Abstract
DEFORMATION is one of the principal processes governing the microstructure of solid materials, but it may also affect their chemistries1–5. Chemical unmixing in non-hydrostatically stressed, initially homogeneous multicomponent solids has been predicted to occur during diffusion creep5,6. Yet there has been no report of chemical zoning induced by diffusion creep in either naturally or experimentally deformed solid-solution materials. Here I report Al–Cr zoning in elongated Cr-spinel ((Cr, Al, Fe3+)2(Mg, Fe2+)O4) grains from deformed peridotites and chromitites, which shows a consistent orientation of Al-rich and Al-poor regions with respect to the lineation and the shape of the spinel grain. I interpret this zoning as having been induced by deformation, and it is most reasonably explained by stress-directed lattice diffusion of Al and Cr.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Li, J. C. M., Nolfi, F. V. Jr & Johnson, C. A. Acta metall. 19, 749–752 (1971).
Green, H. W. II, Phil. Mag. 41, 637–647 (1980).
Kitamura, M., Matsuda, H. & Morimoto, N. Proc. Jap. Acad. 62, 149–152 (1986).
Rutter, E. H. J. geol. Soc. Lond. 140, 725–740 (1983).
Dimos, D. & Kohlstedt, D. L. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 70, 531–536 (1987).
Dimos, D., Wolfenstine, J. & Kohlstedt, D. L. Acta metall. 36, 1543–1552 (1988).
Nicolas, A. & Poirier, J. P. Crystalline Plasticity and Solid State Flow in Metamorphic Rocks (Wiley, London, 1976).
Ozawa, K. Lithos 16, 1–16 (1983).
Niida, K., J. Jap. Ass. Miner. Petrol. Econ. Geol. 70, 265–285 (1975).
Cassard, D. et al. Econ. Geol. 76, 805–831 (1981).
Hirth, J. P. & Lothe, J. Theory of Dislocations (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968).
Herring, C. J. appl. Phys. 21, 437–445 (1950).
Coble, R. L. J. appl. Phys. 34, 1679–1682 (1963).
Ando, K. & Oishi Y. J. chem. Phys. 61, 625–629 (1974).
Oishi, Y. & Ando, K. J. chem. Phys. 63, 376–378 (1975).
Lindner, R. & Akerström, A. Z. phys. Chem. Neue Folge 18, 303–307 (1958).
Paladino, A. E. & Coble, R. L. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 46, 133–136 (1963).
Alper, A. M., McNally, R. N., Doman, R. C. & Keihn, F. G. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 47, 30–33 (1964).
Alper, A. M., McNally, R. N., Ribbe, P. G. & Doman, R. C. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 45, 263–268 (1962).
Lasaga, A. C. in Reviews in Mineralogy (eds Lasaga, A. C. & Kirkpatrick, N. J.) 8, 261–319 (Miner. Soc. Am., 1981).
Whitney, W. P. II & Stubican, V. S. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 54, 348–352 (1971).
Doukhan, N., Doukhan, J-C., Nicolas, A. & Secher, D. Bull. Miner. 107, 777–793 (1984).
Christiansen, F. G. Geol. Rundsch. 74, 61–76 (1985).
Christiansen, F. G. Tectonophysics 121, 175–196 (1986).
Karato, S. in High Pressure Research in Mineral Physics (eds Manghnani, M. H. & Syono, Y.) 455–471 (Terra Scientific Publ. Co., Tokyo, 1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ozawa, K. Stress-induced Al–Cr zoning of spinel in deformed peridotites. Nature 338, 141–144 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338141a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/338141a0
This article is cited by
-
Deformation of Al-Cr spinel in the diffusion creep regime: mechanical results and flow laws
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2023)
-
Mafic and ultramafic rock fragments on Chios Island, Greece: puzzling pieces within the Tethyan ophiolite belts of the Eastern Mediterranean
International Journal of Earth Sciences (2023)
-
Chromitites of the Kraka ophiolite (South Urals, Russia): geological, mineralogical and structural features
Mineralium Deposita (2021)
-
Cr-spinel records metasomatism not petrogenesis of mantle rocks
Nature Communications (2019)
-
Compositional variations of chromian spinels from peridotites of the Spontang ophiolite complex, Ladakh, NW Himalayas, India: petrogenetic implications
Geosciences Journal (2019)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.