DIFFUSION IN ACCESSORY MINERALS AND CONSTRAINTS ON TIMESCALES OF GEOLOGIC PROCESSES (Invited Presentation)

Much progress has been made in the past few decades in measuring diffusion in accessory minerals. These determinations provide important constraints on thermal histories, the timing of geological events and processes, conditions for alteration of isotope ratios and trace-element signatures, and the formation and preservation of zoning. This presentation will provide an overview of diffusion rates in accessory minerals, with implications of these findings addressed in terms of their influence on the interpretation of thermal histories and geochemical signatures, and consideration of the roles of various factors, such as radiation damage and crystal-chemical properties, in affecting diffusivities.