Stichtite, a rare (14 known localities worldwide) hydrated carbonate-hydroxide of Mg and Cr with ideal formula Mg6Cr2 (OH)16 CO3 · 4H2O, occurs exclusively in Cr-rich serpentinites of ophiolites or greenstone belts. Physical properties (hardness = 1.5–2, specific
gravity = 2.16–2.2, perfect basal [0001] cleavage, grain size commonly < 100 μm) resemble talc, but the mineral has an attractive
purple to lilac color; chemical analyses demonstrate it to be a non-silicate. Stichtite generally occurs as irregular to rounded
masses (< 1 cm – 30 cm across) and as veinlets (< 1 mm – > 2 cm wide) within serpentinite. Macroscopic and microscopic textures,
such as crosscutting veinlets and stringers, demonstrate that stichtite formation invariably post-dated serpentinization.
In some specimens stichtite surrounds relict grains of Cr-rich spinel; in others stichtite has completely replaced euhedral
or subhedral chromites. Chemical analyses of stichtites reveal substantial substitution of Al and Fe3+ for Cr in specimens from many localities, reflecting a possible compositional continuum between stichtite and rhombohedral
polymorphs hydrotalcite (Mg6Al2 (OH)16 CO3 · 4H2O) and pyroaurite (Mg6Fe2 (OH)16 CO3 · 4H2O). We report the first electron microprobe analyses of stichtites from seven localities, and summarize all available published
chemical data. Stichtites very likely inherited part of their trivalent cation chemistry from precursor Cr-rich spinels, but
stichtite growth apparently post-dated characteristic “ferritchromit” alteration, as demonstrated by the depletion of Al and
enrichment in Fe3+ in stichtite relative to primary chromite core compositions. Stichtite appears to form by reaction between serpentine and
altered chromite, during addition of substantial fluid, either as separate H2O and CO2 phases, or as a mixed volatile phase. Such reactions must involve removal of substantial SiO2, possibly by transport and remote deposition of silica by throughgoing aqueous and carbonic fluid.
Received: 4 April 1996 / Accepted: 16 September 1996 相似文献
Geological mapping and diamond exploration in northern Quebec and Labrador has revealed an undeformed ultramafic dyke swarm in the northern Torngat Mountains. The dyke rocks are dominated by an olivine-phlogopite mineralogy and contain varying amounts of primary carbonate. Their mineralogy, mineral compositional trends and the presence of typomorphic minerals (e.g. kimzeyitic garnet), indicate that these dykes comprise an ultramafic lamprophyre suite grading into carbonatite. Recognized rock varieties are aillikite, mela-aillikite and subordinate carbonatite. Carbonatite and aillikite have in common high carbonate content and a lack of clinopyroxene. In contrast, mela-aillikites are richer in mafic silicate minerals, in particular clinopyroxene and amphibole, and contain only small amounts of primary carbonate. The modal mineralogy and textures of the dyke varieties are gradational, indicating that they represent end-members in a compositional continuum.
The Torngat ultramafic lamprophyres are characterized by high but variable MgO (10–25 wt.%), CaO (5–20 wt.%), TiO2 (3–10 wt.%) and K2O (1–4 wt.%), but low SiO2 (22–37 wt.%) and Al2O3 (2–6 wt.%). Higher SiO2, Al2O3, Na2O and lower CO2 content distinguish the mela-aillikites from the aillikites. Whereas the bulk rock major and trace element concentrations of the aillikites and mela-aillikites overlap, there is no fractional crystallization relation between them. The major and trace element characteristics imply related parental magmas, with minor olivine and Cr-spinel fractionation accounting for intra-group variation.
The Torngat ultramafic lamprophyres have a Neoproterozoic age and are spatially and compositionally closely related with the Neoproterozoic ultramafic lamprophyres from central West Greenland. Ultramafic potassic-to-carbonatitic magmatism occurred in both eastern Laurentia and western Baltica during the Late Neoproterozoic. It can be inferred from the emplacement ages of the alkaline complexes and timing of Late Proterozoic processes in the North Atlantic region that this volatile-rich, deep-seated igneous activity was a distal effect of the breakup of Rodinia. This occurred during and/or after the rift-to-drift transition that led to the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. 相似文献
Sixteen kimberlite boulders were collected from three sites on the Munro and Misema River Eskers in the Kirkland Lake kimberlite field and one site on the Sharp Lake esker in the Lake Timiskaming kimberlite field. The boulders were processed for heavy-mineral concentrates from which grains of Mg-ilmenite, chromite, garnet, clinopyroxene and olivine were picked, counted and analyzed by electron microprobe. Based on relative abundances and composition of these mineral phases, the boulders could be assigned to six mineralogically different groups, five for the Kirkland Lake area and one for the Lake Timiskaming area. Their indicator mineral composition and abundances are compared to existing data for known kimberlites in both the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming areas. Six boulders from the Munro Esker form a compositionally homogeneous group (I) in which the Mg-ilmenite population is very similar to that of the A1 kimberlite, located 7–12 km N (up-ice), directly adjacent to the Munro esker in the Kirkland Lake kimberlite field. U–Pb perovskite ages of three of the group I boulders overlap with that of the A1 kimberlite. Three other boulders recovered from the same localities in the Munro Esker also show some broad similarities in Mg-ilmenite composition and age to the A1 kimberlite. However, they are sufficiently different in mineral abundances and composition from each other and from the A1 kimberlite to assign them to different groups (II–IV). Their sources could be different phases of the same kimberlite or—more likely—three different, hitherto unknown kimberlites up-ice of the sample localities along the Munro Esker in the Kirkland Lake kimberlite field. A single boulder from the Misema River esker, Kirkland Lake, has mineral compositions that do not match any of the known kimberlites from the Kirkland Lake field. This suggests another unknown kimberlite exists in the area up-ice of the Larder Lake pit along the Misema River esker. Six boulders from the Sharp Lake esker, within the Lake Timiskaming field, form a homogeneous group with distinct mineral compositions unmatched by any of the known kimberlites in the Lake Timiskaming field. U–Pb perovskite age determinations on two of these boulders support this notion. These boulders are likely derived from an unknown kimberlite source up-ice from the Seed kimberlite, 4 km NW of the Sharp Lake pit, since indicator minerals with identical compositions to those of the Sharp Lake boulders have been found in till samples collected down-ice from Seed. Based on abundance and composition of indicator minerals, most importantly Mg-ilmenite, and supported by U–Pb age dating of perovskite, we conclude that the sources of 10 of the 16 boulders must be several hitherto unknown kimberlite bodies in the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming kimberlite fields. 相似文献
The toxodont megaherbivores Toxodon and Mixotoxodon were endemic to South and Central America during the late Quaternary. Isotopic signatures of 47 toxodont teeth were analyzed to reconstruct diet and ancient habitat. Tooth enamel carbon isotope data from six regions of South and Central America indicate significant differences in toxodont diet and local vegetation during the late Quaternary. Toxodonts ranged ecologically from C3 forest browsers in the Amazon (mean δ13C = −13.4‰), to mixed C3 grazers and/or browsers living either in C3 grasslands, or mixed C3 forested and grassland habitats in Honduras (mean δ13C = −9.3‰), Buenos Aires province, Argentina (δ13C = −8.7‰), and Bahia, Brazil (mean δ13C = −8.6‰), to predominantly C4 grazers in northern Argentina (δ13C = −4.4‰), to specialized C4 grazers in the Chaco of Bolivia (δ13C = −0.1‰). Although these toxodonts had very high-crowned teeth classically interpreted for grazing, the isotopic data indicate that these megaherbivores had the evolutionary capacity to feed on a variety of dominant local vegetation. In the ancient Amazon region, carbon isotope data for the toxodonts indicate a C3-based tropical rainforest habitat with no evidence for grasslands as would be predicted from the Neotropical forest refugia hypothesis. 相似文献
Time series of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios (δ2H and δ18O) in rivers can be used to quantify groundwater contributions to streamflow, and timescales of catchment storage. However, these isotope hydrology techniques rely on distinct spatial or temporal patterns of δ2H and δ18O within the hydrologic cycle. In New Zealand, lack of understanding of spatial and temporal patterns of δ2H and δ18O of river water hinders development of regional and national-scale hydrological models. We measured δ2H and δ18O monthly, together with river flow rates at 58 locations across New Zealand over a two-year period. Results show: (a) general patterns of decreasing δ2H and δ18O with increasing latitude were altered by New Zealand's major mountain ranges; δ2H and δ18O were distinctly lower in rivers fed from higher elevation catchments, and in eastern rain-shadow areas of both islands; (b) river water δ2H and δ18O values were partly controlled by local catchment characteristics (catchment slope, PET, catchment elevation, and upstream lake area) that influence evaporation processes; (c) regional differences in evaporation caused the slope of the river water line (i.e., the relationship between δ2H and δ18O in river water) for the (warmer) North Island to be lower than that of the (cooler, mountain-dominated) South Island; (d) δ2H seasonal offsets (i.e., the difference between seasonal peak and mean values) for individual sites ranged from 0.50‰ to 5.07‰. Peak values of δ18O and δ2H were in late summer, but values peaked 1 month later at the South Island sites, likely due to greater snow-melt contributions to streamflow. Strong spatial differences in river water δ2H and δ18O caused by orographic rainfall effects and evaporation may inform studies of water mixing across landscapes. Generally distinct seasonal isotope cycles, despite the large catchment sizes of rivers studied, are encouraging for transit time analysis applications. 相似文献