Mesoscopic structure of marble determined by combined USANS and SANS

Marbles, carbonatic (i.e. calcitic–dolomitic) rocks deriving from the metamorphic evolution of previous carbonates, are often rather similar to each other in many respects (i.e. mineralogical, physical–structural and chemical), and thus difficult to identify. In search for a diagnostic method to provenance marbles, we have selected a limited number of Italian white marbles representing a wide array of metamorphic (i.e. thermal) levels. The mesoscale structural arrangement of these samples was derived by means of combined Ultra Small Angle and Small Angle Neutron Scattering experiments. The parameters of the model used to fit the data have been correlated with the metamorphic history of the …