Editor’s Notes
Total Results: 1697
Volume 104 : April 2019 Issue
Acceptance of the 2018 Roebling Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-AP10443
“Acceptance of the 2018 Roebling Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America” by E. Bruce Watson;
Presentation of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2018 to Jörg Hermann
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-AP10444
“Presentation of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2018 to Jörg Hermann” by Bradley R. Hacker;
Acceptance of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2018
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-AP10445
“Acceptance of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2018” by Jörg Hermann.
New Mineral Names
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-NMN10447
Belakovskiy and Cámara (page 625) introduce eight new minerals, including fengchengite, ferriperbøeite-(Ce), genplesite, heyerdahlite, millsite, saranchinaite, siudaite and vymazalováite, and summarize new data on lavinskyite-1M.
Book Review
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-687
Gysi (page 630 ) reviews the book: “Thermodynamics of Natural Systems: Theory and Applications in Geochemistry and Environmental Science”, 3rd ed. (2017) by Greg Anderson, Cambridge University Press, 428 p. Compared to the two earlier editions, this edition is shorter and more concise and is suitable as an introduction to thermodynamics book.
Volume 104 : March 2019 Issue
Highlighting the capability of zeolites for agro-chemicals contaminants removal from aqueous matrix: Evidence of 2-ethyl-6-methylaniline adsorption on ZSM-12
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6754
Rodeghero et al. (p. 317) study the ability of zeolite ZSM-12 to remove the groundwater contaminants chloroacetanilides and their degradation products. They measured the removal of 2-ethyl-6-methyl-aniline [C2H5C6H3(CH3)NH2, labeled EMA] from water by combining chromatographic, thermogravimetric, and synchrotron X-ray powder diffractometric techniques and demonstrate that ZSM-12 can rapidly incorporate about 4 EMA molecules per unit cell. The authors document the strong interaction with framework O atoms in ZSM-12 that confers stability to the pollutants in the zeolite cages. The rapid kinetics combined with the good adsorption capacity makes ZSM-12 a promising material to control and minimize water pollution from acetanilide compounds as well as other agro-chemical contaminants.
Origin and consequences of non-stoichiometry in iron carbide Fe7C3
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6672
Zhu et al. (p. 325) report chemical and structural analyses of synthetic Fe7C3, a potential host of reduced carbon in Earth’s mantle and a candidate component of the inner core. They synthesized Fe7C3 utilizing a diffusive reaction between iron and graphite that contained 31 to 35 at% carbon. They found that more carbon-rich Fe7C3 has smaller unit-cell volumes, suggesting that excess carbon atoms substituted for iron atoms instead of entering the interstitial sites of the closed-packed iron lattice as in FeCx steel. This substitution leads to a larger reduction in the unit-cell mass than the volume so that the carbon-rich end-member may be as much as 5% less dense than stoichiometric Fe7C3. If Fe7C3 solidifies from Earth’s iron-rich liquid core, it is expected to have a nearly stoichiometric composition with a compositional expansion coefficient of ~1.0. However, laboratory experiments using carbon-rich synthetic Fe7C3 to model the inner core may overestimate the amount of carbon that is needed to account for the core density deficit.
Application of mineral equilibria to estimate fugacities of H2O, H2, and O2 in mantle xenoliths from the southwestern U.S.A.
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6602
Hunt and Lamb (p. 333) applied mineral equilibria to estimate values of aH2O in rocks that originated below the Moho. The chemical compositions of olivine + orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + amphibole + spinel ± garnet were used to estimate values of temperature (T), pressure (P), aH2O, hydrogen fugacity (fH2), and oxygen fugacity (fO2) in 11 amphibole-bearing mantle xenoliths from the southwestern U.S.A. The activity of water was first calculated by amphibole dehydration equilibria, and then oxygen fugacity calculated from coexisting olivine, spinel, and orthopyroxene was combined with hydrogen fugacities calculated from amphibole dehydrogenation equilibria to construct a separate estimate of the water activity. The two separate estimates of aH2Ogenerally agree to within 0.05. This agreement indicates that the amphibole in these samples has experienced little or no retrograde H-loss and that amphibole equilibria yields robust estimates of aH2Othat, in these xenoliths, are generally <0.3, and are often 0.1 or less.
Composition, paragenesis, and alteration of the chevkinite group of minerals
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6772
Macdonald et al. (p. 348) review chevkinite-group minerals (CGM), minerals that are dominantly monoclinic REE-Ti-Fe sorosilicates [(REE, Ca)4Fe2+(Fe2+,Fe3+,Ti)2Ti2(Si2O7)2O8)], with REE2O3 contents up to ~50 wt%, although some members with predominant Mg, Al, Mn, Cr, Sr, or Zr in one of the cation sites are also known. They show that these minerals can be found in igneous and metamorphic rocks on Earth as well as on the Moon and Mars; these minerals may form over the pressure range 50 to <10 kbar, and over a wide temperature range. In common with other REE-bearing accessory minerals, CGM are prone to alteration by hydrothermal fluids. The nature and extent of the alteration are primarily determined by the composition of the fluids. Fluids poor in ligands tend to generate a Ti-enriched phase whose nature is unknown but is probably amorphous. With increasing F + CO2 levels, complex replacement assemblages are formed. This review also discusses some of our ignorance. The stability of CGM vis-à-vis other REE-Ti-bearing accessories is poorly understood. They are often the major carriers of REE and actinides, and they have a high potential for fractionating the light lanthanides and Th from U, but very little systematic work has been done in determining CGM-melt partition coefficients, yet such data are critical in, inter alia, geochemical modeling. And although observational evidence of the effects of alteration and element mobility is accumulating and chemical equations can be constructed to approximate the reactions, there is still no firm geochemical basis for understanding element redistribution during these processes.
Spinel-anorthosites on the Moon: Impact melt origins suggested by enthalpy constraints
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6652
Treiman et al. (p. 370) investigate the origin of magnesium aluminate spinel, (Mg,Fe)Al2O4, in lunar anorthositic rocks Although uncommon, recent near-infrared spectra of the Moon have delineated regions where spinel is the only ferromagnesian mineral, and the rock is inferred to be spinel anorthosite. The authors consider multiple alternative hypotheses for the origin of spinel anorthosites: formation at high pressure, low-pressure assimilation of anorthosite by picritic magmas, and crystallization of superliquidus anorthite-rich melts created by impacts. The authors conclude that near the lunar surface, the most likely process of spinel formation is rapid crystallization of impact melts of anorthosite + picrite or peridotite compositions. The presence of spinel anorthosite on the walls and central peaks of impact craters results from rapid cooling and partial crystallization of superliquidus melts produced in the impacts, and not from the uplift of deep material to the Moon's surface.
Fast diffusion path for water in silica glass
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6802
Kuroda et al. (p. 385) investigated the diffusion of deuterated water into silica glass at 900–750 °C and a water vapor pressure of 50 bar and found it to be an order of magnitude greater than previously measured. Their analysis indicates that the species responsible for the fast diffusion is not molecular hydrogen, but molecular water, and hypothesize that water diffuses through the free volume of the glass in a manner similar to noble gases. The abundance of free volume in the silica glass structure estimated previously is higher than that of 2H observed in the fast diffusion of this study, suggesting that the free volume was not fully occupied by 2H2O under the present experimental conditions. This implies that the contribution of the fast water diffusion to the total water transport in volcanic glass becomes larger at higher water vapor pressure conditions.
Micro- and nano-scale textural and compositional zonation in plagioclase at the Black Mountain porphyry Cu deposit: Implications for magmatic processes
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6609
Cao et al. (p. 391) characterized textural and compositional microscale (10–100 μm) and nanoscale (10–100 nm) zoning in a plagioclase phenocryst from a fresh, syn-mineralization diorite porphyry (Black Mountain porphyry Cu-Au deposit, Philippines) by electron microprobe, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and atom probe tomography. The complex plagioclase crystal (3.0 × 5.4 mm) has a patchy andesine core (An41–48 mol%), eroded bytownite mantle (An71-80 mol%), and oscillatory andesine rim (An39–51 mol%). Microscale variations with a periodic width of 50 to 200 μm were noted for most major and trace elements (Si, Ca, Al, Na, K, Fe, Mg, Ti, Sr, Ba, Pb, La, Ce, and Pr) with a ΔAn amplitude of 4–12 mol% in both the core and rim. The mantle has a distinct elemental composition, indicating the addition of hotter mafic magma to the andesitic magma. Atom probe tomography shows an absence of nanoscale variations in the andesine rim but alternating nanoscale (25–30 nm) Al-rich, Ca-rich, and Si-rich, Na-rich zones with a Ca/(Ca+Na)at% amplitude of ~10 in the bytownite mantle. The estimated physiochemical parameters for crystallization suggest that microscale oscillatory zoning was likely controlled by internal crystal growth mechanisms, not by periodic variations in physiochemical conditions. The micro-scale zoning in plagioclase indicates a minimum cooling rate of 0.0005 °C/yr during crystallization, but the retention of nanoscale zoning (~28 nm) requires a minimum cooling rate of 0.26 °C/yr. Given that this is significantly faster cooling than would occur in a magma chamber, this texture likely records the post-crystallization emplacement history.
A XANES and EPMA study of Fe3+ in chlorite: Importance of oxychlorite and implications for cation site distribution and thermobarometry
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6766
Masci et al. (p. 403) investigated Fe3+ in chlorite using the electron microprobe and XANES to assess the importance of oxychlorite and how ferric iron influenced cation site distributions and thermobarymetric calculations. Their analyses show iron oxidation states varying from ferrous to ferric; iron is in octahedral coordination in all ferromagnesian chlorites but to ~25% tetrahedral in the lithian chlorite cookeite (1.0 wt% Fe2O3(total)). Absolute amounts of ferric iron cover an unprecedented range (0 to ~30 wt% Fe2O3). For highly magnesian, ferric chlorite, Fe concentrations are low and can be accounted for by Al = Fe3+ substitution. In Fe-rich samples, Fe3+ may exceed 2 atoms per formula unit (pfu, 18 oxygen basis). When structural formulas are normalized to 28 charges corresponding to the standard O10(OH)8 anionic basis, these measurements define the exchange vector of a di-trioctahedral-type substitution: 3 VI(Mg, Fe2+) = VI☐ + 2 VIFe3+, as described in earlier studies. However, structural formulas calculated on the basis of the oxygen contents actually measured by EPMA show that this trend is an artifact, due to the neglect of variations in the number of protons in the structure. Our measurements indicate increasing hydrogen deficiency with increasing Fe3+ content, up to ~2 H+ pfu in the Fe3+-rich chlorite samples, corresponding to a net exchange vector of the type R2+ + H+ = Fe3+. These results highlight the need to consider substitution toward an “oxychlorite” (i.e., H-deficient) ferric component, close to tri-trioctahedral, with an O12(OH)6 anionic basis, even in green, pristine-looking chlorite. The effects of iron oxidation and H deficiency on chlorite geothermometers were explored and it was found that, given the sensitivity of most thermometers to octahedral vacancy, the assumption FeTotal = Fe2+ is still safer than using high measured Fe3+ contents and the standard 28 charge basis, which artificially increases vacancies. With the help of constraints from thermodynamic models, charge balance, crystal symmetry, and proton loss, a new cation site distribution is proposed for di-tri- to tri-trioctahedral chlorites in the Fe2+-Fe3+-Mg-Al-Si-O-H system, allowing a more realistic thermodynamic handling of their solid solutions.
Sound velocities across calcite phase transitions by Brillouin scattering spectroscopy
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6682
Zhao et al. (p. 418) used Brillouin scattering spectroscopy to study variations in sound velocity across calcite phase transitions at pressures to 10.3 GPa. Dramatic decreases in the velocities of the compressional wave (Vp) and shear wave (Vs) and abrupt increases in the Vp anisotropy (Ap) and maximum Vs anisotropy (Asmax) were detected across the phase transition from CaCO3-I to CaCO3-II. Dramatic increases in the Vp and Vs and an abrupt decrease in Ap were observed across the phase transition from CaCO3-II to CaCO3-III. The phase transition from CaCO3-I to CaCO3-II may potentially explain the Gutenberg discontinuity at 51 km in the Izu-Bonin region. The Vp and Vs values of calcite were low. The new results combined with literature data suggest that the low velocities of CaCO3 could potentially explain the low-velocity zone occurring in northeastern (NE) Japan.
Trace element distributions in (Cu)-Pb-Sb sulfosalts from the Gutaishan Au-Sb deposit, South China: Implications for formation of high fineness native gold
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6674
Wei et al. (p. 425) studied the distribution of trace elements in sulfosalts (bournonite, jamesonite, tetrahedrite, boulangerite, semseyite, heteromorphite, robinsonite and (Cu)-Pb-Bi-Sb sulfosalts) and coexisting base-metal sulfides in auriferous veins from the Gutaishan Au-Sb deposit, China, by electron probe microanalysis and by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) trace-element analysis. Two generations of native gold are documented; the first is coarse-grained, Ag- and Bi-bearing, and is associated with the main (Cu)-Pb-Sb sulfosalts (bournonite, jamesonite, tetrahedrite, and boulangerite). The second generation is fine-grained and has the highest fineness. Increase in the complexity of sulfosalt assemblages, re-distribution of Ag within coarse native gold and dissolution-reprecipitation reactions among the sulfosalt-gold association increase the gold fineness. All (Cu)-Pb-Sb sulfosalts analyzed were found to be remarkably poor hosts for gold. Trace, yet measurable, concentrations of Au are, however, noted in the (Cu)-Pb-Bi-Sb sulfosalts, in agreement with published data indicating that (Cu)-Pb-Bi-Sb sulfosalts may be minor Au-hosts in some ore systems. Silver is preferentially partitioned into tetrahedrite at the expense of other sulfosalt phases, and tetrahedrite is thus the major host for Ag in the Gutaishan deposit. Cd and Co are typically enriched in sphalerite relative to any sulfosalt, and when present, pyrite is always enriched in Au and Co relative to all other phases. The present study shows that linking petrographic aspects at the micrometer-scale with minor/trace element distributions in complex sulfidesulfosalt assemblages can track a complex history of Au deposition and enrichment.
A-type carbonate in strontium phosphate apatites
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6715
Bollmeyer et al. (p. 438) report their investigation of carbonate substitution into apatite. The substitution of carbonate is particularly important because of the presence of carbonate in bone mineral and the recent suggestion that most of the substituted carbonate resides in the apatite channels (A-type substitution) rather than in place of phosphate (B-type substitution). To better understand the A-type substitution, a Sr homolog of Ca hydroxylapatite was studied because of its larger channel volume and a greater unit-cell a-axial length than its unsubstituted parent. Strontium hydroxyl-, chlor-, and fluorapatites, containing incorporated 13C-carbonate up to 7 wt%, were synthesized by aqueous precipitation reactions in the presence of Na, K, and ammonium counter cations. These samples were studied by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and 13C MAS NMR. These IR and NMR spectra were interpreted as representing three channel environments (A-type substitution: A, A′, A″) and one B-type substitution. Heating samples to 600 °C resulted in the loss of carbonate and conversion to A-type carbonate demonstrating the stability of A-type carbonate at higher temperatures. Analysis of the populations of A-, A′-, and A″-, and B-sites for the hydroxyl-, chlor-, and fluorapatites prepared under both low Na and high Na conditions revealed that high Na/carbonate ratios produce a larger amount of channel substitution, contrary to observations for Ca homologs. It is speculated that multiple A-environments also exist for Ca hydroxylapatite prepared by aqueous precipitation, which is consistent with previous analysis of apatite prepared at high temperature and high pressure.
Discovery of a zinc-rich mineral on the surface of lunar orange pyroclastic beads
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6896
Ma and Liu (p. 447) report the first discovery of a Zn-rich mineral on the pristine surface of orange pyroclastic beads from Apollo sample 74220. This Zn-rich mineral is widely occurring, trigonal or hexagonal in shape, with a normalized composition of ~59 wt% Zn, ~26 wt% O (calculated), ~6 wt% S, ~5 wt% Na, and ~4 wt% Cl. The crystal morphology, homogeneity, and chemistry of individual grains are most consistent with gordaite, a zinc chlorohydroxosulfate mineral, showing an empirical formula of Na1.02Zn3.98[(SO4)0.84(OH)0.30](OH)6[Cl0.50(OH)0.50]·nH2O, albeit the exact amounts of OH and H2O are uncertain. The authors concluded that this zinc-rich mineral likely formed through rapid alteration (oxidation and hydration) by terrestrial air of the original vapor-deposited Zn, Cl, S, and Na-bearing solids. The composition of the zinc-rich mineral indicates that the vapor condensates consist of metallic Zn and metallic Na with either ZnS or native S, and either ZnCl2 or NaCl. This is the first direct evidence that metallic Zn and Na are key components in the vapor condensates of lunar volcanic gas, which implies lunar volcanic gas may be under higher pressure than previously thought, and the gas composition may be different than previously inferred. Additionally, the formation of this mineral indicates that detailed protocols for the handling of extra-terrestrial samples must be constructed to minimize sample modifications (e.g., destruction of previous minerals or growth of new minerals) during collection, handling, curation, and sample preparation.
In-situ mapping of ferric iron variations in lunar glasses using X-ray absorption spectroscopy
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6863
McCanta et al. (p. 453) investigated ferric iron variations in lunar glasses by X-ray absorption spectroscopy mapping. Multivariate analysis (MVA) allows selection of specific channels in a spectrum to inform predictions of spectral characteristics. Here, the sparse model of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) is used to select key channels in XAS channels that can be used to predict accurate in-situ Fe3+ analyses of silicate glasses. By tuning the model to use only six channels, analytical time is decreased enough to allow mapping of Fe3+ variations in samples by making gridded point analyses at the scale of the XAS beam (1–2 μm). Maps of Fe3+ concentration can then be constructed using freely available, open source software (http://cars.uchicago.edu/xraylarch/). This result shows the enormous potential of using MVA to select indicative spectral regions for predicting variables of interest across a wide variety of spectroscopic applications. Redox gradients in lunar picritic glass beads first observed with point analyses are confirmed through this XAS mapping and suggest degassing processes during ascent and eruption are responsible for the range of Fe3+ values measured in these samples.
Chessboard structures: Atom-scale imaging of homologs from the kobellite series
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6860
The Letter by Li et al. (p. 459) reports their success in using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy to depict the structural motifs in Pb-(Bi-Sb)-sulfosalts. Using two homologs from the kobellite homologous series, a group of “chessboard derivative structures,” represented by Bi-, and Sb-rich pairs of natural phases (the kobellite-tintinaite isotypic series and giessenite-izoklakeite homeotypic series), we visualize the slabs underpinning crystal structural modularity for the N = 2 homolog kobellite and the N = 4 homolog, in this case, a Bi-rich izoklakeite [Sb/(Sb+Bi) = 0.35]. The homolog number, N, can be readily calculated as N = n1/6 – 1 and N = n2/4, where n1 and n2 are the numbers of atoms in the PbS- and SnS-motifs, respectively. Atom-scale imaging of thinned foils extracted in situ from samples for which compositional data are available also reveals syntactic unit-cell scale intergrowths on [001] zone axis with akobellite || bizoklakeite. These are as small as half-unit cells of bizoklakeite and one-unit cell akobellite. Replacement relationships are also observed as irregular slabs of kobellite “intruding” into izoklakeite. Both banded and irregular intergrowths account for the compositional fields measured at the micrometer scale.
BOOK REVIEW
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2018-B10436
Johnson (p. 463) Reviews the new book entitled Mineralogy of Uranium and Thorium. The author concludes that Mineralogy of Uranium and Thorium is an accessible and engaging book for anyone with an interest in the mineralogy and crystallography of U- and Th-bearing minerals and the ore deposits from which they are mined.
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