Deformation of biotite and muscovite: Optical microstructure

An optical comparison illustrates the difference in behaviour of the two mica minerals biotite and muscovite; their response to deformation, and to chemical processes such as grain dissolution. Non-passive mechanical rotation, segmentation of deformed grains by a recovery-recrystallization type process and syntectonic growth of the phyllosilicates all contribute to the development of a strong tectonic foliation within a deformed pegmatite from the Italian Alps. There are significant mechanical differences between the two micas. Biotite readily deforms by kinking whereas muscovite forms sinusoidal folds and seldom kinks. If kink-like structures (deformation zones) are present in muscovite they are generally accompanied by fracturing. Fracturing and displacements are obvious in most deformed muscovites both parallel to axial surfaces and between (001) cleavages. Fracturing is occasionally recognised in biotite. However, it is often obscured by extensive dissolution and new grain nucleation. Evidence for dissolution processes in biotite is more abundant than in muscovite.     

Coexisting zoisite and clinozoisite in biotite schists from the Hohe Tauern,Austria

Coexisting zoisite and clinozoisite assemblages in biotite schists from the western Hohe Tauern, Austria, have been investigated with the electron microprobe, polarization optics, and X-ray diffractometer. Zoisite and clinozoisite show slight compositional zoning, ranging from the core to the rim from about 1.8 to 1.0 wt. % Fe in zoisite, and 4.0 to 3.0 wt. % Fe in clinozoisite. The results suggest a gap of composition between coexisting zoisite and clinozoisite under greenschist-amphibolite transition facies conditions.The optical orientation and 2V of zoisite vary considerably within single grains. Lamellar structures have been detected which may be produced by unmixing of zoisite. The Fe-poor lamellae have 2V _z=20–50°, a dispersion r>v, and relatively low refringence, the Fe-rich lamellae have 2V _z =90–100°, rv, and higher refringence. The optic axial planes of both lamellae systems deviate from the (100) cleavage by up to 15°, and suggest a deviation from orthorombic symmetry. The lattice constants of coexisting zoisite and clinozoisite are given.     

Sedimentology, stratigraphy, and glacier dynamics, western Scottish Highlands

Glacial sediments of the western Scottish Highlands are comprehensively described and characterized here for the first time, enabling the first glacial stratigraphy for the area to be proposed. This classification is based on the results of extensive geological mapping and field investigation of sedimentary sequences and their structures, X-ray diffraction and particle size distribution analyses, and comparison with deposits formed in contemporary glaciated environments. These new data are subsequently appraised in terms of their implications for late Pleistocene glacier evolution and dynamics. Together, the data suggest that much of the landscape is palimpsest, and can be attributed to the Weichselian (Late Devensian) glaciation. Subsequent glacier advance during the Younger Dryas did little to modify the area, suggesting that ice flow was dominated by sliding on a meltwater-lubricated rigid bed, with deformation of basal sediments playing a more limited role. Final deglaciation was marked by a significant increase in basal meltwater flux, reflecting the warming climate and increasing precipitation. These new palaeoglaciological and palaeoenvironmental insights advance our understanding of former glacier dynamics in the western Scottish Highlands, improve our knowledge of Pleistocene landscape evolution of this area, and enable comparisons to be made with sedimentary sequences elsewhere.     

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in biotite, muscovite and chlorite single crystals

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of single crystals of biotite, muscovite and chlorite has been measured in order to provide accurate values of the magnetic anisotropy properties for these common rock-forming minerals. The low-field AMS and the high-field paramagnetic susceptibility are defined. For the high-field values, it is necessary to combine the paramagnetic deviatoric tensor obtained from the high-field torque magnetometer with the paramagnetic bulk susceptibility measured from magnetization curves of the crystals. This leads to the full paramagnetic susceptibility ellipsoid due to the anisotropic distribution of iron cations in the silicate lattice. The ellipsoid of paramagnetic susceptibility, which was obtained for the three phyllosilicates, is highly oblate in shape and the minimum susceptibility direction is subparallel to the crystallographic c-axes. The anisotropy of the susceptibility within the basal plane of the biotite has been evaluated and found to be isotropic within the accuracy of the instrumental measurements. The degree of anisotropy of biotite and chlorite is compatible with previously reported values while for muscovite the smaller than previously published values. The shape of the chlorite AMS ellipsoid for all the samples is near-perfect oblate in contrast with a wide distribution of oblate and prolate values reported in earlier studies. Reliable values are important for deriving models of the magnetic anisotropy where it reflects mineral fabrics and deformation of rocks.     

Evidence of weathering stages of phyllosilicates from biotite/muscovite to kaolinite, probed by EPR spectroscopy

We report on a paramagnetic anisotropy study of three layered phyllosilicates. The mineral samples were characterized through X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Based on EPR measurements of samples oriented parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, we show how the substitutional iron is transformed from Fe(II) (biotite) into Fe(III) (muscovite and kaolinite) species and from axial Fe(III) coordination sites (muscovite) to rhombic (kaolinite) sites in response to weathering.     

Experimental study of fluorine and chlorine contents in mica (biotite) and their partitioning between mica,phonolite melt,and fluid

This paper reports the results of a study of the composition of mica (biotite) crystallizing in the system of phonolite melt-Cl- and F-bearing aqueous fluid at T ～ 850°C, P = 200 MPa, and \(f_{O_2 } \) = Ni-NiO, as well as data on F and Cl partitioning between coexisting phases. It was established that Cl content in mica is significantly lower than in phonolite melt and, especially, in fluid. Fluorine shows a different behavior in this system: its content in mica is always higher than in phonolite melt but lower than in fluid. The mica-melt partition coefficients of Cl and F also behave differently. The Cl partition coefficient gradually increases from 0.17 to 0.33 with increasing Cl content in the system, whereas the partition coefficient of F sharply decreases from 3.0 to 1.0 with increasing total F content. The apparent partition coefficients of F between biotite and groundmass (melt) in various magmatic rocks are usually significantly higher than the experimental values. It was supposed that the higher ^Bt/glassD_F values in natural samples could be related to the influence of later oxidation reactions, reequilibration of biotite at continuously decreasing \(f_{H_2 O} \)/f _HF ratio, and an increase in this coefficients with decreasing total F content in the system.     

Metasomatic crystallization of muscovite in granite and tourmaline in schist related to pegmatite emplacement near Yellowknife,Canada

Numerous pegmatite dikes occur in the Sparrow pluton (muscovite-biotite granite) and in the adjacent cordierite-zone schist-hornfels of the Yellowknife Supergroup. Where pegmatite dikes cut granite, the adjacent granite is enriched in muscovite and apatite, and depleted in K-feldspar. Mass transfer calculations, based on rock, mineral, and modal analyses, indicate that H, P, and locally B, Ti, Fe, and Ca were added, and K, Sr, Ba, and locally Na were removed (hydrogen metasomatism). In one alteration zone (8 cm wide) the calculated change (in terms of mols/gram of unaltered granite) is, 600 K-feldspar+24 biotite+190 plagioclase +[770 H+36 P+3 Ti+13 Fe+13 Ca] 400 muscovite+1100 quartz +11 apatite+[240 Na+260 K]. Where pegmatite dikes cut schist-hornfels (biotite-plagioclase-quartz), the adjacent rock is, in places, enriched in tourmaline, apatite, and quartz, and depleted in biotite and plagioclase. These alteration zones are variable in width; most are less than 20 cm wide. Mass transfer calculations, based on rock, mineral, and modal analyses, indicate that B, P, Zn, and locally Ca, Fe, and Al were added, and that Na, K, Fe, Rb, Sr, Ba, and locally Mg and Si were removed (boron metasomatism). In one zone, 2 cm wide, the calculated reaction (in units of mols/gram of unaltered schist) is, 730 biotite+1530 plagioclase +[1080 B+600 H+430 P+360 Ca] 480 tourmaline+480 quartz+115 apatite +[3630 Si+870 Na+590 K+110 Fe]. Changes in the volume fraction of muscovite, K-feldspar, tourmaline, and biotite, relative to distance from pegmatite, are progressive, and in most alteration zones may be expressed by use of an error-function equation. Some tourmaline zones are more complex. Zone formation is considered in terms of a steady-state reaction model in which grainboundary diffusion is the transport mechanism.     

Garnet growth in a metapelite from the Moinian rocks of Northern Sutherland,Scotland

Compositional profiles of a series of garnets, extracted from a pelitic schist occurring in the Moinian rocks of Northern Sutherland, have been established. The profiles are complex and do not conform to a simple fractionation model. A model to explain them is suggested.     

黑云母和锆石化学组分对岩浆结晶条件的约束:以滇西北衙超大型金矿床为例

中酸性岩浆含矿性差异一直是矿床学的研究热点。滇西北衙超大型金多金属矿床(探明金资源量超过370t)内发育成矿二长花岗斑岩体和非成矿黑云母二长花岗斑岩体、煌斑岩体,是研究岩体含矿性差异、富碱岩浆结晶时物理化学条件及其成矿效应的良好选区。本文在详细的岩相学观察基础上,对成矿的二长花岗斑岩、未成矿的黑云母二长花岗斑岩和煌斑岩中黑云母和锆石开展矿物化学分析,厘定了北衙富碱岩浆的结晶条件。北衙成矿二长花岗斑岩体的锆石结晶温度(843℃)稍高于黑云母二长花岗斑岩体的锆石结晶温度(807℃),鉴于金在熔体中溶解度随温度升高而增大,表明在岩浆演化初期二长花岗斑岩体具有更高的金溶解度。同时,利用锆石微量元素组分估算的二长花岗斑岩体的lg(f_(O_2))(-10. 67)高于黑云母二长花岗斑岩体(-15. 00),表明二长花岗斑岩体具有更高的氧逸度。在岩浆演化过程中高氧逸度会抑制金以硫化物形式沉淀,从而增强了二长花岗斑岩体的成矿潜力。除此之外,二长花岗斑岩具有最低的黑云母结晶温度(二长花岗斑岩、黑云母二长花岗斑岩、煌斑岩依次对应644℃、723℃、766℃)和最浅的侵位深度(1. 46～1. 74km、4. 03～5. 02km、2. 53～2. 72km)。高压条件下母岩浆中出溶的流体几乎没有能量形成裂隙,而且也很难发生对金属富集有重要影响的流体不混溶作用。二长花岗斑岩体侵位深度与矽卡岩中石榴石发育的含石盐子晶的三相包裹体的捕获深度(～2km)近似,进一步暗示二长花岗斑岩体侵位后发生流体沸腾作用。因此,岩浆氧逸度和侵位深度的差异可能是黑云母二长花岗斑岩体和煌斑岩体未成矿的原因。     

Pyroxenite and granulite xenoliths from beneath the Scottish Northern Highlands Terrane: evidence for lower-crust/upper-mantle relationships

Xenolith suites from Permian host rocks in Orkney and the extreme NE of the Scottish mainland (Duncansby Ness) are described and compared to those from elsewhere in the Northern Highlands Terrane. Those from the Tingwall dyke, Orkney, comprise roughly equal proportions of ultramafic rocks (wehrlites, clinopyroxenites, websterites, hornblendites) and mafic to felsic rocks (gabbroic, noritic and dioritic granulites, with subordinate tonalites and trondhjemites). Those from Duncansby (45 km to the south) are dominantly olivine-poor ultramafic rocks (clinopyroxenites, pargasite pyroxenites, biotite-pyroxenites), together with granulites grading from gabbroic through to tonalites and trondhjemites. Most of the granulites are meta-igneous, comprising plagioclase and one- or two-pyroxene species with equilibration temperatures of 810-710 °C, and are regarded as samples of the lower crust. Absence of garnet and olivine, together with the association of relatively sodic plagioclase and aluminous pyroxenes, is consistent with derivation from depths corresponding to 5-10 kbar. Positive Eu anomalies in the granulites imply that most originated as plagioclase-rich cumulates from basaltic magmas. Scarce peraluminous quartzo-feldspathic xenoliths, such as a garnet-sillimanite-bearing sample from Duncansby, are regarded as metasedimentary in origin. Pyroxenes (and biotites) in the ultramafic xenoliths tend to have higher mg numbers than those of the granulites, reflecting higher temperatures of formation. Whereas the pyroxene-rich ultramafic rocks may be partly interleaved with the granulites in the lower crust, it is concluded that they also constitute a zone of substantial thickness at or around Moho level, separating the granulites from underlying peridotites, and that they originated as cumulates cognate to the granulites. They have, however, been variably metasomatised with formation of amphibole. This zone may constitute a density trap at which melt fractions, rich in K, Fe, Ti and OH and ascending from the asthenosphere, interact with the ultramafic cumulates, modifying them texturally and modally to produce a complex veined assemblage of clinopyroxene- and pargasite-rich rocks. The metasomatism involved an increase in LREE, HFSE and LILE contents. Some modal and cryptic metasomatism may also have affected the granulites, accounting for the presence of amphibole and relatively high LREE/HREE values (La/Lu 38-206). Since closely comparable xenolith assemblages also occur in Mull at the southwestern extremity of the Northern Highland Terrane, such metasomatised olivine- and orthopyroxene-deficient ultramafic rocks may characterise the shallowest part of the mantle beneath the entire terrane. The strongly bimodal character of the xenolith populations (either ultramafic or mafic grading to felsic) is taken to reflect the sharpness of the petrological Moho in this region.     

Contrasting textures in metamorphic and anatectic migmatites: an example from the Scottish Caledonides

Abstract. A method for the quantitative analysis of the spatial relations of minerals is described. Dispersed distributions are formed by annealing and destroyed in post-tectonic migmatization. Aggregate distributions characterize solid-state differentiation, whereas leucosomes formed in systems of high fluid:rock ratio (in the examples studied, anatectic melts) show random distributions.
Quantitative textural analysis can be used to indicate whether migmatization was post-tectonic or earlier, though caution is necessary if post-migmatite cooling is slow or if there is some minor deformation. More importantly, it can be used to discriminate melt-present from melt-absent leucosomes; this is exemplified by a suite of metamorphic and anatectic migmatites from the Scottish Caledonides.
The textural evolution of anatexites with increasing melt percentage is traced. Initial feldspar porphyroblastesis occurs by Ostwald ripening via grain boundary melts; subsequently ophthalmites develop with fabrics and chemistry inherited from the palaeosome. At greater than 30% melt these inherited fabrics are wholly destroyed. Deformation prompts segregation into melanosome and leucosome; resultant leucosomes contain no inherited crystals. The scale of anatectic systems is fixed at the point at which segregation begins; ophthalmites provide evidence for melt and crystal transfer beyond original palaeosome boundaries. In contrast, metamorphic migmatites are necessarily small-scale systems because of diffusive constraints, and melanosomes are invariably produced.     

牡丹江地区黑龙江杂岩中云母片岩的碎屑锆石年代学研究及其地质意义

黑龙江杂岩带作为佳木斯地块与松嫩地块间缝合带的组成部分,对于探究佳木斯地块晚古生代—中生代构造演化具有重要意义。本文选取牡丹江地区黑龙江杂岩带中云母片岩进行碎屑锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年代学分析,从而限定黑龙江杂岩的形成时代。结果显示,云母片岩中最年轻的碎屑锆石年龄分布为176～172 Ma,平均年龄为174±1 Ma,该组锆石发育明显的岩浆振荡环带结构,并且Th/U比值大于0.3,具有岩浆锆石的典型特征,限定了云母片岩原岩的沉积时间下限,表明黑龙江杂岩的形成时代可能在早侏罗世晚期至中侏罗世之后。本文对黑龙江杂岩中云母片岩的碎屑锆石年龄谱进行物源分析,结合前人的研究成果,发现其碎屑锆石年龄分布介于1 339～172 Ma之间,主要集中在1 339～741 Ma、553～497 Ma和267～172 Ma的3个区间,分别与佳木斯地块和松嫩—张广才岭地块上的多期岩浆事件相对应,说明其源区主要是佳木斯地块和松嫩—张广才岭地块。通过对黑龙江杂岩和小兴安岭—张广才岭岩浆岩带所报道的研究结果进行归纳总结,对佳木斯地块晚古生代—中生代的构造演化提出了新的认识：在早二叠世,佳木斯地块为牡丹江洋中的陆块;晚三叠世—早-中侏罗世期间,牡丹江洋向松嫩地块进行俯冲,形成黑龙江杂岩。     

40Ar/39Ar spectrum ages for biotite,hornblende and muscovite in a contact metamorphic zone

Biotite, hornblende and muscovite from 2700 m.y. old rocks in northeastern Minnesota near the contact of the 1150 m.y. Duluth Complex have been analyzed by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar technique to determine whether spectrum ages can be used to distinguish partial loss of radiogenic argon due to a reheating event. Biotite and hornblende give plateau ages comparable to the ordinary K-Ar ages for all samples including those with intermediate ages. Muscovite gives plateau ages for the samples with less than 11% argon loss. An intermediate muscovite with a conventional K-Ar age of 1850 m.y. gives progressively older ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for higher temperature fractions.Microprobe analysis reveals no systematic correlation between biotite chemistry and loss of argon in the contact zone. This suggests that the rate-controlling process for the loss of argon from biotite in the contact zone may be volume diffusion or recrystallization without a measurable change in major element composition. Biotites with intermediate ages give plateaus because the rate-controlling processes in the vacuum furnace are related to dehydroxylation and delamination and are unrelated to the process causing loss of argon in the contact zone.The data for the muscovites are not easily interpreted, in part because of the limited number of samples. The hornblende data show a correlation between argon loss and change in major element composition suggesting that recrystallization may be a rate-controlling process for the loss of argon from hornblende in the contact zone. The small number of samples precludes a definitive statement.     

Evaluating Younger Dryas glacier reconstructions in part of the western Scottish Highlands: a combined empirical and theoretical approach

Current understanding of the Younger Dryas (Loch Lomond Stadial) ice cap in Scotland is dominated by reconstructions derived solely from field evidence. We use an area in the western Scottish Highlands to evaluate three examples of this approach by comparing the proposed glacier reconstructions with new empirical data and the predictions of a high-resolution numerical model. Particular emphasis is placed on accurately determining the maximum surface altitude attained by the ice cap, dominant palaeo-iceflow directions and the style of ice-cap recession. By combining new geomorphological and sedimentological data with model predictions, we present a revised interpretation of the build-up and decay of Loch Lomond Stadial ice in the study area - one that suggests a maximum ice-surface altitude of c. 900 m a.s.l., east and southeastward iceflow and active recession of a dynamic margin. Good agreement between the new field-based interpretation and the predictions of the numerical model validates the latter and by implication extends confidence in its veracity beyond the study area.     

Geologic urban hindplanning: An example from a hellenistic-byzantine city,stobi, Yugoslavian macedonia

Stobi flourished between about 400b.c. anda.d. 600, and, like modern cities, was afflicted by several environmental-geologic difficulties. A large Christian church was built upon poorly compacted artificial fill, resulting in severe foundation problems. An earthquake did extensive damage to the Roman theatre between two stages of its construction. A catastrophic mudflow destroyed structures lying below a cliff of flysch sandstone and shale. After the third or fourth centurya.d. severe desiccation of the climate set in, leading to devegetation, flooding, and dust storms. Structures on the flood plain were buried in several meters of fine sediment. Stobi finally was abandoned, and the structures eventually were buried by wind-blown dust accumulating at the rate of about 1 meter per millenium.     

Lu-Hf apatite geochronology of mafic cumulates: An example from a Fe-Ti mineralization at Smålands Taberg, southern Sweden

We have employed Lu-Hf apatite chronology to determine the age of a magnetite-rich melatroctolite in southern Sweden, known as the Smålands Taberg Fe-Ti ore deposit. The melatroctolite is poor in incompatible elements and minerals forming at more advanced stages of differentiation, which precludes the use of minerals (baddeleyite, zircon, titanite or apatite) commonly used for dating the emplacement of igneous rocks. Enclaves of leucogabbro in the melatroctolite have REE patterns parallel with the host melatroctolite and identical initial Hf and Nd isotope compositions. These characteristics are conclusive evidence for a common parental magma. The leucogabbro is a slightly more evolved facies that underwent limited fractionation of olivine and titanomagnetite; the two major mineral phases in the melatroctolite. Apatite and plagioclase, separated from the leucogabbro, plus a whole-rock sample define a Lu-Hf isochron with a slope corresponding to an age of 1204.3 ± 1.8 Ma. This result is close to the lower age boundary previously reported for this magmatic event comprising dolerites, syenites and granites. The Lu-Hf apatite chronometer merits attention as a new tool in generating accurate and precise ages for igneous, silica-undersaturated rocks that may be difficult to date with traditional techniques.     

Lacustrine sedimentation in a semiarid alpine setting: An example from Ladakh, northwestern Himalaya

The Lamayuru lacustrine strata in Ladakh typify many of the carbonate-rich Pleistocene alpine lakes found in the semiarid environment of the northern Himalaya. Created by a 200-m-thick landslide, the lake was in existence by at least 35,000 yr ago, and may have persisted until 500–1000 yr ago. Represented in the center by thin turbidites and laminated muds, the lacustrine sedimentation along the lake margins and low-relief deltas characteristically displays a marked contrast between (1) clastic lenses representing rapid, sporadic, matrix-poor debris flows and periglacial inputs from the alpine slopes and (2) abundant, diverse, shallow-water, biologically dominated carbonate strata, among which organism-rich, chalky beds and oncolithic and encrusted stem-rich strata predominate. Resemblances of the Lamayuru lacustrine strata and their setting to those of former lakes throughout areas north of the Greater Himalayan crest suggest that the alpine, semi-arid environment would favor diversified, spacially restricted carbonate sedimentation punctuated by occasional clastic influxes. Such a depositional regime contrasts strongly with that found immediately south of the Himalayan crest where more humid conditions promote a more continuous clastic influx into intramontane lakes.     

Garnet-staurolite-mica schist from Rangli Rangliot,Eastern Himalaya: Constraints from phase equilibria and Thermobarometry

Rangli Rangliot is an integral part of lesser Himalaya. The area around Rangli Rangliot consists of garnetstaurolite-mica schist and it is characterized by mineral assemblage garnet-biotite-muscovite-staurolite-quartz± plagioclase. Different reaction textures are of particular interest as they reflect discontinuous or continuous reactions under changing physical conditions. The relative X_Mg in the minerals varies in the order: muscovite> biotite> staurolite> garnet, and the X_Mn decreases in the order: garnet>staurolite>biotite>muscovite. The P-T evolution of the garnet-staurolite-mica schist has been constrained through the use of internally consistent TWEEQU programme and Perple_X software in the KFMASH model system. The combination of these two approaches demonstrates that the garnet-staurolite-mica schist experienced peak pressure and temperature at 5.8 kbar and 590 °C. The proposed clockwise P-T path implies that rocks from the study area could have resulted from thickened continental crust undergoing decompression.     

Distinguishing tsunami and storm deposits: An example from Martinhal, SW Portugal

Geological identification of past tsunamis is important for risk assessment studies, especially in areas where the historical record is limited or absent. The main problem when using the geological evidence is to distinguish between tsunami and storm deposits. Both are high-energy events that may leave marine traces in coastal stratigraphic sequences. At Martinhal, SW Portugal both storm surge and tsunami deposits are present at the same site within a single stratigraphic sequence, which makes it suitable to study the differences between them, excluding variations caused by local factors.

The tsunami associated with the Lisbon earthquake of November 1st 1755 AD, had a major impact on the geomorphology and sedimentology of Martinhal. It breached the barrier and laid down an extensive sheet of sand, as described in eyewitness reports. Besides the tsunami deposit the stratigraphy of Martinhal also displays evidence for storm surges that have breached and overtopped the barrier, flooding the lowland and leaving sand layers. Both marine-derived flood deposits show similar grain size characteristics and distinctive marine foraminifera. The most important differences are the rip-up clasts and boulders exclusively found in the tsunami deposit and the landward extent of the tsunami deposit that everywhere exceeds that of the storm deposits. Identification of both depositional units was only possible using a collection of different data and extensive stratigraphical information from cores as well as trenches.