Sequential, syndeformational porphyroblast growth during Hercynian low-pressure/high-temperature metamorphism in the Canigou massif, Pyrenees

The sequence of growth of garnet, staurolite and aluminosilicate in Fe-rich metapelitic rocks from the Canigou massif, Pyrenees, is established using evidence of inclusion, reaction and pseudomorphing textures between the different minerals, compositional zoning patterns in garnet and staurolite (that can be related to the KFMASH reaction grid), and the geometric relations between inclusion trails in the porphyroblasts and the matrix microstructures. The evidence indicates that garnet and staurolite commenced growth before aluminosilicate in all cases, even where all three are in textural equilibrium. Interpretation of the reaction textures between the porphyroblasts and of the compositional zoning in garnet and staurolite in terms of the KFMASH reaction grid indicates the importance of continuous reactions in the development of these phases. Some garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts underwent renewed growth during breakdown, producing rims enriched in Mn and Zn respectively. The presence of aluminosilicate in these assemblages (i.e. the absence of a clear andalusite-absent zone in the field) is attributed to a strong pressure-dependence for the aluminosilicate-producing reactions. Porphyroblast-matrix microstructural relations indicate that Hercynian metamorphism in the massif was synchronous with the development of the regional subhorizontal foliation (S3).     

Garnet and staurolite producing reactions in a chlorite-chloritoid schist

During prograde metamorphism garnet and, in some higher grade samples, staurolite were produced in a chlorite-chloritoid schist, part of the Precambrian Z to Cambrian Hoosac Formation near Jamaica, VT. Garnet grew during two prograde events separated by a retrogression. This sequence resulted in distinctive inclusion textures and zoning anomalies in garnet produced by diffusive alteration. Textures, reaction space analysis, and mineral compositional variations constrain the possible sequence of reactions in these rocks. Below the staurolite isograd, and to some unknown extent above it, garnet grew by the reaction chloritoid+chlorite+quartz→garnet+H₂O. With increasing grade the mineral compositions are displaced towards lower Mn/Fe and higher Mg/Fe ratios. The data are compatible with equilibrium with respect to exchange reactions for the matrix assemblages on a thin section scale and with minerals having closely followed equilibrium paths during reaction. The staurolite isograd coincides with the reaction chloritoid+quartz→garnet+staurolite+chlorite+H₂O. This reaction is continuous and trivariant with ZnO becoming an additional component concentrated in staurolite. During this reaction both the Mn/Fe and Mg/Fe ratios of the phases appear to have decreased. This new chemical trend is recorded by garnet zoning profiles and is compatible with trends predicted from phase diagrams. Thus there are two distinct types of garnet zoning reversals in these samples. One is near the textural unconformity and is best explained by diffusive alteration during partial resorption of first stage garnet. The other occurs near the outer rim of garnet in staurolite zone samples and marks the onset of a new prograde garnet producing reaction.     

The origin of olivine-plagioclase coronas in metagabbros from the Adirondack Mountains, New York

Olivine-plagioclase coronas in metagabbros from the Adirondack Mountains, New York (USA) are spatially well-organized reaction textures consisting most commonly of sequential layers of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and garnet; the textures are characteristic of diffusion-controlled reaction kinetics. Although similar coronas have been interpreted by previous workers in terms of an isochemical steady-state diffusion model, petrographical relations and material-balance calculations establish that coronas in the Adirondack metagabbros cannot be treated as isochemical and do not form in a single-stage steady-state process; instead they evolve through time in a complex open-system reaction. In this study, the isochemical diffusion model is modified to account for elemental fluxes across the outer boundaries of the coronal reaction band, thereby approximating the open-system behaviour of the coronas. The sequence and relative proportions of product minerals calculated by the open-system steady-state model correspond closely to those observed in coronas of the Adirondacks, over a wide range of values for the relative diffusivities of chemical components involved in the reaction, regardless of the particular method used to determine material balance in the reaction texture. Despite this correspondence, petrographical evidence for successive replacement of coronal product layers reveals that the Adirondack coronas evolved through one or more transient states, rather than forming in a single-stage steady-state process. There is no evidence that the successive replacement of coronal product layers resulted from changes in pressure or temperature, but there is petrographical evidence that these changes resulted from modification of the composition of reactant plagioclase as the corona-forming reaction proceeded. This is confirmed by the fact that the evolution of the coronas over time can be replicated with the open-system diffusion model by simulating the effect of the gradual exhaustion of plagioclase as a source of the Ca and Si components required for reaction. These simulations suggest that successive stages in the evolution of the coronas are characterized by these product sequences: (i) orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-plagioclase-garnet; (ii) orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-garnet; and (iii) orthopyroxene-garnet. All of these stages, and the transitions between them, are observed petrographically. Coronas in Adirondack metagabbros appear, therefore, to have originated in a complex, open-system, diffusion-controlled reaction in which the product assemblages changed as the reaction progressed.     

Natural metastable reactions involving garnet, staurolite and cordierite: implications for petrogenetic grids and the extensional collapse of the Betic-Rif Belt

Medium grade metapelites of the Torrox unit (Betic-Rif Belt, S Spain) contain mineral assemblages consisting of garnet (Grt), staurolite (St), cordierite (Crd), biotite, kyanite, sillimanite, andalusite, muscovite (Ms) and quartz (Qtz) and record complex reaction processes of cordierite growth through garnet and staurolite decomposition. The reaction textures, the chemical composition of the reactant and product phases, including Fe-Mg-Mn partitioning, and the results of equilibrium thermodynamic calculations indicate that these cordierite-bearing assemblages are largely deviated from equilibrium. Furthermore, the actual cordierite-forming reactions, as estimated from the assemblage and associated textures, conflict with the predictions of thermodynamically based petrogenetic grids for the model pelite system KFMASH, either those that predict the stable coexistence of cordierite + muscovite plus garnet or staurolite or those that do not foresee a field of stability for these types of assemblages. This conflict is explained in terms of cordierite growth (at ca. 575 °C and 2.5 kbar) through metastable reactions whose operation was conditioned by the relict persistence of higher pressure phases (garnet and staurolite) and phase compositions (e.g. muscovite and biotite) after fast decompression. This interpretation militates against the existence of a wide P-T range of stable coexistence at low P of Crd + Ms + Qtz ± Grt ± St in medium grade metapelites of normal composition (i.e. poor in Zn and/or Mn). The triggering of metastable cordierite-forming reactions and the preservation of even subtle disequilibrium features associated to them indicate that the rocks underwent fast near-isothermal decompression from ca. 12 kbar down to 2–3 kbar, then rapid cooling. These inferences agree with independent evidence indicating that termination of alpine metamorphism in the western Betic-Rif Belt was related to the extensional collapse of thickened crust and that the latter had consisted of a single, continuous event. Received: 6 August 1998 / Accepted: 9 February 1999     

In situ U–Pb dating of zircon formed from retrograde garnet breakdown during decompression in Rogaland, SW Norway

Regionally metamorphosed metapelites from Rogaland, SW Norway, contain zircon formed during the decompression reaction garnet + sillimanite + quartz → cordierite. The zircon, which occurs as inclusions in cordierite coronas around garnet, is texturally, chemically and isotopically distinct from older zircon in other textural settings in the matrix. A SHRIMP U–Pb age of 955 ± 8 Ma based on analyses in thin section on the decompression zircon from the cordierite coronas, therefore dates a point on the retrograde path, estimated from garnet–cordierite equilibria to be 5.6 kbar, 710 °C. This population was under‐represented in conventional SHRIMP analyses of individual zircon in a mono‐mineralic grain mount and, in the absence of a textural context, its significance unknown. The dominant age identified from SHRIMP analyses of the grain mount, in combination with analyses from matrix zircon in thin section, was 1035 ± 9 Ma. Based on the lack of consistent textural relationships with any specific minerals in thin section, as well as rare earth element chemistry, the 1035‐Ma population is interpreted to represent zircon growth during incipient migmatization of the rocks at 6–8 kbar and c. 700 °C. This is consistent with previous estimates for the age of regional M₁ metamorphism during the Sveconorwegian Orogeny. The most important outcome of this study is the successful analysis of zircon grains in a specific, well‐constrained reaction texture. Not only does this allow a precise point on the regional P–T path to be dated, but it also emphasizes the possibility of zircon formation during the retrograde component of a typical metamorphic cycle.     

Formation of monazite via prograde metamorphic reactions among common silicates: implications for age determinations

Three lines of evidence from schists of the Great Smoky Mountains, NC, indicate that isogradic monazite growth occurred at the staurolite-in isograd at ∼600°C: (1) Monazite is virtually absent below the staurolite-in isograd, but is ubiquitous (several hundred grains per thin section) in staurolite- and kyanite-grade rocks. (2) Many monazite grains are spatially associated with biotite coronas around garnets, formed via the reaction Garnet + Chlorite + Muscovite = Biotite + Plagioclase + Staurolite + H₂O. (3) Garnets contain high-Y annuli that result from prograde dissolution of garnet via the staurolite-in reaction, followed by regrowth, and rare monazite inclusions occur immediately outside the annulus and in the matrix, but not in the garnet core. Larger monazite grains also exhibit quasi-continuous Th zoning with high Th cores and low Th rims, consistent with monazite growth via a single reaction and fractional crystallization during prograde growth. Common silicates may host sufficient P and LREEs that reactions among them can produce observable LREE phosphate. Specifically phosphorus contents of garnet and plagioclase are hundreds of parts per million, and dissolution of garnet and recrystallization of plagioclase could form thousands of phosphate grains several micrometers in diameter per thin section. LREEs may be more limiting, but sheet silicates and plagioclase can contain tens to ∼100 (?) ppm LREE, so recrystallization of these silicates to lower LREE contents could produce hundreds of grains of monazite per thin section. Monazite ages, determined via electron and ion microprobes, are ∼400 Ma, directly linking prograde Barrovian metamorphism of the Western Blue Ridge with the “Acadian” orogeny, in contrast to previous interpretations that metamorphism was “Taconian” (∼450 Ma). Interpretation of ages from metamorphic monazite grains will require prior chemical characterization and identification of relevant monazite-forming reactions, including reactions previously viewed as involving solely common silicates.     

Metamorphic evolution of the assemblage tremolite + talc + calcite + dolomite + quartz within a sample of siliceous dolomite from the southern Damara Orogen (Namibia)

Magnesian calcite temperatures of calcites formed during metamorphic reactions and fluorine distribution between OH-bearing minerals have been measured for the assemblage {ie180-1} within a sample of siliceous dolomite from the southern Damara Orogen. Two groups of temperatures were found: A group with higher temperatures in the range 583 to 545°C for reaction sites where tremolite was formed, and a second group with lower temperatures from 522 to 476°C for reaction sites where talc has grown. From special reaction textures it is evident that the reaction sites of the higher temperature group related with temolite is older, whereas talc has grown after the formation of tremolite with decreasing temperature. The transition from the tremolite stability field to the talc stability field occurred at a temperature between the two temperature groups. Each measured magnesian calcite temperature can be assigned to a microscopic fluid vein which connects single reaction sites either with tremolite or with talc. Single microveins developed at different times, because the prevailing temperature during the formation of individual fluid veins and the connected reaction sites are different. The mineral associations and the reaction textures of the sample were formed within a period of time necessary for cooling the rock at least from about 580 to 480°C. The textural relations after the successive reaction processes appear to be the result of a single univariant reaction. Distribution of fluorine between tremolite-phlogopite pairs and tremolite-talc pairs show that the fluorine content of the tremolite may be inherited in the latter case. A plausible P-T path is outlined explaining the evolution of assemblages in dolomites and metapelites of the same area which contain staurolite and kyanite. The first appearance of staurolite and kyanite in the field is situated on the lower grade side of the zone containing assemblage (I). The conversation of the present field occurrence of assemblage (I) is due to the fading of fluid infiltration into the dolomites.     

Chemical and textural equilibration of garnet during amphibolite facies metamorphism: The influence of coupled dissolution–reprecipitation

Metamorphic equilibration requires chemical communication between minerals and may be inhibited through sluggish volume diffusion and or slow rates of dissolution in a fluid phase. Relatively slow diffusion and the perceived robust nature of chemical growth zoning may preclude garnet porphyroblasts from readily participating in low‐temperature amphibolite facies metamorphic reactions. Garnet is widely assumed to be a reactant in staurolite‐isograd reactions, and the evidence for this has been assessed in the Late Proterozoic Dalradian pelitic schists of the Scottish Highlands. The 3D imaging of garnet porphyroblasts in staurolite‐bearing schists reveals a good crystal shape and little evidence of marginal dissolution; however, there is also lack of evidence for the involvement of either chlorite or chloritoid in the reaction. Staurolite forms directly adjacent to the garnet, and its nucleation is strongly associated with deformation of the muscovite‐rich fabrics around the porphyroblasts. “Cloudy” fluid inclusion‐rich garnet forms in both marginal and internal parts of the garnet porphyroblast and is linked both to the production of staurolite and to the introduction of abundant quartz inclusions within the garnet. Such cloudy garnet typically has a Mg‐rich, Mn‐poor composition and is interpreted to have formed during a coupled dissolution–reprecipitation process, triggered by a local influx of fluid. All garnet in the muscovite‐bearing schists present in this area is potentially reactive, irrespective of the garnet composition, but very few of the schists contain staurolite. The staurolite‐producing reaction appears to be substantially overstepped during the relatively high‐pressure Barrovian regional metamorphism reflecting the limited permeability of the schists in peak metamorphic conditions. Fluid influx and hence reaction progress appear to be strongly controlled by subtle differences in deformation history. The remaining garnet fails to achieve chemical equilibrium during the reaction creating distinctive patchy compositional zoning. Such zoning in metamorphic garnet created during coupled dissolution–reprecipitation reactions may be difficult to recognize in higher grade pelites due to subsequent diffusive re‐equilibration. Fundamental assumptions about metamorphic processes are questioned by the lack of chemical equilibrium during this reaction and the restricted permeability of the regional metamorphic pelitic schists. In addition, the partial loss of prograde chemical and textural information from the garnet porphyroblasts cautions against their routine use as a reliable monitor of metamorphic history. However, the partial re‐equilibration of the porphyroblasts during coupled dissolution–reprecipitation opens possibilities of mapping reaction progress in garnet as a means of assessing fluid access during peak metamorphic conditions.     

Coronas in olivine gabbros and iron ores from Susimäki and Riuttamaa,Finland

Coronas have been studied by petrographie and microprobe techniques in metamorphosed olivine gabbros and associated iron ores from Susimäki and Riuttamaa in Southwest Finland. Three types of coronas are distinguished occurring between the following primary minerals: (1) olivine-plagioclase, (2) opaque oxides-plagioclase, (3) opaque oxides-clinopy-roxene. Secondary corona minerals are, in order of decreasing abundance, hornblende, orthopyroxene, spinel, olivine, ilmenite, and magnetite. This is the first reported occurrence of coexisting primary and secondary olivines in coronas. Quantitative approximations of the corona-producing reactions are given by chemical equations of the analyzed reactant and product mineral phases. Individual coronas of all three types developed essentially as allochemical systems open to mass transfer by an intergranular fluid phase. The overall corona formation within the volume of a handspecimen likely involved only a net gain of water and a loss of Na.     

Accessory phase petrogenesis in relation to major phase assemblages in pelites from the Nelson contact aureole, southern British Columbia

Monazite petrogenesis in the Nelson contact aureole is the result of allanite breakdown close to, but downgrade and therefore independent of, major phase isograds involving cordierite, andalusite and staurolite. The development of garnet downgrade of the staurolite and andalusite isograds does not appear to affect the onset of the allanite-to-monazite reaction but does affect the textural development of monazite. In lower pressure, garnet-absent rocks, allanite breakdown results in localized monazite growth as pseudomorphous clusters. In higher pressure, garnet-bearing rocks, allanite breakdown produces randomly distributed, lone grains of monazite with no textural relationship to the original reaction site. Fluids liberated from hydrous phases (chlorite, muscovite) during garnet formation may have acted as a flux to distribute light rare earth elements more widely within the rock upon allanite breakdown, preventing the localized formation of monazite pseudomorphs. Despite these textural differences, both types of monazite have very similar chemistry and an indistinguishable age by electron microprobe chemical dating (157 ± 6.4 Ma). This age range is within error of isotopic ages determined by others for the Nelson Batholith. Garnet from the garnet, staurolite and andalusite zones shows euhedral Y zoning typified by a high-Y core, low-Y collar and moderate-Y annulus, the latter ascribed to allanite breakdown during garnet growth in the garnet zone. The cause of the transition from high-Y core to low-Y collar, traditionally interpreted to be due to xenotime consumption, is unclear because of the ubiquitous presence of xenotime. Accessory phase geothermometry involving monazite, xenotime and garnet returns inconsistent results, suggesting calibration problems or a lack of equilibration between phases.     

Hercynite as the product of staurolite decomposition in the contact aureole of Vedrette di Ries,eastern Alps,Italy

Metapelitic hornfelses in the contact aureole of the Vedrette di Ries pluton exhibit the terminal decomposition of Zn-poor Fe-staurolite in a muscovite-quartz-free domain. The reaction takes place only within coarsegrained sillimanite that has replaced andalusite porphyroblasts during prograde metamorphism. The product is a gahnite-poor hercynitic spinel, which occurs as very small grains closely associated in space with resorbed staurolite. Microstructural observations indicate that bereynite growth postdates the pseudomorphs of sillimanite after andalusite. The textural evidence for a genetic relationship between hercynite and staurolite is confirmed by the identical Fe/Mg/Zn ratios of the two minerals, which causes the collinearity of hercynite, staurolite and Al₂SiO₅ in FeO–MgO–ZnO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O composition space (FMZASH), and indicates hercynite formed by the reaction: Fe-staurolite = 3.85hercynite + 5.1sillimanite + 2.55quartz + 2H₂O Staurolite inclusions within andalusite did not break down to form hercynite, indicating a kinetic control, as well as little overstepping of the equilibrium conditions, of the reaction forming hercynite. Assuming overstepping did not occur, modelling of the reaction with existing thermodynamic data in the simplified FASH system suggests that the terminal breakdown of staurolite to form hercynite occurred at 2.5–3.75kbar and 585–655°C.     

Reaction textures in scapolite–wollastonite–grossular calc-silicate rock from the Kerala Khondalite Belt, Southern India: evidence for high-temperature metamorphism and initial cooling

Scapolite–wollastonite–grossular bearing calc-silicate rocks from the Vellanad area in the Kerala Khondalite Belt (KKB) of Southern India preserve a number of reaction textures which help to deduce their P–T–fluid history. Textures include calcite+plagioclase±quartz symplectites after scapolite, grossular+quartz coronas between wollastonite and plagioclase, grossular coronas between wollastonite and plagioclase+calcite that replace former scapolite, and grossular blebs replacing anorthite+calcite+quartz pseudomorphs of scapolite. Garnet coronas are also observed between clinopyroxene and wollastonite or scapolite or plagioclase. The reactions, apart from those involving clinopyroxene, can be modelled in the simple CaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–CO₂ system and interpreted using partial reaction grids constructed for the activities of end-members in the analysed phases. The reaction topologies produced are good approximations for the peak as well as retrograde mineral assemblages and reaction textures. For the compositions of the phases present in this study, the medium pressure calc-silicate assemblages are defined by the stable pseudo-invariant points [Qtz], [Mei] and [Grs]. The textural features interpreted using these activity-corrected grids indicate a phase of isobaric cooling from about 835°C to 750°C at 6 kbar in the Vellanad area. This is inconsistent with earlier studies on other lithologies from the KKB, most of which imply a post-peak P–T path involving near-isothermal decompression. However, as the temperatures obtained for the KKB from the calc-silicates are higher than those previously deduced from metapelites and garnet–orthopyroxene assemblages, the phase of near-isobaric cooling reported here is inferred to have proceeded prior to the onset of the decompression documented from studies of other rock types.     

Reactions and textures in grossular–wollastonite–scapolite calc–silicate granulites from Maligawila, Sri Lanka: evidence for high-temperature isobaric cooling in the meta-sediments of the Highland Complex

Grossular–wollastonite–scapolite calc–silicate granulites from Maligawila in the Buttala klippe, which form part of the overthrusted rocks of the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka, preserve a number of spectacular coronas and replacement textures that could be effectively used to infer their P–T–fluid history. These textures include coronas of garnet, garnet–quartz, and garnet–quartz–calcite at the grain boundaries of wollastonite, scapolite, and calcite as well as calcite–plagioclase and calcite–quartz symplectites or finer grains after scapolite and wollastonite respectively. Other textures include a double rind of coronal scapolite and coronal garnet between matrix garnet and calcite. The reactions that produced these coronas and replacement textures, except those involving clinopyroxene, are modelled in the CaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–CO₂ system using the reduced activities. Calculated examples of T–X_CO2 and P–X_CO2 projections indicate that the peak metamorphic temperature of about 900–875 °C at a pressure of 9 kbar and the peak metamorphic fluid composition is constrained to be low in X_CO2 (0.1<X_CO2<0.30). Interpretation of the textural features on the basis of the partial grids revealed that the calc–silicate granulites underwent high-temperature isobaric cooling, from about 900–875 °C to a temperature below 675 °C, following the peak metamorphism. The late-stage cooling was accompanied by an influx of hydrous fluids. The calc–silicate granulites provide evidence for high-temperature isobaric cooling in the meta-sediments of the Highland Complex, earlier considered by some workers to be confined exclusively to the meta-igneous rocks. The coronal scapolite may have formed under open-system metasomatism.     

Kinetics of a garnet granulite reaction

It is necessary to understand the mechanisms of disequilibrium reactions in metamorphic rocks in order to (1) model the rate of reaction in response to changing state variables during tectonic process, and (2) interpret the assemblages of natural disequilibrium samples in terms of tectonic history. A sample was selected from an area of known tectonic history to examine in detail and document the kinetics of reaction. The sample preserves evidence of the garnet granulite to gabbro transition.Orthopyroxene and anorthite coronas around garnet and orthopyroxene rims around clinopyroxene are textural observations suggesting the overall reaction: garnet+clinopyroxene+quartz+plagioclase(matrix) orthopyroxene+ anorthite (corona). The disequilibrium nature of reaction is evident from compositional zoning of garnet, some zoning of clinopyroxene, and difference between corona anorthite (An₉₀) and matrix plagioclase (An₃₅).Several texturally-distinguished microenvironments in a single thin section were investigated to determine how components were redistributed during reaction; T and P are assumed to have been the same throughout. The compositional data are best explained by a partial equilibrium model in which orthopyroxene, garnet rims, Fe-rich clinopyroxene, and a hypothetical intergranular fluid approach equilibrium and are not in equilibrium with reactant garnet cores and matrix plagioclase. Corona texture suggests that intergranular diffusion had some effect but the composition data indicate that it was not rate-limiting. The fact that garnet rim compositions are nearly in equilibrium with product phases (with respect to Mg-Fe partitioning) suggests that diffusion in garnet can be considered a rate-limiting reaction step. Combining the differential equation of zoning for this system with mass and volume balance equations of reaction enables one to predict the density change with time by numerical integration.I conclude that comparison of core compositions of zoned minerals in high-grade rocks is meaningful only if a compositional plateau is preserved that can be proven not to be altered by diffusion. Diffusion in pyroxene is apparently too fast at high grade to make relict pyroxenes useful tracers of metamorphic conditions. The rim composition of zoned phases depends on the relative rate of reaction and internal diffusion; the approach of the rim of a reactant phase to equilibrium with products is a measure of the degree to which intragranular diffusion is rate-limiting. In general, this work supports reaction models that assume that intergranular diffusion is rapid and that interface kinetics or intragranular diffusion are usually rate-limiting factors.Reactions controlled by diffusion in garnet are slow geologically. Tectonic hysteresis can be produced because garnet can form in granulite assemblages more rapidly than it is consumed with changing heat flow. The rate of gabbro-garnet granulite transition depends on whether plagioclase reacts by zoning or separate product grains nucleate.     

Reaction history of sapphirine granulites and a decompressional P-T path in a granulite complex from the Eastern Ghats

The sapphirine granulites from G. Madugula, Eastern Ghats preserve a variety of mineral textures and reactions. Corona and reaction textures are used in conjunction with mineral compositions to construct a sequence of metamorphic reactions describing the mineralogical evolution of sapphirine granulites. An early stage is characterized by the development of sapphirine + quartz, spinel + quartz in textural equilibrium, and possible relicts after osumilite during peak metamorphic conditions. Sapphirine/spinel crystals were later detached from quartz in the form of mineral coronas. During a subsequent sapphirine-cordierite stage, several cordierite forming reactions reflect decreasingP-T conditions. Finally during the late stage, a few samples show evidence of retrogressive hydration. Sapphirine is rather iron-rich (12.8 wt%) and the Mg number in the analysed minerals varies in the order: cordierite > phlogopite > sapphirine > orthopyroxene > spinel > garnet.P-T conditions of metamorphism have been constrained through the application of geothermobarometry and thermodynamically calibrated MAS equilibria.P-T vectors from granulite facies rocks in the G. Madugula area indicate that the rocks experienced substantial decompression (up to 3 kbar) and moderate cooling (150–200°C) subsequent to peak conditions of metamorphism (8.4 kbar, > 900°C). The decompressionalP-T history of sapphirine granulites interpreted from textural features and thermobarometric estimates suggest that they may have eventually resulted from exhumation of thickened crust.     

Interplay between equilibrium and kinetics in prograde metamorphism of pelites: an example from the Nelson aureole, British Columbia

The distribution of metapelitic mineral assemblages in the Nelson aureole, British Columbia, generally conforms to what is predicted from phase equilibria. However, in detail, the sequence and spacing of isograds, mineral textures and mineral compositions and mineral chemical zoning do not. Two of the main disequilibrium features in the aureole are: (i) delay in the onset and progress of several reactions, i.e. overstepping in temperature; and (ii) unreactivity of staurolite and especially garnet porphyroblasts when they are reactants in prograde reactions. The thermal overstepping is ascribed to difficulty of nucleation of the product porphyroblasts and sluggishness of dissolution of porphyroblasts when they are reactants. The extent to which these kinetic barriers delay the onset of reaction is related to the reaction affinity of each reaction, defined herein as the Gibbs free‐energy difference between the thermodynamically stable, but not‐yet‐crystallized, products and the metastable reactants. For oversteps in temperature (ΔT), reaction affinity is, in turn, related to the difference in entropy (ΔS) between these two states through the relation A = ΔT * ΔS. Mineral reactions which release large quantities of H₂O, such as chlorite‐consuming reactions, have a higher entropy change per unit of temperature overstep, and therefore a higher reaction affinity, than those which release little or no H₂O, such as the chlorite‐free staurolite‐consuming reaction. Thermal overstepping is consequently expected to be less for the former than for the latter, as was estimated in the aureole where 0 to 30 °C overstepping was required for garnet, staurolite and andalusite growth from a muscovite + chlorite‐bearing precursor rock and ～70 °C overstepping was required for the growth of Al₂SiO₅ from a staurolite‐bearing, chlorite‐free precursor. In all cases, reaction progress was strongly influenced by the presence or absence of fluid, with presence of fluid lowering kinetic barriers to nucleation and growth and therefore the degree of thermal overstepping. Textural features of rocks from the nearly coincident garnet, staurolite and andalusite isograds are suggestive of a fluid‐catalysed ‘cascade effect’ in which reaction took place in a narrow temperature interval; several competing muscovite + chlorite‐consuming reactions, some metastable, appear to have occurred in parallel. Metamorphic reaction, fluid release and possibly fluid presence in general in the aureole were episodic rather than continuous, and in several cases well removed from equilibrium conditions. The extent to which these findings apply to regional metamorphism depends on several factors, a major one being enhanced deformation, which is expected to lower kinetic barriers to nucleation and growth.     

Cathodoluminescence imaging and titanium thermometry in metamorphic quartz

Cathodoluminescence (CL) of quartz from metamorphic rocks representing a range of conditions from the garnet grade to the migmatite grade reveals a variety of textures, that is, a function of metamorphic grade and deformation history. Ti concentrations, determined by electron microprobe and ion microprobe, generally correlate with CL intensity (blue wavelengths), and application of the Ti‐in‐quartz thermometer (TitaniQ) reflects the temperature of quartz growth or recrystallization, and, in some settings, modification by diffusion. Quartz from garnet grade samples is not visibly zoned, records temperatures of 425–475 °C, and is interpreted to have recrystallized during fabric formation. Quartz grains from staurolite grade samples are zoned in CL with markedly darker cores and brighter rims, some of which are interpreted to have been produced by the dominant staurolite‐producing reaction, whereas others are interpreted as having formed by diffusion of Ti into quartz rims. Quartz from the matrix of kyanite and sillimanite grade samples are generally unzoned, although locally displays slightly brighter rims (higher Ti); quartz inclusions within garnet and staurolite have distinctly brighter rims, which are interpreted as having been produced by diffusive exchange with the host mineral. Quartz from migmatite grade samples displays highly variable CL intensity, which is dependent on the location of the grain. Matrix grains in melanosomes are largely unzoned or rarely zoned with darker cores. Leucosome quartz is strongly zoned with bright cores and dark rims and is interpreted as having formed during crystallization of the melt. Locally within the leucosome is observed oscillatory‐zoned quartz, which is interpreted as a subsolidus recrystallization to achieve strain relaxation. Quartz inclusions within garnet or plagioclase crystals often show bright domains separated by zones of dark CL. These enigmatic textures possibly reflect local melting fluxed by fluid inclusions. Temperatures calculated from the Ti–in–quartz thermometer are a function of the metamorphic grade of the sample, the textural setting of the quartz, the reaction history and the deformation history of the rock. The TitaniQ temperatures can be used to constrain the conditions at which various metamorphic processes have occurred.     

Reaction Textures and Metamorphic Evolution of Sapphirine-bearing Granulites from the Gruf Complex, Italian Central Alps

Mineral chemistries and textures are described from a suiteof sapphirine-bearing granulites from the Gruf Complex of theItalian Central Alps. The granulites contain combinations ofgarnet, orthopyroxene, sapphirine, sillimanite, cordierite,biotite, quartz, spinel, corundum, staurolite, plagioclase,K-feldspar, ilmenite and rutile, in assemblages with low (usuallynegative) variance. They are outstanding in that they preservea textural and chemical record of a protracted metamorphic evolution. Reaction textures are common and include: (i) pseudomorphs (e.g.of sillimanite after kyanite); (ii) relatively coarse-grainedmonomineralic reaction rims (e.g. of cordierite between sapphirineand quartz); (iii) fine-grained symplectitic coronas (e.g. oforthopyroxene + sapphirine round garnet); (iv) inclusions, ingarnet cores, of minerals (e.g. staurolite) not found elsewherein the rocks. Detailed microprobe study has revealed large chemical variationswithin each phase. Different textural types of each phase havedifferent compositions, and strong zoning is preserved in garnet(Mg/(Mg + Fe) from 0.30 to 0.61) and coarse sapphirine. Inclusionpopulations in garnet correlate with host composition. The textural and chemical features are interpreted in termsof successive equilibrium assemblages and reactions. Metamorphicconditions operative at each stage in the evolution are calculatedusing published geothermometers and geobarometers as well asthermodynamically calibrated MAS and FASH equilibria. The resultsare used to construct a P—T-time path for the sapphirine-granulites,which can be summarized as follows: (i) Increasing T at high P (>7 kb). Partial melting. (ii) A maximum T of 830 ?C attained at 10 kb. (iii) Almost isothermal decompression, reaching 750 ?C at 5kb, under conditions of low µ_H2O. (iv) Further cooling, and decompression. Localized hydration.Rocks exposed. The P—T-time path is interpreted as the product of a singlemetamorphic cycle (the tertiary ‘Lepontine’ event)and is extrapolated to the Gruf Complex as a whole. When combinedwith published geochronological data, the results indicate anaverage uplift rate in excess of 2 mm/yr for the Gruf Complexbetween 38 and 30 Ma ago. An in situ partial melting origin for the sapphirine-granulitesis favoured. Extraction of an iron-rich granitic liquid froma normal pelitic palaeosome could generate a refractory residuewith the required Mg, Al-rich composition. The change in bulksolid composition during partial melting is thought to accountfor the extraordinarity strong zoning in the garnets.