High-pressure and temperature behaviour and crystal fluid interactions in heulandite, laumontite and belbergite

While the high-pressure and high-temperature behavior of natural zeolites has been intensively studied in the last decades by several researchers, to the best of our knowledge, no in-situ X-ray diffraction studies have been performed combining the effects of both. Experiments at these conditions could have crucial geological implications: during the early stages of the diagenetic process (i.e., zeolite facies), both pressure (P) and temperature (T) increase, following different thermal gradient (e.g., about 25°C/Km for the first few kilometers of the continental crust). In this proposal, we want to perform simultaneous high-T and high-P conditions in diamond anvil cell (DAC), using H2O-based mixtures as P-transmitting fluids. This will allow to study the in-situ, the PT-driven adsorption and desorption mechanisms of H2O, the most important geological fluid, in 3 natural zeolites , namely laumontite, heulandite and belbergite.