Metamict zircon from Mozambique

Oxidation state of uranium in metamict and annealed zircon: near-infrared spectroscopic quantitative analysis

Radiation and thermally induced changes in the oxidation state of uranium in metamict zircon have been systematically analysed, for the first time, using polarized near-infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that in damaged zircon U ions in crystalline domains exhibited relatively sharp, anisotropic signals from tetravalent and pentavalent U ions in crystalline domains (U4+ crystal and U5+ c...

Applications of near-infrared FT-Raman spectroscopy in metamict and annealed zircon: oxidation state of U ions

We report a near-infrared Fourier-transform (FT) Raman spectroscopic method to characterize the electronic transitions of U ions and the alpha-decay damage in natural zircon. The application is demonstrated by analyzing metamict and annealed zircons from Sri Lanka. The data from crystalline zircon reveal a relatively sharp spectral feature appearing near 2733 cm in Stokes spectra with a laser e...

Zircon from the Moon , Earth and Mars

Determination of zircon/melt trace element partition coefficients from SIMS analysis of melt inclusions in zircon

Partition coefficients (DM) for rare earth elements (REE) (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Dy, Er and Yb) and other trace elements (Ba, Rb, B, Sr, Ti, Y and Nb) between zircon and melt have been calculated from secondary ion mass spectrometric (SIMS) analyses of zircon/melt inclusion pairs. The melt inclusion-mineral (MIM) technique shows that DREE increase in compatibility with increasing atomic number, simil...

Metallic Pb nanospheres in ultra-high temperature metamorphosed zircon from southern India

A transmission electron microscope (TEM) study of Paleoproterozoic zircon that has experienced ultra-high temperature (UHT) metamorphism at ca. 570 Ma in the Kerala Khondalite Belt (KKB), southern India, documents the occurrence of metallic Pb nanospheres. These results permit comparison with a previous report from UHT zircon in Enderby Land, Antarctica, and allow further constraints to be plac...