Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986.

published_or_final_version / Geography and Geology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Three end-member clinopyroxenes from the NaM13+Si2O6 series (M1 = Al, Fe and Ga) have been examined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at pressures up to 11 GPa. NaGaSi2O6 was also examined with Raman spectroscopy to 16.5 GPa. NaAlSi2O6 (jadeite) and NaFeSi2O6 (aegirine) are naturally occurring minerals. NaGaSi2O6 is synthetic. Various characteristics of each of the three clinopyroxenes as a function of pressure are reported, including bulk moduli (K0), unit cell volumes, atomic positions, and bond lengths.The compressibilities of a selection of clino- and orthopyroxenes from the literature were examined and considered in terms of M2-O3 bonding and unit cell volumes. As predicted by previous workers, pyroxene compressibilities generally correlate with unit cell volumes at ambient conditions. Compressibilities are also found, however, to be significantly affected by the relationship of M2-O3 bonds with the sense of rotation of silica tetrahedra upon compression. Two such relationships are observed: sympathetic, where the corner of the SiO4 tetrahedron tilts toward M2, and antipathetic, where the corner of the tetrahedron tilts away from M2. All interatomic separations in pyroxenes decrease with pressure, but sympathetic-type separations decrease more than expected based on isotropic scaling of the unit cell. Pyroxene structures may have one of several M2-O3 bond configurations: none, one, two or four bonds, and none, only sympathetic, only antipathetic, or a mixture of both types of bonds. Structures with antipathetic bonds are significantly stiffer than structures without, all else constant. The sympathetic/antipathetic bond hypothesis represents a new, previously unrecognized, first-order control on pyroxene compressibility.M1 size controls ambient unit cell volumes of clinopyroxenes. However, M1 size does not correlate well with pyroxene bulk moduli. Applying the idea of sympathetic and antipathetic M2-O3 bonding, much of the dispersion in a plot of M1 cation size versus bulk modulus can be explained. The three NaM13+Si2O6 clinopyroxenes examined in this study exhibit very similar behavior under compression. All show signs of approaching a C2/c -> C2/c phase transition at ~20 GPa. All exhibit unit strain ellipsoids with similar orientations and dimensions. All have identical bond topologies and bulk moduli that correlate with their ambient unit cell volumes.

Mineral chemistry and thermobarometry of mafic pods in the Liverpool Land Eclogite Terrane (LLET) provide insight into potential relationships with regional high-pressure (HP) and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terranes such as the North East Greenland Eclogite Province (NEGEP), the Western Gneiss Region (WGR), and HP granulites in the East Greenland Caledonides at Payer Land. Grt-cpx thermometry and jadeite barometry performed on garnet and omphacite cores in a sequence of retrogressed eclogites give minimum and average P-T values across six samples for eclogite at 18.4 ± 3.7 kbar at 764 ± 156 °C. Granulite facies conditions based on early retrograde Opx-Plag symplectites, garnet rim compositions, and relict omphacite grains give P-T values at 12.7 ± 0.6 kbar at 860 ± 10 °C, based on grt-cpx thermometry and the opx-grt-pl-qtz equilibra. Late retrograde amphibolite facies conditions, marked by matrix plagioclase and biotite and orthopyroxene symplectite replacement by hornblende symplectites, give mean P-T values of 6.8 ± 0.4 kbar at 740 ± 150 °C, based on grt-cpx thermometry and the grt-hbl-plag-qtz equilibra. Thermometers and barometers yield a qualitative P-T path from lower eclogite facies pressures through the granulite facies via hot isothermal and static decompression, preserving symplectite textures, to amphibolite facies conditions via isobaric cooling. The path is consistent with low-pressure WGR eclogites and suggests affinities between the LLET and Baltica.

No description available.