The origin and diagenesis of cherts from Cyprus

The Troodos Massif of Cyprus is overlain by a variety of cherts in pelagic chalks, volcanogenic sediments, radiolarites and radiolarian mudstones, all of Campanian to Upper Eocene age. There are two chert types, granular chert and vitreous chert. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals the silica polymorphs, disordered cristobalite and quartz. Silicification of the chalks varies from incipient, to bedded, granular cherts, all with disordered cristobalite as the main silica phase. Quartzitic cherts are restricted to the base of Upper Palaeocene and Lower Eocene calciturbidite beds. Disordered cristobalite predominates in the radiolarian mudstones at the foot of the sequence. The form of disordered cristobalite in cavities ranges from microspherules of radiating bladed crystals, the ‘lepispheres’ of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) to bladed overgrowths, and fibrous silica. In contrast, within the fine grained matrix, the disordered cristobalite takes the form of partly coalescent crude microgranules and microspherules. Most of the chalcedonic quartz in Cyprus is derived by recrystallization of previously inorganically precipitated disordered cristobalite rather than by direct precipitation. According to the concept of impurity-controlled maturation the composition of host sediment controls the incorporation of exchangeable cations and other impurities into inorganically precipitated disordered cristobalite. With time (up to 100 million years) internal solid state reorganization of the disordered cristobalite is accompanied by gradual expulsion of impurities, until the cristobalite dissolves followed by quartz precipitation. Complete conversion to quartz takes place first in porous calcareous sediments free of impurities, as in the Cyprus calciturbidites; in fine grained clay-rich sediments, like Cyprus radiolarian mudstones, disordered cristobalite persists much longer. Impurity-controlled maturation also helps explain the diagenesis of Cyprus chert nodules.     

A method of calculating quartz solubilities in aqueous sodium chloride solutions

The aqueous silica species that form when quartz dissolves in water or saline solutions are hydrated. Therefore, the amount of quartz that will dissolve at a given temperature is influenced by the prevailing activity of water. Using a standard state in which there are 1,000 g of water (55.51 moles) per 1,000 cm³ of solution allows activity of water in a NaCl solution at high temperature to be closely approximated by the effective density of water, p_e, in that solution, i.e. the product of the density of the NaCl solution times the weight fraction of water in the solution, corrected for the amount of water strongly bound to aqueous silica and Na⁺ as water of hydration. Generally, the hydration of water correction is negligible.The solubility of quartz in pure water is well known over a large temperature-pressure range. An empirical formula expresses that solubility in terms of temperature and density of water and thus takes care of activity coefficient and pressure-effect terms. Solubilities of quartz in NaCl solutions can be calculated by using that equation and substituting p_e, for the density of pure water. Calculated and experimentally determined quartz solubilities in NaCl solutions show excellent agreement when the experiments were carried out in non-reactive platinum, gold, or gold plus titanium containers. Reactive metal containers generally yield dissolved silica concentrations higher than calculated, probably because of the formation of metal chlorides plus NaOH and H₂. In the absence of NaOH there appears to be no detectable silica complexing in NaCl solutions, and the variation in quartz solubility with NaCl concentration at constant temperature can be accounted for entirely by variations in the activity of water.The average hydration number per molecule of dissolved SiO₂ in liquid water and NaCl solutions decreases from about 2.4 at 200°C to about 2.1 at 350°C. This suggests that H₄SiO₄ may be the dominant aqueous silica species at 350°C, but other polymeric forms become important at lower temperatures.     

Thermochemistry of the new silica polymorph moganite

Samples of microcrystalline silica varieties containing variable amounts of the new silica polymorph moganite (up to R~82 wt.%) have been studied by a combination of high temperature solution calorimetry using lead borate (2 PbO · B₂O₃) solvent and transposed temperature drop calorimetry near 977 K, in order to investigate the thermochemical stability of this new silica mineral. The enthalpy of solution at 977 K and the heat content (H₉₇₇ — H₂₉₈) of “pure” moganite phase were estimated to be -7.16 ± 0.35 kJ/mol and 43.62 ± 0.50 kJ/mol, respectively. The standard molar enthalpy of formation is-907.3 ± 1.2 kJ/mol. Thus, calorimetry strongly supports results of previous X-ray and Raman spectroscopic studies that moganite is a distinct silica polymorph. Its thermochemical instability relative to quartz at 298 K of 3.4 ± 0.7 kJ/mol is marginally higher than those of cristobalite and tridymite. Structurally, this instability may be related to the presence of distorted 4-membered rings of SiO₄ tetrahedra, which are not found in the quartz structure. The metastability relative to quartz may also explain the apparent scarcity of moganite in altered rocks and in rocks that are older than 130 my.     

Paradoxical transformation of the equilibrium quartz-water system into an unequilibrated one

Our long-lasting (up to 600 days) experiments conducted at 300°C in hermetically sealed gold and platinum ampoules with the application of quenching techniques demonstrate that the equilibrium quartz-water system ceases to be such in 200 days of the experiments: the concentration of dissolved silica decreases below the quartz solubility, and silica is redeposited (in the form of opal) at the bottom and walls of the ampoules above the water meniscus. Upon the passage of 400 days, when initial quartz completely disappears, the concentration of dissolved silica further decreases and becomes hundreds of times lower than the quartz solubility; all silica deposited above the meniscus is then transformed into secondary quartz. Analysis of our and literature experimental data indicates that this paradoxical behavior of silica can not be explained by (1) procedure errors (leakage of the ampoules and the quenching effect), (2) the synthesis of a new mineral of lower solubility, (3) simple recrystallization, and (4) the effect of the small pores of the newly formed silica. This effect is caused by the low temperature gradient (the temperature increases from below upward) of 0.25°C/cm, preferential water evaporation at the margin of the meniscus, and the ensuing local temperature decrease that stimulates water influx from its main volume because of the surface tension effect (Marangoni effect). Silica can be deposited on ampoule walls at water evaporation if the water influx rate to the meniscus is greater than the silica diffusion rate into the opposite direction. This can take place in natural, experimental, and technological systems involving a solution-vapor boundary and some low temperature gradient.     

A modeling of the structure and compressibility of quartz with a molecular potential and its transferability to cristobalite and coesite

Several computer models of quartz were developed and tested. A simple model based on a potential energy function, derived in large part from quantum mechanical calculations on the molecule H₆Si₂O₇, was found to reproduce the compressibility curve for quartz up to pressures of 8 GPa. The potential includes quadratic expressions for the SiO bond lengths, the OSiO angles and a parameter spanning the SiOSi angle together with an exponential OO repulsion term for non co-dimer O atoms. The variations in the cell edges and in the SiOSi angle, as a function of pressure, parallel observed trends when the bond lengths and angles calculated for the molecule are used as rgressor values. Poisson ratios calculated using the model match those observed. Two configurations for quartz related by the Dauphiné twin law are generated as minimum energy structures of the model with about equal frequencies as observed in nature. It is shown that the model, devised for quartz, can also be applied to the silica polymorph cristobalite, giving reasonable estimates of its compressibility curve, structural parameters and its negative Poisson ratio. When the observed bond lengths and angles are used as regressor values, the model generates the absolute coordinates of the atoms and the cell dimensions for quartz to within 0.005 Å and those of cristobalite to within 0.001 Å, on average, both at zero pressure. When applied to coesite, the model yields a zero pressure structure that is close to that observed but which is significantly softer than observed. The resulting SiO bond lengths are linearly correlated with f _s (O), as observed for coesite, despite the use of a single bond length and a single SiOSi angle as regressor values in the calculation. When the structures are optimized assuming P1 space group symmetry and triclinic cell dimensions, the resulting frameworks of silicate tetrahedra exhibit the translational, rotational and reflection symmetries observed for quartz, cristobalite and coesite. The fact that the resulting frameworks exhibit observed space group symmetries is evidence that the symmetry adopted by the silica polymorphs can be explained by short ranged forces.     

The transformation of amorphous silica to crystalline silica under hydrothermal conditions

Hydrothermal syntheses were made mainly in the binary system SiO₂-H₂O in a temperature range between 300 ° C and 500 ° C and pressures from 0.2 kbar up to 4.0 kbar with various starting materials. In this way the transformation behavior of different amorphous silicas via cristobalite and keatite to quartz were observed. This behavior depends mainly on the parameters: pressure, temperature, run duration and state of the starting material. Four reaction paths have been observed: in most experiments the complete reaction sequence “amorphous silica→cristobalite→keatite→quartz” took place. Less often the reactions: “amorphous silica→cristobalite→quartz” and: “amorphous silica→keatite→quarts” were observed. Very few samples were found with a direct transition of amorphous silica into quartz at high pressures. A kinetic model is given in form of a pressure-temperature-time diagram of the system SiO₂-H₂O under hydrothermal conditions.     

Genesis of cristobalite and tridymite at low temperatures

It is suggested that an explanation of the observed metastable formation of cristobalite and tridymite in the stability field of quartz lies in the topology of these silica polymorphs and the resulting energies at the time of formation.     

蒙脱石提纯研究进展

总结了蒙脱石的各种提纯方法及其试验原理和提纯分离效果。主要涉及重力选矿、水力分析、絮凝法、离心分离和化学提纯。对电泳法提纯作了简介。研究证实，与蒙脱石粒度相近的方石英和石英微粒等杂质很难去除。氢氧化钠溶蚀法会对蒙脱石、石英和方石英同时产生溶蚀，引入新的物相杂质。     

Effects of melt viscosity and silica activity on the rate and mechanism of quartz dissolution in melts of the CMAS and CAS systems

The dissolution rate of quartz in melts of the CMAS and CAS systems at 1,600°C and 1.5 GPa is a function of both the silica activity of the melt and its viscosity. In melts with low silica activity quartz dissolves more quickly than in higher aSiO₂ melts regardless of viscosity. For melts with equal aSiO₂, dissolution is faster in the low viscosity melt. Quartz dissolution is controlled by interface kinetics in three of the four melts used in this study for times much greater than predicted by the model of Zhang et al. (in Contrib Mineral Petrol 102:492–513 1989). One melt which was previously shown to adhere to the predicted behaviour at lower temperature shows a significant activation time at higher temperature. All the dissolution data indicate that there are likely to be three distinct domains of dissolution behaviour, although the details of why a particular melt falls in any one domain require further study. Although the current database is small, the relationship between quartz solubility and the dissolution constant indicate that solubility may be a useful parameter for predicting dissolution rates, particularly if silica activity and melt viscosity are also known.     

Modeling the kinetics of silica nanocolloid formation and precipitation in geologically relevant aqueous solutions

The kinetics of the formation and precipitation of nanocolloidal silica from geologically relevant aqueous solutions is investigated. Changes in monomeric (SiO_2(mono)), nanocolloidal (SiO_2(nano)) and precipitated silica (SiO_2(ppt)) concentrations in aqueous solutions from pH 3 to 7, ionic strengths (IS) of 0.01 and 0.24 molal, and initial SiO₂ concentrations of 20.8, 12.5 and 4.2 mmolal (reported in [Icopini, G.A., Brantley, S.L., Heaney, P.J., 2005. Kinetics of silica oligomerization and nanocolloid formation as a function of pH and ionic strength at 25 °C. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta69(2), 293-303.]) were fit using two kinetic models. The first model, termed the concentration model, is taken from Icopini et al. (2005) and assumes that the rate of change of SiO_2(mono) as a function of time has a fourth-order dependence on the concentration of SiO_2(mono) in solution. The second model, termed the supersaturation model, incorporates the equilibrium concentration of amorphous silica and predicts that polymerization will be a function of the degree of silica supersaturation in solution with respect to amorphous silica. While both models generally predicted similar rate constants for a given set of experimental conditions, the supersaturation model described the long-term equilibrium behavior of the SiO_2(mono) fraction more accurately, resulting in significantly better fits of the monomeric data. No difference was seen between the model fits of the nanocolloidal silica fraction. At lower pH values (3-4), a metastable equilibrium was observed between SiO_2(mono) and SiO_2(nano). This equilibrium SiO_2(mono) concentration was found to be 6 mmolal, or three times the reported solubility of bulk amorphous silica under the experimental conditions studied and corresponds to the predicted solubility of amorphous silica colloids approximately 3 nm in diameter. Atomic force microscopy was used to determine the average size of the primary nanocolloidal particles to be ∼3 nm, which is in direct agreement with the solubility calculations. Larger aggregates of the primary nanocolloids were also observed to range in size from 30 to 40 nm. This work provides the first kinetic models describing the formation and evolution of nanocolloidal silica in environmentally relevant aqueous solutions. Results indicate that nanocolloidal silica is an important species at low pH and neutral pH at low ionic strengths and may play a more important role in geochemical cycles in natural aqueous systems than previously considered.     

Silica diagenesis of Neogene diatomaceous and volcaniclastic sediments in northern Japan*

Marine diatomaceous siliceous sediments in Neogene sections of northern Japan contrast with the Monterey Shale of California in containing many intercalations of acidic volcaniclastic sediments. Diagenesis of these sediments from deep boreholes and surface sections was investigated. Three diagenetic zones—biogenic opal, opal-CT and quartz zones—are recognized in siliceous sediments, corresponding roughly to amorphous silica, low cristobalite and quartz zones in acidic vitric volcaniclastic sediments. Opal-CT consists almost exclusively of silica and water, while low cristobalite contains appreciable amounts of A1, Ca, Na and K. In subsurface sections, values of d(101) spacing of opal-CT decrease progressively with increasing burial depth. The progressive ordering is not associated with additional silica cementation. In surface sections, the behaviour of d(101) spacing is complicated owing to the modification of the progressive ordering developed during burial diagenesis by later silica cementation during uplift. The cementing opal-CT is probably precipitated from percolating groundwater which dissolves siliceous skeletons in porous diatomaceous mudstones overlying the opal-CT porcellanite. Opaline cherts that form during burial diagenesis are designated as early opaline chert, while those which form during uplift are later opaline chert. The later opaline chert contains two groups of opal-CT; one is progressively ordered opal-CT and the other is additionally cemented opal-CT with higher d(101) spacing than that in the host porcellanite. In diatomaceous siliceous sediments, early opaline chert is scarce. Most, if not all, opaline cherts in surface sections are of later origin.     

Silica Distribution in the System Quartz–Water–Vapor Depending on the Temperature Gradient

Careful measurements of temperature on the surface of autoclaves indicate that small temperature gradients (TG) occur in the standard electric furnaces. These gradients can affect the results of long-lasting (up to 775 days) experiments in the system quartz–water–vapor at 300°C. From the bottom of the autoclave to its top, the temperature decreased in the upper parts of the electric furnaces and increased in their lower parts (TG =–0.08 and 0.15°C/cm, respectively). In the upper parts of the electric furnaces, the concentration of dissolved silica (m) was close to the quartz solubility (10 mmol/kg), and no other changes took place, which is consistent with the currently conventionally admitted notion that quartz is stable under these conditions. In the lower parts of the electric furnaces, m decreased to 0.03 mmol/kg, and opal was precipitated on the walls of the capsules above the solution (the opal was transformed into secondary quartz with time). These data suggest that no equilibrium silica distribution between liquid and vapor water phases was reached. We have suggested and analyzed as wide as possible circle of hypotheses conceivably able to explain this unequilibrated state. The most realistic explanation of the phenomenon seems to be that distillation is initiated by preferable evaporation of the solution in its thin (<100 nm) layer at the meniscus edge. A mathematic model of the process is suggested. The model is consistent with experimental data. The phenomenon in question can be detected in various experimental and technological systems and hampers the attainment of complete equilibrium. In natural systems, this phenomenon can lead to the migration of cavities partly filled with solution at an inversion of the geothermal gradient (beneath sills and lava flows).     

Quartz Cement in Middle Jurassic Reservoir Sandstones in North Sea A Review. Part II： Duration and Silica Sources

The timing and duration of quartz cementation in sandstones have been mainly inferred from diagenetic texture, relationship between pore filling minerals, fluid inclusions and isotopic data. Fluid inclusion temperatures from North Sea reservoir sandstones indicate that most of the quartz cement forms at temperature exceeding 90℃ and is continually proceeding after oil emplacement, based on the fluid inclusion temperatures in quartz overgrowth which is approaching the bottom-hole temperatures. The duration of quartz cement after oil emplacement depends upon the saturation of porewater and the distribution of pore water film and the property of water-wet or oil-wet of the reactants. The leaching of K-feldspar by meteoric water requires pore water flow to move the released potassium and sodium and silica out the solution, which suggests the mechanism does not appear to be a major source of silica for quartz cementation. The quartz cementation coincidence with the compaction and pressure solution suggests the major source of silica. The alteration of feldspar by illitization of kaolinite may serve as another important source of silica at deep burial depth. External sources are not need to call on for illustrating the quartz cementation, because there is no evidences for large scale convection of pore water flow occurred in the burial history of reservoir sandstones of middle Jurassic in the North Sea.     

Thermodynamic properties of quartz,cristobalite and amorphous SiO2: drop calorimetry measurements between 1000 and 1800 K and a review from 0 to 2000 K

We report relative enthalpy measurements on quartz, cristobalite and amorphous SiO₂ between 1000 and 1800 K. We have observed a glass transition around 1480 K for amorphous SiO₂. From our results and available C_p, relative enthalpy, and enthalpy of solution data we have derived a consistent set of thermodynamic data for these phases. Our calculated enthalpies of fusion are 8.9 ± 1.0 kJ mole^?1 for cristobalite at 1999 K and 9.4 ± 1.0 kJ mole^?1 at 1700 K for quartz.     

Progressive ordering of cristobalitic silica in the early stage of diagenesis

Examination of hydrothermally transformed silica from controlled experiments reveals that amorphous silica changes to quartz through an intermediate phase of opal-CT and that the d(101) spacing of cristobalite progressively decreases from 4.10 Å to 4.05 Å. The rate of spacing decrease is definitely dependent on the reaction temperature, being faster at higher temperatures. This spacing change represents ordering of opal-CT crystals with the passage of time.The relationship between thermal history and degree of ordering suggests that stratigraphic boundaries are usually parallel to isopleths of d (101) spacings, but do not always coincide with them. The isopleths should be more or less discordant to the stratigraphic boundaries where the strata have been folded. This discordancy can be ascribed to the difference of ordering, chiefly controlled by the thermal history during the burial and folding process.     

Periodic Hartree-Fock study of minerals: Tetracoordinated silica polymorphs

Periodic Hartree-Fock STO-3G calculations have been performed on several tetracoordinated silica polymorphs: low and high quartz, low and idealized high cristobalite and prototype tridymite. The optimized structural parameters are in overall good agreement with experimental data. In the particular case of -quartz, the SiO₄ tetrahedra are found to be irregular. The optimized values of the two different SiO bond lengths are respectively 1.608 Å and 1.613 Å. The potential energy versus tilt angle curves suggest a picture of the high temperature phases in terms of delocalized oxygen atoms which is consistent with a disordered structure. Finally, the bonding in silica polymorphs is discussed from electron density maps and Mulliken population analysis.     

Mineralogical and textural variation of silica minerals in hydrothermal flow-through experiments: Implications for quartz vein formation

We conducted hydrothermal flow-through experiments at 430 °C and 31 MPa to investigate the mechanism of silica precipitation on granite under crustal conditions. Two experiments were performed using different input solutions: a single-component Si solution, and a multi-component solution with minor Al, Na, and K. The degree of supersaturation with respect to quartz, Ω = C_Si/C_Si,Qtz,eq, where C_Si and C_Si,Qtz,eq indicate Si concentration in solutions and the solubility of quartz within water, respectively, decreased from 3-3.5 to <1.1 along the flow path. A variety of silica minerals formed during the experiments (opal-A, opal-C, chalcedony, and quartz), and their occurrences and modal abundances changed in response to Ω and the presence of additives in the solution.For near-equilibrium solutions (Ω < ∼1.2), silica precipitation occurred in a simple way in both experiments, being restricted to overgrowths on pre-existing quartz surfaces in the granite. At higher saturation levels (Ω > ∼1.2), silica minerals were deposited on other surfaces in addition to quartz. In the single-component experiment, the dominant silica minerals changed in the order of opal-A → opal-C → quartz with decreasing Si concentration along the flow path. In contrast, in the multi-component experiment, quartz and minor chalcedony formed throughout the entire reaction vessel. This finding indicates that impurities (Na, K, and Al) in the solutions inhibited the precipitation of opal and enhanced the direct nucleation of quartz. The systematic appearance of metastable silica minerals were examined by nucleation processes and macroscopic precipitation kinetics. Our experimental results indicate that different precipitation mechanisms yield contrasting textures, which in turn suggests that vein textures can be used as indicators of solution chemistry within the fracture.     

Anomalous behavior of cristobalite in helium under high pressure

We have investigated the high-pressure behavior of cristobalite in helium by powder X-ray diffraction. Cristobalite transformed to a new phase at about 8 GPa. This phase is supposed to have a molar volume of about 30 % larger than cristobalite, suggesting the dissolution of helium atoms in its interstitial voids. On further compression, the new phase transformed to a different phase which showed an X-ray diffraction pattern similar to cristobalite X-I at about 21 GPa. On the other hand, when the new phase was decompressed, it transformed to another new phase at about 7 GPa, which is also supposed to have a molar volume of about 25 % larger than cristobalite. On further decompression, the second new phase transformed to cristobalite II at about 2 GPa. In contrast to cristobalite, quartz did not show anomalous behavior in helium. The behavior of cristobalite in helium was also consistent with that in other mediums up to about 8 GPa, where the volume of cristobalite became close to that of quartz. These results suggest that dissolution of helium may be controlled not only by the density (amount of voids) but also by the network structure of SiO₄ tetrahedra (topology of voids).     

Solubility of silica polymorphs in electrolyte solutions, II. Activity of aqueous silica and solid silica polymorphs in deep solutions from the sedimentary Paris Basin

Activity coefficient for aqueous silica in saline waters and brines from the Paris Basin was calculated using Pitzer's specific interaction model. Quartz and chalcedony are the only reported authigenic silica minerals in the Dogger aquifer of the Paris Basin (France). However, the measured silica concentrations fall between those of these two phases. The silica concentrations measured in Dogger fluids seem to be controlled by a microcrystalline quartz phase with a grain size computed to be about 20 nm. Studies have shown that pressure can preserve small grain size for a long time at the geological scale. The effective mechanism of pressure action is probably linked to the fact that pressure simultaneously favours dissolution at the grain-contact inducing a quartz supersaturation and prohibits the increase in size of reprecipitated microcrystalline quartz grains. This hypothesis is supported by other studies reported in the literature. The proposed model, which incorporates silica mineralogy and a precise calculation of aqueous silica activity, allows us to explain measured silica concentrations in the deep sedimentary solutions of the Dogger aquifers. In the Keuper brines, silica solubility can in most cases be explained by an equilibrium with either chalcedony or quartz. Another application of the present work is shown by an example, where we examined the importance of precisely evaluating the activity coefficient in basin characterisation, as the goal of reservoir characterisation is to describe the spatial distribution of petrophysical parameters such as porosity, permeability, and saturations.     

Transport von Feldspäten und Quarz im Temperaturgefälle

In the attempt to study the composition and behaviour of metasomatically active solutions we have examined the kind of gaseous solutions which are formed by water in contact with the minerals of a granite under a pressure of 2000 bars at 600° C, and how these solutions behave within a temperature gradient at the same pressure. The temperature ranged from 620° to 180° C. The following minerals were considered: quartz, K-feldspar (adularia), plagioclase (andesine) and mixtures of quartz with adularia, quartz with andesine, quartz with adularia and andesine, quartz mixed with mierokline-perthite, oligoelase and biotite.All these minerals are completely dissolved by water under these physical conditions. The solutions always contain more silica than the minerals, if quartz is present. The dissolved components are transported within the temperature gradient. In the solutions, Ca derived from the anorthite-component of the plagioclase and Mg from the biotite form associations together with silica, which travel tohigher temperatures. There they crystallize in form of wollastonite and/or diopside. On the other hand, Na and K, AI and the Fe from the biotite and the largest part of the silica, travel from the 600° C-region tolower temperatures. There they crystallize in form of quartz, K-feldspar, albite, some muscovite and Mg-free biotite rich in Fe. In experiments of only short duration, metastable analcime instead of albite has been formed. In long lasting experiments of 10 weeks, a separation of Na and K was evident: Albite was formed in the temperature range 470° to 420° C, whereas K-feldspar (with some albite component) and Mg-free biotite crystallize together with quartz in a larger temperature range below 420° C; see figure 6.The different minerals from a mixture influence each other's solubility in such a way that the amount of both feldspars and quartz dissolved and transported within a unit of time is decreased. Compared with the amount obtained when quartz alone constitutes the solid phase, only 40 % of that amount is dissolved and transported when the quartz had been mixed with adularia; the value amounts to only 30% when it was mixed with andesine. When both feldspars. are present together with quartz, the amount of dissolved and transported quartz is decreased to about 20 % of the original amount; see table 7. However, in all cases the amount of dissolved quartz is larger than the sum of the dissolved feldspar substances. Thus, the solution formed from a mixture of quartz and feldspars which is transported to lower temperatures always contains more silica than the mineral mixture. The amount of adularia dissolved and transported is reduced by the presence of quartz to 1/6 of that amount furnished at 6000 C by adularia alone. Under the same conditions the amount of andesine is reduced to one half. — The amount of adularia transported per unit of time is nearly equal to the amount of plagioclase components if quartz is present. However, if no quartz is present, the proportion of dissolved and transported adularia to plagioclase-components is noticeably shifted in favour of adularia. This would be the case with syenite as the source for the solutions.In the attempt to produce skarns in a way closely related to nature, silica-rich solutions from a granite have been brought into contact with dolomite. The contact was situated at 600°, 570° and 500° C. With equal duration of the experiments, the results were similar. With different durations the following effect was observed: at the beginning, the silica-rich solution reacts with the dolomite under formation of forsterite, calcite and C0₂. When more materialis transported into the contact,region diopside (the mineral containing more silica) is formed from calcite, forsterite and additional silica. When the same metasomatically active solution meets a marble, (contact at 600° C) wollastonite is formed. In these metasomatic processes the partial pressure of C0₂ in the gasphase remained low under our experimental conditions.