Beryllium in Granulite-Facies Pegmatites in Archean Napier Complex, Antarctica

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This award, provided by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, supports participation of a researcher from the University of Maine in an expedition of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) to study beryllium enriched minerals in Enderby Land. Beryllium is a rare element in crustal rocks and enrichments are especially unusual in granulite-facies (high temperature and pressure, and relatively dry conditions) metamorphic rocks. This project focuses on unique beryllium-enriched pegmatites in the Archean ultra-high temperature (up to 1000 degrees C) granulite-facies Napier Complex in eastern Casey Bay, Enderby Land, East Antarctica. The primary objective is to test the hypothesis that the beryllium originated in the metasediments hosting the pegmatites rather than being a component of a pegmatitic magma. Field work will be conducted during the 1998/99 austral field season in Enderby Land as a part of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition's project entitled "Structure and Evolution of East Antarctic Lithosphere". Mineral and rock compositions will be used to determine the evolution and conditions of crystallization of the pegmatites and their host rocks. The results of the project will provide some important insights on the geochemical behavior of beryllium under the high temperatures and low water activities characteristic of the granulite facies.