ISSN:
1525-1314
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
The intracrystalline diffusion rate of oxygen in diopside was constrained based on natural isotopic variations from a granulite facies marble from Cascade Slide, Adirondacks (New York, USA). The oxygen isotope compositions of the diopsides, measured as a function of grain size, are nearly constant (20.9 ± 0.3‰ vs. SMOW) over the entire measured size range (0.3–3.2 mm diameter). The δ18O values of the cores of calcite grains are 23.0‰. Temperature estimates based on the Δ18O(calcite-diopside) are 800d̀C, in agreement with the highest previous thermometric estimates for these rocks.The lack of isotopic variation in the diopsides as a function of grain size requires that the oxygen intracrystalline diffusion rate in diopside from the Adirondack samples was very slow. The maximum diffusion rates (D800d̀C parallel to the c-axis) were calculated with an infinite reservoir model (IRM) and a finite reservoir model (FRM) that incorporates mineral modal abundances and initial isotopic variations. For an assumed activation energy (Q) = 100 kJ/mol, the IRM diffusion rate estimate of 1.6 times 10-20cm2/s is two orders of magnitude faster than from the FRM; at Q=500kJ/mol, the D800d̀C estimate for both methods is c. 5.6 times 10-20 cm2/s. The present results require that a hydrothermal fluid significantly enhances the diffusion rate of oxygen in diopside if previous data are correct.The δ18O(SMOW) and δ13C(PDB) values of the calcite, measured in situ with a CO2 laser, are 22.9 ± 0.3, 0.1±0.3‰ in the grain cores, 22.1 ±0.3, 0.2 ±0.1‰ at the grain boundaries and 21.7 ±0.4, -0.6±0.1‰ abutting diopside grains. The δ18O and δ13δC values measured conventionally are: crystal cores, 22.96, -0.95‰; abutting diopside grains, 22.38, -0.93‰; bulk, 22.79, -0.95%. Use of the bulk δ18O(calcite) values for thermometry yields unreasonably high temperatures. The lower δ18O values at the calcite grain boundaries are not due to retrograde diffusional exchange with the diopside, they are thought to be a result of a late retrograde fluid infiltration.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1314.1994.tb00005.x
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