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SUMMARY:Influence of metamorphism and partial melting on creating LCT-enri
 ched granitic melts - Dr Barbara Kunz - The Open University
DTSTART:20250317T180000Z
DTEND:20250317T190000Z
UID:TALK227578@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Susannah Scott
DESCRIPTION:Decarbonising our energy and transport systems is a major chal
 lenge for addressing the climate crisis. This will require a whole range o
 f different raw materials including critical elements associated with LCT 
 granites and pegmatites (Linnen et al.\, 2012). However\, at the moment we
  are lacking a solid understanding of how and where LCT melts form which a
 lso means reliable geological exploration models don’t exist.\n\nGeochem
 ical characterisation of LCT granites and pegmatites shows (re-)melting of
  continental crust as the source (Černý et al.\, 2012). Which means met
 amorphism and partial melting are an essential process in the formation of
  LCT melts. The classical model assumed the onset of muscovite melting to 
 be the key process. As micas are known hosts of critical elements (e.g.\, 
 Li\, Be\, V\, Rb\, Cs\, Sn\, Ta\, W) and would release their trace element
 s into a relatively small volume of melt\, which creates enriched melts. T
 hese melts would be further enriched during fractional crystallisation fin
 ally creating element concentrations of economic interest. Contrary to tha
 t theory a study on whole rock compositions (Wolf et al.\, 2018) and of me
 tamorphic micas from greenschist to granulite facies conditions (Kunz et a
 l.\, 2022) have shown that biotite is the major host of elements associate
 d with LCT melts. This raises the question if (1) biotite melting might be
  the essential process for producing LCT enrichment and (2) under which pa
 rtial melting conditions this would create the highest critical element en
 richment.\n\nOver the last couple of years\, a number of studies have star
 ted to address these questions ranging from natural observations to modell
 ing and partial melting experiments. Some of the key questions and challen
 ges at the moment are: (1) is an enriched sedimentary source needed?\; (2)
  what is the importance of the melting conditions/reaction for enrichment?
 \; (3) overcoming limitations of natural and experimental research approac
 hes and (4) developing robust input parameters for partial melting modelli
 ng.
LOCATION:Harker 1 lecture room\, Department of Earth Sciences\, Downing Si
 te
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