67E L E M E N T S FEBRUARY 2008

The Société Française de Minéralogie et deCristallographie held a very unique workshopon serpentines in Grenoble on October 10–12,2007. Organized by Anne-Marie Boullier andStéphane Guillot, the meeting was supportedby the Observatory of Sciences of the Universe(OSUG) of the Joseph Fourier University and theCNRS. It gathered about 45 participants fromFrance, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.

The two-day scientific program started with alecture by Annick Loiseau (Aerospace Labora-tory ONERA) on the structure and properties ofcarbon nanotubes and on serpentines showingsimilarities with such compounds. A series oflectures dealing with remarkable aspects of min-eralogical and high-resolution crystallographicinvestigations provided new insights into thestructure of serpentine minerals, particularly thenew variety of polyhedral “onion” serpentine.

Serpentine rheology and dehydration behaviorwere discussed for high- to ultrahigh pressuremetamorphic conditions and for subductionzone conditions, with examples from recentmountain ranges (Himalayas, Alps) and theCaribbean. Several contributions concernedspecific serpentine types found in low-gradeconditions and faults in ophiolite suites (e.g.Western Alps, Apennines, Greece). The presen-tations covered various topics related to ser-pentization and subduction zone processes:geochemistry, microstructures, large-scale

models and others. In addition, lectures weregiven on the geophysical, petrological, geo-chemical and isotopic features of serpentiniza-tion in oceanic peridotites, with wonderfulexamples from sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridgethat were investigated during the recentoceanographic cruises ODP-Leg 209, Serpen-tine and MoMardream. The session ended withtalks on experiments and modeling studiesrelated to the current problem of CO2 budget

and with a consideration of environmentalimplications. All contributions offered oppor-tunities for exciting discussions about thedynamic processes, fluids paths and fluxes, andmass transfer involved in serpentine formationand evolution. But the debate was not yet over.

On the third day, a beautiful sunny day,Stéphane Guillot took the group to the impressive496 Ma Chamrousse ophiolite. Lying on ametamorphic sole, the ophiolite complex displaysFe–Ti-gabbros, plagiogranites, amphibolites,basaltic sills, mylonitic gabbros, serpentinites,and a chromite pod. It was a spectacular spotfor more stimulating discussions.

More information and photographs are availableat http://www-lgit.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr/Produc-tion_scientifique/colloques/serp07/serpen-tines2007.html.

Related websites: (1) http://www.ifremer.fr/ser-pentine/, (2) http://interridge.org/node/225

Anne Marie Karpoff

The 14th meeting of the Petrology Group washeld according to tradition during the thirdweekend of October (18–21 October) and wasorganized by Lukasz Karwowski, JustynaCiesielczuk, and Jolanta Burda from the Uni-versity of Silesia. The main topic of the meetingwas orogenic and platform granitoids. The meet-ing was held at Bukowina Tatrzanska, a beauti-ful village in the Podhale area (Carpathians).

The meeting brought together 95 participants,including 20 from abroad (Slovakia, CzechRepublic, Austria, Ireland, Egypt, Nigeria). Duringthe two days of the meeting, 27 lectures and 44posters were presented. The first presentation,given by Wojciech Narebski, was devoted to

the memory of Professor Witold ·Zabinski. Theplenary lectures, which were related to the mainsubject of the meeting, had the following titles:“Orogenic Granitic Magmatism in the WesternCarpathians – 500 Ma History: A Review”(Milan Kohút); “Mafic and Felsic Magma Inter-action in Granites: The Hercynian KarkonoszePluton” (Ewa Slaby and Hervé Martin); “TheRole of Typomorphic Accessory Minerals in theVariscan Granitic Suites of the Western Carpathi-ans” (Igor Broska and Pavel Uher); “The SouthBohemian Pluton: A Review of a MulticompositeBatholith within the Central European VariscanBelt” (Urs Klötzli); “Real Outcrops, PreciseMachine Data, and Models for Granite Genesis:Where Does Certainty Come into It” (PádhraigKennan).

Two field trips held during the third day of themeeting concerned the petrology of the HighTatra granite (led by Jola Burda) and the evolutionof the Podhale Basin (led by Jan Srodon). Bothfield trips ended in a highlander-style restaurant.Extended abstracts of all presentations are con-tained in volume 31 of Mineralogia Polonica –Special Papers.

Next year’s meeting will be held in September(please note the change from tradition) becausewe plan to hold it jointly with the 2nd Central-European Mineralogical Conference. The con-ference will be accompanied by a workshop andseveral pre- and post-conference field tripsfocused on mineralogy, petrology, and the geo-logical evolution of the Sudetes Mountains andthe Fore-Sudetic Block (www.cemc.agh.edu.pl).

Zbigniew Sawlowicz

Alain Baronnet (CRMCN, Marseille) showing beautifulHRTEM images of serpentines

Françoise Boudier (Université Montpellier) showing a col-orful olivine in antigorite schist from Moses Rock kimberlite(Colorado Plateau)

Participants at the University of Grenoble meeting place,with A.M. Boullier (front, fifth from right) and StéphaneGuillot (front, sixth from right)

SERPENTINE WORKSHOP, GRENOBLE, FRANCE

MEETING REPORTS

Field trip participants in the snow on the High Tatra granite

14th MEETING OF THE PETROLOGY GROUP OF THE MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY OF POLAND

Organizing Committee at work – From left to right,Jolanta Burda, Lukasz Karwowski, Justyna Ciesielczuk

68E L E M E N T S FEBRUARY 2008

Publication ForumParting ShotMEETING REPORTS

On October 28–31, 2007, the MineralogicalSociety of America (MSA) and the AccademiaNazionale dei Lincei (with financial supportfrom the International Union of Crystallogra-phy and the European Mineralogical Union)put on a short course entitled Amphiboles:Crystal Chemistry, Occurrence and HealthIssues, in Rome, Italy, in the beautiful settingof the Palazzo Corsini, headquarters of theAccademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Forty partici-pants listened to lectures covering all aspectsof amphiboles, from their crystallography totheir importance in affecting human health.They received a beautifully produced volumeof Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry

(volume 67, 545 pages) covering the topics of the course. The proceed-ings ran like clockwork, thanks to the staff of the Accademia Nazionaledei Lincei who provided organizational and logistic support. The course wasorganized by G. Della Ventura, F.C. Hawthorne, A. Mottana, andR.Oberti, who also edited the accompanying RIMG volume.

The approach taken in this course was somewhat different from thatusually taken for mineral groups: the focus was on the properties ofamphiboles and the role of amphiboles in geological environments(rather than on experimental techniques), and the results of experimen-tal techniques were integrated into each focus area. Talks were given byC. Cipriani (history of amphibole studies), F.C. Hawthorne (overview ofamphibole crystal chemistry, and short-range order with implicationsfor amphibole stability), R. Oberti (amphibole classification and nomen-

clature, and long-range order), G. Della Ventura (new amphibole com-positions), M. Welch and F. Càmara (in situ HP/HT studies of amphi-boles and phase transitions), B. Evans (synthesis and stability of someend-member amphiboles), W. Maresch (reaction paths in amphibolesynthesis), R.F. Martin (igneous amphiboles, with particular emphasison tectonic environment), J. Schumacher (composition and coexistenceof metamorphic amphiboles), and M. Gunter and A. Mottana (the impactof asbestiform amphiboles on the environment and human health). Thefinal dinner was a gustatory delight and was enlivened by the announce-ment that three of the lecturers had been honored by MSA: BernardEvans is to receive the Roebling Medal, and both Mark Welch and Gian-carlo Della Ventura were elected Fellows of MSA.

Frank HawthorneUniversity of Manitoba

The MSA/GS short course Fluid–Fluid Equilibria in the Crust was held inCologne, Germany, on August 16 and 17, 2007, prior to the Gold-schmidt Conference. Forty-three scientists from academic and govern-ment institutions in 13 countries attended the short course; approxi-mately half of them were graduate students. The short course wasorganized and convened by Axel Liebscher (Berlin, Germany) andChristoph Heinrich (Zürich, Switzerland). They also edited the Reviewsin Mineralogy and Geochemistry Series volume 65, entitled Fluid–FluidInteractions, which was handed out to each of the participants. Besidesreceiving support from the Mineralogical Society of America and theGeochemical Society, the short course was sponsored by the Geo-ForschungsZentrum Potsdam and the U.S. Department of Energy. Gen-erous financial support from the latter kept student fees low, enablingmore students to attend.

Axel Liebscher started the short course with awelcome and a general introduction on theprinciples of fluid–fluid systems. This was fol-lowed by presentations on fluid inclusions(Bob Bodnar) and equations of state (MatthiasGottschalk). The afternoon featured presenta-tions on hydrocarbon systems (Bernd Krooß),liquid immiscibility in anhydrous silicate meltsystems (Alan B. Thompson), hydrous melt–HPfluid systems (Alistair Hack), and metamor-phic systems (Wilhelm Heinrich). The presen-tation by Heinrich was one of the most excitingones. He demonstrated that fluid immiscibil-ity plays a significant role in metamorphicprocesses, a fact that was and still is more or

less ignored in many petrological studies, e.g. on contact metamorphicaureoles. Consequently, a number of earlier studies would need reinter-pretation. At the end of the day, dinner in a local brewery gave the par-ticipants the chance to observe in situ fluid phase separation processesin the local Kölsch beer.

Insightful presentations on fluid–fluid interaction in oceanic (DionysisFoustoukos), geothermal (Andri Stefánsson), and volcanic (Jim Webster)systems opened the second day. Of these, Stefánsson’s fascinating pres-entation on geothermal systems in Iceland and elsewhere showed howthe scientific understanding of such complex fluid–rock systems is ofincreasing economic interest. After lunch, Christoph Heinrich and ThomasDriesner made a combined presentation on fluid–fluid interaction inmagmatic-hydrothermal ore formation processes and the numerical mod-eling of fluid flow in such systems. The short course ended with the pres-entation of useful computer programs for the study of fluid–fluid systems.

I found this two-day short course insightful and exciting, and I waspleased that sufficient time was provided for discussions with experi-enced colleagues. I also would like to thank the two organizers and theirteam for giving us two amazing days before attending the GoldschmidtConference.

Michael MarksUniversität Tübingen, Germany (michael.marks@uni-tuebingen.de)

ANL-MSA SHORT COURSE ON AMPHIBOLES

FLUID–FLUID EQUILIBRIA IN THE CRUST

You can read other meeting reports in this issue on pages 51, 53, 55, 57, 62 and 66.