Multi-stage emplacement of the G?temar Pluton, SE Sweden: new evidence inferred from field observations and microfabric analysis, including cathodoluminescence microscopy

The emplacement of the Mesoproterozoic G?temar Pluton into Paleoproterozoic granitoid host rocks of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt is re-examined by microfabric analysis, including cathodoluminescence microscopy. Field data on the pluton-host rock system are used to strengthen the model. The G?temar Pluton, situated on the Baltic Shield of SE Sweden, is a horizontally zoned tabular structure that was constructed by the intrusion of successive pulses of magma with different crystal/melt ratios, at an estimated crustal depth of 4–8?km. Initial pluton formation involved magma ascent along a vertical dike, which was arrested at a mechanical discontinuity within the granitoid host rocks; this led to the formation of an initial sill. Subsequent sill stacking and their constant inflation resulted in deformation and reheating of existing magma bodies, which also raised the pluton roof. This multi-stage emplacement scenario is indicated by complex dike relationships and the occurrence of several generations of quartz (Si-metasomatism). The sills were charged by different domains of a heterogeneous magma chamber with varying crystal/melt ratios. Ascent or emplacement of magma with a high crystal/melt ratio is indicated by syn-magmatic deformation of phenocrysts. Complex crystallization fabrics (e.g. oscillatory growth zoning caused by high crystal defect density, overgrowth and replacement features, resorbed and corroded crystal cores, rapakivi structure) are mostly related to processes within the main chamber, that is repeated magma mixing or water influx.     

Sticking together: Mechanisms of quartz synneusis in high-silica magma

The formation of crystal clusters by synneusis (magmatic sintering) affects a wide range of magmatic systems from olivine clusters in komatiite to quartz clusters in high-silica granite. A common feature of synneusis in any mineral phase is the alignment of neighbouring crystals in certain lower-energy orientation relationships. However, the underlying mechanisms involved with both the alignment of crystals in lower-energy orientations and the binding of crystal clusters are not well understood. In the absence of mechanisms that bind crystals together upon contact, the same hydrodynamic forces that may bring crystals together can in theory also serve to disaggregate clusters. Here I use cathodoluminescence imaging and crystal orientation data from quartz clusters in high-silica granite to show that i) rapid crystalline neck growth along attachment surfaces and ii) grain rotation are two mechanisms that reduce the grain boundary energy of crystal clusters while increasing clusters’ shear strength. The continued crystallization of sintered phases as the magmatic body cools further cements crystal pairs and resists cluster disaggregation. Together these mechanisms underpin both the formation and preservation of large crystal clusters in dynamic magmatic environments.     

钙华生物沉积作用研究进展与展望

弄清钙华生物沉积作用有助于更好地理解钙华微岩相结构和地球化学特征的气候环境指示意义。总结和综述了与钙华沉积相关的生物群落、生物成因钙华微岩相结构、钙华生物沉积作用过程及其对钙华地球化学特征影响的研究进展,并展望了未来的研究重点。细菌、藻类和苔藓等广泛参与到钙华沉积中,形成了许多不同类型的孔隙结构、晶体结构和纹层结构。生物沉积过程主要包括:①生物生长扰动水流使得CO2逸出;②代谢作用(如光合作用)过程诱导碳酸钙沉积;③"表面控制"过程影响晶体成核及生长。生物沉积作用驱动了元素的迁移转化,对沉积水体和钙华地球化学特征具有重要影响。钙华在地球生物学研究中具有重要潜力,未来需要加强现代钙华沉积中的物理化学和生物过程相互作用机制及其各自贡献的量化研究,以便准确地解译钙华沉积记录。     

Why do organisms calcify?

Molecular mechanisms on carbonate and phosphate deposition in biological systems are presented. Focal points of the article are processes which control: (1) the transfer of calcium ions from within the cell to the place where a crystal can nucleate; and (2) the oriented growth (epitaxis) of minerals on organic templates which lead to the formation of shell structures, bones or teeth.     

Phase-field study of grain boundary tracking behavior in crack-seal microstructures

In order to address the growth of crystals in veins, a multiphase-field model is used to capture the dynamics of crystals precipitating from a super-saturated solution. To gain a detailed understanding of the polycrystal growth phenomena in veins, we investigate the influence of various boundary conditions on crystal growth. In particular, we analyze the formation of vein microstructures resulting from the free growth of crystals as well as crack-sealing processes. We define the crystal symmetry by considering the anisotropy in surface energy to simulate crystals with flat facets and sharp corners. The resulting growth competition of crystals with different orientations is studied to deduce a consistent orientation selection rule in the free-growth regime. Using crack-sealing simulations, we correlate the grain boundary tracking behavior depending on the relative rate of crack opening, opening trajectory, initial grain size, and wall roughness. Further, we illustrate how these parameters induce the microstructural transition between blocky (crystals growing anisotropically) to fibrous morphology (isotropic) and formation of grain boundaries. The phase-field simulations of crystals in the free-growth regime (in 2D and 3D) indicate that the growth or consumption of a crystal is dependent on the orientation difference with neighboring crystals. The crack-sealing simulation results (in 2D and 3D) reveal that crystals grow isotropically and grain boundaries track the opening trajectory if the wall roughness is high, opening increments are small, and crystals touch the wall before the next crack increment starts. Further, we find that within the complete crack-seal regime, anisotropy in surface energy results in the formation of curved/oscillating grain boundaries (instead of straight) when the crack-opening velocity is increased and wall roughness is not sufficiently high. Additionally, the overall capability of phase-field method to simulate large-scale polycrystal growth in veins (in 3D) is demonstrated enumerating the main advantages of adopting the novel approach.     

Toward a quantitative model of metamorphic nucleation and growth

The formation of metamorphic garnet during isobaric heating is simulated on the basis of the classical nucleation and reaction rate theories and Gibbs free energy dissipation in a multi-component model system. The relative influences are studied of interfacial energy, chemical mobility at the surface of garnet clusters, heating rate and pressure on interface-controlled garnet nucleation and growth kinetics. It is found that the interfacial energy controls the departure from equilibrium required to nucleate garnet if attachment and detachment processes at the surface of garnet limit the overall crystallization rate. The interfacial energy for nucleation of garnet in a metapelite of the aureole of the Nelson Batholith, BC, is estimated to range between 0.03 and 0.3?J/m² at a pressure of ca. 3,500?bar. This corresponds to a thermal overstep of the garnet-forming reaction of ca. 30°C. The influence of the heating rate on thermal overstepping is negligible. A significant feedback is predicted between chemical fractionation associated with garnet formation and the kinetics of nucleation and crystal growth of garnet giving rise to its lognormal??shaped crystal size distribution.     

Interpretation of crystalline spheroidal structures in igneous rocks

Attention is drawn to the nomenclature of spheroidal structures, and the textures are interpreted in terms of central, marginal or disseminated crystal nucleation. The essential physical characteristics of the nucleation and growth of crystals, bubbles of a low density gaseous phase, and globules of liquid with a density comparable with that of the magma are described. It seems likely that crystallization within an immiscible liquid fraction would proceed from disseminated nuclei thus producing a rock texture, rather than a cavity filling texture developed from marginal nucleation which is a characteristics of crystallization within gas cavities. Structures of mineralogical features which clearly indicate early liquid immiscibility or subsequent retrograde boiling are rarely preserved because of the nature of the processes, but it is suggested that both processes play a greater part in the formation of certain igneous rocks than in generally realized.     

An investigation of disequilibrium growth processes of plagioclase in the system anorthite-albite-water by methods of numerical simulation

Compositional zoning of plagioclase is useful as a recorder of dynamic geological conditions if the mechanisms of crystal growth are known. Although the present lack of quantitative information on specific kinetic processes limits their accuracy, numerical simulations of phenoycryst plagioclase growth are useful both for identifying the most influential kinetic processes (for example, diffusion) that should receive priority in experimental measurements and for designing informative growth experiments. The interaction of kinetic processes at a crystal face is so complex that the overall result cannot be assessed intuitively. A primary purpose of these papers is to explore this interaction in the plagioclase system as quantitatively as data permit.The growth of a single face of a plagioclase crystal in an infinite melt was simulated in computer models for: (1) anhydrous and hydrous plagioclase melts; (2) for different undercoolings; and (3) for both interface-controlled and melt-transport controlled growth. Major uncertainties include the velocity and nonequilibrium partitioning laws in the interface-controlled model, and transport coefficients for melt components. Comparison of computed models with published growth velocity data for anhydrous melts was used to estimate a transport coefficient (with the form for diffusion), and that coefficient was extrapolated to hydrous melts on the basis of the Stokes-Einstein relationship.The results of simulations suggest that undercoolings reasonable for plutonic systems could result in deviations of crystal composition from that in equilibrium with the melt of several mole % An; geothermometers based on the assumption of equilibrium partitioning will be in error significantly. Similarly, the volatile content and composition of melt trapped during growth would deviate significantly from bulk melt properties. The velocity of crystal growth and deviation of crystal composition from equilibrium show low sensitivity to water content because larger water contents result in greater accumulation of water at the interface and a consequent depression of effective undercooling.The large magnitude of the derived transport parameter suggests that local convection as well as diffusion may occur during growth in the anhydrous system. The addition of water to the system reduces viscosity and increases the density gradients near the crystal, making local convection even more probable. Our meagre knowledge of transport by diffusion and convection in the melt is probably the most important factor limiting the accuracy of growth simulations.     

On some fundamentals of igneous petrology

The age-old process of crystal fractionation leading to the diversity of the igneous rocks and Earth itself is an exceedingly well-understood chemical process in magmatism and physical chemistry. But the broader physical aspects of this and related processes have proven elusive on many fronts, especially in its relation to the spatial variations in rock composition, texture, and macroscopic features like layering. Magmatic systems, be they volcanic, dikes, sills, or plutons, are generally analyzed with a problem at hand and an end result in mind. The processes invoked to solve these problems, which are most often purely chemical, are often unique to each problem with few if any general principles emerging that are central to understanding the wider perspective of magmatic processes and problems. An attempt is made at the outset to provide a list of inviolate Magmatic First Principles that are relevant to analyzing most magmatic problems. These involve: initial conditions; critical crystallinity; solidification fronts; transport and emplacement fluxes; phenocrysts, xenocrysts, primocrysts; crystal size; layering and crystal sorting; thermal convection; magmatic processes are physical. Along with these principles, two reference magmatic systems are suggested where the initial conditions and outcome are unequivocal: the Sudbury impact melt sheet and the Hawaiian lava lakes. Sudbury formed in ~5 min by superheated magma crystallized to a near uniform sequence, while the tiny lava lakes, formed of crystal-laden slurries, form a highly differentiated layered sequence. The major difference is in the initial conditions of formation, especially the nature of the input materials. The challenge is to construct and analyze magmatic systems (i.e., magma chambers, sills, dikes, and lavas) using these reference end members and the suggested principles. The Hawaiian 500,000 year volcanic record exhibits what can be expected as input materials, namely a highly varied output of magma of an overall composition reflecting the abundance of entrained olivine primocrysts. The provenance of these crystals is varied, and within any single sample, the population may be highly heterogeneous in composition from crystal to crystal, yet the overall pattern of chemical fractionation is exceedingly regular and well defined. If similar inputs go to form large intrusions, these systems will undoubtedly be dominated by crystal-rich slurries, which provide a vast set of physical processes promoting exotic layering and, at the same time, given the effects of annealing and continued crystal growth, a final chemical record adhering to all the time-honored effects of crystal fractionation. The long assumed initial condition of instantaneously emplaced crystal-free magmas cannot reasonably produce the observed rock records.     

天然矿物自然铝的研究进展

综述了国内外自然铝的发现与研究史;自然铝的物理性质和颗粒形态、元素组成及含量、晶体结构参数等特征;自然铝的成因模式。自然铝主要见于老的火山和热液矿石中,或现代和中-新生代的海底活动构造带（如转换断层、中央海隆以及弧后扩张中心）的海洋沉积物中,有地幔碳热还原、海底热液内生和陆地表生置换等3种成因模式。     

水晶包裹体的类型及成因综述

水晶中的包裹体是在水晶生长过程中被包裹在晶体内的由一相或多相物质组成的封闭系统。水晶中包裹体的形成与生长时的物化条件密切相关 ,而生长过程中的物化环境又直接影响了水晶的结晶习性。     

REMARKS ON THE GENETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF CERTAIN TYPES OF HARD MINERAL INCLUSIONS IN QUARTZ

Syngenetic and protogenetic hard mineral inclusions are met with in crystals of quartz. Syngenetic inclusions are of special interest for the determination of some important details in the mechanism of crystal growth and the elucidation of the composition and concentration of quartz-forming solutions. Protogenetic inclusions facilitate the forming of conclusions on the regime of solutions, the conditions of growth of crystals, etc. For instance, a study of the "hairstone" (crystals of quartz with numerous accumulations of fine needles of tourmaline, rutile, etc. ) suggest that rock crystals often grow in open cavities in very tranquil conditions, probably, mainly as a result of a diffusion of the substance. The presence of "intercrystal druses" of quartz in quartz may witness a pulsating intake of solutions and the absence of an equilibrium in the latter. The study of some inclusions suggests a possible formation of crystals of rock crystal resulting from a recrystallization of the enclosing rocks (quartzites). So-called powderings which have repeatedly been described and which are widespread in nature, evidently originate in consequence of various processes and can belong to the group of syngenetic inclusions. --Auth. English summary.     

Crack Initiation and Crack Propagation in Heterogeneous Sulfate-Rich Clay Rocks

Brittle fracture processes were hypothesized by several researches to cause a damage zone around an underground excavation in sulfate-rich clay rock when the stress exceeds the crack initiation threshold, and may promote swelling by crystal growth in newly formed fractures. In this study, laboratory experiments such as unconfined and confined compression tests with acoustic emission monitoring, and microstructural and mineralogical analyses are used to explain brittle fracture processes in sulfate-rich clay rock from the Gipskeuper formation in Switzerland. This rock type typically shows a heterogeneous rock fabric consisting of distinct clayey layers and stiff heterogeneities such as anhydrite layers, veins or nodules. The study showed that at low deviatoric stress, the failure behavior is dominated by the strength of the clayey matrix where microcracks are initiated. With increasing deviatoric stress or strain, growing microcracks eventually are arrested at anhydrite veins, and cracks develop either aligned with the interface between clayey layers and anhydrite veins, or penetrate anhydrite veins. These cracks often link micro-fractured regions in the specimen. This study also suggest that fracture localization in sulfate-rich clay rocks, which typically show a heterogeneous rock fabric, does not take place in the pre-peak range and renders unstable crack propagation less likely. Sulfate-rich clay rocks typically contain anhydrite veins at various scales. At the scale of a tunnel, anhydrite layers or veins may arrest growing fractures and prevent the disintegration of the rock mass. The rock mass may be damaged when the threshold stress for microcrack initiation is exceeded, thus promoting swelling by crystal growth in extension fractures, but the self-supporting capacity of the rock mass may be maintained rendering the possibility for rapidly propagating instability less likely.     

静水生长的淡水湖冰微结构的季节变化及其受生长过程的影响

冰物理微结构特征控制着冰层基本物理性质。基于多年冬季对东北平原区水库和湖泊冰层生消过程、气象条件,以及冰层晶体、冰内气泡和密度特征的现场观测,分析了淡水湖冰微结构的季节演化和年变化规律及其影响因素。湖冰晶体结构、气泡含量与分布、冰密度具有明显的分层结构,且在冰厚增长期和稳定期内基本维持不变;进入融化期,冰内微结构变化迅速,表现为晶体边界融化、气泡体积扩展和融水迁移。不同年份、不同湖泊冰晶体类型和气泡形态类似,但各类晶体层厚度比例、气泡含量与尺寸存在差异。统计分析显示,晶体和气泡结构与湖冰生长速率关系密切,晶体粒径与生长速率呈正比,水内气体的产生和溶解过程、水体扰动程度的差异影响着气泡含量同生长速率之间的关系。     

Oscillatory zoning in a (Ba,Sr)SO4 solid solution: Macroscopic and cellular automata models

Many minerals exhibit oscillatory zoning (OZ), whereby their chemical composition varies more or less regularly along a crystal core-to-rim profile. A well-known example of oscillatory zoning was previously obtained in the (Ba,Sr)SO₄ solid solution system under controlled laboratory conditions. The OZ crystals were precipitated at room temperature from counter-diffusing aqueous solutions. In this contribution, we review a macroscopic model for the self-organized formation of oscillatory zoning in such binary solid solution. The model combines diffusive solute transport and an autocatalytic continuous crystal growth with a rate dependent on the mineral surface composition. Oscillatory solutions are obtained. It is also shown that fluctuations in the aqueous solution concentrations may contribute to the OZ formation by causing noise-induced transitions in the crystal growth regimes. We also present, for the first time, a cellular automata-based microscopic model, which considers diffusive motion and autocatalytic attachment kinetics of individual molecular units. OZ is obtained when the probability of attachment of a unit onto the crystal surface is calculated from the crystal composition averaged over the crystal surface (mean-field approach). However, OZ fails to develop when this probability is calculated from the local crystal composition at the attachment site in the absence of a lateral synchronization mechanism.     

Vein arrays, hydraulic fractures and pressure-solution structures in a deformed flysch sequence S.W. England

Vein arrays and pressure-solution cleavages are common in the sandstone units of the deformed flysch. Both structures were established prior to the folding of the sediments, and they continued to evolve during this folding. Tensile fractures and conjugate sets of shear fractures (of wrench fault type) were formed. En-echelon arrays of veins are closely associated with the formation of these principal veins. The geometry and relations of the veins are described in detail and their relation to the principal stresses at the time of formation is discussed.

Forking at vein terminations, branch fractures and offset structures in veins are described. The analogies between these and structures produced in rock deformation experiments and found in magmatic dykes are discussed. The branch fracture provides a record of the orientation of the maximum principal stress at the time of its formation.

The veins are infilled with quartz and siderite displaying drusy growth fabrics, indicating that crystal growth occurred into a fluid-filled cavity. It is suggested that the veins originated as hydraulic fractures in a flysch sequence that had developed high pore-fluid pressures during sedimentation. The material in the veins was derived by pressure-solution activity in the sandstone units, which produced a spaced pressure-solution cleavage throughout the region. The relations between veins and pressure-solution cleavages are described. Both small- and large-scale solution transfer of material was involved.     

Biological Processes Responsible for Travertine Deposition: A Review and Future Prospect

The investigation of biological processes responsible for travertine deposition allows us to better understand the travertine petrographic and geochemical signatures as proxies of climatic and environmental change. This paper reviewed the organisms associated with travertines, the biotic micro-fabrics formed within travertines, the biological processes associated with travertine precipitation and their controls on travertine geochemical properties. Prospects of the future research on biological processes responsible for travertine precipitation were provided. Bacteria, algae and mosses are the most important organisms that involve in the precipitation of travertines. The growth of these organisms leads to the formation of a range of various porosity, crystal fabrics and lamination within travertines. Three main biological processes responsible for travertine deposition can be classified, including \mathrm{①} a process of aquatic plant growth generating a turbulent condition and consequent CO₂ evasion, \mathrm{②} a metabolic (mainly photosynthetic) process mediating carbonate precipitation and \mathrm{③} a ‘surface-control’ process influencing nucleation and crystal growth. These processes play an important role in the migration and transformation of elements in travertine-depositing system and thus determine the properties of water chemistry and geochemistry of carbonate deposits. Travertine deposits have great potential to be valuable records for the geobiological study. Further investigation is required to simultaneously track biotic and abiotic interactions in modern travertine-depositing environments and quantify the contribution of these two processes and apply the results to accurately interpret travertine records.     

Cyclic development of large,complex, calcite dendrite crystals in the Clinton travertine,Interior British Columbia,Canada

Bands of large (up to 4 cm long) three-dimensional crystallographic dendrites form the terrace fronts in an old travertine mound exposed near Clinton, British Columbia. The dendrites, with their long axes perpendicular to the terrace front, are characterized by numerous levels of branching. Each branch is formed of multitudes of skeletal rhombs, four- and six(?)-sided bipyramidal crystals, or prismatic hexagonal crystals that are precisely aligned along crystallographic precepts. Although individual branches are formed of one type of subcrystal, neighbouring branches may be formed of different subcrystal types.Highly supersaturated waters that were generated by rapid CO₂ degassing of the spring water during its turbulent flow over the steep terrace fronts probably drove dendrite precipitation. The presence of growth lines indicates that growth was episodic. Type I growth lines probably formed annually in response to seasonal climate changes whereas Type II growth lines, which formed less frequently, may reflect changes in the flow velocity and/or flow patterns of the spring waters.Early diagenetic modification of the dendrites involved crystal face enlargement, cements formed of trigonal prisms or needle-fiber crystals, microbial infestation that mediated substrate dissolution, and/or deposition of detrital calcite crystals that formed in the water column. Much of the diagenetic modification may have taken place during the periods when the dendrites had temporarily stopped growing.The dendrites in the Clinton travertine are an excellent example of complex, episodic calcite crystal growth that was extensively modified by early diagenetic processes in a surface environment. The same spring waters from which the dendrites were precipitated mediated much of the early diagenesis.     

Geometric selection in two-dimensional crystal aggregates

The simultaneous growth of randomly oriented crystals nucleated at a surface rapidly produces a coarsely crystalline radial or columnar aggregate possessing a strong preferred shape and lattice orientation. Such textures are common in natural crystalline aggregates and are considered to arise because those crystals having their fastest growth direction normal to the initial substrate outdistance and eventually eliminate their less favorably oriented neighbors. In its simplest form the process of elimination is a purely geometric phenomenon. Detailed analysis and computer simulation of textural changes accompanying geometric selection in random two dimensional needlelike crystal aggregates demonstrate that selection initially proceeds exceedingly rapidly but slows drastically once roughly 90 percent of the crystals originally present are eliminated. Subsequent decrease in crystal density is inversely proportional to the square root of the distance from the initial substrate. Increases in crystal size larger than one or two orders of magnitude are thus unlikely to arise in natural crystalline aggregates in which only simple geometric selection is involved.