Morphological Characteristics of Zircons from Khondalite-Charnockite Assemblages of South Kerala, India

Description and size data are presented for zircons separated from Precambrian rocks of south Kerala, comprising garnet-sillimanite-graphite gneiss (khondalite), charnockite, garnet-biotite gneiss and garnet-Quartz-feldspar neosome.

Zircons from khondalite are rounded, do not show much overgrowth features and are typical of granulites of sedimentary parentage. Zircons in charnockite show unimodal frequency curves and self-nucleated RMA nature. suggestive of magmatic origin. Those from garnet-biotite gneisses do not show any linear. RMA trends, and the terminally rounded zircons in them do not show any angle between length and c-axis suggesting a mixed source. Zircons from garnet-quartz-feldspar neosome show features, suggestive of migmatitic origin.