Micro-PIXE analysis of carbonates and silicates: Tracking fluid flow in crustal environments

Proton-induced X-ray (PIXE) analyses on a micro-scale of trace-element (TE) variations in metamorphic and hydrothermal minerals can provide insights into fluid-flow processes in lithospheric environments. The Los Alamos nuclear microprobe was used to determine in situ TE abundances in minerals from the Ubehebe Peak contact aureole and from Apennine ophicalcites. In these two crustal environments, known to have experienced significant fluid flow, TE variability in minerals zoning in grains, analyses of multiple mineral generations in single samples, and analyses of grains from spatially-resolved hand-samples provides information on the chemical evolution of fluid-flow systems during geologic processes. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.