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Network Analysis of Ion Substitutions across Mineral Paragenetic Modes

Session: Transforming Earth and Planetary Science Through Data and Data Management: In Honor of MSA Distinguished Public Service Medal Awardee, Kerstin Lehnert

Presenting Author:

Kate Hendrickson

Authors:

Hendrickson, Kate¹, Prabhu, Anirudh², Downs, Robert T.³, Jibrin, Zak⁴, Zobrist, Benjamin N.⁵, Morrison, Shaunna M.⁶

(1) Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA, (2) Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA, (3) Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA, (4) Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA, (5) Independent Researcher, New York, NY, USA, (6) Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA,

Abstract:

Major and minor element crystallographic site substitutions in minerals preserve a history of formation and alteration processes in rocks. By studying these substitutions based on their modes of formation—also known as “paragenetic modes”—we can connect present mineral chemistry with past processes. Networks can be used to systematically evaluate these substitutions across large datasets. Our mineral site substitution networks visualize empirical crystallographic site occupancies to aid in understanding elemental compatibility and chemical substitutability in mineral lattice structures.

Our networks are developed with data from the RRUFF Project, which has 1366 mineral samples with documented crystallographic site substitutions. These samples were characterized by the RRUFF team through X-Ray Diffraction, Raman Spectroscopy, and Electron Microprobe Analysis to determine crystal chemistry and structure. From the RRUFF data, we compile graph data structures and generate interactive visualizations of site substitution by paragenetic modes. By evaluating these networks through many metrics—Degree, Betweenness, Frequency, and our Substitutability Index (SI)—elemental substitution patterns and communities (e.g., Louvain community detection) can be compared and contrasted across different paragenetic modes.

This study aims to view mineral history and formational environment through the lens of major and minor elemental substitutions. Preliminary analyses of substitutions across paragenetic modes support petrological partitioning theory based on radius and charge for textbook primary igneous minerals. However, networks for other paragenetic modes are more complex. One illustrative example is that the substitution frequencies of zinc, copper, and arsenic are increased for low-temperature subaerial oxidative hydration/weathering minerals. Though complexities like coupled substitutions and crystallographic coordinations are not yet included, evidence suggests a link between formational modes and ionic substitution behaviors.