Occurrence of zeolites from Terra Victoria Land (Antarctica)

We report the first study on zeolite minerals occuring in rocks from the Antarctic continent. the following zeolites were identified: heulandite, mordenite, erionite, levyne, chabazite, thomsonite, scolecite, epistilbiite. The microprobe analyses show that most Antarctica zeolites are richer in Si and monovalent cations with respect to the hydrothermal zeolites reported in literature. The chemical analysis and the X-ray diffraction pattern of an unidentified phase from Mt. Adamson with zeolitic characteristics are also reported.