Mutual replacement reactions in alkali feldspars I: microtextures and mechanisms

Intracrystal microtextures formed by a process of mutual replacement in alkali feldspars record fluid–rock reactions that have affected large volumes of the Earth’s crust. Regular, ≤1 μm-scale ‘strain-controlled’ perthitic microtextures coarsen, by up to 10³, by a dissolution–reprecipitation process, producing microporous patch or vein perthites on scales >100 μm. We have developed earlier studies of such reactions in alkali feldspar cm-scale primocrysts in layered syenites from the Klokken intrusion, South Greenland. We present new hyperspectral CL, SEM images, and laser ICPMS analytical data, and discuss the mechanism of such replacement reactions. The feldspars grew as homogeneous sodic sanidines which unmixed and ordered by volume diffusion during cooling into the microcline field at ~450°C, giving regular, fully coherent ‘braid’ cryptoperthite. At ≤450°C the crystals reacted with a circulating post-magmatic aqueous fluid. The braid perthite behaved as a single reactant ‘phase’ which was replaced by two product phases, incoherent subgrains of low albite and microcline, with micropores at their boundaries. The driving force for the reactions was coherency strain energy, which was greater than the surface energy in the subgrain mosaic. The external euhedral crystal shapes and bulk major element composition of the primocrysts were unchanged but they became largely pseudomorphs composed of subgrains usually with the ‘pericline’ and ‘adularia’ habits (dominant {110} and subordinate {010} morphology) characteristic of low T growth. The subgrains have an epitactic relationship with parent braid perthite. Individual subgrains show oscillatory zoning in CL intensity, mainly at blue wavelengths, which correlates with tetrahedral Ti. Regular zoning is sometimes truncated by irregular, discordant surfaces suggesting dissolution, followed by resumption of growth giving regular zoning. Zones can be traced through touching subgrains, of both albite and microcline, for distances up to ~500 μm. At ≤340°C, the microcline subgrains underwent a third stage of unmixing to give straight lamellar film perthites with periodicities of ~1 μm, which with further cooling became semicoherent by the development of spaced misfit dislocations. Sub-grain growth occurred in fluid films that advanced through the elastically strained braid perthite crystals, which dissolved irreversibly. Braid perthite was more soluble than the strain-free subgrain mosaics which precipitated from the supersaturated solution. Some volumes of braid texture have sharp surfaces that suggest rapid dissolution along planes with low surface energies. Others have complex, diffuse boundaries that indicate a phase of coherent lamellar straightening by volume diffusion in response to strain relief close to a slowly advancing interface. Nucleation of strain-free subgrains was the overall rate-limiting step. To minimise surface energy subgrains grew with low energy morphologies and coarsened by grain growth, in fluid films whose trace element load (reflected in the oscillatory zoning) was dictated by the competitive advance of subgrains over a range of a few tens of mm. The cross-cutting dissolution surfaces suggest influxes of fresh fluid. Removal of feldspar to give 2 vol% porosity would require a feldspar:fluid ratio of ~1:26 (by wt). The late reversion to strain-controlled exsolution in microcline subgrains is consistent with loss of fluid above 340°C following depressurization of the intrusion. A second paper (Part II) describes trace element partitioning between the albite and microcline subgrains, and discusses the potential of trace elements as a low-T geothermometer. This paper and the Part II are dedicated in memory of J.V. Smith and W.L. Brown, both of whom died in 2007, in acknowledgement of their unrivalled contributions to the study of the feldspar minerals over more than half a century.     

Metamorphic charnockite in contact aureoles around intrusive enderbite from Natal, South Africa

In the Port Edward area of southern Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, charnockitic aureoles up to 10 m in width in the normally garnetiferous Nicholson's Point Granite, are developed adjacent to intrusive contacts with the Port Edward Enderbite and anhydrous pegmatitic veins. Mineralogical differences between the country rock and charnockitic aureole suggest that the dehydration reaction Bt + Qtz → Opx + Kfs + H₂O and the reaction of Grt + Qtz → Opx + Pl were responsible for the charnockitization. The compositions of fluid inclusions show systematic variation with: (1) the Port Edward Enderbite being dominated by CO₂ and N₂ fluid inclusions; (2) the non-charnockitized granite by saline aqueous inclusions with 18–23 EqWt% NaCl; (3) the charnockitic aureoles by low-salinity and pure water inclusions (<7 EqWt% NaCl); (4) the pegmatites by aqueous inclusions of various salinity with minor CO₂. As a result of the thermal event the homogenization temperatures of the inclusions in charnockite show a much larger range (up to 390 °C) compared to the fluid inclusions in granite (mostly <250 °C). Contrary to fluid-controlled charnockitization (brines, CO₂) which may have taken place along shear zones away from the intrusive body, the present “proximal” charnockitized granite formed directly at the contact with enderbite. The inclusions indicate contact metamorphism induced by the intrusion of “dry” enderbitic magma into “wet” granite resulting in local dehydration. This was confirmed by cathodoluminescence microscopy showing textures indicative for the local reduction of structural water in the charnockite quartz. Two-pyroxene thermometry on the Port Edward Enderbite suggests intrusion at temperatures of ∼1000–1050 °C into country rock with temperature of <700 °C. The temperature of aureole formation must have been between ∼700 °C (breakdown of pyrite to form pyrrhotite) and ∼1000 °C. Charnockitization was probably controlled largely by heat related to anhydrous intrusions causing dehydration reactions and resulting in the release and subsequent trapping of dehydration fluids. The salinity of the metamorphic fluid in the contact zones is supposed to have been higher at an early stage of contact metamorphism, but it has lost its salt content by K-metasomatic reactions and/or the preferential migration of the saline fluids out of the contact zones towards the enderbite. The low water activity inhibited the localized melting of the granite. Mineral thermobarometry suggests that after charnockite aureole genesis, an isobaric cooling path was followed during which reequilibration of most of the aqueous inclusions occurred. Received: 8 November 1998 / Accepted: 21 June 1999     

Authigenic albite in carbonate rocks – a tracer for deep-burial brine migration?

Euhedral, post-depositional albite from the Eastern and Western Alps, the western Carpathians and some Greek islands was examined petrographically and geochemically to gain insights into the nature of feldspar reactions in carbonate rocks. This study focuses on coarsely crystalline, homogeneously nucleated albite in order to avoid problems related to the presence of inseparable detrital material in fine-grained albite varieties. All albite samples show a very restricted compositional variability and are typically ≥ 99 mol% Ab component. Unit-cell parameters determined by Rietveld analysis are slightly more variable than previously accepted, but confirm high Al–Si ordering characteristic of low albite. The oxygen isotopic composition of albite ranges from + 19·4‰ to + 28·3‰ VSMOW. There is no direct relationship between the δ¹⁸O value and the inferred temperature of albite formation, nor is there one with stoichiometry. The coarse crystal size (up to several millimetres in diameter), petrographic evidence showing albite cross-cutting stylolites, greater abundance of albite in carbonate rocks subject to high-grade diagenetic or weak metamorphic overprinting and available fluid inclusion data suggest that albite precipitation is favoured at higher temperatures in carbonates than in sandstones. Pore fluids were invariably brines, as suggested by the inferred high positive δ¹⁸O_fluid values, the common association of albite-bearing carbonates and evaporites and reports of saline fluid inclusions in albite. The presence of authigenic albite may thus be a useful tracer of palaeobrine–carbonate reactions, particularly in deep-burial and incipient metamorphic settings.     

Construction of a ‘global standardised growth curve’ (gSGC) for infrared stimulated luminescence dating of K-feldspar

We investigated the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and post-infrared IRSL (pIRIR) signals emitted by K-feldspars from sedimentary samples from Asia, Europe and Africa using a single-aliquot multiple elevated temperature (MET) stimulation procedure. For separate aliquots of the same sample, we show that variation among the dose response curves (DRCs), or growth curves, constructed from the regenerative dose signal (L_x), the test dose signal (T_x, an indicator of luminescence sensitivity) and the sensitivity-corrected signal (L_x/T_x) can be largely eliminated by normalising the DRCs using one of the regenerative dose signals; we call this procedure ‘regenerative-dose normalisation’ or re-normalisation. Furthermore, for the MET-pIRIR signals measured at 250 °C, we find that different samples have re-normalised DRCs that follow the same growth function, despite the samples differing significantly in terms of their geological provenance, sedimentary context, equivalent dose (D_e) and luminescence sensitivity. This common feature offers the potential to establish a ‘global standardised growth curve’ (gSGC) for different samples of K-feldspar, and thereby enable D_e values to be estimated for a large number of single aliquots by projecting the re-normalised natural signals on to the gSGC. For the 18 samples investigated in this study, we find that D_e estimates obtained from the gSGC are consistent with those obtained using full single-aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) procedures for doses of up to ∼1600 Gy. The establishment of a gSGC would greatly reduce the time required to date older samples using K-feldspar, as regenerative doses of several hundreds to a few thousands of Gy are typically delivered to each aliquot in each SAR cycle.     

Heating Stage Experimental Study of Melt Inclusions in Feldspars from Three Holocene Eruptions of Changbaishan Tianchi Volcano

There occurred several eruptions from Changbaishan Tianchi volcano in Holocene, and at least three of them were believed to be true according to the formal studies. The products of three eruptions were yellow comenditic pumice of - 5000a B.P. （Eruption Ⅰ ）, gray comenditic pumice and pyroclastic flow of - 1000a B.P. （ Eruption II, i.e. the millennium explosive eruption）, black trachy pumice and welded tuff of - 300a B.P. （ Eruption Ⅲ ） respectively. There were a large number of melt inclusions found in phenocrysts, which differ in size and color. The Leitz 1350 heating stage experiments for melt inclusions in host feldspars from three Holocene eruptions of Changbaishan Tianchi volcano imply that there were little differences between the homogenization temperatures of melt inclusions from Eruptions Ⅰ and Ⅲ, whereas it was rather complicated for Eruption H, i.e. there might be two kinds of melt with different homogenization temperature periods, which gave the evidence for the assumption that the explosive millennium eruption of Tianchi volcano was triggered by injection and mixing of two different magmas. The experimental results also indicate that （ 1 ） small melt inclusion is easy to be homogenized, while the large one, especially the one with lots of daughter crystals, is rather difficult to be homogenized; （2） homogenization temperature closely correlates with the size of melt inclusion within host crystal, with the temperature point switching from high heating rate to low heating rate, and correlates with whether it is the first time to obtain homogenization as well; and （3） a melt inclusion can get different homogenization temperatures when it is repeatedly heated. Even more, the next homogenization temperature is usually higher than the former one, which testifies the phenomenon that hydrogen migration occurs during repeated heating.     

鲁西峄山花岗岩中粗大钾长石斑晶成因探讨

在鲁西地区新太古代晚期(五台期)峄山花岗岩的黑石查和望子山花岗质岩体的岩石中,钾长石粗大斑晶内有自形程度较高的斜长石等矿物包裹体沿其环带定向排列.根据野外观察及岩石、矿物学特征测试分析,钾长石斑晶属于岩浆结晶形成的原生斑晶,受化学成分及侵位结晶过程中的物理化学条件影响,钾长石的生长速度大于其成核密度,因而形成粗大斑晶.估算岩浆温度＞950℃,钾长石斑晶快速生长时岩浆温度为750℃,过冷度△T≈150℃,基质结晶时岩浆温度为600℃,△T≈300℃.     

内蒙乌拉山金矿床钾长石的矿物化学及有序度的分析

采用电子探针显微分析(EMPA)和粉末X射线衍射(XRD)分析了采自乌拉山金矿床含金钾长石石英脉、石英脉以及其他类型岩石中的10 0多个钾长石样品的化学成分和结果状态,并采用R和Q模式聚类分析、Spearman等级相关分析方法对实验数据进行了统计分析。结果表明,含金矿脉、岩浆热液脉和蚀变花岗岩中的钾长石为中等到最大微斜长石,其特征为K2 O含量高,但相对而言,Na2 O、CaO和BaO的含量低。其他岩石类型中的钾长石的化学成分和结果状态变化很大,可以从透长石、正长石到微斜长石,其特征为K2 O的含量相对较低,但Na2 O、CaO和BaO的含量相对较高。含金样品中的钾长石通常更富K2 O ,表明金的成矿作用与富钾的热液流体和碱质交代作用有关。乌拉山金矿床的成矿作用分为两个阶段,主要的含金钾长石石英脉中的钾长石富K2 O ,形成温度为30 7～379℃,平均为35 3℃;第二阶段含金石英脉中的钾长石含K2 O较低,形成温度为2 6 0～318℃,平均为2 81℃。这些结果表明成矿流体与岩浆热液作用有关,流体朝温度降低、K2 O含量降低的方向演化,K2 O含量高的热液流体和2 6 0～380℃的形成温度有利于金的成矿作用。     

我国东部若干地区新生代玄武岩中长石巨晶的特征及成因

本文汇集了中国东部新生代玄武岩中76个长石巨晶的化学成分,并与53个国外长石巨品进行了对比。文中对长石巨晶的产状、物理性质、矿物化学及微量元素进行了研究,并对国际上关于长石巨晶五个有争议的问题进行了讨论。作者同时也提出了自己的观点。     

热水沉积岩及矿物岩石标志

热水沉积物不同于普通沉积物 ,主要与热水流体类型有关。文中把热水流体划分为中高温热水流体与中低温热水流体。中高温热水沉积岩包括钾长石岩、硅质岩、电气石岩、钠长石岩、萤石岩 ;中低温热水沉积岩包括碳酸盐、硫酸盐等岩石。钾长石岩是文中确定的一种标准高温热水沉积岩 ,热水沉积钾长石以冰长石和钡长石为主 ;热水沉积碳酸盐矿物一般为铁、镁、锰、钙碳酸盐 ,碳酸盐的形成与CO2 和H2 O的不混溶温度有关 ,一般在不混溶温度 ,即 2 66℃以下生成 ,或在海水补偿线以上形成。热水沉积岩中有热水交代蚀变岩夹层 ,尤其是在高温热水活动区 ,可以交代泥质、钙泥质沉积物形成热水交代沉积岩 ,包括方柱石黑云母岩、透辉石透闪石岩、夕卡岩、绿泥石岩等。根据对霍各乞铜多金属矿床的研究 ,热水交代透辉石透闪石岩的稀土总量较低 ,表现为轻稀土富集 ,重稀土亏损 ,稀土配分模式表现为正Eu异常     

RESIDUAL POST-IR IRSL SIGNALS OF POTASSIUM FELDSPAR FROM MODERN SAG POND DEPOSITS OF CENTRAL ALTYN TAGH FAULT: IMPLICATION FOR DATING YOUNG PALEOSEISMIC EVENTS

The Altyn Tagh Fault(ATF)is one of the most prominent active strike-slip faults in the India-Eurasia collision. Fresh features of surface ruptures, which are attributed to seismic events taking place in the last millennium, are identified at several sites along the Che'erchen River to Qingshui River section on the central part of ATF. Accurate chronology of these earthquake events would help understand the spatial-temporal relationship of the recent earthquakes. However, great difficulties are encountered. The central ATF is located in the arid area, and the vegetation cover is so limited that rare organic materials appropriate for radiocarbon dating can be found in the sediments. Luminescence dating technique may serve as an alternative to directly determine the burial ages of the earthquake related sediments. The optically stimulated luminescence(OSL)signal of quartz, which has been widely employed for luminescence dating, displays unwanted charateristics for accurate dating. Firstly, the quartz OSL signal is not sensitive to irradiation, which leads to low signal-to-noise ratio or even no measurable quartz OSL signal. Secondly, the targeted samples of the last millennium are very young, and the radiation dose received during the burial is expected to be less than 3~4Gy, which futher deteriorates the signal-to-noise ratio of the quartz OSL signal. Therefore, quartz OSL signal is not appropriate for dating the sediments relevant to the recent earthquakes on ATF.
The infrared stimulated luminescence(IRSL)signal of potassium feldspar is an alternative, and it is in usual an order of maginitude more sensitive to raidation than the quartz OSL signal. The enhanced signal-to-noise ratio makes it applicable to young samples. The post-IR IRSL signal has been successfully applied to date the sediments beyond the Holocene, however, the relatively slow bleaching of the post-IR IRSL signal poses challenges on applying it to young sediments, especially for the sediments deposited during the last millennium. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using post-IR IRSL signal from potassium feldspar to date the earthquake events of the last millennium by employing modern sag pond deposits with different sorting and expected equivalent dose(D_e)of 0Gy. Choosing an appropriate measurement procedure and identifying the well bleached pottassium feldspar grains are essential for post-IR IRSL dating of young sediments. The non-fading characteristic of the post-IR IRSL₁₇₀ signal measured at 170℃ following a prior IR stimulation at 110℃ was verified by employing the D_e plateau test with respect to the signal integration interval and IR stimulation temperature together. Reducing the amount of potassium feldspar grains mounted on an aliquot would help reveal the among grains variation of bleaching level of post-IR IRSL₁₇₀ signal before depostion and identify the most sufficiently bleached grains. Therefore, the post-IR IRSL₁₇₀ D_e values of 2mm aliquots were measured for three samples with different sedimentary textures. The median of D_e distribution of well sorted and stratified sag pond deposits is consistent with the minimum D_e value inferred from the minimum age model(MAM-3) and finite mixture model(FMM), while for the poorly sorted deposits, the median is significantly overestimated compared with the minimum D_e values from the MAM-3 and the FMM. The minimum D_e values of 0.6~0.8Gy of all three samples are consistent with the unbleachable residual dose previously reported for post-IR IRSL signals measured at similar temperature for well bleached samples. It implies that by combined use of small aliquot and statistical age models, the well-bleached potassium feldspar grains could be identified. Such an intrinsic unbleachable component needs to be properly corrected when earthquake events of last millennium are to be dated in this area. Otherwise, the post-IR IRSL₁₇₀ age would be overestimated by 200~300a.
The post-IR IRSL₁₇₀ procedure investigated in this study is not only applicable for dating the paleoearthquake events along the Altyn Tagh Fault, but also with great potential to be applied to other tectonically active area. With consideration of the potential variability in post-IR IRSL signal characteristics of potassium feldspar grains from different origins, the signal stability needs to be routinely inspected. The modern analog sample would also be informative for justifying the measurement procedure and analytical method employed.