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Article

Discovery of Stishovite in the Prismatine-Bearing Granulite from Waldheim, Germany: A Possible Role of Supercritical Fluids of Ultrahigh-Pressure Origin

1
Im Waldwinkel 8, D-14662 Friesack, Germany
2
Codes, Centre for Ore Deposits and Earth Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7001, Australia
3
Alemannenstraße 4a, D-144612 Falkensee, Germany
4
Böhmerwaldstraße 22, D-86529 Schrobenhausen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Geosciences 2022, 12(5), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12050196
Submission received: 25 March 2022 / Revised: 26 April 2022 / Accepted: 30 April 2022 / Published: 4 May 2022

Abstract

For the first time in the sixty years since the synthesis of stishovite, we report unambiguous evidence of stishovite formed in the deep Earth. A minimum pressure of about 7.5 GPa at 1000 °C is necessary for the formation of stishovite, corresponding to a depth of about 230 km. In this manuscript we report the identification of stishovite along with coesite as inclusions in mineral grains from the Waldheim granulite. This implies that the stishovite was transported upwards, probably very rapidly to a depth of about 130 km, corresponding to the highest pressure indicated by newly identified coesite in the prismatine of the Waldheim granulite, and continuing up to the depth of emplacement of the Waldheim prismatine granulite. The analysis of the Raman spectra obtained from a metastable trapped stishovite micro-crystal show that all the diagnostic Raman bands are present. However, given the metastability of the stishovite at room temperatures and pressures, this mineral breaks down step-by-step into stable polymorphs, first coesite and then quartz and cristobalite, during the Raman stimulation. The rare coesite crystals in prismatine have also resulted from the irreversible transformation from stishovite. Although the Waldheim occurrence may be unique, we suggest that Raman analysis of co-trapped crystals in similar deep-seated rocks, an area of limited previous research, may prove an important innovation in the study of mantle processes.
Keywords: stishovite; coesite; blue shift; supercritical fluid; Waldheim prismatine rock stishovite; coesite; blue shift; supercritical fluid; Waldheim prismatine rock

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MDPI and ACS Style

Thomas, R.; Davidson, P.; Rericha, A.; Recknagel, U. Discovery of Stishovite in the Prismatine-Bearing Granulite from Waldheim, Germany: A Possible Role of Supercritical Fluids of Ultrahigh-Pressure Origin. Geosciences 2022, 12, 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12050196

AMA Style

Thomas R, Davidson P, Rericha A, Recknagel U. Discovery of Stishovite in the Prismatine-Bearing Granulite from Waldheim, Germany: A Possible Role of Supercritical Fluids of Ultrahigh-Pressure Origin. Geosciences. 2022; 12(5):196. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12050196

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas, Rainer, Paul Davidson, Adolf Rericha, and Ulrich Recknagel. 2022. "Discovery of Stishovite in the Prismatine-Bearing Granulite from Waldheim, Germany: A Possible Role of Supercritical Fluids of Ultrahigh-Pressure Origin" Geosciences 12, no. 5: 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12050196

APA Style

Thomas, R., Davidson, P., Rericha, A., & Recknagel, U. (2022). Discovery of Stishovite in the Prismatine-Bearing Granulite from Waldheim, Germany: A Possible Role of Supercritical Fluids of Ultrahigh-Pressure Origin. Geosciences, 12(5), 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12050196

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