Oxygen isotope exchange and closure temperatures in cooling rocks

Abstract

ABSTRACTRetrograde exchange of oxygen isotopes between minerals in igneous and metamorphic rocks by means of diffusion is explored using a finite difference computer model, which predicts both the zonation profile of δ18O within grains, and the bulk δ18O value of each mineral in the rock. Apparent oxygen isotope equilibrium temperatures that would be observed in these rocks are calculated from the δ18O values of each mineral pair within the rock. In systems which cool linearly from a sufficiently high temperature or at a low enough cooling rate, such that the final oxygen isotope values are not dependent upon the initial oxygen isotope values (‘slow cooling’), the apparent oxygen isotope temperature derived for a rock composed of a single mineral pair can be shown to be simply related to the Dodson closure temperatures (Tc) for the two phases and the mode of the rock. Adding a third phase into a system which undergoes ‘slow’ cooling will cause the apparent temperature derived for the two minerals already present to differ from the simple relationship for a two‐phase system. In some systems oxygen isotope reversals can be developed. If cooling is not ‘slow’, then the mineral δ18O values resulting from cooling will be partly dependent upon the initial temperature of the system concerned. The model successfully simulates the mineral δ18O values that are often observed in granitic rocks. Application of the model will help in assessing the validity of oxygen isotope thermometry in different geological settings, and allows quantitative prediction of the oxygen isotope fractionations that are developed in cooling closed systems.