https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050047
Oscillatory zoning caused by oscillating surface relaxations
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge,
Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
Received:
9
March
1999
Published online: 15 January 2000
Oscillatory zoning is a spatial variation in the composition of minerals. It has been observed in many different minerals and a variety of mechanisms have been proposed to explain it. We propose an equilibrium model of oscillatory zoning in which the variations in composition stabilise a ferroelastic phase. This results in a sinusoidal variation in composition. We expect that this mechanism could account for oscillatory zoning found in minerals with oscillatory surface relaxations.
PACS: 61.72.-y – Defects and impurities in crystals; microstructure / 61.72.Ss – Impurity concentration, distribution, and gradients / 81.10.-h – Methods of crystal growth; physics of crystal growth
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2000
