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Mineral reactions in a calc-mica schist from Gassetts, Vermont, U.S.A.

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Abstract

A petrographic and electron microprobe study of an interbedded calc-mica schist from Gassetts, Vermont reveals the complexities of Fe-Mg crystalline solution and gradients in X H2O/X CO2 during regional metamorphism. The common association of microcline+diopside ± zoisite formed from biotite +calcite+quartz may be produced by continuous (Fe-Mg) exchange reactions, despite the implied metastability in the CaO-K2O-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O-CO2 system. Different assemblages are produced in a reaction zone between carbonate and pelite beds of varying thickness. This illustrates the importance of exhaustion of fluid buffering assemblages due to mineral reactions proceeding on a local scale. Siliceous dolomites at the same metamorphic grade have produced significantly different assemblages to the interlayered carbonatepelite sequence.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, Mass., USA

    Alan Bruce Thompson

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Thompson, A.B. Mineral reactions in a calc-mica schist from Gassetts, Vermont, U.S.A.. Contr. Mineral. and Petrol. 53, 105–127 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00373126

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00373126

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