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Halogens are critical elements for transporting metals in hydrothermal solution and tracing the sources of fluids and volatiles in subduction zones. This study tested the suitability of LA-ICPMS for simultaneous measurement of Cl, Br and I with selected trace elements in altered gabbros recovered from the Atlantis Bank core complex close to the SW Indian Ridge. The aim was to better understand the causes of I-enrichment in low temperature carbonate and Fe-oxyhydroxide alteration, which is intensely developed in core recovered from between ~100 and ~600 mbsf down Hole U1473A drilled during Expedition 360 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). The analysis of reference materials including scapolites, Durango apatite, USGS and NIST reference glasses and volcanic glasses demonstrate Cl, Br and I can be measured in most minerals, but accuracy is limited by matrix dependent laser backgrounds (false signals of Cl, Br and I generated during sample ablation). Silicate reference glasses define reproducible 'laser backgrounds' of ~320 μg/g Cl and ~1.7 μg/g Br that point to limits of quantification of ~200 μg/g Cl and ~1 μg/g Br in silicate glasses after correction for laser backgrounds. In contrast, laser backgrounds are much lower and possibly negligible for carbonate, suggesting limits of quantification as low as ~50 μg/g Cl and 0.1 μg/g for Br, dependent on instrument sensitivity. Laser backgrounds for I varied between minerals and analytical sessions, there was no laser background for I in apatite and under favourable conditions silicate glasses have laser backgrounds of <1 μg/g. In addition to the laser backgrounds, we report a correction for interference of doubly charged rare earth elements on Br measurement, which significantly improves data quality for some samples. The Atlantis Bank alteration minerals investigated include calcite veins and Fe-oxyhydroxide, which is intermixed with, and cut by veinlets of, calcite and smectite. The Fe-oxyhydroxide contains 100 s–1000s μg/g Cl, 10s μg/g Br and 5–30 μg/g I and it is strongly enriched in other trace elements including B and As. Most calcite veins contain <100–200 μg/g Cl, <0.4–0.9 μg/g Br and 5–26 μg/g I. Among the halogens, I is uniquely correlated with divalent cations in calcite including Mg and Sr, consistent with its incorporation into the carbonate lattice as iodate. In most cases smectite contains less I than coexisting calcite or Fe-oxyhydroxide, but three smectite grains in one sample are exceptionally enriched with 150–240 μg/g I. The in situ analyses support the attribution of exceptional iodine enrichment of Atlantis Bank lithologies to preferential adsorption of iodate over halides by Fe-oxyhydroxides and subsequent remobilisation with preferential fixing of iodate in carbonate-dominated alteration. The data demonstrate the utility of LA-ICPMS for in situ halogen studies. Iodine in carbonate veins can provide information about fluid oxidation state and fluid-rock reaction history. However, further work is required to test if Cl and Br in carbonate can provide information about fluid sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apatite may be a common accessory mineral in coal seams, but interpretation of its origins can vary from syndepositional mineral detritus, early precipitation during diagenesis, and post coalification precipitation and replacement from hydrothermal or other fluids. It is hypothesised that paragenesis is reflected in the modes of occurrence in different stratigraphic units of the Late Permian in the Bowen Basin. From samples analysed in this study, apatite in the youngest unit, the Rangal Coal Measures, most commonly occurs as pore-apatites (i.e. apatites infilling preserved plant cell cavities of fusinite and semifusinite macerals and commonly associated with kaolinite) and less commonly as fracture-apatites (i.e. apatites infilling micro-fractures) and detrital-apatites intermixed with the organic coal layers (Detrital-B). In the tuffaceous Fort Cooper Coal Measures and equivalents, apatite occurs more commonly as detrital-apatites intermixed with the lithic layers (Detrital-A) (Detrital. Within the basal unit, the Moranbah Coal Measures and its equivalents, the mode is commonly encrusting-apatites (i.e. small apatite crystallites encrusting silicate minerals). Almost all apatites in the coal samples tested by electron microprobe microanalysis (EPMA), regardless of stratigraphic location and mode, are fluorapatite. Although there are some locality-driven enrichments, the minor and trace-element chemistry vary more so by mode of occurrence. For comparison, apatites from dykes intersecting the coal measures and from tuffs were also added to the study. These had lower fluorine (F) but measurable chlorine (Cl) contents and are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE), similar to the Durango apatite that is of magmatic origins. Most of the detrital-A apatites are also enriched in LREE similar to the tuff-apatites, but with variable enrichment in the rare earth and yttrium elements. Detrital-B apatites have minimal Cl but also show the magmatic LREE trend. The pore- and fracture-apatites exhibited two trends. In the samples from tuffaceous coals (e.g., Fort Cooper Coal Measures), the pore- and fracture apatites tended to follow the magmatic LREE trend. In the Rangal Coal Measures, the pore- and fracture-apatites have elevated F contents, minimal Cl contents and depleted LREE contents (or Middle REE enrichment). Depletion of LREE could occur through leaching in an acidic environment, which is suggested by the abundance of kaolinite. Apatite precipitates under more neutral conditions although pore-apatites are commonly considered "early" and fracture-apatites "late" or post coalification. Their geochemical similarity suggests they have similar fluid origins and/or timing, with geothermal fluids moving through the porosity afforded by the structured inertinite group macerals and fractures. Verification of that geothermal source still requires further work and a technique that can analyse the isotopic composition—e.g., carbon (13C/12C), oxygen (18O/16O) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr)—of micron-sized crystals in situ. • Four primary modes of apatite occurrence were observed: pore and fracture infill, detrital (in organics and lithics), and encrusting • All apatites analysed by EPMA, regardless of mode, are fluorapatites. • The trace elements from EPMA REY patterns from LA-ICPMS differentiated by mode of occurrence • Results suggest the pore and fracture apatites precipitated or were geochemically over-printed by similar or same fluids. • Verification of source and timing requires the ability to date small (<10 μm) apatite crystals in situ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]