Open questions on carbonaceous matter in meteorites
Open questions on carbonaceous matter in meteorites Every year several tons of extraterrestrial material reach Earth’s surface but only a fraction of it ends up in the hands of geoscientists. In their recently published comment, Oliver...
Read moreFirst evaluation of stiff-in-soft host–inclusion systems
First evaluation of stiff-in-soft host–inclusion systems We all have been habit to work and think about inclusions being preserved by their very stiff host. But have you ever wondered what would happen when a stiff inclusion has been entrapped...
Read moreInclusion deformation triggers fractures in the host
Inclusion deformation triggers fractures in the host In her recent paper Marta Morana and co-authors stumbled on the least expected behavior for quartz inclusions trapped in garnet while exploring their behavior at high temperature conditions...
Read moreHow does recorded temperature changes upon impact shock?
How does recorded temperature changes upon impact shock? Anna Barbaro and co-authors estimated temperature by a graphite-thermometer based on micro-raman spectroscopy data, on 5 ureilitic fragments (FRO 95028, FRO 01089, FRO 97013, FRO 01088 and...
Read moreAre you working with mixed-phase inclusions?
Are you working with mixed-phase inclusions? Ross J. Angel and co-authors finally provide the recipes to work out the elastic response of mixed-phase inclusions. Their study published in the European Journal of Mineralogy presents the theory of...
Read moreFirst high-pressure laboratory experiment on host-inclusion systems
First high-pressure laboratory experiment on host-inclusion systems In his new manuscript Nicola Campomenosi describes the results of the first laboratory experiments where quartz in garnet host-inclusion systems have investigated under high...
Read moreAnother chapter of the Dora-Maira massif, Western Alps
Elastic thermobarometry of ultrahigh-pressure metapelites from the Brossasco Isasca unit (Dora-Maira Massif, Western Alps) In her first paper Giulia Mingardi applied zircon-in-garnet (ZiG) and chemical thermobarometry to garnet-bearing...
Read moreElastic Thermobarometry arrives in the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Elastic Thermobarometry arrives in the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences Check out the new paper by Matt, Mattia and Matteo where they present an overview of the development of the last few years of elastic geothermobarometry...
Read moreEquation of state of spinel (MgAl2O4)
Equation of state of spinel (MgAl2O4): implications for elastic geobarometry of peridotites and chromitites Spinel is potentially one of the best minerals for elastic geobarometry, but the large uncertainties in the published equation of state...
Read moreElastic geobarometry beyond simple elasticity
Resetting of zircon inclusions in garnet: Implications for elastic thermobarometry “Elastic thermobarometry of host-inclusion systems for back-calculating pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions of inclusion entrapment relies on the...
Read moreA key for understanding burial in the Scandinavian Caledonides
Deciphering the tectonometamorphic history of subducted metapelites using quartz-in-garnet and Ti-in-quartz (QuiG–TiQ) geothermobarometry In this paper, Pauline Jeanneret and co-authors characterized the tectonometamorphic evolution of the Lower...
Read moreHydrous peridotitic fragments of Earth’s mantle 660 km discontinuity sampled by a diamond
Hydrous peridotitic fragments of Earth’s mantle 660 km discontinuity sampled by a diamond “The internal structure and dynamics of Earth have been shaped by the 660 km boundary between the mantle transition zone and lower mantle. However...
Read moreCan inclusions be symmetry broken?
Can inclusions be symmetry broken? Murri and co-authors recently studied the role of symmetry-breaking strains in quartz inclusions entrapped in zircon by ab initio simulations. They discovered that for deformations expected for real cases the...
Read moreWhat can we learn from trace element and dislocations distribution in Rutile crystals?
What can we learn from trace element and dislocations distribution in Rutile crystals? Rick Verberne and Hughetto investigated the trace-element migration in low-angle boundaries formed by dislocation creep in rutile within an omphacite vein of...
Read moreLooking for the next “bible” for diamond research?
Looking for the next “bible” for diamond research? “After more than 80 volumes of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (RiMG), we now have a volume on diamond—Diamond: Genesis, Mineralogy and Geochemistry. ” Are you...
Read moreAre you looking for elasticity data for garnet?
Garnet EoS: a critical review and synthesis All available volume and elasticity data for the garnet end-members grossular, pyrope, almandine and spessartine have been re-evaluated for both internal consistency and for consistency with...
Read moreCharacterization of carbon phases in Yamato 74123 ureilite to constrain the meteorite shock history
Characterization of carbon phases in Yamato 74123 ureilite to constrain the meteorite shock history The formation and shock history of primitive achondrites meteorites such as ureilite has been debated for decades! The characterization of carbon...
Read moreInclusions in diamonds probe Earth’s chemistry through deep time
Inclusions in diamonds probe Earth’s chemistry through deep time Most of our knowledge about the chemical composition of the Earth’s interior is primarily retrieved by indirect observations, experiments and calculations that are limited to simple...
Read moreNew thermoelastic properties for Zircon
New thermoelastic properties for Zircon Alix Ehlers has now published a new manuscript where the thermal-pressure equation of state for zircon (ZrSiO4) that characterizes its thermoelastic behavior at metamorphic conditions has been determined...
Read moreHow lava tubes on Mars can be used as human habitats
In this book chapter (from the book “Mars: A volcanic World”), Nicola Mari described the potential for Martian lava tubes to provide the most practical and effective habitats for the first human missions on Mars. A lava tube is a cave...
Read moreElastic geobarometry: stress, strain, and uncertainty
Elastic geobarometry: stress, strain, and uncertainty Elastic geobarometry is becoming one of the most reliable methods for retrieving pressures and temperatures of entrapment of inclusions into a host from both natural and experimental samples...
Read moreImpact diamonds in ureilites by catalytic growth involving Fe-Ni-silicide
Impact diamonds in ureilites by catalytic growth involving Fe-Ni-silicide: The example of Kenna meteorite The occurrence of shock-induced diamonds in ureilite meteorites is common and is used to constrain the history of the ureilite parent...
Read moreCrossing isomekes: elastic geothermobarometry of quartz and zircon in garnet from UHP rocks
Crossing isomekes: elastic geothermobarometry of quartz and zircon in garnet from UHP rocks Characterizing the pressure and temperature (PT) histories of eclogite-facies rocks is of key importance for unravelling subduction-zone processes at all...
Read moreElastic geobarometry beyond cubic hosts
Elastic geobarometry beyond cubic hosts In this publication, Joseph Gonzalez, Mattia Mazzucchelli developed and tested a new model for elastic thermobarometry that will allow for the use of non-cubic host minerals. Previously, reliable...
Read moreEntraPT finally online and published
EntraPT finally online and published. EntraPT is a web-based application for elastic geobarometry freely accessible at the “Fiorenzo Mazzi” experimental mineralogy lab webpage (www.mineralogylab.com/software). It provides an easy-to-use tool to...
Read moreUnder Pressure: High-Pressure Metamorphism in the Alps
Under Pressure: High-Pressure Metamorphism in the Alps In the new volume of Elements “Shedding Light on the European Alps” Lucie Tajčmanová, Paola Manzotti and Matteo Alvaro contributed with the article “Under Pressure...
Read moreZircon in garnet elastic Barometry: problems and perspectives
Zircon in garnet elastic Barometry: problems and perspectives In the “boutique outcrop” Dora Maira Massif, Western Alps the ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) whiteschists of the Brossasco-Isasca unit provides a natural laboratory in which to...
Read moreExtensive fluid‐rock interaction and pressure solution in a UHP fluid pathway recorded by garnetite Lago di Cignana, Western Alps
Extensive fluid‐rock interaction and pressure solution in a UHP fluid pathway recorded by garnetite Lago di Cignana, Western Alps Fluids released by dehydration reactions in subducting slabs can result in dissolution and related mass transfer...
Read moreGarnet sand reveals rock recycling processes in the youngest exhumed high- and ultrahigh-pressure terrane on Earth
This recent publication by Baldwin et al., in collaboration with new lab group member Joseph Gonzalez studied inclusion bearing detrital garnets from the actively exhuming (ultra)high-pressure terrane in eastern Papua New Guinea. Individual...
Read moreNow available: “A Grüneisen tensor for rutile and its application to host-inclusion systems”
Go have a look at the new publication on American Mineralogist by Kira Musiyachenko where she demonstrates with ab-initio calculations that pure rutile inclusions in metamorphic garnets do not develop positive residual pressures upon exhumation...
Read moreEosFit-Pinc: A simple GUI for host-inclusion elastic thermobarometry” —Reply to Zhong et al
Zhong et al. (2020) argue that the solution for entrapment conditions of inclusions presented by Guiraud and Powell (2006) is as equally valid as that proposed by Angel et al. (2017). In addition they propose a third calculation route based on...
Read moreImpact shock origin of diamonds in ureilite meteorites
The origin of diamonds in ureilites is still a debated issue among the scientific community, with significant implications for the sizes of early Solar System bodies. We investigated three diamond-bearing ureilites by a multimethodological...
Read moreQuartz metastability at high pressure: what new can we learn from polarized Raman spectroscopy
Quartz metastability at high pressure: what new can we learn from polarized Raman spectroscopy? Despite all the work we have done on it, quartz can still surprise us! In their new paper Marta, Boriana, Ross and Matteo characterize the Raman...
Read moreZirconology
Establishing a protocol for the selection of zircon inclusions in garnet for Raman thermobarometry In his latest manuscript Nicola investigate in depth the effects of zircon radiation damages onto their raman spectra and in turn how this affects...
Read moreCommensurate Growth of Magnetite Microinclusions in Olivine under Mantle Conditions
Commensurate Growth of Magnetite Microinclusions in Olivine under Mantle Conditions In this latest paper Campione Malaspina and co-workers provide evidence that points to a clear epitaxial growth of magnetite on olivine in a particular...
Read moreUpdated PVT Equation of State for Rutile
Updated PVT Equation of State for Rutile The conclusion of Zaffiro et al. (2019 Mineralogical Magazine, 83, 339–347) that the Mie–Grüneisen–Debye (MGD) Equation of State (EoS) cannot fit the available data for rutile is shown to be incorrect...
Read moreDiamond-Graphene Composite Nanostructures
Diamond-Graphene Composite Nanostructures In their latest paper Mara and co-workers describe two new families of diamond-graphene (diaphite) phases constructed from layered and bonded sp3 and sp2 nanostructural units and provide a framework for...
Read moreNSF Fellowship to Joseph Gonzalez
Dr. Joseph Gonzalez has recently been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Earth Sciences Post-doctoral Fellowship to support his research at the Università degli Studi di Pavia. This award made through the United States National Science...
Read moreUsing polarized Raman spectroscopy to study the stress gradient in mineral systems with anomalous birefringence
Using polarized Raman spectroscopy to study the stress gradient in mineral systems with anomalous birefringence Our PhD student Nicola Campomenosi using experimental results coupled with selected finite element models showed that the ratio...
Read moreCooling history and emplacement of a pyroxenitic lava as proxy for understanding Martian lava flows
Cooling history and emplacement of a pyroxenitic lava as proxy for understanding Martian lava flows Our PhD student Mara Murri at her second Scientific Reports paper for this year! Congratulations!! She has now concluded her studies on the...
Read moreLimits to the Validity of Thermal-Pressure Equations of State
In this new manuscript Ross Angel shows that for thermal-pressure Equations of State (EoS) such as the Mie-Grüneisen-Debye (MGD) the assumptions, including the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) and a simplified phonon density of states need to...
Read moreAnother score for Mazzucchelli: Elastic geobarometry for anisotropic inclusions in cubic hosts
Another score for Mattia Mazzucchelli! In his new manuscript Mattia tackles the key issue of extending elastic barometry to anisotropic inclusions in cubic host! The change of strain in the inclusion can now be modelled using the axial equations...
Read moreOne more milestone: “Assessment of the reliability of elastic geobarometry with quartz inclusions”
It took overall about three years but we think we now start understanding things. This is science, only 3 years to start understanding. Thank you Mattia Bonazzi for this wonderful opportunity and the brilliant work. Check out Mattia...
Read moreQuantifying hexagonal stacking in diamond
Once again on the shock impact topic. In her new nice manuscript in Scientific Reports Mara Murri presents some of the recent considerations about structural disorder in the form of complex combinations of cubic and hexagonal stacking motifs...
Read moreQuartz‐in‐garnet and Ti‐in‐quartz thermobarometry for gneiss from eastern Papua New Guinea
With this new manuscript just published in Journal of Metamorphic Geology Joe has done an excellent job in showing us advantages and limitations of elastic barometry (quartz in garnet) combined with chemical thermometry (Titanium in quartz) to...
Read moreMulti-analytical characterization of Fe-rich magnetic inclusions in diamonds
Our physicist Marco Piazzi has now finalized a very nice article that combines several methodologies for the investigation of the magnetic response of Fe rich inclusions in diamonds. Very exciting story!! For further reading the manuscript can be...
Read moreThe pressure‑induced phase transition(s) of ZrSiO4: revised
A new brilliant manuscript by Boriana and Naemi that finally revise the phase transition(s) of ZrSiO4 at high pressure conditions. In this manuscript published in Physics and Chemistry of Minerals they present the experimental proof for the...
Read moreEditors Selections: Notable papers on American Mineralogist (June 2019)
Quoting the really nice paragraph by the Editors of American Mineralogist about our paper: “stangaronite….”! Stangarone et al. (page 830) used density functional theory (DFT) simulations of the structures of zircon and reidite...
Read moreViscosity experiments at superliquidus temperatures
Rheology is the key factor to understand dynamic processes and behavior of magma rising through volcanic conduit and lava emplacement on Earth or other terrestrial planets. Today we can monitor the evolution of magma and volcanic mixtures by...
Read moreNeed an equation of state for a stiff anisotropic mineral?
In his latest manuscript Gabriele show us how to determine the thermo-elastic behaviour of rutile combining X-ray diffraction data at highP and high T together with direct elastic measurements. The manuscript then presents a series of...
Read moreElastic geobarometry using zircons
In her latest study Claudia Stangarone carried out ab initio hybrid Hartree-Fock/Density Functional Theory simulations to determine the structure and vibrational modes of zircon, ZrSiO4, as a function of different applied strains. In her...
Read moreMagnesiochromite inclusions in diamonds: what do they tell us?
In this new nice chapter of the saga of the orientation of inclusions in diamonds Paolo Nimis proposes the mechanical interaction between euhedral crystals in a fluid-rich environment as the most likely mechanism to produce the observed...
Read moreNew insights into the zircon-reidite phase transition
Shock in meteorite impacts may transform zircon (ZrSiO4) into a denser polymorph, reidite, but the mechanism and significance of this transformation has been obscured by discrepancies between observations on natural and experimental samples. In...
Read moreStructure and properties of quartz under non-hydrostatic stress
Mara Murri marks the beginning of the new year with an incredibly nice paper showing the effect of non-hydrostatic stresses on the structure of alpha-quartz. This investigation carried out through ab initio hybrid Hartree–Fock/DFT simulations...
Read morestRAinMAN software now released
In his new paper published in Zeitschrift fuer Kristallographie Ross Angel explains the development of the past year that led to the current version of the stRAinMAN program. This allows the strains acting on inclusions trapped in their host to...
Read moreStrain release after polishing
In his new paper Nicola Campomenosi addresses the issues related to the release of the residual pressure in the inclusion due to exposure to the external pressure after polishing of the thin section. He illustrates with a careful set of...
Read moreDetermine strains on inclusions from Raman measurements
In her new paper published on American Mineralogist, Mara Murri, describes a method for determining the strains in quartz inclusions from Raman spectroscopy using the concept of the phonon-mode Grüneisen tensor, which we determine by ab initio...
Read moreExperimental validation of intracrystalline “geothermometry” for rocks
In this paper, we test the available experimental calibrations for clino and orthopyroxenes as geothermometer by determining their site in synthetic samples grown from a hydrous nepheline basanite in a piston-cylinder apparatus at 1050 °C at...
Read moreFinite Element modelling of stresses in inclusions by Mattia L. Mazzucchelli on Geology.
Check our our latest paper on Finite Element modelling of stresses in inclusions by Mattia L. Mazzucchelli on Geology. Elastic geothermobarometry on inclusions is a method to determine pressure-temperature conditions of mineral growth independent...
Read moreFirst evidence that Raman does not measure stresses on inclusions
Our paper on elastic barometry illustrates the difficulties related to Raman measurements on non-cubic inclusions has just been published on American Mineralogist. In her manuscript Chiara Anzolini give us an idea of the greatest source of errors...
Read moreEosFit-Pinc released
An exact solution to the problem in elastic geobarometry of combining non-linear Equations of State (EoS) with the elastic relaxation for elastically isotropic spherical host-inclusion systems without any approximations of linear elasticity is...
Read more40 Years of mineral elasticity a critical review and new equation of state for mantle olivines
The new review manuscript by Ross Angel “40 years of mineral elasticity: a critical review and a new parameterisation of equations of state for mantle olivines and diamond inclusions” has just been published online on Physics and...
Read moreContinuous phase transitions in EosFit
Continuous phase transitions in minerals, such as the α–β transition in quartz, can give rise to very large non-linear variations in their volume and density with temperature and pressure. In Angel et al 2017 we present a simplified description...
Read moreThermo-elastic behavior of grossular garnet
In her manuscript Sula Milani provides for the first time consistent the thermo-elastic parameters for grossular garnet using simultaneous fitting of pressure-volume-temperature data combined with either adiabatic (KS) or isothermal bulk modulus...
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