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Melt-mediated re-equilibration of zircon produced during meltdown of the Chernobyl Reactor

Denis Fougerouse, Thorsten Geisler, Steven M. Reddy, Matvei Aleshin, Laure Martin, Luc S. Doucet, Zakaria Quadir, David Saxey and William Rickard
Melt-mediated re-equilibration of zircon produced during meltdown of the Chernobyl Reactor
American Mineralogist (January 2024) 109 (1): 8-14

Abstract

The mineral zircon is used widely to constrain the age of rocks and the processes that formed them. Although zircon is robust to a range of physical and chemical processes, it may show evidence for rapid re-equilibration that is generally considered to reflect interaction with hydrous fluids. Here, we show that zircon grains that crystallized from melt produced during the catastrophic meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exhibit re-equilibration textures that occurred in an environment without free water. The process of re-equilibration involved a melt-mediated interface-coupled dissolution-reprecipitation that took place over a few days to produce textures that are commonly observed in igneous and anatectic systems. Thus, the composition of zircon can be modified even in the absence of hydrous fluids in a short time frame. Through this process, zircon crystals may track the timing of the last silicate melt they interacted with.


ISSN: 0003-004X
EISSN: 1945-3027
Coden: AMMIAY
Serial Title: American Mineralogist
Serial Volume: 109
Serial Issue: 1
Title: Melt-mediated re-equilibration of zircon produced during meltdown of the Chernobyl Reactor
Affiliation: Curtin University, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Perth, West. Aust., Australia
Pages: 8-14
Published: 202401
Text Language: English
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, DC, United States
References: 55
Accession Number: 2024-092142
Categories: Isotope geochemistryMineralogy of silicates
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus.
N51°16'00" - N51°16'00", E30°15'00" - E30°15'00"
Secondary Affiliation: University of Bonn, Institute for Geosciences, DEU, GermanyUniversity of Western Australia, AUS, Australia
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2024, American Geosciences Institute. Abstract, copyright, Mineralogical Society of America. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States
Update Code: 202452

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