Date of Award

8-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Program

Geology

Department

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Major Professor

Simmons, William B.

Second Advisor

Webber, Karen

Third Advisor

Whitmore, Robert

Fourth Advisor

Wise, Michael

Fifth Advisor

Falsten, Alexander

Abstract

An investigation of the beryl-phosphate subtype Palermo #2 pegmatite, located in the Grafton pegmatite field of New Hampshire, has revealed a large number of phosphate species. Late-stage, carbonate-bearing aqueous fluids have metasomatically altered primary phosphates producing a suite of nearly forty species of secondary phosphates. The secondary phosphates at Palermo #2 are a result of alteration of primary phosphates and associated silicate, carbonate, sulfide, arsenide and oxide minerals locally present in the core margin. Concomitant alteration of these associated minerals contributes the necessary ions to the hydrothermal fluids responsible for the formation of the diverse suite of secondary phosphates. Alteration of the mineral assemblage occurring in a given area creates a collection of secondary phosphates characteristic of that specific assemblage, whereas a completely different collection of secondary phosphates may appear only a few centimeters away. Thus, each suite of secondary phosphates is the product of its specific microenvironment of alteration.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.

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