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Geology topics

J. J. McGee

Publications and source records attributed to J. J. McGee.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2012

Lunar ferroan anorthosites: mineralogy, compositional variations, and petrogenesis

Detailed petrologic study of a suite of lunar ferroan anorthosites indicates that their mineral compositional variations are generally consistent with derivation of these anorthosites from a common parent magma. There are continuous compositional variations in major elements and smooth trends in minor elements (Mg, Fe in plagioclase; Al, Ti, Cr in pyroxene). Relict textures, zoning, and possible primary trends of mineral compositional variations are preserved in many of the anorthosites. The presence of heterogeneous, bimodal, and/or trimodal pyroxene compositions suggests that some of the anorthosites are polymict rocks; however, they are composed entirely of ferroan-anorthosite-suite lithologies. Some aspects of the mineral composition data suggest that complex processes operated during formation of the ferroan anorthosites. The lack of a well-defined, positive or negative trend of pyroxene Mg/(Mg + Fe) versus plagioclase anorthite content, the homogenization of mineral compositions in some anorthosites, and the varied and apparently enriched Mn contents of pyroxenes in some anorthosites suggest that original igneous compositional characteristics have been altered during and/or after crystallization. Processes operative during anorthosite formation may have included some mixing of different melts, trapping of variable amounts of intercumulus liquid, postcrystallization redistribution of elements, or perturbations both during adcumulus growth and subsequent to crystallization by impact events. FeO and MgO contents of the highly calcic plagioclase typical of these anorthosites suggest that the plagioclase-melt distribution coefficients for these elements need to be reassessed.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗
USGS2002

An unusual occurrence of arsenic-bearing pyrite in the Upper Freeport coal bed, West-Central Pennsylvania

Scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis were used to identify a rare type of As-bearing pyrite in selected specific gravity separates from the Pennsylvanian age Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania. Arsenic was detected mainly in cell-wall replacement pyrite where concentrations ranged from nondetectable to 1.9 wt %. Although the majority of arsenic-bearing pyrite in the Upper Freeport coal bed is concentrated in massive and late diagenetic pyrite morphologies, the rarer As-bearing cell-replacement pyrite was observed in both light and heavy gravity separates from the three coal facies examined. Arsenic was occasionally detected in cell-filling replacement pyrite, but this As appears to be an artifact produced by signals from underlying and/or adjacent As-bearing cell-wall replacement pyrite. It is postulated that some plants of the Upper Freeport paleoswamp may have biomethylated As, which later could have been converted to dimethylarsine or other volatile organoarsenic compounds by either biologically or chemically driven processes. Once liberated, the arsenic may have been incorporated into pyrite during pyritization of the cell walls. The As incorporation occurred early, before significant compaction of the peat, because the pyritized cell walls are not compacted.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2002

Rare earth element variations resulting from inversion of pigeonite and subsolidus reequilibration in lunar ferroan anorthosites

We present results of a secondary ion mass spectrometry study of the rare earth elements (REEs) in the minerals of two samples of lunar ferroan anorthosite, and the results are applicable to studies of REEs in all igneous rocks, no matter what their planet of origin. Our pyroxene analyses are used to determine solid-solid REE distribution coefficients (D = C REE in low-Ca pyroxene/C REE in augite) in orthopyroxene-augite pairs derived by inversion of pigeonite. Our data and predictions from crystal-chemical considerations indicate that as primary pigeonite inverts to orthopyroxene plus augite and subsolidus reequilibration proceeds, the solid-solid Ds for orthopyroxene-augite pairs progressively decrease for all REEs; the decrease is greatest for the LREEs. The REE pattern of solid-solid Ds for inversion-derived pyroxene pairs is close to a straight line for Sm-Lu and turns upward for REEs lighter than Sm; the shape of this pattern is predicted by the shapes of the REE patterns for the individual minerals. Equilibrium liquids calculated for one sample from the compositions of primary phases, using measured or experimentally determined solid-liquid Ds, have chondrite-normalized REE patterns that are very slightly enriched in LREEs. The plagioclase equilibrium liquid is overall less rich in REEs than pyroxene equilibrium liquids, and the discrepancy probably arises because the calculated plagioclase equilibrium liquid represents a liquid earlier in the fractionationsequence than the pyroxene equilibrium liquids. “Equilibrium” liquids calculated from the compositions of inversion-derived pyroxenes or orthopyroxene derived by reaction of olivine are LREE depleted (in some cases substantially) in comparison with equilibrium liquids calculated from the compositions of primary phases. These discrepancies arise because the inversion-derived and reaction-derived pyroxenes did not crystallize directly from liquid, and the use of solid-liquid Ds is inappropriate. The LREE depletion of the calculated liquids is a relic of formation of these phases from primary LREE-depleted minerals. Thus, if one attempts to calculate the compositions of equilibrium liquids from pyroxene compositions, it is important to establish that the pyroxenes are primary. In addition, our data suggest that experimental studies have underestimated solid-liquid Ds for REEs in pigeonite and that REE contents of liquids calculated using these Ds are overestimates. Our results have implications for Sm-Nd age studies. Our work shows that if pigeonite inversion and/or subsolidus reequilibration between augite and orthopyroxene occurred significantly after crystallization, and if pyroxene separates isolated for Sm-Nd studies do not have the bulk composition of the primary pyroxenes, then the Sm-Nd isochron age and ε Nd will be in error.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1997

Factors controlling sulfur concentrations in volcanic apatite

Apatite crystals from two types of samples were analyzed by electron microprobe for 15 major and trace elements: (1) apatite in H2O- and S-saturated experimental charges of the 1982 El Chicho??n trachyandesite and (2) apatite in volcanic rocks erupted from 20 volcanoes. The SO3 contents of the experimental apatite increase with increasing oxygen fugacity (fo2), from ???0.04 wt% in reduced charges buffered by fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ), to 1.0-2.6 wt% in oxidized charges buffered by manganosite-hausmanite (MNH) or magnetite-hematite (MTH). The SO3 contents of MNH- and MTH-buffered apatite also generally increase with increasing pressure from 2 to 4 kbar and decreasing temperature from 950 to 800??C. The partition coefficient for SO3 between apatite and oxidized melt increases with decreasing temperature but appears to be independent of pressure. Apatites in volcanic rocks show a wide range of SO3 contents (<0.04 to 0.63 wt%). Our sample set includes one group known to contain primary anhydrite and a second group inferred to have been free of primary anhydrite. No systematic differences in apatite S contents are observed between these two groups. Our study was initiated to define the factors controlling S contents in apatite and to evaluate the hypothesis that high S contents in apatite could be characteristic of S-rich anhydrite-bearing magmas such as those erupted from El Chicho??n in 1982 and Pinatubo in 1991. This hypothesis is shown to be invalid, probably chiefly a consequence of the slow intra-crystaline diffusion that limits re-equilibration between early formed apatite and the evolving silicate melt. Contributing factors include early crystallization of most apatite over a relatively small temperature interval, common late-stage magmatic enrichment of S, progressive oxidation during magmatic evolution, and strong controls on S contents in apatite exerted fo2, temperature, and pressure.

American Mineralogist↗
USGS1991

Boron analysis by electron microprobe using MoB4C layered synthetic crystals

Preliminary electron microprobe studies of B distribution in minerals have been carried out using MoB4C-layered synthetic crystals to improve analytical sensitivity for B. Any microprobe measurements of the B contents of minerals using this crystal must include analyses for Cl to assess and correct for the interference of Cl X-rays on the BK?? peak. Microprobe analyses for B can be made routinely in tourmaline and other B-rich minerals, and minor B contents also can be determined in common rock-forming minerals. Incorporation of unusually high B contents in minerals other than borosilicates has been discovered in prograde and retrograde minerals in tourmalinites from the Broken Hill district, Australia, and may reflect high B activities produced during the metamorphism of tourmaline-rich rocks. -from Authors

American Mineralogist↗
USGS1989

Mineralogical studies of the nitrate deposits of Chile: VI. Hectorfloresite, Na9(IO3)(SO4)4, a new saline mineral

The new mineral hectorfloresite, known to occur in only one locality in the nitrate fields of northern Chile, consists of tiny prismatic crystals, generally less than 1 mm long and 0.2 mm in diameter, in cavities in dense nitrate ore consisting of saline-cemented silt, sand, and small rock fragments. The physical, optical and crystallographic properties of the new mineral are described. -from Authors

American Mineralogist↗
USGS1987

Petrologic characteristics of the 1982 and pre-1982 eruptive products of El Chichon volcano, Chiapas, Mexico

Studies on a suite of rocks from this volcano indicate that the juvenile materials of the 1982 and pre-1982 eruptions of the volcano have essentially the same mineralogy and chemistry. Data suggest that chemical composition changed little over the 0.3 m.y. sample period. Modally, plagioclase is the dominant phenocryst, followed by amphibole, clinopyroxene and minor phases including anhydrite. Plagioclase phenocrysts show complex zoning: the anorthite-rich zones are probably the result of changing volatile P on the magma and may reflect the changes in the volcano's magma reservoir in response to repetitive, explosive eruptive activity.-R.E.S.

Chiapas↗
USGS1986

Akermanite: phase transitions in heat capacity and thermal expansion, and revised thermodynamic data.

A small but sharp anomaly in the heat capacity of akermanite at 357.9 K, and a discontinuity in its thermal expansion at 693 K, as determined by XRD, have been found. The enthalpy and entropy assigned to the heat-capacity anomaly, for the purpose of tabulation, are 679 J/mol and 1.9 J/(mol.K), respectively. They were determined from the difference between the measured values of the heat capacity in the T interval 320-365 K and that obtained from an equation which fits the heat-capacity and heat-content data for akermanite from 290 to 1731 K. Heat-capacity measurements are reported for the T range from 9 to 995 K. The entropy and enthalpy of formation of akermanite at 298.15 K and 1 bar are 212.5 + or - 0.4 J/(mol.K) and -3864.5 + or - 4.0 kJ/mol, respectively. Weak satellite reflections have been observed in hk0 single-crystal X-ray precession photographs and electron-diffraction patterns of this material at room T. With in situ heating by TEM, the satellite reflections decreased significantly in intensity above 358 K and disappeared at about 580 K and, on cooling, reappeared. These observations suggest that the anomalies in the thermal behaviour of akermanite are associated with local displacements of Ca ions from the mirror plane (space group P421m) and accompanying distortion of the MgSi2O7 framework.-L.C.C.

Canadian Mineralogist↗