GP24B-01 INVITED
Dehydrogenation-Oxidation of Mantle Olivine: a Possible Mechanism for the Formation of Oriented Hematite/Magnetite Precipitates in Olivine of Peridotite From the Sulu UHP Terrane
Analytical electron microscopic observations of a garnet peridotite from the Maobei area, Sulu ultra-high pressure terrane have been carried out. The results showed that olivine in this garnet peridotite, with a maximum metamorphic pressure and temperature record of 53-66 kbar and 853-957oC, contains precipitates of chromian magnetite and chromian titanian hematite at dislocations and (001) faults. Specific crystallographic relationships were determined between these precipitates and the olivine host, i.e., [101]Mt//[001]Ol, [110]Mt//[0-11]Ol, and [0-11]Mt//[011]Ol; and [0001]Hm//[100]Ol and [10-10]Hm//[001]Ol. These oriented oxides are not associated with silicate/silica phases and therefore cannot be accounted for by the mechanism of olivine oxidation under oxidizing environments. It is postulated that these magnetite and hematite precipitates most likely have resulted from dehydrogenation-oxidation of nominally anhydrous mantle olivine during rock exhumation. In view of the contrasting diffusion rates of H and Fe in olivine lattice, it is suggested that the formation process might actually take place in steps. Hydrogen diffusion with concomitant quantitative oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ in olivine occurred early during initial rock exhumation and was followed by slow Fe diffusion forming magnetite/hematite at stacking faults and dislocations within the olivine lattice. Two requirements are essential under such a scenario: ample amount of H content in the olivine and an appropriate exhumation rate, probably in the range of 6-11 mm/yr, of the hosting rock. It is also noted that such dehydrogenation-oxidation processes may hamper a correct estimate of the actual P-T conditions and mantle oxidation state as based on mineral chemistries present in mantle eclogite/peridotite. The present study demonstrates that oriented mineral inclusions may not necessarily form through exsolution processes sensu stricto, but may form through more complicated reaction mechanisms. More detailed studies of these mineral inclusions are warranted to pursue their geologic implications.
GP24B-02 INVITED
Hysteresis of Magnetite, Hematite and Pyrrhotite Crystals at High and Low Temperatures
Alternating gradient force magnetometers and sensitive vibrating-sample magnetometers operating above, at, and below room temperature have enabled rapid reliable measurements of hysteresis and remanence curves. The hysteresis parameters Ms, Mrs, Hc, plus the remanence coercivity Hcr, are routinely determined, at room temperature at least, and reported in the form of a Day plot as an indication of domain state and inferred grain size. Yet our knowledge of the hysteresis and remanence properties of individual crystals or sized crystal aggregates of magnetite, titanomagnetite, hematite, pyrrhotite and other important magnetic minerals has scarcely advanced beyond what was known at the end of the 1980's. Applications have indeed outstripped fundamental studies. This presentation will focus on new hysteresis measurements for well-sized magnetites of a variety of origins; magnetite inclusions in plagioclase, pyroxene, amphiboles and biotite; hematite; and pyrrhotite. Measurements were made at 20oC intervals from 25oC to the Curie point for all magnetites and hematites and at 10oC intervals for pyrrhotite. For one set of sized magnetites (0.6, 3, 6, 9, 14 and 110 micrometers), hysteresis and back-field remanence curves were also measured below room temperature (every 10 K from 10 K to 70 K, every 5 K from 80 K to 140 K, and every 10 K from 150 K to 300 K). These data give a wealth of information about the individual mineral crystals and trends linking crystals of common origin but different sizes. From Ms(T) we obtain precise Curie points and transition temperatures. Mrs(T)/Ms(T) tracks sometimes subtle changes in domain structure with changing temperature. Hc(T) gives an indication of the mechanism(s) of anisotropy, important for understanding TRM acquisition in crystals above single-domain size. Mrs(T) and Hc(T) often show substantial irreversible changes in the first heating- cooling cycle, particularly but not exclusively for synthetic crystals, stabilizing in subsequent cycles. Finally, Mrs(T)/Ms(T) vs. Hcr(T)/Hc(T) data trace curves on a Day plot showing unmistakable differences in domain structure between monoclinic and cubic magnetite, as well as more subtle changes away from the Verwey transition.
GP24B-03 INVITED
Paleomagnetism and paleointensity recorded by single silicate crystals
Silicate minerals can contain minute magnetic inclusions that are well suited as recorders of the ancient magnetic field. In a magnetic hysteresis survey of natural minerals in 1997-1998, workers in the University of Rochester lab found that natural olivine and pyroxene separated from mafic lavas tended to contain multi- domain magnetic inclusions, whereas plagioclase feldspars hosted smaller single domain particles. These findings led to Thellier analyses of plagioclase crystals to define field strength for reversing and non- reversing (i.e. Superchron) time intervals; data available to date support an inverse relationship between field strength and reversal rate suggested by Cox (1968) and seen in some numerical simulations of the geodynamo that call upon mantle forcing. A key part of these studies are comparisons of single crystals and whole rock results; these show that bulk lava samples are often biased by alteration on geologic and laboratory time scales, and by the presence of non-ideal carriers. I will review the status of our efforts to further constrain field strength versus reversal rate, and the special challenges posed in the investigation of the earliest magnetic field. The latter work has motivated the development of new heating techniques and a further exploration of silicate carriers of magnetization. Although technically challenging, these studies have yielded the oldest field strength record based on a TRM (i.e. the field was within 50% of the modern value 3.2 billion-years-ago). Efforts to test for the presence of an even older dynamo will be discussed.
GP24B-04
Hematite-Ilmenite with Magnetite from the Ecstall Pluton, British Columbia: Single Crystal Magnetic Experiments
Rocks provide a compound paleomagnetic signal from mixtures of various iron minerals with different grain sizes and magnetic stabilities. To unravel this complex signal, specific mineral phases with stable remanence can be individually examined as single crystals. In the case of the Ecstall Pluton (~91 Ma), intra-pluton discordance of paleomagnetic directions may be the result of post-crystallization deformation, or mineralogical changes caused by re-heating from the adjacent Quottoon Pluton (~52 Ma). In order to distinguish between these two hypotheses we conducted rock magnetic experiments on single crystals of finely-exsolved hematite-ilmenite along a transect approaching the Quottoon Pluton. Reflected light, and SEM observations show grains of hematite and ilmenite as the dominant Fe-oxide throughout the Ecstall. Nearest the Quottoon Pluton, the hematite-ilmenite grains exhibit the classic rutile blitz texture. The lamellar microstructure observed in the hematite-ilmenite grains, as well as the rutile blitz texture are linked to the thermal history of the Ecstall Pluton, and have important effects on the magnetic properties of these grains (i.e. lamellar magnetism). Our results include the magnetic unmixing of isothermal remanence magnetization (IRM) acquisition, First Order Reversal Curve (FORC) diagrams, temperature vs. remanence experiments (MPMS), and TEM studies. These data provide a spatially resolved record of rock magnetic variations across the Ecstall Pluton, showing evidence of thermally activated reduction of hematite to magnetite in samples within 13 km of the Quottoon Pluton. TEM analysis shows the magnetite is present as 20-50 nm-sized particles within hematite. This mineralogic change may be responsible for the variations in paleomagnetic directions across the Ecstall Pluton, and clear evidence for this reaction cannot be found by traditional rock characterization techniques, illustrating the need to couple detailed rock magnetic, paleomagnetic, and mineralogic analyses.