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.
