Oxygen diffusion in garnet: Experimental calibration and implications for timescales of metamorphic processes and retention of primary O isotopic signatures

Knowledge of oxygen diffusion in garnet is crucial for a correct interpretation of oxygen isotope signatures in natural samples. A series of experiments was undertaken to determine the diffusivity of oxygen in garnet, which remains poorly constrained. The first suite included high-pressure (HP), nominally dry experiments performed in piston-cylinder apparatus at: (1) T = 1050-1600 degrees C and P = 1.5 GPa and (2) T = 1500 degrees C and P = 2.5 GPa using yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG; Y3Al5O12) cubes. Second, HP H2O-saturated experiments were conducted at T = 900 degrees C and P = 1.0-1.5 GPa, wherein YAG crystals were packed into a YAG + Corundum powder, along with O-18-enriched H2O. Third, 1 atm experiments with YAG cubes were performed in a gas-mixing furnace at T = 1500-1600 degrees C under Ar flux. Finally, an experiment at T = 900 degrees C and P = 1.0 GPa was done using a pyrope cube embedded into pyrope powder and O-18-enriched H2O. Experiments using grossular were not successful.