Preliminary quantification of a shape model for etch-pits formed during natural weathering of olivine

Many etch-pits on olivine grains occur as a pair of cone-shaped pits sharing a base, which consequently appear as diamond-shaped etch-pits in cross-section. Quantitative image analysis of back-scattered electron images establishes empirical dimensions of olivine etch-pits in naturally weathered samp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied geochemistry 2011-06, Vol.26, p.S112-S114
Main Authors: Nowicki, M. Anna, Velbel, Michael A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
geochemistry
image analysis
scanning electron microscopy
weathering
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Summary:Many etch-pits on olivine grains occur as a pair of cone-shaped pits sharing a base, which consequently appear as diamond-shaped etch-pits in cross-section. Quantitative image analysis of back-scattered electron images establishes empirical dimensions of olivine etch-pits in naturally weathered samples from Hawaii and North Carolina. Images of naturally etched olivine were acquired from polished thin-sections by scanning electron microscopy. An average cone-radius-to-height ratio ( r: h) of 1.78 was determined for diamond-shaped cross-sections of etch-pits occurring in naturally weathered olivine grains, largely consistent with previous qualitative results. Olivine etch-pit shape as represented by r: h varies from slightly more than half the average value to slightly more than twice the average. Etch-pit shape does not appear to vary systematically with etch-pit size.
ISSN:0883-2927
1872-9134
DOI:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.043