Abstract
Crystallization experiments using a synthetic igneous analog have shown
that grain boundary migration can take place in melt-present environments
(Means and Park, 1994). In order to evaluate the importance of metamorphic
processes during the textural evolution of a crystal mush, microstructural
evidence is needed to link them with final igneous textures. In natural
magmatic systems, plagioclase may provide a microstructural link; plagioclase
solid solution enables the process of chemical zoning and preserves a record
of crystal morphology (and chemistry) during growth. If metamorphic processes
are common, they should affect the zoning patterns of plagioclase crystals.
A petrographic stage heater apparatus was designed and built for the
purpose of observing crystallization processes with a new plagioclase analog.
The analog utilized synthetic compounds within the (K, NH4)SCN
system and was crystallized at low temperatures (< 172°C) for observation
in situ with an optical microscope. The melting points of compounds containing
XK = (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) were measured in both thin section
and in sealed capillary tubes in order to construct a phase diagram. Compounds
of intermediate composition XK = (0.25, 0.50, 0.75) created
a continuous solid solution with initial and final melting points between
82°C and 171-175°C in thin section, and between 108°C and 144°C
(±1) in sealed capillary tubes. The differences between the two
data sets are probably due to the absorption of atmospheric water and differing
abilities of the two systems to contain the water.
Textural studies of quenched compounds with composition XK
= 0.8 and XK = 0.75 resulted in the formation of crystals with
concentric extinction patterns (under cross polarized light) that resemble
patterns produced by chemical zoning in plagioclase. Grain boundary migration
was also observed between chemically homogenous grains within the solid
solution. However, relatively slow rates of cooling were required to produce
grain boundary migration. While grain boundary migration was only observed
in unzoned solid solution crystals, further crystallization experiments
utilizing faster rates of cooling may produce grain boundary migration
in chemically zoned crystals.
Scott, E., 2002. The use of a synthetic binary solid solution to model
igneous textural evolution.
Unpublished MSc. thesis, State University of New York at Albany. 83
pp., +x
University at Albany Science Library call number: SCIENCE Oversize
(*) QE 40 Z899 2002 S26
Return to MS Theses completed in the Geological
Sciences Program, University at Albany