Features of metamict zircons based on their micrographs and the data of electron microprobe analysis

A new quantitative approach on the basis of joint probability distribution (JPD) analysis of BSE- and CL-images is proposed for studies of the zoning of polygenic (polychronous) grains of zircon. It was shown for the example of zircon of the Mugodzhar metamorphic rocks (South Ural) that a series of zones might be distinguished in the grains of high chemical (structural) heterogeneity. Zones Ia and Ib belong to the fragments of crystalline and radiation-damaged zircon, respectively. Zone II corresponds to the primarily disordered areas (the “genetically metamict” zones) of high concentrations of the impurities of Y, P, REE, U, Hf, etc. The Ia-Ic trend is related to the process of autoradiation metamictization. Based on the data on oxygen content, the declinations of zircon composition from the stoichiometry and the hydration effects were considered.