Another chapter of Zhen’s PhD thesis has just been accepted for publication in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology - congratulations!

In this work, Zhen investigated texturally and chemically sector-zoned garnet crystals in rocks from the Danba dome (eastern Tibetan Plateau, SW China), integrating petrographic analyses with XR-µCT, EPMA, LA-ICP-MS, EBSD, and phase equilibrium modelling. The results of this research suggest that abundant graphite likely played a pivotal role in changing fluid conditions and reducing the solubility of SiO2 to grow sector-zoned garnet, as well as impeding matrix coarsening. Development of sector-zoned core and dodecahedral faces of garnet may be related to rapid growth with changes in crystal morphology. Irregular sectors may have developed through fluid infiltration and local chemical adjustments.

Li, Z.M., Gaidies, F., Chen, YC. et al. Petrogenesis of sector-zoned garnet in graphitic metapelite from the Danba dome, eastern Tibetan Plateau (SW China). Contrib Mineral Petrol 179, 56 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-024-02139-8