer Jones M, Najorka J, Smith AM, Porter JS (null) Skeletal carbonate mineralogy of Scottish bryozoans. PLOS ONE, 13 (6) : e0197533 - e0197533. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197533
Pinzari F, Cuadros J, Migliore M, Napoli R, Najorka J (2018) Manganese translocation and concentration on Quercus cerris decomposing leaf and wood litter by an ascomycetous fungus: an active process with ecosystem consequences?. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 94 (8) : doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiy111
Putzolu F, Balassone G, Boni M, Maczurad M, Mondillo N, Najorka J, Pirajno F (2018) Mineralogical association and Ni-Co deportment in the Wingellina oxide-type laterite deposit (Western Australia). Ore Geology Reviews, 97 : 21 - 34. doi: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2018.05.005
Lewis JMT, Najorka J, Watson JS, Sephton MA (2018) The Search for Hesperian Organic Matter on Mars: Pyrolysis Studies of Sediments Rich in Sulfur and Iron. Astrobiology, 18 (4) : 454 - 464. doi: 10.1089/ast.2017.1717
Loxton J, Najorka J, Humphreys-Williams E, Kuklinski P, Smith AM, Porter JS, Spencer Jones M (2017) The forgotten variable: Impact of cleaning on the skeletal composition of a marine invertebrate. Chemical Geology, 474 : 45 - 57. doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.10.022
Laycock A, Romero-Freire A, Najorka J, Svendsen C, van Gestel CAM, Rehkämper M (2017) Novel Multi-isotope Tracer Approach To Test ZnO Nanoparticle and Soluble Zn Bioavailability in Joint Soil Exposures. Environmental Science & Technology, 51 (21) : 12756 - 12763. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b02944
Iglikowska A, Najorka J, Voronkov A, Chełchowski M, Kukliński P (2017) Variability in magnesium content in Arctic echinoderm skeletons. Marine Environmental Research, 129 : 207 - 218. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.06.002
Piwoni-Piórewicz A, Kukliński P, Strekopytov S, Humphreys-Williams E, Najorka J, Iglikowska A (2017) Size effect on the mineralogy and chemistry of Mytilus trossulus shells from the southern Baltic Sea: implications for environmental monitoring. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189 (4) : doi: 10.1007/s10661-017-5901-y
Wrona T, Taylor KG, Jackson CA-L, Huuse M, Najorka J, Pan I (2017) Impact of silica diagenesis on the porosity of fine-grained strata: An analysis of Cenozoic mudstones from the North Sea. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 18 (4) : 1537 - 1549. doi: 10.1002/2016gc006482
Wadsworth FB, Heap MJ, Damby DE, Hess K-U, Najorka J, Vasseur J, Fahrner D, Dingwell DB (null) Local geology controlled the feasibility of vitrifying Iron Age buildings. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) : doi: 10.1038/srep40028
Mitchell RL, Cuadros J, Duckett JG, Pressel S, Mavris C, Sykes D, Najorka J, Edgecombe GD, Kenrick P (2016) Mineral weathering and soil development in the earliest land plant ecosystems. Geology, 44 (12) : 1007 - 1010. doi: 10.1130/g38449.1
Mitchell RL, Cuadros J, Pressel S, Duckett JG, Mavris C, Sykes D, Najorka J, Edgecombe GD, Kenrick P (2016) LEAVING THEIR MARK: BIOLOGICALLY-INDUCED MINERAL WEATHERING AND SOIL DEVELOPMENT IN ANCIENT LAND-PLANT ECOSYSTEMS. GSA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, USA - 2016, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs Geological Society of America : doi: 10.1130/abs/2016am-282635
Krzeminska M, Kuklinski P, Najorka J, Iglikowska A (2016) Skeletal Mineralogy Patterns of Antarctic Bryozoa. The Journal of Geology, 124 (3) : 411 - 422. doi: 10.1086/685507
Najorka J, Lewis JMT, Spratt J, Sephton MA (2016) Single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of synthetic sodium–hydronium jarosite. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 43 (5) : 377 - 386. doi: 10.1007/s00269-016-0802-0
Wadsworth FB, Damby DE, Hearne RL, Le Blond JS, Vasseur J, Najorka J, Hess K-U, Dingwell DB (2015) The feasibility of vitrifying a sandstone enclosure in the British Iron Age. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 4 : 605 - 612. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.06.007
Rumsey MS, Dossett I, Green DI, Najorka J, Spratt J (2015) Crookesite, Cu7TlSe4, from Littleham Cove, Devon: the first mineral containing essential thallium from the British Isles.. Journal of the Russell Society, 18 : 48 - 52.
Vaccaro E, King AJ, Najorka J, Starkey NA, Franchi IA, Russell SS (2015) IN-SITU MICRO-XRD COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MIL 07687 AND ALHA77307 MATRIX.. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 50 :
Green G, Higginson R, Hogg S, Spindler S, Hamm C, Najorka J (2015) Analysis of ferrite formed in 321 grade austenitic stainless steel. Materials Science and Technology, 31 (4) : 418 - 425. doi: 10.1179/1743284714y.0000000564
Lewis JMT, Watson JS, Najorka J, Luong D, Sephton MA (2015) Sulfate Minerals: A Problem for the Detection of Organic Compounds on Mars?. Astrobiology, 15 (3) : 247 - 258. doi: 10.1089/ast.2014.1160
Williamson CJ, Najorka J, Perkins R, Yallop ML, Brodie J (2014) Skeletal mineralogy of geniculate corallines: providing context for climate change and ocean acidification research. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 513 : 71 - 84. doi: 10.3354/meps10929
Loxton J, Kuklinski P, Najorka J, Spencer Jones M, Porter JS (2014) Variability in the skeletal mineralogy of temperate bryozoans: the relative influence of environmental and biological factors. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 510 : 45 - 57. doi: 10.3354/meps10889
Damby DE, Llewellin EW, Horwell CJ, Williamson BJ, Najorka J, Cressey G, Carpenter M (2014) The α–β phase transition in volcanic cristobalite. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 47 (4) : 1205 - 1215. doi: 10.1107/s160057671401070x
Loxton J, Kuklinski P, Barnes DKA, Najorka J, Spencer Jones M, Porter JS (2014) Variability of Mg-calcite in Antarctic bryozoan skeletons across spatial scales. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 507 : 169 - 180. doi: 10.3354/meps10826
Velis CA, Franco-Salinas C, O’Sullivan C, Najorka J, Boccaccini AR, Cheeseman CR (2014) Up-Cycling Waste Glass to Minimal Water Adsorption/Absorption Lightweight Aggregate by Rapid Low Temperature Sintering: Optimization by Dual Process-Mixture Response Surface Methodology. Environmental Science & Technology, 48 (13) : 7527 - 7535. doi: 10.1021/es5003499
Purvis OW, Convey P, Flowerdew MJ, Peat HJ, Najorka J, Kearsley A (2013) Iron localization in Acarospora colonizing schist on Signy Island. Antarctic Science, 25 (1) : 24 - 30. doi: 10.1017/s0954102012000582
Ferrat M, Weiss DJ, Strekopytov S, Dong S, Chen H, Najorka J, Sun Y, Gupta S, Tada R, Sinha R (2011) Improved provenance tracing of Asian dust sources using rare earth elements and selected trace elements for palaeomonsoon studies on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75 (21) : 6374 - 6399. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.08.025
Humphreys ER, Bailey K, Hawkesworth CJ, Wall F, Najorka J, Rankin AH (2010) Aragonite in olivine from Calatrava, Spain—Evidence for mantle carbonatite melts from >100 km depth. Geology, 38 (10) : 911 - 914. doi: 10.1130/g31199.1
Andrut M, E. Harlov D, Najorka J (2004) Characterization of ammonioleucite (NH4)[AlSi2O6] and ND4-ammonioleucite (ND4)[AlSi2O6] using IR spectroscopy and Rietveld refinement of XRD spectra. Mineralogical Magazine, 68 (1) : 177 - 189. doi: 10.1180/0026461046810179
Najorka J, Gottschalk M (2003) Crystal chemistry of tremolite-tschermakite solid solutions. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 30 (2) : 108 - 124. doi: 10.1007/s00269-002-0291-1
McDade P, Wood BJ, Van Westrenen W, Brooker R, Gudmundsson G, Soulard H, Najorka J, Blundy J (2002) Pressure corrections for a selection of piston-cylinder cell assemblies. Mineralogical Magazine, 66 (6) : 1021 - 1028. doi: 10.1180/0026461026660074
Najorka J, Gottschalk M, Heinrich W (2002) Composition of synthetic tremolite-tschermakite solid solutions in amphibole + anothite- and amphibole + zoisite-bearing assemblages. American Mineralogist: an international journal of earth and planetary materials, 87 : 462 - 477.
Andrut M, Gottschalk M, Melzer S, Najorka J (2000) Lattice vibrational modes in synthetic tremolite-Sr-tremolite and tremolite-richterite solid solutions. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 27 (5) : 301 - 309. doi: 10.1007/s002690050259
Najorka J, Gottschalk M, Franz G, Heinrich W (1999) Ca-Sr distribution among amphibole, clinopyroxene and chloride-bearing solution. American Mineralogist: an international journal of earth and planetary materials, 84 : 596 - 606.
Gottschalk M, Najorka J, Andrut M (1998) Structural and compositional characterization of synthetic (Ca,Sr)-tremolite and (Ca,Sr)-diopside solid solutions. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 25 (6) : 415 - 428. doi: 10.1007/s002690050131
Mullineux S, Sparks RSJ, Murphy MD, MacNiocaill C, Barfod D, Najorka J, Schumacher JC (2020) Columnar-jointed bentonite below a Doleritic Sill, Tideswell Dale, Derbyshire, UK: formation during prograde contact metamorphism – CORRIGENDUM. Geological Magazine, 157 (7) : 1199 - 1199. doi: 10.1017/s0016756820000163
Schleicher NJ, Dong S, Packman H, Little SH, Ochoa Gonzalez R, Najorka J, Sun Y, Weiss DJ (null) A Global Assessment of Copper, Zinc, and Lead Isotopes in Mineral Dust Sources and Aerosols. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8 : doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00167
Zohar I, Alperson-Afil N, Goren-Inbar N, Prévost M, Tütken T, Sisma-Ventura G, Hershkovitz I, Najorka J (null) Evidence for the cooking of fish 780,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6 (12) : 2016 - 2028. doi: 10.1038/s41559-022-01910-z