Episodes of fast crystal growth in pegmatites.

ABSTRACT: Pegmatites are shallow, coarse-grained magmatic intrusions with crystals occasionally approaching meters in length. Compared to their plutonic hosts, pegmatites are thought to have cooled rapidly, suggesting that these large crystals must have grown fast. Growth rates and conditions, however, remain poorly constrained. Here we investigate quartz crystals and their trace element compositions from miarolitic cavities in the Stewart pegmatite in southern California, USA, to quantify crystal growth rates. Trace element concentrations deviate considerably from equilibrium and are best explained by kinetic effects associated with rapid crystal growth. Kinetic crystal growth theory is used to show that crystals accelerated from an initial growth rate of 10^-6-10^-7 m s^-1<

SUBMITTER: Phelps PR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7536386 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature