Carbonatite melts can do weird things
Abstract
Carbonatite melts are bizarre. They are nothing like the carbonatite rocks that crystallise from them. These melts are also very reactive, and can modify crustal silicate rocks that come into contact with them, resulting in perplexing metasomatic rocks of unusual compositions. The magmatic–hydrothermal dichotomy which characterises silicate systems breaks down in carbonatite systems. The carbonatite weirdness has important implications for understanding the carbon cycle and mass transfer in the crust, and for mineralisation in carbonatites. In this talk I will review some experimental work and show examples from nature that demonstrate these processes.
Biography
Dr Michael Anenburg is an ARC Linkage research fellow at the Australian National University, after graduating from the same place with a PhD. Michael is an experimental petrologist, focusing on magmatic ore forming systems with a special interest in REE and carbonatites, IOCG, sulfides, and PGE. He received the 2022 Waldemar Lindgren Award from the Society of Economic Geologists.
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