Experimental synthesis of isochemical kelyphite - a preliminary report

We observed the breakdown of natural garnet in a high-pressure experiment (0.85 GPa and 1100 degrees C for 2 days) using a piston-cylinder apparatus. Two different types of kelyphites were formed: (1) isochemical and (2) metasomatic. The isochemical kelyphite was composed of orthopyroxene + spinel + plagioclase, whereas the metasomatic one, having a composition altered significantly from the original garnet, was composed of olivine + spinel + plagioclase. These synthetic kelyphites were studied and characterized using EPMA, SEM, EBSD, and TEM and were shown to have many microstructural features as well as their mineral assemblages in common with observed natural kelyphites. The kelyphitization was very heterogeneous and local and was apparently controlled by grain surfaces and intra-grain cracks in garnet. The metasomatic kelyphite apparently formed by a reaction between garnet and aqueous fluids that may have been introduced from outside the platinum capsule through holes accidentally made in the capsule.