Guttulatic calcite: A carbonate microtexture that reveals frigid formation conditions

The paragenesis of carbonate pseudomorphic textures in the rock record that are inferred to represent replaced metastable ikaite (CaCO3·6H2O), which forms at frigid temperatures, is uncertain. Petrographic analysis of Mono Lake (California, USA) Pleistocene tufas allowed recognition of a distinctive calcite microtexture, termed guttulatic calcite, that forms during carbonate dehydration and is diagnostic for precursor ikaite. The texture is characterized by pseudo-hexagonal or spherical low-Mg cores, which likely formed initially as vaterite, with an ellipsoidal overgrowth, and a secondary high-Mg sparry or micritic cement. Observations of Mono Lake ikaite pseudomorphs, combined with a review of more ancient examples, indicate that guttulatic texture records carbonate dehydration of precursor ikaite and can be used to infer frigid paleotemperatures.