A nepheline-alkali feldspar geothermometer

A nepheline-alkali feldspar geothermometer has been developed which is based on the thermodynamics of an Na—K exchange reaction between nepheline and alkali feldspar. The activities are formulated in terms of site occupancies, and the regular solution model is used to represent non-ideal mixing of the cations on each site. The distribution of Na and K on the alkali sites in nepheline is calculated from published nepheline-brine ion-exchange data. The standard Gibbs energy of the geothermometer reaction is calculated from experimental data on coexisting nephelines and alkali feldspars (Hamilton and MacKenzie, 1960, 1965). The geothermometer is applied to nepheline syenites from the Precambrian Igdlerfigssalik intrusion, S.W. Greenland, and gives temperatures which suggest that nepheline and alkali feldspar continue to equilibrate with cooling after they crystallise from the magma.