ABSTRACT
Photoelectron emission spectromicroscopy (PEEM) is highly informative for analyses of minerals and biominerals. This chapter provides little information about the instruments or the samples themselves; and focuses on providing extensive, representative data obtained on various biominerals, with the hope of inspiring the uninitiated to devise new experiments with their own samples, and start using PEEM at a nearby synchrotron. It discusses polarizationdependent imaging contrast mapping, which reveals the orientation of aragonite, calcite, or vaterite nanocrystals and the patterns they form in biominerals. The chapter explains a list of synchrotrons and PEEMs around the world, where an interested biomineralogist will be most welcome to bring samples and ideas, and receive all the technical help necessary to produce publication-quality results. Polishing should also be done with a special precaution for biominerals, as they often contain minor or major proportions of amorphous minerals. Therefore, one must prevent the dissolution of the amorphous phases during wet polishing.
