Contrasting pressure–temperature–deformation history across a vestigial craton–mobile belt boundary: the western margin of the Eastern Ghats Belt at Deobhog, India

At Deobhog, migmatitic gneisses and granulites of the Eastern Ghats Belt are juxtaposed against a cratonic ensemble of banded augen gneiss, amphibolite and calcsilicate gneiss, intruded by late hornblende granite and dolerite. In the migmatitic gneiss unit, early isoclinal folds (syn‐D_1M and D_2M) are reoriented along N–S‐trending and E‐dipping shear planes (S_3M), with (S_1M–S_3M) intersection lineations having steep to moderate plunges. The near‐peak P–T condition was syn‐D_3M (≥900 °C, 9.5 kbar), as inferred from syn‐D_3M Grt+Opx‐bearing leucosomes in mafic granulites, and from thermobarometry on Grt (corona)–Opx/Cpx–Pl–Qtz assemblages. The P–T values are consistent with the occurrence of Opx–Spr–Crd assemblages in spatially associated high‐Mg–Al pelites. A subsequent period of cooling followed by isothermal decompression (800–850 °C, c. 7 kbar) is documented by the formation of coronal garnet and its decomposition to Opx+Pl symplectites in mafic granulites. Hydrous fluid infiltration accompanying the retrograde changes is manifested in biotite replacing Opx in some lithologies. The cratonic banded gneiss–granite unit also documents two phases of isoclinal folding (D_1B & D_2B), with the L_2B lineation girdle different from the lineation spread in the migmatitic gneiss unit. Calcsilicate gneiss (Hbl–Pl–Cpx–Scap–Cal) and amphibolite (Hbl–Pl±Grt±Cpx) within banded gneisses record syn‐D_2B peak metamorphic conditions (c. 700 °C, 6.5 kbar), followed by cooling (to c. 500 °C) manifested in the stabilization of coronal clinozoisite–epidote. The D_3B shear deformation post‐dates granite and dolerite intrusions and is characterized by top‐to‐the‐west movement along N–S‐trending, E‐dipping shear planes. Deformation mechanisms of quartz and feldspar in granites and banded gneisses and amphibole–plagioclase thermometry within shear bands in dolerites document an inverted syn‐D_3B thermal gradient with temperature increasing from 350 to 550 °C in the west to ≥700 °C near the contact with the migmatitic gneiss unit. The thermal gradient is reflected in the stabilization of chlorite after hornblende in S_3B shears to the west, and post‐D_2B neosome segregation along D_3B folds and shears to the east. The contrasting lithologies, early structures and peak metamorphic conditions in the two units indicate unconnected pre‐D₃P–T –deformation histories. The shared D₃ deformation in the two units, the syn‐D₃ inverted thermal gradient preserved in the footwall cratonic rocks and the complementary cooling and hydration of the hanging wall granulites across the contact are attributed to westward thrusting of ‘hot’ Eastern Ghats granulites on ‘cool’ cratonic crust. It is suggested that the Eastern Ghats migmatitic gneiss unit is not a reworked part of the craton, but a para‐autochthonous/allochthonous unit emplaced on and amalgamated to the craton.     

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.     

Two-stage decompression in garnet-bearing mafic granulites from Sostrene Island, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica

Mafic garnet-bearing granulites from Sostrene Island, 150 km southwest of Davis Station on the coast of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, exhibit two-stage symplectic coronas on garnet, formed after peak metamorphic conditions (M1). An outer corona of Opx (Mg₆₆) + Pl (An_94–97) + minor Hbl mantles a finer-grained inner corona of Opx (Mg₆₇) + Pl (An_95–96) + Spl (Mg₃₆). Both symplectites contain minor ilmenite–magnetite intergrowths. The finer-grained symplectite also occurs along a fracture cleavage in the garnet. The outer corona originated during a second metamorphic event (M2) via the reaction Grt + Cpx (Hbl) + SiO₂= Opx + Pl (1), whereas the inner corona formed later in response to decompression and minor deformation, resulting in the fracture cleavage in the garnet, according to the reaction Grt = Opx + Pl + Spl (2). The grossular content of the garent (X_Grs= 0.168) is almost exactly that which is required for the stoichiometric breakdown by reaction (2) (calculated X_Grs= 0.167). The mafic rocks are silica undersaturated, and the SiO₂ for reaction (1) was most probably derived externally from the surrounding felsic gneisses. Preferred P–T estimates for M1 based on garnet core (Prp₄₀Alm₄₂Grs₁₇Sps₁)–matrix Opx–Cpx–Hbl pairs are c. 10 kbar at 980°C. The fine-grained symplectite formed post-peak M2 at c. 7 kbar and 850°C. The enclosing felsic gneisses yield pressure estimates of between 5 and 7 kbar, which compare with conditions of c. 6 kbar and 775°C in the nearby Bolingen Islands. These lower P–T estimates are considered to be representative of the widespread 1100-Ma metamorphic event recognized in outcrops along the Prydz Bay coast. The high-P, high-T estimates derived from the garnet relics provide evidence for an earlier, possibly Archaean, high-grade metamorphic event.     

Metamorphic history of high-pressure granulites in Payer Land, Greenland Caledonides

A high‐P granulite facies gneiss complex occurs in north‐west Payer Land (74°28′?74°47′N) in the central part of the East Greenland Caledonian (Ordovician–Devonian) orogen. High‐P metamorphism of the Payer Land gneiss complex resulted in formation of the assemblages Grt + Cpx + Amp + Qtz + Ru ± Pl in mafic rocks, and Grt + Ol + Cpx + Opx + Spl in rare ultramafic pods. Associated metapelites experienced anatexis in the kyanite stability field. Peak metamorphic assemblages formed around 800–850 °C at pressures of c. 1.4–1.7 GPa, corresponding to crustal depths of c. 50 km. Mafic granulites contain abundant reaction textures, including the replacement of garnet by symplectites of Opx + Spl + Pl, indicating that the high‐P event was followed by decompression while the granulites remained at elevated temperatures. Charnockitic gneisses from Payer Land show evidence of late Archean (c. 2.8–2.4 Ga) crustal growth and subsequent Palaeoproterozoic (c. 1.85 Ga) metamorphism. The gneiss complex experienced intense reworking during the Caledonian continental collision. On the basis of Caledonian monazite ages recorded from the high‐P anatectic metapelites, the clockwise P–T evolution and formation of the high‐P granulite facies assemblages is related to Caledonian crustal thickening, which resulted in formation of eclogites approximately 300 km north of Payer Land. The Payer Land granulites comprise a metamorphic core complex, which is separated from the overlying low‐grade supracrustal rocks (the Neoproterozoic Eleonore Bay Supergroup) by a late Caledonian extensional fault zone, the Payer Land Detachment. The steep, nearly isothermal, unloading P–T path recorded by the granulites can be explained by erosional and tectonic unroofing along the Payer Land Detachment.     

Genesis of the Kapuskasing (Ontario) migmatitic mafic granulites by dehydration melting of amphibolite: the importance of quartz to reaction progress

Migmatitic, granulite-grade mafic gneisses make up a significant part of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone (KSZ), Ontario. Although they contain a common mineral assemblage [hornblende (Hbl)+plagioclase (Pl)+diopside (Di)±garnet (Grt)+quartz (Qtz)±titanite (Ttn)], the mafic gneisses show wide variations in modal mineralogy from hornblende-rich to diopside+garnet-rich varieties and all gradations between. Up to 25 vol.% segregated plagioclase+quartz-rich (trondhjemitic) leucosome (Tdh) is intimately associated with the mafic gneiss, occurring in a continuum of patches, veins and transecting dykes at scales ranging from decimetres to micrometres. The texture and composition of the leucosome, combined with P-T estimates for the host rocks above the solidus, suggest it represents crystallized trondhjemitic melt. Quartz is mainly restricted to the segregated leucosomes but more rarely occurs in a variety of interstitial textures in the mafic gneiss, suggesting that it crystallized from a melt phase rather than having been present as a solid phase at peak metamorphic conditions. Modal and textural data indicate a reaction relationship of the form: Hbl+Pl(+Qtz?)=Grt+Di+Ttn+leucosome (Tdh), implying that the granulite-forming process involved dehydration melting of an amphibolite protolith. Pressure-temperature estimates from Grt+Di+Pl+Qtz geothermobarometry are 9 kbar and 685-735 °C; however, based on experimental studies of dehydration melting of amphibolite, we estimate that peak conditions were closer to 11 kbar, 850 °C. Mass balance analysis, using the technique of singular value decomposition, and reaction space analysis were used to quantify the reaction and to determine the controls on reaction progress. The following mass balance provides a model for the natural reaction:1.00 Hbl+0.92 Pl+3.76 Qtz=1.14 Grt+1.54 Di+0.21 Ttn+1.49 Tdh+0.14 ‘pg’+0.39 Fe_?1Mg+0.33 NaSiCa_?1Al_?1where ‘pg’ is a pargasite-like exchange. In all model mass balances tested, quartz is a reactant with a large coefficient. We argue that the abundance of quartz in the amphibolite protolith was the primary control on the differing extents of reaction observed. Mineral compositional variation exerted a secondary control on reaction progress, with Fe-richer layers containing An-richer plagioclase and more actinolitic amphibole reacting earliest (i.e. at lowest temperatures). Comparison of the calculated amount of melt produced in the gneisses with that now observed implies expulsion of 5–30% of the melt. These volumes are similar to those predicted from REE modelling of Archaean tonalities and trondhjemites from a garnet amphibolite source, suggesting that the KSZ mafic gneisses may be representative of partially depleted source rocks for trondhjemite-tonalite generation.     

Apparent oxygen isotope equilibrium during progressive foliation development and porphyroblast growth in metapelites: implications for stable isotope and conventional thermometry

The assumption of oxygen isotope and major element equilibrium during prograde metamorphism was tested using staurolite‐grade pelitic schists that have undergone sequential porphyroblast growth and multiple episodes of recrystallization of matrix minerals and foliation development. Textural relationships are used to infer a metamorphic history that involves garnet growth followed by staurolite growth, with each porphyroblast growth event followed by at least one period of recrystallization of matrix minerals. Conventional geothermobarometry using Qtz–Grt–Pl–Ms–Bt ± St equilibria yields peak P–T conditions of c. 625 °C at 9–11 kbar, consistent with KMnFMASH petrogenetic grid predictions for stability of the assemblage Grt + St + Bt. Qtz–Grt oxygen isotope fractionations yield apparent temperatures of c. 590 °C and Qtz–St fractionations yield an apparent temperature of c. 595 °C. Diffusional modelling indicates that quartz isotopic compositions were reset by c. 30 °C via retrograde isotopic diffusional exchange with micas. The isotopic temperatures appear to be in excellent agreement with one another, and suggest oxygen isotope equilibrium was attained between garnet and staurolite at c. 625 °C. However, the agreement of Qtz–Grt and Qtz–Str isotopic temperatures is not consistent with petrographic observations (garnet grew before staurolite) and petrogenetic grid constraints that predict that garnet grows over a temperature interval of c. 525–550 °C. Given that: (i) oxygen diffusion rates in staurolite and garnet are slow enough to render an individual porphyroblast effectively closed to exchange after it forms; and (ii) matrix minerals are able to exchange isotopes via recrystallization during each period of deformation; garnet and staurolite could not have simultaneously achieved oxygen isotope equilibrium with each other or with minerals in the recrystallized matrix. Thus, the Qtz–Grt fractionations, which yield apparent temperatures that are in apparent agreement with peak metamorphic temperature and apparent temperatures for Qtz–St fractionations, cannot be fractionations resulting from equilibrium isotopic exchange. Instead, they are apparent fractionations between porphyroblasts formed at different temperature and times in the prograde P–T–D path, and quartz that recrystallized and exchanged with micas and plagioclase during several phases of deformation.     

Tectonothermal evolution of the gneiss complex at Salur in the Eastern Ghats Grnaulite Belt of India

Textural relations, thermobarometry and petrogenetic grid considerations in the syn-tectonic granitoid massif and the enveloping metasedimentary gneisses at Salur are consistent with a counter-clockwise P–T –t path for the rocks. The low-P/high-T prograde sector is documented by the pre- to syn-D₁ cordierite±orthopyroxene±garnet±spinel–bearing metatexite leucosomes in metapelites. Heating and loading of the rocks (syn- to post-D₁) resulted in the formation of garnet+orthopyroxene± cordierite-bearing diatexites, and decomposition of cordierite in metatexite leucosomes to orthopyroxene+sillimanite+biotite+quartz symplectites. Near-peak temperature, 850 °C at 8.0 kbar, was reached syn- to post-D₂. Post-peak cooling resulted in the stabilization of coronal grossular and anorthite+calcite symplectites at the expense of scapolite+wollastonite+calcite assemblages in calc-silicate gneisses, and the resetting of cation exchange temperatures at 700–750 °C. Near-isothermal decompression at c. 700–750 °C is manifested by the decomposition of garnet porphyroblasts in the granitoid gneisses to plagioclase+orthopyroxene/ilmenite/biotite two-phase coronas and restabilization of cordierite at garnet margins in metapelites. Subsequent low-P, near-isobaric cooling led to the overprinting of granulite facies assemblages by muscovite+calcite assemblages, and further resetting of cation exchange thermometers to lower temperatures c. 600 °C. The tectonothermal evolution of the Salur gneiss complex vis-a-vis the Eastern Ghats Belt is therefore consistent with high degrees of lower crustal melting, followed by prograde heating of the cover rocks due to magma invasion synchronous with crustal compression, and finally thermal relaxation over a protracted period punctuated by tectonic/erosional denudation of the thickened crust.     

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.     

Prograde–retrograde P–T–t–deformation path of Austroalpine micaschists during Variscan continental collision (Eastern Alps)

A complete prograde P–T path, defined by 10 calculated P–T fields in succession, is recognized from metapelites by using geothermobarometry on garnet-bearing assemblages with microstructural control. Overstacking of several tectonic units during an early Variscan continental collision explains the complex prograde P–T history. Isostatic uplift and deformation controlled the retrograde P–T path. Deformation with changing character acted continuously during all stages of the evolution of the Austroalpine basement complex. After the intrusion of Caledonian granitoids, metapelites and magmatic rocks suffered a shearing deformation D₁–D₂, which produced sheath folds as well as the main foliation S₂. Spessartine-rich first-generation garnets, situated in microlithons enclosed by S₂, record the onset of shearing under increasing high-pressure–low-temperature conditions (7 kbar/380°C). Geothermobarometry on second-generation garnets which have been rotated during growth indicates isothermal decompression from 9 kbar to 5 kbar/500°C and subsequent recompression/heating during continuing shearing. This is explained by overthrusting of a tectonic unit (unit 2) from NE to SW upon the micaschist unit (unit 1), followed by isostatic uplift and further overstocking of a third unit (unit 3). The resulting P_max of 12 kbar at 650°C and further increasing temperatures up to 680°C accompanied by decompression have been calculated using a third generation of garnets. These high-pressure–high-temperature conditions may explain the occurrence of eclogitic metabasites in adjacent regions. Staurolite and kyanite first appeared under decreasing pressures at the last stage of prograde P–T evolution. Shortening deformation D₃ and simultaneous growth of typical amphibolite facies minerals (staurolite 2, kyanite 2, sillimanite, andalusite) occurred during the retrograde path. A final step of Variscan evolution was marked by an oppositely directed shearing D₄ (at T > 300°C and P > 3 kbar), possibly indicating backthrusting or extension. Apart from acid intrusions, no signs of a previous Caledonian thermotectonic history were found in the area to the south of the Defereggen–Antholz–Vals Line.     

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.     

Dating metamorphic reactions and fluid flow: application to exhumation of high-P granulites in a crustal-scale shear zone, western Canadian Shield

The Legs Lake shear zone is a crustal‐scale thrust fault system in the western Canadian Shield that juxtaposes high‐pressure (1.0+ GPa) granulite facies rocks against shallow crustal (< 0.5 GPa) amphibolite facies rocks. Hangingwall decompression is characterized by breakdown of the peak assemblage Grt + Sil + Kfs + Pl + Qtz into the assemblage Grt + Crd + Bt ± Sil + Pl + Qtz. Similar felsic granulite occurs throughout the region, but retrograde cordierite is restricted to the immediate hangingwall of the shear zone. Textural observations, petrological analysis using P–T/P–M_H2O phase diagram sections, and in situ electron microprobe monazite geochronology suggest that decompression from peak conditions of 1.1 GPa, c. 800 °C involved several distinct stages under first dry and then hydrated conditions. Retrograde re‐equilibration occurred at 0.5–0.4 GPa, 550–650 °C. Morphology, X‐ray maps, and microprobe dates indicate several distinct monazite generations. Populations 1 and 2 are relatively high yttrium (Y) monazite that grew at 2.55–2.50 Ga and correspond to an early granulite facies event. Population 3 represents episodic growth of low Y monazite between 2.50 and 2.15 Ga whose general significance is still unclear. Population 4 reflects low Y monazite growth at 1.9 Ga, which corresponds to the youngest period of high‐pressure metamorphism. Finally, population 5 is restricted to the hydrous retrograded granulite and represents high Y monazite growth at 1.85 Ga that is linked directly to the synkinematic garnet‐consuming hydration reaction (KFMASH): Grt + Kfs + H₂O = Bt + Sil + Qtz. Two samples yield weighted mean microprobe dates for this population of 1853 ± 15 and 1851 ± 9 Ma, respectively. Subsequent xenotime growth correlates with the reaction: Grt + Sil + Qtz + H₂O = Crd. We suggest that the shear zone acted as a channel for fluid produced by dehydration of metasediments in the underthrust domain.     

Coupling of P–T–t–D histories of eclogite and metagreywacke—Insights to late Ordovician–Silurian crustal folding events recorded in the Beishan Orogen (NW China)

The Beishan complex is composed of orthogneiss and metagreywacke that both enclose bodies of eclogite and serves as a unique example for comparative petrological study of all these lithologies. The rocks show the earliest regional steep N-S striking fabric (S2) preserved in low strain domains that are reworked by ubiquitous steep N-NE dipping cleavage (S3). The eclogite shows an almost isotropic fabric defined by an M1 assemblage of Grt–Cpx–Amp–Qz–Rt–Ilm that is locally retrogressed to M2-3 amphibolite facies mineral assemblages, with P–T peak at 20–21 kbar and 750–775°C and retrogression to 2–3kbar and 530–550°C. The typical mineral assemblage of the host metagreywackes is Bt–Ms–Pl–Qz−Chl–Ilm±Grt. Rare Al-rich metagreywacke layers are composed of Grt–Ky–St±Sil−And–Bt–Ms–Pl–Qz±Chl±Rt–Ilm giving a P–T path with peak at 8–8.5kbar and ~670°C correlated with the S2 fabric and retrogression to ~2.5kbar and 525–550°C correlated with the S3 foliation. In two eclogite samples, the garnet-whole rock-clinopyroxene Lu–Hf isochrons give ages of 461.9±1.6 Ma and 462.0±6.2 Ma interpreted as reflecting average age of garnet formation, and Sm–Nd isochrons give ages of 453.6±2.7 Ma and 452.8±3.0 Ma interpreted as dating near-peak metamorphism. In metagreywacke, in-situ U–Pb dating of monazite gives two groups of ages of 445–440 Ma (Mnz cores) and 436–429 Ma (Mnz rims), interpreted as reflecting the metamorphic peak and retrogression. Our results show that eclogite was formed during Ordovician by subduction of a continental crust (D1). Eclogite and metagreywacke underwent partly decoupled P–T–t–D paths until their juxtaposition at mid-crustal levels during a first late Ordovician–early Silurian D2 shortening. Coupling of their P–T–t–D paths occurred during exhumation in the Silurian and a second and orthogonal D3 shortening event. The data from the Beishan Orogen are consistent with a collisional intra-Gondwanan orogen located south of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.     

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.     

The Meatiq dome (Eastern Desert, Egypt) a Precambrian metamorphic core complex: petrological and geological evidence

The Meatiq basement, which is exposed beneath late Proterozoic nappes of supracrustal rocks in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, was affected by three metamorphic events. The ophiolite cover nappes show only the last metamorphic overprint. The M1 metamorphic event (T ≥750 °C) is restricted to migmatized amphibolite xenoliths within the Um Ba′anib orthogneiss in the structurally lowest parts of the basement. Typical upper amphibolite facies M2 mineral assemblages include Grt–Zn-rich Spl–Qtz±Bt, Grt–Zn-rich Spl–Ms–Kfs–Bt–Sil–Qtz and locally kyanite in metasedimentary rocks. The mineral assemblages Ms–Qtz–Kfs–Sil in the matrix and Sil–Grt in garnet cores indicate that peak M2 P–T conditions exceeded muscovite and staurolite stabilities. Diffusional equilibration at M2 peak temperature conditions caused homogeneous chemical profiles across M2 garnets. Abundant staurolite in garnet rims and the matrix indicates a thorough equilibration during M2 at decreasing temperature conditions. M2 P–T conditions ranged from 610 to 690 °C at 6–8 kbar for the metamorphic peak and 530–600 °C at about 5.8 kbar for the retrograde stage. However, relic kyanite indicates pressures above 8 kbar, preceeding the temperature peak. A clockwise P–T path is indicated by abundant M2 sillimanite after relic kyanite and by andalusite after sillimanite. M2 fluid inclusions, trapped in quartz within garnet and in the quartz matrix show an array of isochores. Steepest isochores (water-rich H₂O-CO₂±CH₄/N₂ inclusions) pass through peak M2 P–T conditions and flatter isochores (CO₂-rich H₂O-CO₂±CH₄/N₂ inclusions) are interpreted to represent retrograde fluids which is consistent with a clockwise P–T path for M2. The M3 assemblage Grt–Chl in the uppermost metasedimentary sequence of the basement limits temperature to 460 to 550 °C. M3 temperature conditions within the ophiolite cover nappes are limited by the assemblage Atg–Trem–Tlc to<540 °C and the absence of crysotile to >350 °C. The polymetamorphic evolution in the basement contrasts with the monometamorphic ophiolite nappes. The M1 metamorphic event in the basement occurred prior to the intrusion of the Um Ba′anib granitoid at about 780 Ma. The prograde phase of the M2 metamorphic event took place during the collision of an island arc with a continent. The break-off of the subducting slab increased the temperature and resulted in the peak M2 mineral assemblages. During the rise of the basement domain retrograde M2 mineral assemblages were formed. The final M3 metamorphic event is associated with the updoming of the basement domain at about 580 Ma along low-angle normal faults.     

Petrology and geothermobarometry of granulite facies metapelites from the Hisøy-Torungen area, south Norway: new data on the Sveconorvegian P–T–t path of the Bamble sector

ABSTRACT The high-grade rocks (metapelite, quartzite, metagabbro) of the Hisøy-Torungen area represent the south-westernmost exposures of granulites in the Proterozoic Bamble sector, south Norway. The area is isoclinally folded and a metamorphic P–T–t path through four successive stages (M1-M4) is recognized. Petrological evidence for a prograde metamorphic event (M1) is obtained from relict staurolite + chlorite + albite, staurolite + hercynite + ilmenite, cordierite + sillimanite, fine-grained felsic material + quartz and hercynite + biotite ± sillimanite within metapelitic garnet. The phase relations are consistent with a pressure of 3.6 ± 0.5 kbar and temperatures up to 750–850°C. M1 is connected to the thermal effect of the gabbroic intrusions prior to the main (M2) Sveconorwegian granulite facies metamorphism. The main M2 granulite facies mineral assemblages (quartz+ plagioclase + K-feldspar + garnet + biotite ± sillimanite) are best preserved in the several-metre-wide Al-rich metapelites, which represent conditions of 5.9–9.1 kbar and 790–884°C. These P–T conditions are consistent with a temperature increase of 80–100°C relative to the adjacent amphibolite facies terranes. No accompanying pressure variations are recorded. Up to 1-mm-wide fine-grained felsic veinlets appear in several units and represent remnants of a former melt formed by the reaction: Bt + Sil + Qtz→Grt + lq. This dehydration reaction, together with the absence of large-scale migmatites in the area, suggests a very reduced water activity in the rocks and XH₂O = 0.25 in the C–O–H fluid system was calculated for a metapelitic unit. A low but variable water activity can best explain the presence or absence of fine-grained felsic material representing a former melt in the different granulitic metapelites. The strongly peraluminous composition of the felsic veinlets is due to the reaction: Grt +former melt ± Sil→Crd + Bt ± Qtz + H₂O, which has given poorly crystalline cordierite aggregates intergrown with well-crystalline biotite. The cordierite- and biotite-producing reaction constrains a steep first-stage retrograde (relative to M2) uplift path. Decimetre- to metre-wide, strongly banded metapelites (quartz + plagioclase + biotite + garnet ± sillimanite) inter-layered with quartzites are retrograded to (M3) amphibolite facies assemblages. A P–T estimate of 1.7–5.6 kbar, 516–581°C is obtained from geothermobarometry based on rim-rim analyses of garnet–biotite–plagioclase–sillimanite–quartz assemblages, and can be related to the isoclinal folding of the rocks. M4 greenschist facies conditions are most extensively developed in millimetre-wide chlorite-rich, calcite-bearing veins cutting the foliation.     

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.     

The role of heterogeneous strain in the development and preservation of a polymetamorphic record in high-P granulites, western Canadian Shield

Mafic rocks in the Chipman domain of the Athabasca granulite terrane, western Canadian Shield, provide the first well‐documented record of two distinct high‐P granulite facies events in the same domain in this region. Textural relations and the results of petrological modelling (NCFMASHT system) of mafic granulites are interpreted in terms of a three‐stage tectonometamorphic history. Stage 1 involved development of the assemblage Grt + Cpx + Qtz ± Pl (M₁) from a primary Opx‐bearing igneous precursor at conditions of 1.3 GPa, 850–900 °C. Field and microstructural observations suggest that M₁ developed synchronously with an early S₁ gneissic fabric. Stage 2 is characterized by heterogeneous deformation (D₂) and synkinematic partial retrogression of the peak assemblage to an amphibole‐bearing assemblage (M₂). Stage 3 involved a third phase of deformation and a return to granulite facies conditions marked by the prograde breakdown of amphibole (Amph₂) to produce matrix garnet (Grt_3a) and the coronitic assemblage Cpx_3b + Opx_3b + Ilm_3b + Pl_3b (M_3b) at 1.0 GPa, 800–900 °C. M₁ and M_3b are correlated with 2.55 and 1.9 Ga metamorphic generations of zircon, respectively, which were dated in a separate study. Heterogeneous strain played a crucial role in both the development and preservation of these rare examples of multiple granulite facies events within single samples. Without this fortuitous set of circumstances, the apparent reaction history could have incorrectly led to an interpretation involving a single‐cycle high‐grade event. The detailed P–T–t–D history constructed for these rocks provides the best evidence to date that much of the east Lake Athabasca region experienced long‐term lower crustal residence from 2.55 to 1.9 Ga, and thus the region represents a rare window into the reactivation and ultimate stabilization processes of cratonic lithosphere.     

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.     

Successive overprinting granulite facies metamorphic events in the Anmatjira Range, central Australia

The Anmatjira Range and adjacent Reynolds Range, central Australia, comprise early Proterozoic metasediments and othogneisses that were affected by three, and possibly four, temporally distinct metamorphic events, M_1–4, and deformation events, D_1–4, in the period 1820–1590 Ma. The north-western portion of the range, around Mt Stafford, preserves the effects of ±1820 Ma M₁-D₁, and shows a spectacular lateral transition from muscovite + quartz-bearing schists to interlayered andalusite-bearing migmatites and two-pyroxene granofelses that reflect extremely low-pressure granulite facies conditions, over a distance of less than 10 km. Orthopyroxene + cordierite + garnet + K-feldspar + quartz-bearing gneisses occur at the highest grade, implying peak conditions of ±750°C and 2.5 ± 0.6 kbar. An anticlockwise P–T path for M₁ is inferred from syn- to late-D₁ sillimanite overprinting andalusite, petrogenetic grid considerations and quantitative estimates of metamorphic conditions for inferred overprinting assemblages. The effects of M₁ have been variably overprinted to the south-east by a c. 1760 Ma M₂–D₂ event. Much of the central Anmatjira Range, around Ingellina Gap, comprises orthogneiss, deformed during D₂, and metapelites that have M₁ andalusite and K-feldspar overprinted by M₂ sillimanite and muscovite. The south-eastern portion of the range, around Mt Weldon, comprises metasediments and orthogneisses that were completely recrystallized during M₂–D₂, with metapelitic gneisses characterized by spinel + sillimanite + K-feldspar + quartz-bearing assemblages that suggest peak M₂ conditions of >750°C and 5.5 ± 1 kbar. Overprinting parageneses in metapelitic gneisses imply that D₂ occurred during essentially isobaric cooling. A third granulite facies event, M₃, affected rocks in the Reynolds Range, immediately to the south of the Anmatjira Range, at c. 1730 Ma. A possible fourth event, M₄, with a minimum age of c. 1590 My affected both Ranges, but resulted in only minor overprinting of M_1–3 assemblages. The superimposed effects of M_1–4, mapped for the entire Anmatjira–Reynolds Range area, indicate that only minor or no dislocation of the regional geology occurred during any of the metamorphic and accompanying folding, events. Although the immediate cause of each of the metamorphic events involved advection, the ultimate causes were external to the metasediments and most probably external to the crust.     

胶北南山口古元古代高压基性麻粒岩和钙硅酸盐岩的岩石地球化学特征探讨

胶北莱西古元古代的高压基性麻粒岩和钙硅酸盐岩的基本矿物组合分别为以铁铝榴石为主的石榴石-普通辉石-铁紫苏辉石和钙铝榴石-黝帘石-葡萄石-钠长石.矿物岩石学研究表明钙硅酸盐岩是由含石榴石高压基性麻粒岩经退变质和钙质交代作用形成.南山口高压基性麻粒岩记录了麻粒岩相变质作用前、麻粒岩相变质作用、退变质和钙硅酸盐岩化共同作用以及完全钙硅酸盐岩化的四个阶段的地质作用,其矿物组合分别为Cpx+ Pl+ Qtz(M1),Grt+ Cpx+ Rt+ Qtz(M2),Cpx+Pl+ Opx+ Ilm+ Mgt+ Ep(M3)和Grs+ Zo+ Prh+ Ab+ Cal(M4).微量元素研究表明,高压基性麻粒岩中大离子亲石元素Ba、Rb、K、Rb、Th富集,而高场强元素Nb、Zr、Ti、Y亏损,具有轻稀土富集的右倾型稀土配分曲线.稀土元素和微量元素配分图解显示了岛孤拉斑玄武岩的特征.主元素、微量元素的构造判别图解进一步分析表明高压基性麻粒岩及其钙硅酸盐岩的原岩形成于大陆边缘的岛弧环境.综合高压基性麻粒岩岩石学、元素地球化学特征认为,莱西高压基性麻粒岩的原岩是拉斑玄武岩质岩石,可能是形成于孤后扩张背景下基性的侵入岩或喷出岩.岩石形成以后,在胶-辽-吉带碰撞闭合过程中,经历了麻粒岩相变质作用,又在后来的抬升过程中经历退变质和钙硅酸盐岩化作用.