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Zircon coronas around Fe–Ti oxides: a physical reference frame for metamorphic and metasomatic reactions

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Abstract

Ilmenite in coronitic gabbros from the Bamble and Kongsberg sectors, southern Norway, is surrounded by zircons ranging in diameters from a fraction of a micrometer to 10 μm across. The zircons are inert during subsequent metamorphism (amphibolite- to pumpellyite–prehnite facies) and metasomatism (scapolitization and albitization) and can be found as trails in silicates (phlogopite, talc, chlorite, amphibole, albite, and tourmaline) in the altered rocks. The trails link up to form polygons outlining the former oxide grain boundary. This 3-dimensional framework of zircons is used to (a) recognize metasomatic origin of rocks, (b) quantify the mobility of elements during mineral replacement, (c) establish the growth direction of reaction fronts and to identify the reaction mechanism as dissolution–reprecipitation. Zircon coronas on Fe–Ti oxides have been described from a number of terrains and appear to be common in mafic rocks (gabbros and granulites) providing a tool for a better understanding of metasomatic and metamorphic reactions.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Muriel Erambert (Oslo) and Jasper Berndt-Gerdes (Münster) for help with EMP analyses. Ingrid A. Munz kindly provided thin sections from Modum. Careful and constructive reviews by W. Peck and an anonymous reviewer are gratefully acknowledged. The work was supported by a Center of Excellence grant from the Norwegian Research Council to PGP and a Humboldt Research Award to H. A.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics of Geological Processes (PGP), University of Oslo, PO Box 1048, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Håkon Austrheim

  2. Institut für Mineralogie, University of Münster, Correnstrasse 24, Münster, Germany

    Christine V. Putnis & Andrew Putnis

  3. Geological Survey of Norway, Leiv Eirikssonsvei 39, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Ane K. Engvik

Authors
  1. Håkon Austrheim
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  2. Christine V. Putnis
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  3. Ane K. Engvik
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  4. Andrew Putnis
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Correspondence to Håkon Austrheim.

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Communicated by J. Hoefs.

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Austrheim, H., Putnis, C.V., Engvik, A.K. et al. Zircon coronas around Fe–Ti oxides: a physical reference frame for metamorphic and metasomatic reactions. Contrib Mineral Petrol 156, 517–527 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-008-0299-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-008-0299-8

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