ampholite
English
Etymology
Blend of amphibole + olivine + -ite. Coined by A. E. Ringwood (1930–1993), Australian geophysicist, in 1962 in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
Noun
ampholite (plural ampholites)
- (geology) Any of a class of metamorphic rock composed mainly of amphibole and olivine.
- Coordinate term: pyrolite
- [1962 October, A. E. Ringwood, “A Model for the Upper Mantle, 2”, in Journal of Geophysical Research, volume 67, number 11, DOI:, page 4476:
- It seems possible that the characteristic hydrated minerals of the postulated assemblage would be amphiboles and that the metamorphic grade in the top 20 km of the oceanic mantle might correspond roughly to various subfacies within the amphibolite facies. A convenient name for these hypothetical rock types would be ‘ampholite’ or amphibole-olivine rock.]
- 1984, Nonna Bakun-Czubarow, Jacek Leliwa-Kopystyński, “Hypothetical Phase Transformations in the Earth's Mantle”, in Jacek Leliwa-Kopystyński, Roman Teisseyre, editors, Constitution of the Earth's Interior (Physics and Evolution of the Earth's Interior; 1), New York, NY: Elsevier, →ISBN, page 300:
- The primitive nondifferentiated matter of the Earth's upper mantle may appear in the form of four varieties of pyrolite (plagioclase, spinel, pyroxene, or garnet pyrolite) or ampholite. The main minerals of pyrolite are olivine and pyroxenes, while ampholite is composed of olivine and amphibole.
Related terms
- amphibole
- amphibolite
See also
- ampholyte