Chemical Fingerprint of Quartz Crystals Sampled at Windgallenhutte, Switzerland

Abstract

The spatial distribution of chemical impurities in hydrothermal quartz crystals documents the evolution of their host hydrothermal fluids and offers potential insights into their post-crystallization thermal histories. Four distinct temperature regimes have been identified across the Swiss Alps by Mullis and colleagues (1994; 2009), and offer an ideal setting for examining the effect of external variables on the uptake of hydrous impurities in vein quartz. The purpose of this study was to present infrared spectroscopic analyses on a series of crystals extracted from a single vein from Windgallenhutte, Switzerland, located in the Aar massif as identified in Mullis et al. (1994).