Feldspar

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Earth and Environmental Science


Selected Abstracts


Synthesis of Pb-Feldspar by Ion Exchange Reaction and Its Implications

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 2 2006
LIU Rui
Abstract, Feldspar and Pb(NO3)2 were mixed and reacted at T=380°C to synthesize Pb-feldspar. In the XRD (X-ray diffraction) pattern of the product, the d values (crystal lattice spacing) of the five peaks are 0.654, 0.342, 0.332, 0.327 and 0.257 nm. The XPS analysis results show that the binding energy of Pb 4f7/2 in the feldspar was between 137.81,138.03 eV. Pb2+ can replace alkali and alkali earth cations in the feldspar structure through ion exchange reaction to form Pb-feldspar. [source]


Processing of Lightweight, High-Strength Porcelains Using an Alumina Cement to Replace Feldspars and Clays

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 7 2000
Weon-Pil Tai
New lightweight, high-strength porcelain bodies, using only nonplastic raw materials such as glass microspheres, quartz, and alumina cement, were fabricated and the effect of quartz particle size was investigated. Decreases in the green strength, relative to an increasing content of glass microspheres, were attributed to the decrease in the density and the relative decrease in the volume of alumina cement. The phases in the fired body were glass, ,-quartz, cristobalite, anorthite, and a small amount of ,-alumina. The large quartz particles (10,32 ,m in size) could not be densified to closed porosity, because of underfiring, whereas smaller quartz particles (4,10 ,m in size) permitted densification to closed porosity at 1300°C. The high flexural strength when using medium-sized quartz particles (6,20 ,m, content of 30 wt%) was attributed to a stronger prestress and higher density that was due to better vitrification. [source]


Textural and compositional controls on modern beach and dune sands, New Zealand

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 3 2007
J. J. Kasper-Zubillaga
Abstract Textural, compositional, physical and geophysical determinations were carried out on 111 beach and dune sand samples from two areas in New Zealand: the Kapiti,Foxton coast sourced by terranes of andesite and greywackes and the Farewell Spit,Wharariki coast sourced by a wide variety of Paleozoic terranes. Our aim is to understand how long-shore drift, beach width and source rock control the sedimentological and petrographic characteristics of beach and dune sands. Furthermore, this study shows the usefulness of specific minerals (quartz, plagioclase with magnetite inclusions, monomineralic opaque grains) to interpret the physical processes (fluvial discharges, long-shore currents, winds) that distribute beach and dune sands in narrow and wide coastal plains. This was done by means of direct (grain size and modal analyses) and indirect (specific gravity, magnetic/non-magnetic separations M/NM, magnetic susceptibility measurements, hysteresis loops) methods. Results are compared with beach sands from Hawaii, Oregon, the Spanish Mediterranean, Elba Island and Southern California. Compositionally, the Kapiti,Foxton sands are similar to first-order immature sands, which retain their fluvial signature. This results from the high discharge of rivers and the narrow beaches that control the composition of the Kapiti,Foxton sands. The abundance of feldspar with magnetite inclusions controls the specific gravity of the Kapiti,Foxton sands due to their low content of opaque minerals and coarse grain size. Magnetic susceptibility of the sands is related mainly to the abundance of feldspars with Fe oxides, volcanic lithics and free-opaque minerals. The Farewell Spit,Wharariki sands are slightly more mature than the Kapiti,Foxton sands. The composition of the Farewell Spit,Wharariki sands does not reflect accurately their provenance due to the prevalence of long-shore drift, waves, little river input and a wide beach. Low abundance of feldspar with magnetite inclusions and free opaque grains produces poor correlations between specific gravity (Sg) and Fe oxide bearing minerals. The small correlation between opaque grains and M/NM may be related to grain size. The magnetic susceptibility of Farewell Spit,Wharariki sands is low due to the low content of grains with magnetite inclusions. Hysteresis and isothermal remnant magnetization (IRM) agree with the magnetic susceptibility values. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


FxJj43: A window into a 1.5-million-year-old palaeolandscape in the Okote Member of the Koobi Fora Formation, northern Kenya

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2002
Nicola Stern
FxJj43 differs from most other archaeological sites preserved in the Okote Member of the Koobi Fora Formation in ways that make it especially suited to the problem of clarifying the behavioral information encapsulated in fine time-lines. At this site in northern Kenya, a continuous strip of outcrops, preserving a set of interlocking landforms, can be traced around the modern erosion front for more than half a kilometer. The characteristics and three-dimensional geometries of the beds making up these outcrops show that they have preserved the southern bank, levee, and floodplain of a westerly flowing sandy channel. Both stone tools and animal bones are strewn across the eroding surfaces of these outcrops, and excavations show that they are derived from a narrow stratigraphic horizon immediately overlying the volcanic ash at the base of the sequence. The blue tuff, and the archaeological horizon that overlies it, have been dated using the 40Ar- 39Ar method on single crystals of alkali feldspar. Although there is no direct measure of how long it took the archaeological horizon to accumulate, it probably accumulated over a time span of 102,103 years. Thus the locality may be used to test the proposition that the analysis of archaeological debris from fine-time lines will help to resolve ambiguities in the interpretation of early Pleistocene archaeological assemblages. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Geochemical and mineralogical distinctions between Bonnin and Morris (Philadelphia, 1770,1772) porcelain and some contemporary British phosphatic wares

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 7 2001
J. Victor Owen
The major element compositions of 15 ceramic sherds from the Bonnin and Morris factory site were determined by electron microprobe. Thirteen samples are phosphatic; the others consist of (a) "soapstone" (magnesian/plombian) and (b) true porcelain, and are interpreted as exotic artifacts, as is one compositionally distinct (relatively SiO2 -poor, P2O5+CaO-rich) phosphatic sample. Although long considered to be virtually indistinguishable from Bow porcelain (London: ca. 1747,1776), the phosphatic Philadelphia wares have a relatively low mean CaO/P2O5 ratio (3.3 versus 3.8; molecular proportions) and high alumina content (6.6 versus 5.4 wt % Al2O3). Furthermore, unlike Bow, the Bonnin and Morris samples contain calcic plagioclase (bytownite), and in some instances, an orthoclase-rich ternary feldspar. The preservation of calcic plagioclase indicates that Philadelphia porcelain was fired at (rather than above) the thermal minimum in the An-SiO2 -C3P system, although the presence of Na (and other fluxes) in these wares precludes the exact determination of the maximum firing temperature from this phase diagram. These wares are also distinctive insofar as the phosphate and melt phases can contain small amounts of lead; they have bulk lead contents of approximately 0.1,1.2 wt % PbO. This component has not been detected in the body of Bow or other contemporary British phosphatic porcelains. Their principal similarity lies in the fact that both wares contain sulfate. In addition, the glazes on Bonnin and Morris porcelain (e.g., PbO , 35,50 wt %; SnO2 , 1,2%) compositionally resemble those used at Bow. If feldspar is formed at all, then Al-poor phosphatic porcelain (or those with low CaO/P2O5 ratios) will have comparatively low modal calcic plagioclase contents, thereby allowing the rapid depletion of this mineral via resorption by the melt phase during vitrification. Such appears to have been the case for analyzed Bow porcelain, which is therefore interpreted to have been overfired (sensu lato) relative to its Philadelphia counterpart. Conceivably, calcic plagioclase could be preserved in low-Al wares that were fired only briefly at vitrification temperatures. Given the role of firing history in governing the mineralogy of porcelain, compositional criteria are more reliable for distinguishing these wares. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]


Growth and albitization of K-feldspar in crystalline rocks in the shallow crust: a tracer for fluid circulation during exhumation?

GEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2003
M. B. Holness
Abstract A general feature of medium- to coarse-grained, sheet-silicate bearing, quartzo-feldspathic rocks of either metamorphic or igneous affinity is the retrograde development of lenses of pure K-feldspar at the grain boundaries between sheet silicate (0 0 1) faces and original feldspar grains. The growth of these lenses acts to displace and deform the sheet silicate grain by a force of crystallization, although the substrate feldspar and adjacent quartz are not deformed. Subsequent to the growth of the lenses they are replaced to variable degrees by pure albite, which grows into the lens from the substrate feldspar behind an irregular replacement front. The composition and texture of both K-feldspar and replacive albite suggest a strong affinity with authigenic feldspars, although it is considered likely that the K-feldspar of the lenses is derived from low-temperature biotite-breakdown reactions. A model is proposed whereby the lenses grow into open pores at dilatant sites in response to infiltration of aqueous fluids as the crystalline rocks are exhumed under brittle conditions. Continued circulation of infiltrating fluids in a temperature gradient results in the replacement of K-feldspar by albite via an alkali exchange process. The lenses point to a significant grain-scale permeability in crystalline rock at shallow levels in the crust. [source]


K-feldspar alteration to gel material and crystallization of glauconitic peloids with berthierine in Cretaceous marine sediments,sedimentary implications (Prebetic Zone, Betic Cordillera, SE Spain)

GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2008
Juan Jiménez-Millán
Abstract Glauconitic peloids from a Hauterivian condensed level in a hemipelagic unit of the Internal Prebetic (Los Villares Formation, eastern Betic Cordillera) have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and analytical electron microscopy (AEM). The sediments forming the condensed level are characterized by abundant spherical to ovoid green glauconite peloids with radial cracks. Quartz, feldspar and muscovite are also abundant, whereas calcium phosphate is rarely detected. XRD analysis of the peloids reveals glauconite and small amounts of berthierine. SEM and HRTEM data show feldspar dissolution features, a Si,Al-rich gel-like substance filling K-feldspar micropores and interlayering of well-crystallized glauconite and berthierine packets. The last stage of the glauconitization process resulted in conversion of the smectitic precursor. Sedimentary and mineralogical features indicate an autochthonous origin for the glauconite. The depositional environment was a distal, hemipelagic ramp on the Southern Iberian Continental Palaeomargin. Low sedimentation rates lead to sediment condensation in a general transgressive context. The margin was affected by extensional tectonics, creating tilted blocks, resulting in lateral facies changes. The dissolution of K-feldspars probably occurred after their deposition in the marine environment but predating the glauconitization. An influx of meteoric water is therefore required, probably related to subsurface fluxes from adjacent emergent areas (the higher parts of tilted blocks). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Hydrothermal modification of natural zeolites to improve uptake of ammonium ions

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2005
Yujiro Watanabe
Abstract The modification of natural zeolites was carried out under hydrothermal conditions to improve the effectiveness of the uptake of ammonium ions. Natural zeolites originating in Japan, such as mordenite and clinoptilolite with quartz, feldspar and a trace of layered silicate, were treated with 0.1, 0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 M NaOH solutions at temperatures from 25 to 150 °C under autogenous pressure for 7 days. After the hydrothermal treatment, the transformation of the zeolites to phillipsite, hydroxyl-sodalite and analcime was observed, depending on the temperature and NaOH concentration. The amounts of ammonium ions taken up into the hydrothermally-treated zeolites were compared with those of the starting materials. The treated products, containing mainly phillipsite, took up twice the amount of ammonium ions as the starting materials. The maximum uptake of ammonium ions was 1.92 mmol g,1. The number of ammonium ions taken up into phillipsite was equal to the number of Na+ ions released from phillipsite. These results indicate that the uptake of ammonium ions proceeds by an ion-exchange mechanism with Na+ ions. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Refining the P,T records of UHT crustal metamorphism

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
S. L. HARLEY
Abstract Ultra-high-temperature (UHT) metamorphism occurs when the continental crust is subjected to temperatures of greater than 900 °C at depths of 20,40 km. UHT metamorphism provides evidence that major tectonic processes may operate under thermal conditions more extreme than those generally produced in numerical models of orogenesis. Evidence for UHT metamorphism is recorded in mineral assemblages formed in magnesian pelites, supported by high-temperature indicators including mesoperthitic feldspar, aluminous orthopyroxene and high Zr contents in rutile. Recent theoretical, experimental and thermodynamic data set constraints on metamorphic phase equilibria in FMAS, KFMASH and more complex chemical systems have greatly improved quantification of the P,T conditions and paths of UHT metamorphic belts. However, despite these advances key issues that remain to be addressed include improving experimental constraints on the thermodynamic properties of sapphirine, quantifying the effects of oxidation state on sapphirine, orthopyroxene and spinel stabilities and quantifying the effects of H2O,CO2 in cordierite on phase equilibria and reaction texture analysis. These areas of uncertainty mean that UHT mineral assemblages must still be examined using theoretical and semi-quantitative approaches, such as P(,T),, sections, and conventional thermobarometry in concert with calculated phase equilibrium methods. In the cases of UHT terranes that preserve microtextural and mineral assemblage evidence for steep or ,near-isothermal' decompression P,T paths, the presence of H2O and CO2 in cordierite is critical to estimates of the P,T path slopes, the pressures at which reaction textures have formed and the impact of fluid infiltration. Many UHT terranes have evolved from peak P,T conditions of 8,11 kbar and 900,1030 °C to lower pressure conditions of 8 to 6 kbar whilst still at temperature in the range of 950 to 800 °C. These decompressional P,T paths, with characteristic dP/dT gradients of ,25 ± 10 bar °C,1, are similar in broad shape to those generated in deep-crustal channel flow models for the later stages of orogenic collapse, but lie at significantly higher temperatures for any specified pressure. This thermal gap presents a key challenge in the tectonic modelling of UHT metamorphism, with implications for the evolution of the crust, sub-crustal lithosphere and asthenospheric mantle during the development of hot orogens. [source]


Origin of migmatites by deformation-enhanced melt infiltration of orthogneiss: a new model based on quantitative microstructural analysis

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
P. HASALOVÁ
Abstract A detailed field study reveals a gradual transition from high-grade solid-state banded orthogneiss via stromatic migmatite and schlieren migmatite to irregular, foliation-parallel bodies of nebulitic migmatite within the eastern part of the Gföhl Unit (Moldanubian domain, Bohemian Massif). The orthogneiss to nebulitic migmatite sequence is characterized by progressive destruction of well-equilibrated banded microstructure by crystallization of new interstitial phases (Kfs, Pl and Qtz) along feldspar boundaries and by resorption of relict feldspar and biotite. The grain size of all felsic phases decreases continuously, whereas the population density of new phases increases. The new phases preferentially nucleate along high-energy like,like boundaries causing the development of a regular distribution of individual phases. This evolutionary trend is accompanied by a decrease in grain shape preferred orientation of all felsic phases. To explain these data, a new petrogenetic model is proposed for the origin of felsic migmatites by melt infiltration from an external source into banded orthogneiss during deformation. In this model, infiltrating melt passes pervasively along grain boundaries through the whole-rock volume and changes completely its macro- and microscopic appearance. It is suggested that the individual migmatite types represent different degrees of equilibration between the host rock and migrating melt during exhumation. The melt topology mimicked by feldspar in banded orthogneiss forms elongate pockets oriented at a high angle to the compositional banding, indicating that the melt distribution was controlled by the deformation of the solid framework. The microstructure exhibits features compatible with a combination of dislocation creep and grain boundary sliding deformation mechanisms. The migmatite microstructures developed by granular flow accompanied by melt-enhanced diffusion and/or melt flow. However, an AMS study and quartz microfabrics suggest that the amount of melt present did not exceed a critical threshold during the deformation to allow free movements of grains. [source]


High-pressure granulites: formation, recovery of peak conditions and implications for tectonics

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
P. J. O'Brien
Abstract High-pressure granulites are characterised by the key associations garnet-clinopyroxene-plagioclase-quartz (in basic rocks) and kyanite-K-feldspar (metapelites and felsic rocks) and are typically orthopyroxene-free in both basic and felsic bulk compositions. In regional metamorphic areas, two essential varieties exist: a high- to ultrahigh-temperature group and a group representing overprinted eclogites. The high- to ultrahigh-temperature type formerly contained high-temperature ternary feldspar (now mesoperthite) coexisting with kyanite, is associated with garnet peridotites, and formed at conditions above 900 °C and 1.5 GPa. Clinopyroxene in subordinate basic rocks is Al-rich and textural evidence points to a high-pressure,high-temperature melting history. The second variety contains symplectite-like or poikilitic clinopyroxene-plagioclase intergrowths indicating former plagioclase-free, i.e. eclogite facies assemblages. This type of rock formed at conditions straddling the high-pressure amphibolite/high-pressure granulite field at around 700,850 °C, 1.0,1.4 GPa. Importantly, in the majority of high-pressure granulites, orthopyroxene is secondary and is a product of reactions at pressures lower than the peak recorded pressure. In contrast to low- and medium-pressure granulites, which form at conditions attainable in the mid to lower levels of normal continental crust, high-pressure granulites (of nonxenolith origin) mostly represent rocks formed as a result of short-lived tectonic events that led to crustal thickening or subduction of the crust into the mantle. Short times at high-temperature conditions are reflected in the preservation of prograde zoning in garnet and pyroxene. High-pressure granulites of both regional types, although rare, are known from both old and young metamorphic terranes (e.g. c. 45 Ma, Namche Barwa, E Himalaya; 400,340 Ma, European Variscides; 1.8 Ga Hengshan, China; 1.9 Ga, Snowbird, Saskatchewan and 2.5 Ga Jianping, China). This spread of ages supports proposals suggesting that thermal and tectonic processes in the lithosphere have not changed significantly since at least the end of the Archean. [source]


Melt-producing and melt-consuming reactions in the Achankovil cordierite gneisses, South India

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
B. Cenki
Abstract Migmatitic cordierite gneisses within the Achankovil Zone (AZ) of southern Pan-African India record melt-producing and subsequent melt-consuming mineral reactions. Early mineral assemblages Bt-Sil-Qtz and Bt-Sil-Spl, deduced from inclusion textures in garnet prophyroblasts, break down via successive dehydration melting reactions to high- T phase assemblages (e.g. Grt-Crd-Liq, Opx-Liq, Spl-Crd-Liq). Later back reactions between the restite and the in situ crystallizing melt resulted in thin cordierite coronas separating garnet from the leucosome, and partial resorption of garnet to Opx-Crd or Crd-Bt-Qtz symplectites. Leucosomes generally display a moderate (low-strain gneisses) to strong (high-strain gneisses) depletion of alkali feldspar attributed to mineral-melt back reactions partly controlled by the degree of melt segregation. Using a KFMASH partial petrogenetic grid that includes a melt phase, and qualitative pseudosections for microdomains of high and low Al/Si ratios, the successive phase assemblages and reaction textures are interpreted in terms of a clockwise P,T path culminating at about 6,7 kbar and 900,950 °C. This P,T path is consistent with, but more detailed than published results, which suggests that taking a melt phase into account is not only a valid, but also a useful approach. Comparing P,T data and lithological and isotopic data for the AZ with adjacent East Gondwana fragments, suggests the presence of a coherent metasedimentary unit exposed from southern Madagascar via South India (AZ) and Sri Lanka (Wanni Complex) to the Lützow,Holm Bay in Eastern Antarctica. [source]


Hydrothermal alteration of late- to post-tectonic Lyon Mountain Granitic Gneiss, Adirondack Mountains, New York: Origin of quartz,sillimanite segregations, quartz,albite lithologies, and associated Kiruna-type low-Ti Fe-oxide deposits

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
J. Mclelland
Abstract Quartz,sillimanite segregations, quartz,albite lithologies (Ab95,98), and Kiruna-type low-Ti iron-oxide deposits are associated with late- to post-tectonic (c. 1055 Ma) leucogranites of Lyon Mountain Gneiss (LMG) in the Adirondack Mountains, New York State. Most recent interpretations of these controversial features, which are global in occurrence, favour hydrothermal origins in agreement with results presented here. Field relations document that quartz,sillimanite veins and nodules cut, and therefore post-date, emplacement of host LMG leucogranites. Veins occur in oriented fracture networks, and aligned trains of nodules are interpreted as disrupted early veins. Late dykes of leucogranite cut veins and nodules demonstrating formation prior to terminal magmatism. Veins and nodules consist of sillimanite surrounded by quartz that commonly embays wall-rock feldspar indicating leaching of Na and K from LMG feldspar by acidic hydrothermal fluids. Subsequent, and repeated, ductile flow disrupted earlier veins into nodular fragments but produced little grain shape fabric. Geochemical and petrographic studies of quartz,albite rock indicate that it formed through metasomatic replacement (albitization) of LMG microperthite by sodic hydrothermal fluids that resulted in diagnostic checkerboard albite. Low-Ti iron-oxide ores are commonly associated with the quartz,albite sub-unit, and it is proposed that hydrothermal fluids related to albitization transported Fe as well. The regional extent of sodic alteration suggests large quantities of surface-derived hydrothermal fluids. Fluid inclusion and oxygen isotope data are consistent with high temperature, regionally extensive fluids consisting primarily of evolved surface-derived brines enriched in Na and Cl. Quartz,sillimanite veins and nodules, which are significantly more localised phenomena and require acidic fluids, were most likely formed from local magmatic fluids in the crystallizing carapaces of LMG plutons. [source]


FILLING HISTORY OF THE MAUI B FIELD, NEW ZEALAND: NEW INFORMATION FROM OIL INCLUSIONS IN AUTHIGENIC MINERALS FROM THE OIL LEG IN THE MAUI-B1 WELL F SANDS

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
S. D. Killops
A study of the molecular composition of oil inclusions in the Maui field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, reveals compositional variation in oil during the filling history of the Paleocene reservoir. The homogenization temperatures of aqueous inclusions in quartz suggest that oil in genetically associated inclusions first reached the proto-Maui structure about 7.0,7.5 Ma ago, and that an effective trap was present at the Paleocene F-sands level, given the abundant oil inclusions. This date coincides with what is believed to represent the early stages of structural development of the trap. The Maui or Pihama sub-basin appears the most likely kitchen for this early charge. The quartz-included oil exhibits a biomarker distribution with a slightly more marine-influenced signature than an oil stain from the same core plug, oil included in authigenic feldspar, and oil-production samples from the overlying Eocene D sands as well as the F sands. The greater similarity of the feldspar-included oil to the production oils together with its possibly slightly lower maturity suggest that the feldspar inclusions formed later than the quartz inclusions. Otherwise, all oil samples examined (inclusion oil, oil / bitumen in sandstones and producible oil) are of similar maturity. [source]


Quaternary tephra marker beds and their potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction on Chatham Island, east of New Zealand, southwest Pacific Ocean,

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 7 2010
Katherine A. Holt
Abstract Tephras provide one of the most reliable methods of time control and synchronisation within Quaternary sequences. We report on the identification of two widespread rhyolitic tephras , the Kawakawa and Rangitawa tephras , preserved in extensive peat deposits on Chatham Island ,900,km east of New Zealand. The tephras, both products of supereruptions from the Taupo Volcanic Zone, occur as pale, fine-ash dominated layers typically 10,150,mm thick. Mineralogically they are dominated by rhyolitic glass, together with subordinate amounts of quartz, feldspar, hypersthene, hornblende, Fe,Ti oxides and zircon. Phlogopite/biotite was identified additionally in Rangitawa Tephra. Ages for each tephra were obtained via mineralogical and major element glass composition-based correlation with well-dated equivalent deposits on mainland New Zealand, and we also obtained a new zircon fission-track age for Rangitawa Tephra (350,±,50,ka) on Chatham Island. Both tephras were erupted at critical times for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in the New Zealand region: the Kawakawa at ca. 27 cal. ka, near the beginning of the ,extended' LGM early in marine isotope stage (MIS) 2; and the Rangitawa at ca. 350 ka near the end of MIS 10. The time constraints provided by the tephras demonstrate that Chatham Island peats contain long-distance pollen derived from mainland New Zealand, which provides a reliable proxy for identifying glacial,interglacial climate conditions, in this case during the MIS 11,10 and MIS 2,1 cycles. The two tephras thus provide important chronostratigraphic tie-points that facilitate correlation and synchronisation not only across the Quaternary deposits of the Chatham Islands group but also with climatically significant terrestrial and marine records in the wider New Zealand region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Tephrological implications of beam size,sample-size effects in electron microprobe analysis of glass shards

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 2 2001
John B. Hunt
Abstract This paper concerns the potential consequences of varying procedures for the determination of tephra geochemistry by electron microprobe. Application of electron probe microanalysis to tephrostratigraphical methods has increasingly facilitated the resolution and refinement of Quaternary chronology associated with records of proxy-environmental or proxy-climatic change. The geographical range over which tephras are recovered has expanded significantly with the identification and analysis of crypto (or hidden) tephras in areas far removed from tephra sources. These tephras are dominated by glass shards, which, in many distal environments, may be either small in size (,m) or may be highly pumiceous with low glass:void ratios and thin (<10 ,m) shard walls. We demonstrate that reducing the size of the electron beam used to analyse shard geochemistry cannot be used reliably to permit analysis of thin glass walls. This approach distorts the geochemical data, creating analytical differences that may generate inappropriate tephrogeochemical fingerprints. Additional distortion of the geochemical fingerprint in the form of hybrid analyses may be encountered in glass fragments containing micron-sized crystalline phases such as feldspar. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Mullitization from a Multicomponent Oxide System in the Temperature Range 1200°,1500°C

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 5 2000
Hyunho Shin
Mullitization from a multicomponent oxide system (alumina,kaolin,quartz,feldspar,talc) was analyzed as a function of firing temperature from 1200° to 1500°C based on quantitative XRD and SEM. In the present study, whisker forms of mullite grew in three characteristic stages. In the first stage (1255°,1295°C), mullitization (nucleation) took place from glass via alumina dissolution into glass under the condition of no apparent change in glass content. The reaction in this stage was rate-limited by alumina dissolution into glass. Extensive mullitization occurred in the 1295°,1335°C range (second stage) directly from glass. Unlike in the sol,gel-based binary system, alumina dissolution into glass was not shown to be the rate-controlling mechanism during this extensive mullitization stage. Finally (>1335°C, third stage), the reaction was saturated, accompanied by an apparent decrease in glass consumption rate. The impingement of mullite whiskers by other whiskers and crystals was speculated to cause mullite to grow in the transverse direction, yielding a diminished reaction rate in the final stage. Mullitization stages in this work were compared with those of the alumina,silica binary system shown in the literature. [source]


The fine-grained matrix of the Semarkona LL3.0 ordinary chondrite: An induced thermoluminescence study

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 5 2009
Jonathan P. CRAIG
The samples had TL sensitivities comparable with 4 mg of bulk samples of type 3.2,3.4 ordinary chondrites, which is very high relative to bulk Semarkona. The other induced TL properties of these samples, TL peak temperatures, and TL peak widths distinguish them from other ordinary chondrite samples where the TL is caused by feldspar. Cathodoluminescence images and other data suggest that the cause of the luminescence in the Semarkona fine-grained matrix is forsterite. In some respects the matrix TL data resemble that of Semarkona chondrules, in which the phosphor is forsterite and terrestrial forsterites from a variety of igneous and metamorphic environments. However, differences in the TL peak temperature versus TL peak width relationship between the matrix samples and the other forsterites suggest a fundamentally different formation mechanism. We also note that forsterite appears to be a major component in many primitive materials, such as nebulae, cometary dust, and Stardust particles. [source]


Petrology of Martian meteorite Northwest Africa 998

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 5 2008
Allan H. TREIMAN
This 456-gram, partially fusion-crusted meteorite consists of (by volume) ,75% augite (core composition Wo39En39Fs22), ,9% olivine (Fo35), ,7% plagioclase (Ab61An35) as anhedra among augite and olivine, ,3.5% low-calcium pyroxenes (pigeonite and orthopyroxene) replacing or forming overgrowths on olivine and augite, ,1% titanomagnetite, and other phases including potassium feldspar, apatite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, ilmenite, and fine-grained mesostasis material. Minor secondary alteration materials include "iddingsite" associated with olivine (probably Martian), calcite crack fillings, and iron oxide/hydroxide staining (both probably terrestrial). Shock effects are limited to minor cataclasis and twinning in augite. In comparison to other nakhlites, NWA 998 contains more low-calcium pyroxenes and its plagioclase crystals are blockier. The large size of the intercumulus feldspars and the chemical homogeneity of the olivine imply relatively slow cooling and chemical equilibration in the late- and post-igneous history of this specimen, and mineral thermometers give subsolidus temperatures near 730 °C. Oxidation state was near that of the QFM buffer, from about QFM-2 in earliest crystallization to near QFM in late crystallization, and to about QFM + 1.5 in some magmatic inclusions. The replacement or overgrowth of olivine by pigeonite and orthopyroxene (with or without titanomagnetite), and the marginal replacement of augite by pigeonite, are interpreted to result from late-stage reactions with residual melts (consistent with experimental phase equilibrium relationships). Apatite is concentrated in planar zones separating apatite-free domains, which suggests that residual magma (rich in P and REE) was concentrated in planar (fracture?) zones and possibly migrated through them. Loss of late magma through these zones is consistent with the low bulk REE content of NWA 998 compared with the calculated REE content of its parent magma. [source]


Experimental shock decomposition of siderite and the origin of magnetite in Martian meteorite ALH 84001

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 6 2007
M. S. BELL
Naturally occurring siderite was first characterized by a variety of techniques to be sure that the starting material did not contain detectable magnetite. Samples were shocked in tungsten-alloy holders (W = 90%, Ni = 6%, Cu = 4%) to further ensure that any iron phases in the shock products were contributed by the siderite rather than the sample holder. Each sample was shocked to a specific pressure between 30 to 49 GPa. Transformation of siderite to magnetite as characterized by TEM was found in the 49 GPa shock experiment. Compositions of most magnetites are >50% Fe+2 in the octahedral site of the inverse spinel structure. Magnetites produced in shock experiments display the same range of sizes (,50,100 nm), compositions (100% magnetite to 80% magnetite-20% magnesioferrite), and morphologies (equant, elongated, euhedral to subhedral) as magnetites synthesized by Golden et al. (2001) and as the magnetites in Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001. Fritz et al. (2005) previously concluded that ALH 84001 experienced ,32 GPa pressure and a resultant thermal pulse of ,100,110°C. However, ALH 84001 contains evidence of local temperature excursions high enough to melt feldspar, pyroxene, and a silica-rich phase. This 49 GPa experiment demonstrates that magnetite can be produced by the shock decomposition of siderite as a result of local heating to > 470°C. Therefore, magnetite in the rims of carbonates in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 could be a product of shock devolatilization of siderite as well. [source]


Asteroid 3628 Bo,n,mcová: Covered with angrite-like basalts?

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 8 2006
Edward A. Cloutis
The clinopyroxene is Fe2+ -bearing (likely in the range Fs,10,20), with >90% of the Fe2+ being present in the M1 crystallographic site (spectral type A). The clinopyroxene:plagioclase feldspar ratio is between ,2 and 3 (,55,75% clinopyroxene, ,20,33% plagioclase feldspar). If olivine is present, the clinopyroxene:olivine ratio is >,3 (<20% olivine). The derived mineralogy of Bo,n,mcová is most similar, but not identical, to the known angrite meteorites. The data suggest that Bo,n,mcová formed by melting and differentiation of an oxidized chondritic precursor and probably represents an unsampled angrite-like body. [source]


Australasian microtektites and associated impact ejecta in the South China Sea and the Middle Pleistocene supereruption of Toba

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 2 2006
Billy P. Glass
Unmelted ejecta were found associated with the microtektites at this site and with Australasian microtektites in Core SO95,17957,2 and ODP Hole 1144A from the central and northern part of the South China Sea, respectively. A few opaque, irregular, rounded, partly melted particles containing highly fractured mineral inclusions (generally quartz and some K feldspar) and some partially melted mineral grains, in a glassy matrix were also found in the microtektite layer. The unmelted ejecta at all three sites include abundant white, opaque grains consisting of mixtures of quartz, coesite, and stishovite, and abundant rock fragments which also contain coesite and, rarely, stishovite. This is the first time that shock-metamorphosed rock fragments have been found in the Australasian microtektite layer. The rock fragments have major and trace element contents similar to the Australasian microtektites and tektites, except for higher volatile element contents. Assuming that the Australasian tektites and microtektites were formed from the same target material as the rock fragments, the parent material for the Australasian tektites and microtektites appears to have been a fine-grained sedimentary deposit. Hole 1144A has the highest abundance of microtektites (number/cm2) of any known Australasian microtektite-bearing site and may be closer to the source crater than any previously identified Australasian microtektite-bearing site. A source crater in the vicinity of 22° N and 104° E seems to explain geographic variations in abundance of both the microtektites and the unmelted ejecta the best; however, a region extending NW into southern China and SE into the Gulf of Tonkin explains the geographic variation in abundance of microtektites and unmelted ejecta almost as well. The size of the source crater is estimated to be 43 ± 9 km based on estimated thickness of the ejecta layer at each site and distance from the proposed source. A volcanic ash layer occurs just above the Australasian microtektite layer, which some authors suggest is from a supereruption of the Toba caldera complex. We estimate that deposition of the ash occurred ,800 ka ago and that it is spread over an area of at least 3.7 times 107 km2. [source]


Thermoluminescence sensitivity and thermal history of type 3 ordinary chondrites: Eleven new type 3.0,3.1 chondrites and possible explanations for differences among H, L, and LL chondrites

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 6 2002
P. H. Benoit
We have identified 11 UOCs of petrologic types 3.0,3.1: Adrar 003, Elephant Moraine (EET) 90066, EET 90161, Grosvenor Mountains (GRO) 95502, Lewis Cliff (LEW) 88477, Meteorite Hills (MET) 96503, Yamato (Y)-790787, Y-791324, Y-791558, Y-793565, and Y-793596. These samples represent an important new resource for researchers interested in the nature of primitive solar system materials. Previously reported trends in which TL sensitivity increases with TL peak temperature and TL peak width, which we interpret in terms of crystallization of feldspar in the ordered or disordered forms during metamorphism, are confirmed by the new data. Importantly, the present data strengthen the trend described earlier in which the mean level of metamorphism experienced by UOCs increases along the series LL, L and H. This suggests either different burial depths for the UOCs from each class, or formation at similar depths in regoliths of different thickness. [source]


Planar deformation features and impact glass in inclusions from the Vredefort Granophyre, South Africa

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 6 2002
P. C. Buchanan
This unit contains inclusions of country rock that were derived from different locations within the impact structure and are predominantly composed of quartzite, feldspathic quartzite, arkose, and granitic material with minor proportions of shale and epidiorite. Two of the least recrystallized inclusions contain quartz with single or multiple sets of planar deformation features. Quartz grains in other inclusions display a vermicular texture, which is reminiscent of checkerboard feldspar. Feldspars range from large, twinned crystals in some inclusions to fine-grained aggregates that apparently are the product of decomposition of larger primary crystals. In rare inclusions, a mafic mineral, probably biotite or amphibole, has been transformed to very fine-grained aggregates of secondary phases that include small euhedral crystals of Fe-rich spinel. These data indicate that inclusions within the Vredefort Granophyre were exposed to shock pressures ranging from <5 to 8,30 GPa. Many of these inclusions contain small, rounded melt pockets composed of a groundmass of devitrified or metamorphosed glass containing microlites of a variety of minerals, including K-feldspar, quartz, augite, low-Ca pyroxene, and magnetite. The composition of this devitrified glass varies from inclusion to inclusion, but is generally consistent with a mixture of quartz and feldspar with minor proportions of mafic minerals. In the case of granitoid inclusions, melt pockets commonly occur at the boundaries between feldspar and quartz grains. In metasedimentary inclusions, some of these melt pockets contain remnants of partially melted feldspar grains. These melt pockets may have formed by eutectic melting caused by inclusion of these fragments in the hot (650 to 1610 °C) impact melt that crystallized to form the Vredefort Granophyre. [source]


Magmatic inclusions and felsic clasts in the Dar al Gani 319 polymict ureilite

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 4 2001
Yukio IKEDA
Type I ureilite clasts (olivine-pigeonite assemblages with carbon), as well as other lithic and mineral clasts in this meteorite, are described in Ikeda et al.(2000). The magmatic inclusions in the type II ureilite clasts consist mainly of magnesian augite and glass. They metastably crystallized euhedral pyroxenes, resulting in feldspar component-enriched glass. On the other hand, the magmatic inclusions in the large plagioclase clast consist mainly of pyroxene and plagioclase, with a mesostasis. They crystallized with a composition along the cotectic line between the pyroxene and plagioclase liquidus fields. DaG 319 also contains felsic lithic clasts that represent various types of igneous lithologies. These are the rare components not found in the common monomict ureilites. Porphyritic felsic clasts, the main type, contain phenocrysts of plagioclase and pyroxene, and their groundmass consists mainly of plagioclase, pyroxene, and minor phosphate, ilmenite, chromite, and/or glass. Crystallization of these porphyritic clasts took place along the cotectic line between the pyroxene and plagioclase fields. Pilotaxitic felsic clasts crystallized plagioclase laths and minor interstitial pyroxene under metastable conditions, and the mesostasis is extremely enriched in plagioclase component in spite of the ubiquitous crystallization of plagioclase laths in the clasts. We suggest that there are two crystallization trends, pyroxene-metal and pyroxene-plagioclase trends, for the magmatic inclusions and felsic lithic clasts in DaG 319. The pyroxene-metal crystallization trend corresponds to the magmatic inclusions in the type II ureilite clasts and the pilotaxitic felsic clasts, where crystallization took place under reducing and metastable conditions, suppressing precipitation of plagioclase. The pyroxene-plagioclase crystallization trend corresponds to the magmatic inclusions in the isolated plagioclase clast and the porphyritic felsic clasts. This trend developed under oxidizing conditions in magma chambers within the ureilite parent body. The felsic clasts may have formed mainly from albite component-rich silicate melts produced by fractional partial melting of chondritic precursors. The common monomict ureilites, type I ureilites, may have formed by the fractional partial melting of alkali-bearing chondritic precursors. However, type II ureilites may have formed as cumulates from a basaltic melt. [source]


The Mineralogical Characteristics of the Lamboglia 2 Roman-Age Amphorae from the Central Adriatic (Croatia),

ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 2 2003
I. Sondi
The mineralogical characteristics of four Lamboglia 2 Roman-age amphorae excavated from ancient underwater shipwreck localities in the central Adriatic were investigated. X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy analyses showed that the amphorae have similar primary mineral compositions, mainly consisting of quartz, plagioclase, potassium feldspar, diopside, illite and calcite, most probably originating from clayey Eocene flysch deposits used as raw materials in manufacture. The difference in mineral composition between these samples is recognized from the presence or absence of melilite, high-magnesium calcite, aragonite, gypsum and analcime. It was shown that melilite is a secondary mineral formed during the firing process, while the others, which build up through incrustation of marine benthonic communities on the amphora walls and fill the cracks in the amphora bodies, were formed by crystallization in seawater. The firing of the original pieces of amphorae showed that melilite could be formed at temperatures higher than 800°C, most probably through interaction between calcite and silicate minerals present in the raw materials. The presence of melilite, and the absence of illite and calcite, were used to estimate the firing temperature of the amphorae during their production. [source]


Diagenesis and Their Succession of Gas-bearing and Non-gas-bearing Reservoirs in the Sulige Gas Field of Ordos Basin, China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 6 2009
ZHU Xiaomin
Abstract: Comparisons have been made among lithology, diagenesis, and reservoir characteristics of gas-bearing and non-gas-bearing ones in the Sulige gas field of the Ordos Basin based on the laboratory analysis of thin sections, scanning electron microscope, and liquid inclusion of the reservoirs. The reservoirs of the Sulige gas field are now in the middle stage of diagenesis and have undergone compaction, cementation and dissolution. The secondary pore of the reservoir originated from the dissolution of the feldspar and tuff because of the organic acid action from the source rocks during the diagenetic middle stage. Gas-bearing reservoirs are common in soluble pore diagenetic facies of coarse detritus quartzose sandstone, whereas non-gas-bearing ones are common in tense compaction diagenetic facies of mud-bearing medium-fine detritus quartzose sandstone and residual intergranular pore diagenetic facies of mud-bearing medium-coarse detritus quartzose sandstone. The secondary pore is developed in gas-bearing reservoirs of the Sulige gas-field as the medium-coarse grain reservoirs formed in a powerful sedimentary environment and experienced strong dissolution. However, the sediments of fine grain size form the non-gas-bearing reservoirs because of less residual primary pore and secondary pore. [source]


Lead Isotopic Composition and Lead Source in the Bainiuchang Ag-polymetallic Deposit, Yunnan Province, China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 4 2008
ZHU Chaohui
Abstract The Bainiuchang deposit in Yunnan Province, China, is located geographically between the Gejiu ore field and the Dulong ore field. In addition to the >7000 t Ag reserves, the deposit also boasts of large-scale Pb, Zn and Sn reserves with a lot of dispersed elements (In, Cd, Ge, Ga, etc.). We have determined systematically the Pb isotope composition of the deposit. The Pb isotope ratios of the ores that are of sea-floor exhalative sedimentary origin in the northwest of the mining district, are 206Pb/204Pb = 17.758-18.537, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.175-15.862 and 208Pb/204Pb = 37.289-39.424, while those of ores that are of magmatic hydrothermal superimposition origin in the southeast of the mining district, are 206Pb/204Pb = 17.264-18.359, 207Pb/204Pb = 14.843-15.683 and 208Pb/204Pb = 36.481-38.838, respectively. In terms of the Pb isotope composition of feldspar in magmatic rocks or magmatic whole-rock samples from the mining district, we have determined the Pb isotope composition and acquired the Pb isotope ratios as: 206Pb/204Pb = 18.224-18.700, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.595-15.797 and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.193-39.608. Then, in the light of the Pb isotope composition of metamorphic rock samples from the Proterozoic basement exposed in the Dulong ore field, we have determined the Pb isotope composition and obtained the isotope ratios as: 206Pb/204Pb = 18.434-19.119, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.644-15.693, and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.514-38.832. And the Pb isotope ratios of Cambrian sedimentary rocks, which are exposed in the Bainiuchang mining district, are 206Pb/204Pb = 18.307-19.206, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.622-15.809, and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.436-39.932. By comparing the two types of ores with respect to their Pb isotope compositions, it is indicated that lead in the Bainiuchang deposit was derived largely from the lower-crust granulite which is earlier than Neoproterozoic in age, but the Yanshanian magmatic hydrothermal fluids probably provided a part of ore-forming elements such as Sn for the ore blocks in the south of the mining district. [source]


Synthesis of Pb-Feldspar by Ion Exchange Reaction and Its Implications

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 2 2006
LIU Rui
Abstract, Feldspar and Pb(NO3)2 were mixed and reacted at T=380°C to synthesize Pb-feldspar. In the XRD (X-ray diffraction) pattern of the product, the d values (crystal lattice spacing) of the five peaks are 0.654, 0.342, 0.332, 0.327 and 0.257 nm. The XPS analysis results show that the binding energy of Pb 4f7/2 in the feldspar was between 137.81,138.03 eV. Pb2+ can replace alkali and alkali earth cations in the feldspar structure through ion exchange reaction to form Pb-feldspar. [source]


Metamorphism of the Basement of the Qilian Fold Belt in the Minhe-Ledu Area, Qinghai Province, NW China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 1 2002
TSAI Chinglang
Abstract, The basement of the central Qilian fold belt exposed along the Minhe-Ledu highway consists of psammitic schists, metabasitic rocks, and crystalline limestone. Migmatitic rocks occur sporadically among psammitic schist and metabasitic rocks. The mineral assemblage of psammitic schist is muscovite + biotite + feldspar + quartz ± tourmaline ± titanite ± sillimanite and that of metabasitic rocks is amphibole + plagioclase + biotite ± apatite ± magnetite ± pyroxene ± garnet ± quartz. The migmatitic rock consists of leucosome and restite of various volume proportions; the former consists of muscovite + alkaline feldspar + quartz ± garnet ± plagioclase while the latter is either fragments of psammitic schist or those of metabasitic rock. The crystalline limestone consists of calcite that has been partly replaced by olivine. The olivine was subsequently altered to serpentine. Weak deformations as indicated by cleavages and fractures were imposed prominently on the psammitic schists, occasionally on metabasitic rocks, but not on migmatitic rocks. The basement experienced metamorphism up to temperature 606,778°C and pressure 4.8,6.1 kbar (0.48,0.61 GPa), equivalent to amphibolite-granulite facies. The peak of the metamorphism is marked by a migmatization which occurred at several localities along the studied route 587-535 Ma ago. The basement also recorded a retrograde metamorphism of greenschist facies, during which biotite, garnet, amphibole, and pyroxene were partly altered to chlorite. [source]