Surinamite: A high-temperature metamorphic beryllosilicate from Lewisian sapphirine-bearing kyanite-orthopyroxene-quartz-potassium feldspar gneiss at South Harris, N.W. Scotland
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Sotaro Baba
,
Edward S. Grew
Abstract
The sapphirine-like mineral surinamite, (Mg,Fe2+)3(Al,Fe3+)3O[AlBeSi3O15], occurs at South Harris as tiny grains enclosed in kyanite or as tabular grains up to 1 mm long mostly surrounded by Si-rich cordierite. A few surinamite grains enclose orthopyroxene, sillimanite, and Si-rich sapphirine. Ion microprobe analyses gave 3.52 to 3.81 wt% BeO (0.766 to 0.824 Be atoms per formula unit) and 2 to 13 ppm B in surinamite. Excess Si suggests the presence of significant BeO in cordierite and sapphirine. Given the anti-clockwise P-T-time path inferred for the South Harris rock, we suggest that surinamite formed at first by the continuous reaction BeSiAl-2 (in sapphirine) + sillimanite + orthopyroxene → surinamite + quartz and, subsequently, by the discontinuous reaction Be-depleted sapphirine + quartz → surinamite + orthopyroxene + kyanite with increase of P to >12 kbar at 850- 900 °C. Surinamite reacted with orthopyroxene, kyanite, and quartz to form beryllian cordierite during subsequent decrease in P and T.
The high-silica content and peraluminous composition of the surinamite-bearing gneiss are consistent with a metasedimentary origin; this rock is markedly depleted in Th (0.13 ppm), U (0.11 ppm), Y (0.94 ppm), and rare-earth elements (e.g., Ce 7.7 ppm). Its bulk Be content (9 ppm) is not excessive. The appearance of a discrete Be phase in Be-poor rocks could be due to the absence of potential carriers of Be, namely muscovite and primary cordierite, at high T and low-water activity. Moreover, surinamite is indicative of a distinctive metamorphic history in which high-temperature rocks recrystallized at higher pressures or are isobarically cooled, and, consequently, scarcity of Be in metamorphic systems is not the only factor controlling surinamite formation.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
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- Geochemistry of pyroxene inclusions from the Warrumbungle Volcano, New South Wales, Australia
- Supersilicic clinopyroxene and silica exsolution in UHPM eclogite and pelitic gneiss from the Kokchetav massif, Kazakhstan
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Articles in the same Issue
- Nucleation and growth kinetics of analcime from precursor Na-clinoptilolite
- Viscosities of granitic (sensu lato) melts: Influence of the anorthite component
- Geochemistry of pyroxene inclusions from the Warrumbungle Volcano, New South Wales, Australia
- Supersilicic clinopyroxene and silica exsolution in UHPM eclogite and pelitic gneiss from the Kokchetav massif, Kazakhstan
- Experimental study of intracrystalline Fe2+-Mg exchange in three augite crystals: Effect of composition on geothermometric calibration
- Transmission electron microscopy and differential thermal studies of lazurite polymorphs
- Re-equilibration of glass and CO2 inclusions in xenolith olivine: A TEM study
- Origin and structural character of haüyness in spinel dunite xenoliths from La Palma, Canary Islands
- Pyrrhotite varieties from the 9.1 km deep borehole of the KTB project
- Mineralogy and magnetic behavior of pyrrhotite from a 260 °C section at the KTB drilling site, Germany
- Surface defects and self-diffusion on pyrite {100}: An ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy and theoretical modeling study
- Rare-earth elements in chlorapatite [Ca10(PO4)6Cl2]: Uptake, site preference, and degradation of monoclinic structure
- Thermal pressure in MgO and MgSiO3 perovskite at lower mantle conditions
- Electron energy-loss spectroscopy of silicate perovskite-magnesiowüstite high-pressure assemblages
- Magnesium coordination environments in glasses and minerals: New insight from high-field magnesium-25 MAS NMR
- In situ powder diffraction study of titanite (CaTiOSiO4) at high pressure and high temperature
- Surinamite: A high-temperature metamorphic beryllosilicate from Lewisian sapphirine-bearing kyanite-orthopyroxene-quartz-potassium feldspar gneiss at South Harris, N.W. Scotland
- Single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of FeGeO3 high-P clinopyroxene (C2/c) up to 8.2 GPa
- High-pressure Ca4Al6O13: An example of a calcium aluminate with three different types of coordination polyhedra for aluminum
- Cation distribution in synthetic zinc ferrite (Zn0.97Fe2.02O4) from in situ high-temperature neutron powder diffraction
- Infrared study of OH sites in tourmaline from the elbaite-schorl series
- Second occurrence of okayamalite, Ca2SiB2O7: chemical and TEM characterization
- Rietveld refinement of okayamalite, Ca2SiB2O7: Structural evidence for the B/Si ordered distribution
- Tumchaite Na2(Zr,Sn)Si4O11·2H2O—A new mineral from carbonatites of the Vuoriyarvi alkali-ultrabasic massif, Murmansk Region, Russia
- The crystal structure of thornasite, Na12Th3[Si8O19]4(H2O)18: A novel interrupted silicate framework
- Symesite, Pb10(SO4)O7Cl4(H2O), a new PbO-related sheet mineral: Description and crystal structure
- Na2Ca2(P2O7)F2, the first diphosphate of the cuspidine family
- Amphibole asbestos from Libby, Montana: Aspects of nomenclature
- Thermodynamics of multicomponent olivines and the solution properties of (Ni,Mg,Fe)2SiO4 and (Ca,Mg,Fe)2SiO4 olivines—Comment
- Thermodynamics of multicomponent olivines and the solution properties of (Ni,Mg,Fe)2SiO4 and (Ca,Mg,Fe)2SiO4 olivine—Reply
- Letter. Fivefold-coordinated aluminum in tectosilicate glasses observed by triple quantum MAS NMR
