Nucleation and Grain Growth During Dehydration of Polycrystalline Gypsum Observed in Time-series Synchrotron X-ray Micro-tomography Experiments

Abstract:

Nucleation and growth of new minerals in response to disequilibrium is the most fundamental metamorphic process. However, our current understanding of metamorphic reactions is largely based on inference from mineral assemblages brought to the surface by uplift and erosion, rather than from direct observation. The experimental investigation of metamorphism has also been limited, typically to concealed vessels thus restricting the possibility of direct microstructural monitoring. Recent advances in synchrotron-based X-ray micro-tomography allow for new experiments that utilise X-ray transparent setups in order to image these processes on the micron-scale in 4D. We conducted in-situ constant temperature experiments at the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne National Laboratory, USA) to dehydrate confined cylinders of Volterra Gypsum (5mm length x 2mm diameter). The relatively modest temperature of reaction and the apparently simple mineralogy make gypsum an ideal material for investigating processes associated with metamorphic devolatilization. Using a purpose-built X-ray transparent experimental cell (Fusseis et al., 2014, J. Synchrotron Rad. 21, 251-253) to apply an effective pressure of 5MPa, the samples were heated to 388K for approximately 10 hours to acquire three-dimensional time-series tomography datasets comprising forty time steps. Images show grains of the product material (bassanite) growing throughout the sample accompanied by an evolving porous network. These datasets provide new visual insights into the spatiotemporal association between porosity development and the formation of product minerals during devolatilization. The direct observation of reaction also has important implications for general metamorphic theory as we can track the complete history of grain growth from nucleation through to interaction with surrounding grains.