The determination of the cation distribution in olivine from single crystal Mössbauer studies

Abstract

Mossbauer absorption spectra of different orientations of single crystals of olivine (MgFe)₂SiO₄ have been determined. The variation of the ratio of peak areas of the quadrupole split lines has allowed the M(1) and M(2) site positions of the Fe²⁺ ions to be identified, and has shown that the Fe²⁺ ions are evenly distributed between these sites.