Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy,
Linkam Scientific Instruments report the use of their 1400°C high temperature
stage to study silicate melt inclusions in the Fluids Research Group of the
Geosciences Department at Virginia Tech.
Researchers in the Fluids Research Group at Virginia Tech are concerned with
the distribution, properties and role of fluids in and on the Earth, from its
surface (shallow Earth's crust) to its deep interior (Earth's mantle). One of
the research goals is to understand how volcanoes erupt. The volatile (H2O,
CO2, SO2, etc.) content of a magma chamber beneath a volcano is of paramount
importance because it determines the energy of the volcanic eruption. Magmas
with high volatile contents tend to produce explosive, violent eruptions (like
the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii), whereas magmas with lower
volatile contents tend to produce more quiescent lava flows (like those in
Hawaii). If the volatile content of the magma beneath a volcano can be
predicted, then it is possible to predict the style of future eruptions and use
this information in risk assessments.
The only direct way to determine what the volatile content in the magma chamber
was before an eruption is by measuring the volatile content in melt inclusions
(MI). MI are droplets of melt entrapped during the growth of a crystal in a
magma chamber. It is only possible to determine the volatile content of the MI
if it remains as a homogeneous quenched melt (glass) as it cools following
eruption from the magma chamber. Unfortunately, MI are often found partially or
totally recrystallized. Thus, with some exceptions, one cannot analyze a MI to
obtain a representative composition of the volatile content of the melt.
However, a crystallized melt inclusion can be heated in a controllable
temperature stage to re-melt the contents and then rapidly quench the MI to a
homogenous glassy state. In this process, the volatiles are dissolved back into
the melt and the quenched glass will have the same volatile abundance as it did
at the moment of entrapment in the magma chamber.
Professor Bob Bodnar acquired the very first prototype Linkam high temperature
X-Y stage for the Fluids Research Laboratory at Virginia Tech about 15 years
ago and has pioneered its use in many papers in the intervening years. Used in
conjunction with other techniques to homogenise samples, the current Linkam
TS1400 X-Y stages provide a number of experimental advantages over other stages
or test methods. The group also uses the Linkam THMS600 stages, one in
conjunction with a JY Horiba Raman spectrometer.
Speaking about his use of the Linkam TS1400 stages, PhD student Rosario
Esposito says "I find it is much easier to mount and remove samples using
the Linkam stage compared to other stages I have used. The Linkam stage is also
furnished with an automatic heating/cooling rate controller whereas other
temperature control systems have to be manually controlled. The Linkam TS1400
X-Y stage has excellent optics making it easier to observe the various phase
changes in the melt inclusions during heating. The advent of the Linkam stage
has led to many more high quality photographs appearing in the literature
showing the behaviour of melt inclusions during heating."
The Linkam TS1400 X-Y stage has a ceramic tube heater which completely encases
the sample in a uniform temperature controlled environment enabling high
accuracy control up to 1400°C within a gas sealed chamber. Samples are mounted
on a sapphire sample slide that can be moved up to 6mm in X and Y directions to
better explore the sample. Fluid inclusion geologists (like the Bodnar Group)
and material scientists interested in high speed quench cooling can add a
special manipulator that enables rapid transfer from the heater to a much
colder platform resulting in ultra-fast cooling rates of up to 240°C per
second.
Visit the
Linkam website today and learn about the broad range
of applications in the field of temperature controlled microscopy.
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