Minerals in natural environments can undergo recrystallization reactions with surrounding fluids after formation in which the mineral structure is preserved but the morphology, trace element content, and isotopic composition can be altered. Understanding the occurrence and driving forces of these reactions is important for using the elemental and isotopic compositions of minerals as proxies to interpret past conditions on Earth. In many cases, minerals such as calcite, barite, and iron oxides can undergo extensive recrystallization reactions, in which atoms in the bulk structure exchange with atoms in solution. Studying these process in the laboratory is often time intensive, as these recrystallization reactions can take place over hundreds of days. In this work, we examined the extent to which halite (NaCl) could be used a proxy to study recrystallization due to its faster dissolution and precipitation kinetics. We used <sup>22</sup>Na as an isotopic tracer to study the recrystallization of halite in saturated Na solutions, and examined the effect of surface area, impurities, surface roughness, and aging of the mineral.  Results from these experiments will help us understand the driving force for mineral recrystallization, hopefully improving our understanding of recrystallization for other mineral systems.<br/>

Using NaCl as a model system to study stable mineral recrystallization

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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