Reworking of deep-seated gabbros and associated contact metamorphosed paragneisses in the southeastern part of the Seiland Igneous Province, northern Norway

The Seiland Igneous Province of the North Norwegian Caledonides consists of a suite of deep-seated rift-related magmatic rocks emplaced into paragneisses during late Precambrian to Ordovician time. In the south-eastern part of the province, contact metamorphism of the paragneisses and later reworking of intrusives and associated contact aureoles have resulted in the development of three successive metamorphic stages. The contact metamorphic assemblage (M1) Opx + Grt + Qtz + Pl + Kfs + Hc + Ilm ± Crd is preserved in xenolithic rafts of paragneiss within metagabbro. Geothermobarometric calculations yield 930-960d? C and 5-6.5 kbar for the contact metamorphism. M1 was followed by cooling, accompanied by strong shearing, formation of the gneiss foliation and recrystallization at intermediate-P granulite facies conditions (M2). Stable M2 phases are Cpx + Opx + Pl +Ilm ± Hbl in metagabbro and Grt ± Sil ± Opx + Kfs + Qtz + Pl ± Bt + Ilm in host paragneiss. The M2 conditions are estimated to 700-750d? C and 5-7 kbar. A subsequent pressure increase is recorded in the M3 episode, which is associated with recrystallization in narrow ductile shear zones and secondary growth on M2 minerals. M3 is defined by the assemblages Grt + Cpx ± Opx + Pl + Ru + Qtz in metagabbro, and Grt ± Ky + Qtz + Pl ± Kfs + Bt + Ru in host paragneiss. M3 conditions are estimated to 650-700d? C and 8-10 kbar. The substantial pressure increase related to the M2 → M3 transition is interpreted to be a result of (early?) Caledonian overthrusting. Chemical zoning in cordierite and biotite suggest rapid cooling following the M3 event. The proposed P-T-t evolution implies that the tectonic evolution of the Seiland Igneous Province was long (at least 330 Ma) and complex and involved initial rifting and extension followed by crustal thickening and compression.     

Ultra-high-temperature metamorphism and multistage decompressional evolution of sapphirine granulites from the Palni Hill Ranges, southern India

Sapphirine granulites from a new locality in the Palni Hill Ranges, southern India, occur in a small enclave of migmatitic, highly magnesian metapelites (mg=85–72) within massive enderbitic orthogneiss. They show a variety of multiphase reaction textures that partially overprint a coarse-grained high-pressure assemblage of Bt+Opx+Ky+Grt+Pl+Qtz. The sequence of reactions as deduced from the corona and symplectite assemblages, together with petrogenetic grid considerations, records a clockwise P–T evolution with four distinct stages. (1) Equilibration of the initial high-P assemblage in deep overthickened crust (12 kbar/800–900 °C) was followed by a stage of near-isobaric heating, presumably as a consequence of input of extra heat provided by the voluminous enderbitic intrusives. During heating, kyanite was converted to sillimanite, and biotite was involved in a series of vapour-phase-absent melting reactions, which resulted in the ultra-high-temperature assemblage Opx+Crd+Kfs+Spr±Sil, Grt, Qtz, Bt, coexisting with melt (equilibration at c. 950–1000° C/11–10 kbar). (2) Subsequently, as a result of decompression of the order of 4 kbar at ultra-high temperature, a sequence of symplectite assemblages (Opx+Sil+Spr/Spr+Crd→Opx+Spr+Crd→Opx+Crd→Opx+Crd+Spl/Crd+Spl) developed at the expense of garnet, orthopyroxene and sillimanite. This stage of near-isothermal decompression implies rapid ascent of the granulites into mid-crustal levels, possibly due to extensional collapse and erosion of the overthickened crust. (3) Development of late biotite through back-reaction of melt with residual garnet indicates a stage of near-isobaric cooling to c. 875 °C at 7–8 kbar, i.e. relaxation of the rapidly ascended crust to the stable geotherm. (4) A second period of near-isothermal exhumation up to c. 6–5 kbar/850 °C is indicated by the partial breakdown of late biotite through volatile phase-absent melting reactions. Available isotope data suggest that the early part of the evolutionary history (stages 1–3) is presumably coeval with the early Proterozoic metamorphism in the extended granulite terrane of the Nilgiri, Biligirirangan and Shevaroy Hills to the north, while the exhumation of the granulites from mid-crustal levels (stage 4) occurred only during the Pan-African thermotectonic event, which led to the accretion of the Kerala Khondalite Belt to the south.     

Regional-scale Grenvillian-age UHT metamorphism in the Mollendo–Camana block (basement of the Peruvian Andes)

The Mollendo–Camana Block (MCB) is a 50 × 150 km Precambrian inlier of the Andean belt that outcrops along the Pacific coast of southern Peru. It consists of stromatic migmatites of Paleoproterozoic heritage intensely metamorphosed during the Grenville event (c. 1 Ga; U‐Pb and U‐Th‐Pb ages on zircon and monazite). In the migmatites, aluminous mesosomes (FMAS) and quartzofeldspathic leucosomes (KFMASH), contain various amounts of K‐feldspar (Kfs), orthopyroxene (X_Mg Opx = 0.86), plagioclase (Pl), sillimanite (Sil; exceptionally kyanite, Ky) ilmenite (Ilm), magnetite (Mag), quartz (Qtz), and minor amounts of garnet (X_Mg Grt = 0.60), sapphirine (X_Mg Spr = 0.87), cordierite (X_Mg Crd = 0.92) and biotite (X_Mg Bt = 0.83). The ubiquitous peak mineral assemblage is Opx‐Sil‐Kfs‐Qtz‐(± Grt) in most of the MCB, which, together with the high Al content of orthopyroxene (10% Al₂O₃) and the local coexistence of sapphirine‐quartz, attest to regional UHT metamorphism (> 900 °C) at pressures in excess of 1.0 GPa. Fluid‐absent melting of biotite is responsible for the massive production of orthopyroxene that proceeded until exhaustion of biotite (and most of the garnet) in the southern part of the MCB (Mollendo‐Cocachacra areas). In this area, a first stage of decompression from 1.1–1.2 to 0.8–0.9 GPa at temperatures in excess of 950 °C, is marked by the breakdown of Sil‐Opx to Spr‐Opx‐Crd assemblages according to several bivariant FMAS reactions. High‐T decompression is also shown by Mg‐rich garnet being replaced by Crd‐Spr‐ and Crd‐Opx‐bearing symplectites, and reacting with quartz to produce low‐Al‐Opx‐Sil symplectites in quartz‐rich migmatites. Neither osumilite nor spinel‐quartz assemblages being formed, isobaric cooling at about 0.9 GPa probably followed the initial decompression and proceeded with massive precipitation of melts towards the (Os) invariant point, as demonstrated by Bt‐Qtz‐(± pl) symplectites in quartz‐rich migmatites (melt + Opx + Sil = Bt + Grt + Kfs + Qtz). Finally, Opx rims around secondary biotite attest to late fluid‐absent melting, compatible with a second stage of decompression below 900 °C. The two stages of decompression are interpreted as due to rapid tectonic denudation whereas the regional extent of UHT metamorphism in the area, probably results from large‐scale penetration of hot asthenospheric mantle at the base of an over‐thickened crust.     

Amphibolite to granulite transition in aluminous greywackes from the Sierra de Comechingones, Córdoba, Argentina

We discuss upper-amphibolite to granulite facies, early Palaeozoic metamorphism and partial melting of aluminous greywackes from the Sierra de Comechingones, SE Sierras Pampeanas of Central Argentina. Consistent P–T estimates, obtained from equilibria involving Al and Ti exchange components in biotite and from more traditional thermobarometric equilibria, suggest that peak metamorphism of the exposed section took place at an essentially constant pressure of 7–8 kbar, and at temperatures ranging from 650 to 950 °C. Mineral compositions record an initial decompression, after peak metamorphism, of c. 1.5 kbar, which was accompanied by a cooling of c. 100 °C. Upper-amphibolite facies gneisses consist of the assemblage Qtz+Pl+Bt+Grt+Rt/Ilm. The transition to the granulite facies is marked by the simultaneous appearance of the assemblage Kfs+Sil and of migmatitic structures, suggesting that the amphibolite to granulite transition in the Sierra de Comechingones corresponds to the beginning of melting. Rocks with structural and/or chemical manifestations of partial melting range from metatexites, to diatexites, to melt-depleted granulites, consisting of the assemblage Grt+Crd+Pl+Qtz+Ilm±Ath. The melting stage overlapped at least partially with decompression, as suggested by the occurrence of cordierite, in both the migmatites and the residual granulites, of two distinct textural types: idiomorphic porphyroblasts (probably representing peritectic cordierite) and garnet-rimming coronas. Metapelitic rocks are unknown in the Sierra de Comechingones. Therefore, it appears most likely that the Al-rich residual assemblages found in the migmatites and residual granulites were formed by partial melting of muscovite- and sillimanite-undersaturated metagreywackes. We propose a mechanism for this that relies on the sub-solidus stabilization of garnet and the ensuing changes in the octahedral Al content of biotite with pressure and temperature.     

Melt-producing and melt-consuming reactions in the Achankovil cordierite gneisses, South India

Migmatitic cordierite gneisses within the Achankovil Zone (AZ) of southern Pan‐African India record melt‐producing and subsequent melt‐consuming mineral reactions. Early mineral assemblages Bt‐Sil‐Qtz and Bt‐Sil‐Spl, deduced from inclusion textures in garnet prophyroblasts, break down via successive dehydration melting reactions to high‐T phase assemblages (e.g. Grt‐Crd‐Liq, Opx‐Liq, Spl‐Crd‐Liq). Later back reactions between the restite and the in situ crystallizing melt resulted in thin cordierite coronas separating garnet from the leucosome, and partial resorption of garnet to Opx‐Crd or Crd‐Bt‐Qtz symplectites. Leucosomes generally display a moderate (low‐strain gneisses) to strong (high‐strain gneisses) depletion of alkali feldspar attributed to mineral‐melt back reactions partly controlled by the degree of melt segregation. Using a KFMASH partial petrogenetic grid that includes a melt phase, and qualitative pseudosections for microdomains of high and low Al/Si ratios, the successive phase assemblages and reaction textures are interpreted in terms of a clockwise P–T path culminating at about 6–7 kbar and 900–950 °C. This P–T path is consistent with, but more detailed than published results, which suggests that taking a melt phase into account is not only a valid, but also a useful approach. Comparing P–T data and lithological and isotopic data for the AZ with adjacent East Gondwana fragments, suggests the presence of a coherent metasedimentary unit exposed from southern Madagascar via South India (AZ) and Sri Lanka (Wanni Complex) to the Lützow–Holm Bay in Eastern Antarctica.     

An example of ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism: orthopyroxene–sillimanite–garnet, sapphirine–quartz and spinel–quartz parageneses in Al–Mg granulites from In Hihaou, In Ouzzal, Hoggar

Quartz Al–Mg granulites exposed at In Hihaou, In Ouzzal (NW Hoggar), preserve an unusual high-grade mineral association stable at temperatures up to 1050°C, involving the parageneses orthopyroxene–sillimanite–garnet–quartz, sapphirine–quartz and spinel–quartz. The phase relationships within the FMAS system show that a continuum exists between the earlier prograde reaction textures and those of the later decompressive event. The following mineral reactions involving sillimanite are deduced: (1) Grt+Qtz→Opx+Sil, (2) Opx+Sil→Grt+Spr+Qtz, (3) Grt+Sil+Qtz→Crd, (4) Grt+Sil→Crd+Spr, (5) Grt+Sil+Spr→Crd+Spl, (6) Grt+Sil→Crd+Spl, (7) Grt+Crd+Sil→Spl+Qtz and (8) Grt+Sil→Spl+Qtz. Minerals in quartz Al–Mg granulites display compositional variations consistent with the observed reactions. The Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) range of the main minerals is as follows: cordierite (0.81–0.97), sapphirine (0.77–0.88), orthopyroxene (0.65–0.81), garnet (0.33–0.64) and spinel (0.23–0.56). The reaction textures and the evolution of the mineral assemblages in the quartz Al–Mg granulites indicate a clockwise P–T trajectory characterized by peak conditions of at least 10 kbar and 1050°C, followed by decompression from 10 to 6 kbar at a temperature of at least 900°C.     

Impact-induced melting of Archean granulites in the Vredefort Dome, South Africa. I: anatexis of metapelitic granulites

Mid‐crustal Archean pelitic granulites in the Vredefort Dome experienced a static, low‐P granulite facies overprint associated with the formation of the dome by meteorite impact at 2.02 Ga. Heating and exhumation were virtually instantaneous, with the main source of heat being provided by energy released from nonadiabatic decay of the impact shock wave. Maximum temperatures within a radius of a few kilometres of the centre of the structure exceeded 900 °C and locally even exceeded 1350 °C. This led to comprehensive melting of the precursor Archean granulite assemblages (Grt + Bt + Qtz + Pl + Ksp ± Crd ± Opx ± Sil) followed by peritectic crystallization of aluminous alkali feldspar+Crd + Spl ± Crn ± Sil parageneses and the segregation of small, evolved, biotite leucogranite bodies. However, at a distance of c. 6 km from the centre pre‐impact rock features are largely preserved, although partial replacement of garnet by symplectitic coronas of Crd + Opx ± Spl ± Pl and biotite by orthopyroxene indicate that peak temperatures approached 775 ± 50 °C. Thin interstitial moats of K‐feldspar are closely associated with the orthopyroxene coronas; they are interpreted as the remnants of low‐proportion partial melts generated by biotite breakdown. Both the textures and mineral compositional data support reduced equilibration volumes in these rocks, which reflect rapid isobaric cooling following shock heating and exhumation. The high temperatures and strong lateral thermal gradient are consistent with the modelled impact‐induced isotherm pattern for a 200–300 km diameter impact crater.     

High-temperature 'clockwise'P-T paths and melting in the development of regional migmatites: an example from southern Brittany, France

The Southern Brittany Migmatite Belt (SBMB), which evolved through the metamorphic peak between c. 400 Ma and c. . 370 Ma ago, consists of a heterogeneous suite of high-grade gneisses and anatectic migmatites, both metatexites and diatexites. Rare garnet-cordierite gneiss layers record evidence of an early prograde P-T path. In these rocks, growth-zoned garnet cores and a sequence of included mineral assemblages in garnet, from core to rim, of Qtz + Ilm + Ky, Pl + Ky + St + Rt + Bt and Pl + Sil + St + Rt + Bt constrain a prograde evolution during which the reactions Ilm + Ky + Qtz→ Aim + Rt, Ms + Chl→ St + Bt + Qtz + V and St + Qtz→ Grt + Sil + V were crossed. Parts of this prograde evolution are preserved as inclusion assemblages in garnet in all other rock types. In all rock types, garnet has reverse zoned rims, and garnet replacement by cordierite and/or biotite and plagioclase suggests the following reactions have occurred: Grt + Sil + Qtz→ Crd → Hc ± Ilm, Bt + Sil + Qtz → Crd ± Hc → Ilm → Kfs + V and (Na + Ca + K + Ti) + Grt → Bt + Pl + Qtz. Microstructural analysis of reaction textures in conjunction with a petrogenetic grid has enabled the construction of a tightly constrained 'clockwise' P–T path for the SBMB. The high-temperature part of the path has a steep dT/dP slope characteristic of near isothermal decompression. It is proposed that the P-T path followed by the SBMB is the result of the inversion, by overthrusting, of a back-arc basin and that such a tectonic setting may be applicable to other high-temperature migmatite terranes. The near isothermal decompression is at least partly driven by the upward (diapiric) movement of the diatexite/anatectic granite core of the SBMB.     

Partial melting and the formation of granulite facies assemblages in Namaqualand, South Africa

Abstract Dehydration-melting reactions, in which water from a hydrous phase enters the melt, leaving an anhydrous solid assemblage, are the dominant mechanism of partial melting of high-grade rocks in the absence of externally derived vapour. Equilibria involving melt and solid phases are effective buffers of aH₂,o. The element-partitioning observed in natural rocks suggests that dehydration melting occurs over a temperature interval during which, for most cases, aH₂o is driven to lower values. The mass balance of dehydration melting in typical biotite gneiss and metapelite shows that the proportion of melt in the product assemblage at T± 850°C is relatively small (10–20%), and probably insufficient to mobilize a partially melted rock body. Granulite facies metapelite, biotite gneiss and metabasic gneiss in Namaqualand contain coarse-grained, discordant, unfoliated, anhydrous segregations, surrounded by a finer grained, foliated matrix that commonly includes hydrous minerals. The segregations have modes consistent with the hypothesis that they are the solid and liquid products of the dehydration-melting reactions: Bt + Sil + Qtz + PI = Grt ° Crd + Kfs + L (metapelite), Bt + Qtz + Pl = Opx + Kfs + L (biotite gneiss), and Hbl + Qtz = Opx + Cpx + Pl + L (metabasic gneiss). The size, shape, distribution and modes of segregations suggest only limited migration and extraction of melt. Growth of anhydrous poikiloblasts in matrix regions, development of anhydrous haloes around segregations and formation of dehydrated margins on metabasic layers enclosed in migmatitic metapelites all imply local gradients in water activity. Also, they suggest that individual segregations and bodies of partially melted rock acted as sinks for soluble volatiles. The preservation of anhydrous assemblages and the restricted distribution of late hydrous minerals suggest that retrograde reaction between hydrous melt and solids did not occur and that H₂O in the melt was released as vapour on crystallization. This model, combined with the natural observations, suggests that it is possible to form granulite facies assemblages without participation of external fluid and without major extraction of silicate melt.     

A petrogenetic grid for aluminous granulite facies metapelites in the KFMASH system

Due to the retrograde cation exchange problems experienced by conventional geothermobarometers above their closure temperatures, petrogenetic grids are a potentially powerful alternative to unravelling the P–T evolution of ultrahigh‐T granulite terranes. A new qualitative KFMASH (K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O) petrogenetic grid for Mg–Al rich metapelites containing K‐feldspar, sillimanite and quartzofeldspathic melt that successfully accounts for the majority of assemblages composed of variations of sapphirine, spinel, garnet, orthopyroxene, cordierite, biotite and quartz is developed. Univariant reactions are predicted utilizing a newly derived ‘melt projection’ and these reactions are entirely consistent with algebraically calculated reaction coefficients obtained using a set of standard phase compositions. Based upon observations of commonly associated mineral assemblages in natural lithologies the [Spr, Spl], [Qtz, Spl], [Bt, Spl], [Opx, Spr], [Opx, Qtz] and [Bt, Opx] invariant points are assumed to be stable, whilst the [Grt, Spr], [Grt, Qtz], [Spr, Qtz] and [Crd, Qtz] are assumed to be metastable. Biotite‐bearing assemblages are confined to the lowest temperatures, and sapphirine + quartz to the highest temperatures. Orthopyroxene + sillimanite ± quartz assemblages are confined to the highest pressures, whilst spinel‐bearing assemblages are stabilized by lower pressures. The alternative choice of invariant point stability leads to significant differences between this grid and previously proposed topologies. Spinel cannot be stable along with the orthopyroxene and sillimanite assemblage as previously proposed. Further, more subtle differences in topology result from the treatment of H₂O in the chemographic projection used to deduce univariant reactions, and projecting from a water‐bearing quartzofeldspathic melt does not yield the same reaction coefficients as projection from H₂O. The new grid allows reinterpretation of previously proposed evolutionary P–T paths for Mg–Al rich granulites from the Napier Complex and Rauer Group, East Antarctica, and In Ouzzal, Algeria.     

P-T Conditions and the Influence of Graphite on Pelitic Phase Relations in the Ballachulish Aureole, Scotland

Pressure-temperature conditions of pelites in the Ballachulishaureole, Scotland, have been determined from a calibrated petrogeneticgrid and from published geothermometers and geobarometers. Tocalibrate the mineral reactions in the grid, thermodynamic datafor appropriate end members of Ms, Chi, Qtz, And, Sil, Ky, Crn,Crd, Kfs, and Bt were derived from experimental data. This approachwas hampered by the unknown compositions of many of the mineralsused in the experiments, and by apparent inconsistency betweenthe experiments. A best compromise grid that satisfies mostof the data was obtained, which is applicable to the Ballachulishand other contact aureoles. In this grid, the first developmentof sillimanite is constrained to lie between the Richardsonet al. (1969) and Holdaway (1971) andalusite-sillimanite boundaries. A pressure estimate of 3.0 + 0.5 kb is obtained from the calibratedgrid, within 0.3 kb of estimates from geobarometry and fromtwo other independent petrological studies. Temperatures rangedfrom 560?20?C at the first development of cordierite in theassemblage Ms+Qtz+Chl+Crd+Bt to 750–800?C in Grt+Crd+Hyassemblages in pelitic screens within the igneous complex. In graphitic slates, in contrast to non-graphitic pelites, anentire andalusite-bearing subzone is developed, and initialcordierite development occurs further from the igneous contacts.The presence of graphite lowered a_H2o in the slaters, expandingthe stability field of the andalusite-bearing assemblage And+Qtz+Bt+Ms+Crdrelative to the assemblage Kfs+Qtz+Bt+Ms+Crd developed in non-graphiticunits. Initial development of cordierite in the assemblage Ms+Qtz+Chl+Crd+Btwas also promoted by reduced a_H2o in graphitic slates. The regular sequence and spacing of mineral zones in the aureolesuggests that gross equilibrium was attained during contactmetamorphism, even though the thermal metamorphic pulse is estimatedto have been less than 0.2 Ma (Buntebarth, in press). Thereis no evidence for reaction overstepping in cordierite-producingreactions.     

P–T–fluid evolution in the Mahalapye Complex, Limpopo high-grade terrane, eastern Botswana

Metapelites, migmatites and granites from the c. 2 Ga Mahalapye Complex have been studied for determining the P–T–fluid influence on mineral assemblages and local equilibrium compositions in the rocks from the extreme southwestern part of the Central Zone of the Limpopo high‐grade terrane in Botswana. It was found that fluid infiltration played a leading role in the formation of the rocks. This conclusion is based on both well‐developed textures inferred to record metasomatic reactions, such as Bt ? And + Qtz + (K₂O) and Bt ± Qtz ? Sil + Kfs + Ms ± Pl, and zonation of Ms | Bt + Qtz | And + Qtz and Grt | Crd | Pl | Kfs + Qtz reflecting a perfect mobility (Korzhinskii terminology) of some chemical components. The conclusion is also supported by the results of a fluid inclusion study. CO₂ and H₂O ( = 0.6) are the major components of the fluid. The fluid has been trapped synchronously along the retrograde P–T path. The P–T path was derived using mineral thermobarometry and a combination of mineral thermometry and fluid inclusion density data. The Mahalapye Complex experienced low‐pressure granulite facies metamorphism with a retrograde evolution from 770 °C and 5.5 kbar to 560 °C and 2 kbar, presumably at c. 2 Ga.     

Formation of spinel-cordierite-feldspar-glass coronas after garnet in metapelitic xenoliths: reaction modelling and geodynamic implications

Spinel + cordierite + K‐feldspar + plagioclase + glass form coronas around garnet in metapelitic xenoliths at El Hoyazo and Mazarrón, two localities of the Neogene Volcanic Province (NVP) of SE Spain. The presence of fresh glass (quenched melt) in all phases shows that corona development occurred under partial melting conditions. Algebraic analysis of mass balance in the NCKFMASH system suggests the reaction Grt + Sil + Bt + Pl = Spl + Crd + Kfs + melt as the most plausible model for the development of coronas in the El Hoyazo sample, and indicates that biotite was required as reactant for the formation of cordierite. The P–T conditions for the formation of coronas are estimated at ～820 ± 50 °C, 4.5 ± 0.6 kbar at El Hoyazo, and ～820 ± 50 °C, 4.0 ± 0.4 kbar at Mazarrón. The El Hoyazo xenoliths record a complex P–T history, characterized by early melt production during heating and additional melting during decompression. A local cooling event characterized by minor retrograde reaction and melt crystallization preceded ascent and eruption. This study shows that detailed xenolith analysis may be used to track magma evolution in a chamber.     

A sequence of partial melting reactions at Mt Stafford, central Australia

Metasedimentary gneisses show a rapid change in grade in a 10  km wide low- P /high- T  regional aureole at Mt Stafford in the Arunta Block, central Australia. Migmatite occurs in all but the lowermost of five metamorphic zones, which grade from greenschist (Zone 1) through amphibolite (Zones 2–3) to granulite facies (Zones 4–5). The sequence of partial melting reactions inferred for metapelitic rocks is dependant upon protolith, temperature and fluid conditions. The metapelite solidus in Zone 2 reflects vapour-present melting at P ≈3  kbar and T  ≈640  °C, melting having initially been controlled by the congruent breakdown of the assemblage Crd–Kfs–Bt–Qtz. At slightly higher temperature, andalusite in leucosome formed via the reaction Kfs+Qtz+Bt+H₂O→And+melt; And+melt having been stabilized by the presence of boron. Sillimanite coaxially replaces andalusite in the high-grade portion of Zone 2. In Zone 3, large aluminosilicate aggregates in leucosome are armoured by Spl–Crd±Grt symplectites. Garnet partially pseudomorphs biotite, cordierite or spinel in high-grade portions of Zone 3. Zone 4 Grt–Crd–Opx-bearing metapsammite assemblages and garnet-bearing leucosome reflect T  ≈800  °C and P =2.2±0.9  kbar. In the model KFMASH system the principal vapour-absent melting step reflected significant modal changes related to the breakdown of the As–Bt tie-line and the establishment of the Spl–Crd tie-line; the bulk rock geochemistry of migmatite samples straddle the Spl–Crd tie-line. The aluminous bulk-rock composition of the common bedded migmatite restricted its potential to witness garnet-forming and orthopyroxene-forming reactions, minor textural and modal changes in and above Zone 3 reflecting biotite destablization in biotite-poor assemblages.     

Petrology and metamorphism of khondalites from the Jining complex,North China craton

The basement of the North China craton (NCC) can be divided into eastern and western blocks separating the Trans-North China orogen on the basis of petrologic associations, structures, metamorphic processes, and isotopic ages. Aluminous gneiss khondalites occur in the western block, and record a clockwise metamorphic P–T history characterized by nearly isothermal decompression following peak metamorphism at ca. 1.3 GPa and 825°C. Four metamorphic stages are recognized based on mineral assemblages. The early prograde metamorphic assemblage contains Ky+Bt+Ms+Grt+Pl+Qtz. The peak metamorphic mineral assemblage is characterized by Grt+Sil+Bt+Kfs+Pl+Qtz and the formation of cordierite after garnet, leading to a retrograde assemblage of Grt+Sil+Crd+Pl+Kfs+Qtz. Garnet retrogrades to biotite and the formation of pervasive matrix muscovite define a final metamorphic stage, inferred at ca. < 0.6 GPa and 700°C. Quantified metamorphic stages and a related clockwise P–T path derived from pseudosection analysis in the KMASH system suggest collision of the north Yinshan block with the South Ordos block at 1.92 Ga, before final suturing of the entire NCC basement.     

Metamorphic evolution of the Río Santa Rosa Granulites,northern Sierra de Comechingones,Argentina

Highly anhydrous granulites from Río Santa Rosa in the eastern Sierras Pampeanas of Argentina occur as a thick lens surrounded by melt-depleted migmatites. Grt–Crd granulite composed of Qtz+Pl+Grt+Crd+Ilm±Spl±Ath±Phl is the dominant rock, whereas Opx–Grt granulite appears as discontinuous lenses in the center of the granulite body. Grt–Crd granulite includes blocks of metabasite that are relics of refractory lithologic beds interlayered in the supracrustal sequence. A distinct assemblage composed of Qtz, Pl, Grt, Crd, Opx, Spl, Crn, Sil, Bt, Phl, Ath, and Fe–Ti oxides in different combinations was generated in a reaction zone between Grt–Crd granulites and metabasites at peak metamorphism (850–900 °C and 7.6±0.5 kbar). The P–T trajectory of Grt–Crd granulites suggests an early prograde garnet-forming stage followed by nearly isothermal decompression that caused garnet breakdown. Melting and melt draining accompanying garnet growth was active during heating (to 900 °C) at intermediate pressures (∼7.6 kbar). Peak P–T estimates for Opx–Grt granulites are similar to those obtained with Grt–Crd granulites, which indicates that both granulites passed through the highest thermal stage. These results constrain the late evolution of Opx–Grt granulite to a garnet-consuming stage. Furthermore, they imply that garnet formation in Opx–Grt granulite happened at an early prograde P–T trajectory. Garnet growth in Opx–Grt granulite cannot result from heating at high pressure, which would lead to an apparent contradiction in the prograde P–T paths of the two granulites. This discrepancy may be solved by demonstrating that Opx–Grt granulite is the product of synmetamorphic mafic magmatism that was contaminated while cooling. The Río Santa Rosa granulites are inferred to have formed in a thickened crust in which mafic magmatic activity providing a local heat input.     

Experimental study of phase relations involving osumilite in the system K2O-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O at high pressure and temperature

Abstract Phase relations and mineral chemistry for garnet (Grt), orthopyroxene (Opx), sapphirine (Spr), water-undersaturated cordierite (Crd), osumilite (Osu), sillimanite (Sil), K-feldspar (Kfs), quartz (Qtz) and a water-undersaturated liquid (Liq) have been determined experimentally in the system KFMASH (K₂O-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O) under low P_H2O and f_O2 conditions. Four compositions have been studied with 100 [Mg/(Mg + Fe)] ranging from 65.6 to 89.7. Based on our experimental data, a P-T grid is derived for the KFMASH system in the presence of quartz, orthopyroxene and liquid. Osumilite has been found in various mineral assemblages from 950 to 1100°C and 7.5 to 11 kbar. In the temperature range 1000-1100°C, the pair Os-Grt is stable over a pressure range of about 3kbar. The divariant reaction Os + Opx = Grt + Kfs + Qtz runs to the right with increasing pressure. Because osumilite is the most magnesian phase it is restricted to Mg-rich compositions at high pressure. The reaction defining the upper pressure stability limit of Os-Grt is located around 11 kbar with a nearly flat dP/dT slope over the temperature range 950–100°C. Over the entire temperature range investigated osumilite is not stable beyond 12 kbar. The data imply a restricted pressure range between 11 and 12 kbar for the stability of the assemblage Os-Opx-Sil-Kfs-Qtz. At 1050°C and above, osumilite occurs in various mineral assemblages together with the high-T pair Spr-Qtz. When coexisting with garnet, orthopyroxene or sapphirine, osumilite is always the most magnesian phase. At 1050 and 1100°C, liquid is invariably the most Fe-rich phase in the run product. Our data support a theoretical P-T grid for the KFMAS system in which osumilite is stable outside the field of the high-T assemblage Spr-Qtz. Moreover, our grid indicates that Os-Opx-Sil-Kfs-Qtz has a more restricted pressure and compositional stability domain than Os-Grt, in agreement with natural occurrences. Osumilite is stable over a large pressure range, such that in Mg-rich rocks, and at high temperature, it can occur at any depth in normal thickness continental crust.     

长英质片麻岩中堇青石的一种可能 的形成机制

本文通过对南极拉斯曼丘陵长英质片麻岩变质过程中堇青石与其它矿物之间结构关系的研究，识别出明显不同的两种组合Pl+Kfs+Qtz(Grt)和Crd+Opq+Spl±Qtz，认为区内高级变质作用向深熔作用转化过程中发生了长英质组分和镁铁质组分的分凝。分凝出的长英质熔体与堇青石的形成没有直接关系；镁铁质组分较富Mg、Fe，贫Si、Ca，当镁铁质组分达到一定的富集程度时即形成堇青石。时间上，堇青石形成于降压过程中发生的深熔作用的晚期。     

Polymetamorphism and isobaric cooling of pelitic schists from the Annex sulphide deposit, Gordonia Belt, South Africa

Abstract Muscovite-poor pelitic schists in the wallrocks of the Proterozoic Annex sulphide deposit, near Prieska, South Africa, contain peak metamorphic assemblages including Crd + Bt + Sil, St + Sil + Bt, Crd + St + Bt and, rarely, Ky + St ° Crd. All rocks include oligoclase, quartz and commonly Fe–Mn garnet, with or without muscovite. Peak assemblages, assigned to M2 regional metamorphism in the Gordonia Belt (Namaqua Province), are syn- to post-kinematic with respect to the main S2 fabric although larger staurolite grains contain S1 inclusion trails. Garnet–biotite thermometry, utilizing corrections for Fe³⁺, Mn, Al^VI and Ti, yields peak temperatures of 571–624°C at pressures of 4.5–6.0 kbar. Consideration of the sympathetic variation of X_Mn in garnet with X_Mg in biotite and the preserved zoning patterns in prograde garnets, together with the inferred prograde transition from kyanite to sillimanite, indicates that heating occurred during mild decompression to the M2 metamorphic peak. Sillimanite and cordierite grew last in the prograde sequence, possibly related to a pulse of thermal metamorphism (M3) that is found along the margin of the Keimoes Suite batholith to the north. Retrograde assemblages, including Ms + Ky + Chl + Qtz (after Crd + Bt), Ky + Ms (after Sil) and Chl + Ms (after St) indicate a period of isobaric cooling (M4a) terminated by rehydration in the kyanite stability field at about 500°C. The size difference between prograde (1–2-mm) and retrograde (0.05–0.1-mm) mineral grains indicates substantial undercooling below equilibrium positions of relevant retrograde reactions prior to rehydration, and explains why cordierite that grew during M2 is almost completely destroyed. Post-M4a regrowth of staurolite and garnet (M4b) is spatially linked to sites of M4a rehydration. It reached temperatures of 510–530°C, remaining within the stability field of kyanite. A best fit of the observed textural history to the Namaqua orogenic cycle involves collision and heating (M2/D2) followed by granite intrusion (M3), rifting (M4a) and renewed heating due to crustal loading during volcanism (M4b). The P–T path for the Annex region is consistent with those derived from elsewhere in the Gordonia Belt and, with modification, to that published already for the nearby Prieska Copper Mines.     

青藏高原东南缘哀牢山构造带泥质高压麻粒岩的发现及其构造意义

哀牢山构造带泥质高压麻粒岩主要由石榴石、夕线石、钾长石和斜长石变斑晶及尖晶石、铁假蓝宝石、蓝晶石、石英、金红石和钛铁矿包裹体组成,为确定印支地块和华南地块的边界提供了关键性标志。石榴石-黑云母-斜长石-石英地质温压计(GBPQ)计算结果及标志性高温矿物组合(Spl+Qz)表明泥质高压麻粒岩的形成和演化经历了高压/高温进变质到中温/低压退变质的顺时针P-T演化过程。其中:1)高压/高温进变质阶段的矿物组合为Ky+Sil+Grt1+Kf1+Pl1+Spr+Ter(Kf+Pl)+Bt1+Spl+Qtz+Ilm1+Rut1,形成于850～919℃,≥10.4kbar;2)中温/低压退变质阶段的矿物组合为Grt2+Bt2+Pl2+Ms+Qtz+Ilm2+Rut2,早期和晚期的温压条件分别为664～754℃,4.9～6.5kbar和572～576℃,3.5～3.9kbar。反映陆壳物质在碰撞过程中俯冲到地下深处(≥30km)经高压高温变质后快速折返到中上地壳的动力学演变轨迹。