The Serra da Graciosa A-type Granites and Syenites, southern Brazil: Part 2: Petrographic and mineralogical evolution of the alkaline and aluminous associations

The Serra da Graciosa Granites and Syenites comprise five distinct plutons in the Brasiliano/Pan-African Graciosa A-type Province, southern Brazil. Six petrographic series can be identified in these plutons: (1) Alkaline series 1, composed of amphibole-bearing alkali feldspar syenites with varied mafic mineralogy and quartz contents, from alkali feldspar syenites with calcic amphibole, clinopyroxene, olivine and allanite to alkali feldspar quartz syenites with sodic–calcic amphibole and chevkinite–perrierite and to alkali feldspar granites with sodic amphibole; (2) Alkaline series 2, characterized by amphibole-bearing alkali feldspar granites, with limited modal variations but amphibole compositions also varying from calcic to sodic; (3) Alkaline series 3, of limited occurrence, which includes alkali feldspar syenites with olivine and clinopyroxene and no amphibole; (4) Aluminous series 1, of widespread occurrence, with various petrographic facies of biotite granites with amphibole; (5) Aluminous series 2, characterized by alkali feldspar granites with biotite and only minor amphibole; (6) Monzodiorites, typically with biotite, calcic amphibole and augitic clinopyroxene, partially mingled with granitic magmas. The mafic minerals present are, in general, Fe-rich with correspondingly low Mg and Al contents. In Alkaline series 1, amphiboles crystallized in progressively more oxidizing and alkaline conditions, while in Alkaline series 2, the initial conditions were somewhat more oxidizing and shifted to reducing in the final stages. In Aluminous series 1 and Aluminous series 2, amphiboles are calcic and comparatively homogeneous. The amphiboles in the monzodioritic rocks, while also homogeneous, are more Mg-rich and show compositions quite distinct from the calcic varieties in the other associations, and this is also the case for clinopyroxene. Mg# in biotite decreases from the monzodioritic rocks to Aluminous series 1 and further to Aluminous series 2. Contrasting evolution of the various associations suggests that several coeval magmatic series are present in the Serra da Graciosa granites.     

Mineralogy of New Caledonian metamorphic rocks

The chemistry and phase relations of calcic and sodic amphiboles in the Ouégoa blueschists are investigated. The first appearance of sodic amphiboles is controlled by bulkrock chemistry. Sodic amphibole appears first in weakly-metamorphosed pumpellyite metabasalts prior to the crystallization of lawsonite but does not crystallize in pelitic schists until the middle of the lawsonite zone; sodic amphibole continues as an apparently stable phase in rocks of all bulk compositions into, and throughout, the highest-grade rocks in the district. Calcic amphibole is widespread in metabasalts of the lawsonite and epidote zones and also occurs in metasediments of appropriate composition. Coexisting pairs of calcic and sodic amphiboles are common in metabasalts but they have also been found in some metasediments. A grunerite-riebeckite pair is described.Electron-probe analyses of 120 amphiboles from representative rock-types are presented in graphical form. Sodic amphiboles show an increased Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio with increasing metamorphic grade. Sodic amphiboles in pelitic schists are ferroglaucophane in the lawsonite zone and crossite and glaucophane in the epidote zone. Sodic amphiboles in metabasalts are iron-rich crossites in weakly-metamorphosed rocks and more-magnesian crossites and glaucophanes in the lawsonite and epidote zones. The abrupt increase in Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio in sodic amphiboles at the epidote isograd is attributed to the crystallization of epidote and almandine which take the place of lawsonite and spessartine of the lawsonite zone. Calcic amphiboles are fibrous actinolites in the lawsonite zone and grade with increasing Al and Na/Ca ratio into prismatic blue-green hornblendes (barroisites) in the upper epidote zone. In calcic amphiboles, increasing metamorphic grade effects the coupled substitution of (Na+Al) for (Ca+Mg) and a small increases in Fe/Mg ratio; octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated Al increases in an approximately 11 ratio. Both the calcic and the sodic amphiboles show an increase in A-site occupancy with increasing metamorphic grade. In two-amphibole assemblages Ti, Mn and K are concentrated in the calcic amphibole.The textural and chemical relations between coexisting calcic and sodic amphiboles are discussed. If the calcic and sodic amphiboles are an equilibrium pair then the data collected from the Ouégoa amphiboles gives a picture of a very asymmetric solvus in the system glaucophane-actinolite-hornblende, i.e. steep-sided to glaucophane and with a gentle slope to the calcic amphibole field; there is no indication of any termination of the solvus under the pressure-temperature conditions of crystallization of the Ouégoa schists.     

Parageneses and compositions of amphiboles from Franciscan jadeite–glaucophane type facies series metabasites at Cazadero, California

Abstract Sodic amphiboles are common in Franciscan type II and type III metabasites from Cazadero, California. They occur as (1) vein-fillings, (2) overgrowths on relict augites, (3) discrete tiny crystals in the groundmass, and (4) composite crystals with metamorphic Ca–Na pyroxenes in low-grade rocks. They become coarse-grained and show strong preferred orientation in schistose high-grade rocks. In the lowest grade, only riebeckite to crossite appears; with increasing grade, sodic amphibole becomes, first, enriched in glaucophane component, later coexists with actinolite, and finally, at even higher grade, becomes winchite. Actinolite first appears in foliated blueschists of the upper pumpellyite zone. It occurs (1) interlayered on a millimetre scale with glaucophane prisms and (2) as segments of composite amphibole crystals. Actinolite is considered to be in equilibrium with other high-pressure phases on the basis of its restricted occurrence in higher grade rocks, textural and compositional characteristics, and Fe/Mg distribution coefficient between actinolite and chlorite. Detailed analyses delineate a compositional gap for coexisting sodic and calcic amphiboles. At the highest grade, winchite appears at the expense of the actinolite–glaucophane pair. Compositional characteristics of Franciscan amphiboles from Ward Creek are compared with those of other high P/T facies series. The amphibole trend in terms of major components is very sensitive to the metamorphic field gradient. Na-amphibole appears at lower grade than actinolite along the higher P/T facies series (e.g. Franciscan and New Caledonia), whereas reverse relations occur in the lower P/T facies series (e.g. Sanbagawa and New Zealand). Available data also indicate that at low-temperature conditions, such as those of the blueschist and pumpellyite–actinolite facies, large compositional gaps exist between Ca- and Na-amphiboles, and between actinolite and hornblende, whereas at higher temperatures such as in the epidote–amphibolite, greenschist and eclogite facies, the gaps become very restricted. Common occurrence of both sodic and calcic amphiboles and Ca–Na pyroxene together with albite + quartz in the Ward Creek metabasites and their compositional trends are characteristic of the jadeite–glaucophane type facies series. In New Caledonia blueschists, Ca–Na pyroxenes are also common; Na-amphiboles do not appear alone at low grade in metabasites, instead, Na-amphiboles coexist with Ca-amphiboles throughout the progressive sequence. However, for metabasites of the intermediate pressure facies series, such as those of the Sanbagawa belt, Japan and South Island, New Zealand, Ca–Na pyroxene and glaucophane are not common; sodic amphiboles are restricted to crossite and riebeckite in composition and clinopyroxenes to acmite and sodic augite, and occur only in Fe₂O₃-rich metabasites. The glaucophane component of Na-amphibole systematically decreases from Ward Creek, New Caledonia, through Sanbagawa to New Zealand. This relation is consistent with estimated pressure decrease employing the geobarometer of Maruyama et al. (1986). Similarly, the decrease in tschermakite content and increase in NaM₄ of Ca-amphiboles from New Zealand, through Sanbagawa to New Caledonia is consistent with the geobarometry of Brown (1977b). Therefore, the difference in compositional trends of amphiboles can be used as a guide for P–T detail within the metamorphic facies series.     

Coexisting Amphiboles from Blueschist Facies Metamorphic Rocks

Four pairs of associated calcic and sodic amphiboles from blueschistfacies metamorphic rocks were analyzed with the electron microprobeand studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques.Except for ranges in the ratios Mg/(Mg+Fe) and Fe³⁺/(Fe³⁺+Al+Ti),the sodic amphiboles are similar in chemical composition. Theamount of calcium in the M(4)-site ranges only from 0·18to 0·21 ion per formula unit. The calcic amphiboles,in addition to a range in Mg/(Mg+Fe), vary in Na/(Na+Ca) ratio(0·29–0·48). Three of the calcic amphibolescontain less than 1·5 calcium ions per formula unit,indicating a significant solid solution of sodic amphibole componentsin the calcic amphibole phase. The a and b unit-cell parametersof the calcic amphiboles decrease with increased content ofthe sodic component.     

Triassic blueschists and eclogites from northwest Turkey: vestiges of the Paleo-Tethyan subduction

Triassic eclogite and blueschist facies rocks occur as a thrust sheet, 25-km long and over 2-km thick, in an Eocene fold-and-thrust belt in northwest Turkey along the zmir–Ankara suture. The thrust sheet consists mainly of metabasites with minor marble, phyllite and metachert, and rare lenses of serpentinite. The common blueschist facies mineral assemblage in the metabasites is sodic amphibole+epidote+albite+chlorite+phengite±garnet. Sodic amphibole commonly shows replacement by barroisite, and there is continuous petrographic transition from blueschist–metabasites to barroisite-bearing epidote–amphibolites. Eclogite with the mineral assemblage of garnet+sodic pyroxene+sodic–calcic amphibole+epidote is found only in one locality. P–T conditions of the epidote–blueschist facies metamorphism are estimated as 450±50 °C and 11±2 kbar. The blueschist formation was followed by a decrease in pressure and increase in temperature, leading to the development of barroisite-bearing epidote–amphibolites. Phengite, sodic amphibole and barroisite Ar/Ar ages from three metabasic rocks range between 215 and 205 Ma, and indicate Late Triassic high-pressure metamorphism. The Triassic blueschists in northwest Turkey constitute part of a much larger allochthonous tectonic unit of Triassic mafic volcanic rocks. They probably represent the upper layers of a Triassic oceanic plateau, which was accreted to the Laurasian margin during the latest Triassic. The close spatial association of the Triassic and Cretaceous blueschists along the zmir–Ankara suture suggests that the suture represents a long-lived plate boundary of Late Palaeozoic to early Tertiary age.     

Prograde metamorphic evolution and development of chloritoid-bearing eclogitic assemblages in subcontinental metagabbro (Sesia–Lanzo zone, Italy)

In the coronitic metagabbroic rocks of the Corio and Monastero metagabbro bodies in the continental Sesia–Lanzo zone of the western Italian Alps, a variety of mineral reactions that testify to prograde conditions from greenschist to eclogite-facies can be recognised. A microstructural and microchemical study of a series of samples characterized by coronitic textures and pseudomorphic replacement of the original igneous minerals has allowed the prograde reactions undergone by the rocks to be established.

In completely eclogitized coronitic samples, paragonite, blue amphibole, garnet, epidote, fine grained jadeite and chloritoid occur in plagioclase microdomains (former igneous plagioclase). The mafic mineral microdomains consist of glaucophane and garnet. Complexly-zoned amphiboles constrain changing metamorphic conditions: cores of pre-Alpine brown hornblende and/or tremolite are preserved inside rims of a sodic–calcic amphibole that are in turn surrounded by a sodic amphibole. The main high-pressure mineral assemblage, as seen in mylonites, involves glaucophane, chloritoid, epidote, garnet ± phengite, ± paragonite. Some layers within the gabbro contain garnet, omphacite, ± glaucophane, and acid dykes crosscutting the gabbro body contain jadeite, quartz, garnet, epidote and paragonite.

The presence of chloritoid-bearing high-pressure assemblages reflects hydration of the gabbros during their pre-Alpine exhumation prior to subduction, as well as the composition of the microdomains operating during subduction. The pressure and temperature conditions of gabbro transformation during subduction are inferred to be 450–550 °C at up to 2 GPa on the basis of the chloritoid-bearing assemblages. The factors controlling the reaction pathway to form chloritoid-bearing high-pressure assemblages in mafic rocks are inferred from these observations.     

Phase relations in the greenschist-blueschist-amphibolite-eclogite facies in the system Na2O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O (NCFMASH), with application to metamorphic rocks from Samos, Greece

Calculated phase equilibria among the minerals sodic amphibole, calcic amphibole, garnet, chloritoid, talc, chlorite, paragonite, margarite, omphacite, plagioclase, carpholite, zoisite/clinozoisite, lawsonite, pyrophyllite, kyanite, sillimanite, quartz and H₂O are presented for the model system Na₂O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (NCFMASH), which is relevant for many greenschist, blueschist, amphibolite and eclogite facies rocks. Using the activity-composition relationships for multicomponent amphiboles constrained by Will and Powell (1992), equilibria containing coexisting calcic and sodic amphiboles could be determined. The blueschist–greenschist transition reaction in the NCFMASH system, for example, is defined by the univariant reaction sodic amphibole + zoisite = calcic amphibole + chlorite + paragonite + plagioclase (+ quartz + H₂O) occurring between approximately 420 and 450 °C at 9.5 to 10 kbar. The calculated petrogenetic grid is a valuable tool for reconstructing the PT-evolution of metabasic rocks. This is shown for rocks from the island of Samos, Greece. On the basis of mineral and whole rock analyses, PT-pseudosections were calculated and, together with the observed mineral assemblages and reaction textures, are used to reconstruct PT-paths. For rocks from northern Samos, pseudomorphs after lawsonite preserved in garnet, the assemblage sodic amphibole-garnet-paragonite-chlorite-zoisite-quartz and the retrograde appearance of albitic plagioclase and the formation of calcic amphibole around sodic amphibole constrain a clockwise PT-path that reaches its thermal maximum at some 520 °C and 19 kbar. The derived PT-trajectory indicates cooling during exhumation of the rocks and is similar to paths for rocks from the western part of the Attic-Cycladic crystalline complex. Rocks from eastern Samos indicate lower pressures and are probably related to high-pressure rocks from the Menderes Massif in western Turkey. Received: 8 July 1997 / Accepted: 11 February 1998     

Petrology of the Nandewar Volcano,N.S.W., Australia

The Nandewar Mountains, N.S.W., Australia, are the remains of a Miocene continental alkaline volcano whose products range from olivine basalts to comendites and alkali rhyolites. Intermediate hawaiites, mugearites and benmoreites predominate in the shield, in which olivine basalts are rare, and the trachytic rocks form many intrusions into the shield. The Nandewar alkaline series shows extreme fractionation of a relatively differentiated alkali olivine basalt magma, saturated with silica, to yield extremely oversaturated peralkaline comendites and peraluminous alkali rhyolites. The nature of the ferromagnesian phases forming was controlled by low oxygen fugacities. Throughout the series clinopyroxenes range from diopsidic augite, through sodic ferrohedenbergites to hedenbergite-acmite solid solutions. Riebeckite-arfvedsonite solid solutions appear in the trachytes and comendites, and aenigmatite appears in some of the peralkaline rocks. The feldspars in the series fractionate from calcic labradorite through potash oligoclase and calcic anothoclase towards the minimum melting alkali feldspar composition, Ab₆₅Or₃₅. The compositions of the alkali rhyolites approach the minimum in the system SiO₂-KAlSi₃O₈-NaAlSi₃O₈. All the mineralogical and chemical evidence points to the development of the Nandewar series by the processes of extreme crystallization differentiation of an alkali olivine basalt parent magma. No significant contamination occurred, xenoliths and xenocrysts are absent, and volatile transfer and metasomatism played a minor role.     

中国夕卡岩矿床中的角闪石

文章综合分析研究了中国21个夕卡岩矿床中的130个角闪石的成分分析数据。根据夕卡岩类型及其伴生金属矿化的不同，把角闪石分为4大类：钙夕卡岩中的角闪石多属钙角闪石，包括绿钙闪石、铁角闪石、镁绿钙闪石、铁浅闪石、阳起石、铁阳起石、铁镁钙闪石和铁韭闪石等；镁夕卡岩中的角闪石以透闪石为主，局部有浅闪石或韭闪石；锰质夕卡岩中的角闪石有锰质阳起石、锰质透闪石、锰直闪石和锰镁闪石；碱质夕卡岩中的角闪石属钠-钙角闪石或钠角闪石类，包括钠透闪石、镁亚铁钠闪石、亚铁钠闪石、镁铝钠闪石和镁钠闪石。碳酸盐围岩和有关侵入岩的成分对角闪石的类型、成分及其伴生金属矿化起重要的作用。     

Fe isotope systematics of coexisting amphibole and pyroxene in the alkaline igneous rock suite of the Ilímaussaq Complex,South Greenland

The Ilímaussaq intrusion, South Greenland, provides an exceptional test case for investigating the changes of stable Fe isotope fractionation of solidus phases with changes in the Fe³⁺/∑Fe ratio of an evolving melt. The intrusion comprises a sequence of four melt batches that were fed from the same parental alkali basaltic magma. Differentiation produced cumulate rocks that range from augite syenite (phase I) over peralkaline granite (phase II) to agpaitic syenites (phases IIIa and IIIb). Fe³⁺/∑Fe ratios in amphiboles increase substantially from phase I to phase II and III rocks and mark a major change in the parental magma composition from augite syenites to peralkaline granites and agpaitic syenites. Before this transition, olivine, clinopyroxene, and amphibole in augite syenite, the most primitive rock type in the Ilímaussaq Complex, have a uniform Fe isotope composition that is identical to that of the bulk of igneous crustal rocks and approximated by the average isotopic composition of basalts (δ^56/54Fe_IRMM-014 = 0.072 ± 0.046‰). After the transition, amphiboles in the peralkaline granites and agpaitic syenites yield significantly heavier Fe isotope compositions with δ^56/54Fe_IRMM-014 values ranging from 0.123 to 0.237‰. Contamination of the Ilímaussaq magma by ongoing crustal assimilation as cause for this increase can be excluded on the grounds of Nd isotope data. Large-scale metasomatic overprint with an external fluid can also be dismissed based on amphibole O and Li isotope systematics. Rather, the increase towards heavy Fe isotope compositions most likely reflects the change in chemical compositions of amphiboles (calcic in augite syenite to sodic in the agpaitic syenites) and their Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios that mirror changes in the chemical composition of the melt and its oxygen fugacity. A sensitive adjustment of equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation factors to amphibole ferric/ferrous ratios is also supported by beta-factors calculated from Mössbauer spetroscopy data. Comparison of the measured isotope fractionation between clinopyroxene and amphibole with that predicted from Mössbauer data reveal Fe isotope systematics close to equilibrium in augite syenites but Fe isotopic disequilibrium between these two phases in phase IIIa agpaitic syenites. These results are in agreement with O and Li isotope systematics. While amphiboles in all Ilímaussaq lithologies crystallized at temperatures between 650 and 850 °C, textural evidence reveals later clinopyroxene crystallization at temperatures as low as 300–400 °C. Therefore, isotopic equilibrium at crystallization conditions between these two phases can not be expected, but importantly, subsolidus reequilibration can also be dismissed.     

Mineralogy,petrology, and phase relations of glaucophane-lawsonite zone blueschists from the Tavşanli Region,Northwest Turkey

Glaucophane-lawsonite facies blueschists representing a metamorphosed sequence of basic igneous rocks, cherts and shales have been investigated northeast of the district of Tav?anli in Northwest Turkey. Sodic amphiboles are rich in magnesium reflecting the generally high oxidation states of the blueschists. Lawsonite has a very uniform composition with up to 2.5 wt.% Fe₂O₃. Sodic pyroxenes show an extensive range of compositions with all the end-members represented. Chlorites are uniform in their Al/(Al+Fe+Mg) ratio but show variable Fe/ (Fe+Mg) ratios. Garnets from metacherts are rich in spessartine (>50%) whereas those from metabasites are largely almandine. Pistacite rich epidote is found in metacherts coexisting with lawsonite. Phengites are distinctly higher in their Fe, Mg and Si contents than those from greenschist facies. Hematites with low TiO₂ are ubiquitous in metacherts. Fe²⁺/Mg partitioning between chlorite and sodic amphibole is strongly controlled by the calcium content of the sodic amphibole and ranges from 1.1 for low calcium substitution to 0.8 for higher calcium substitution. The Al/Fe³⁺ partition coefficient between sodic amphibole and sodic pyroxene is 2.1. A model system has been constructed involving projections from lawsonite, iron-oxide and quartz onto a tetrahedron with Na, Al, Fe²⁺ and Mg at its apices. Calcite is treated as an indifferent phase. The model system illustrates the incompatibility of the sodic pyroxene with chlorite in the glaucophanelawsonite facies; this assemblage is represented by sodic amphibole. Sodic amphibole compositions are plotted in terms of coexisting ferromagnesian minerals. Five major areas on the sodic amphibole compositional field are delineated, each associated with one of the following minerals: chlorite, stilpnomelane, talc, almandine, deerite.     

Geochemistry of intrusive rocks associated with the Latir volcanic field,New Mexico,and contrasts between evolution of plutonic and volcanic rocks

Plutonic rocks associated with the Latir volcanic field comprise three groups: 1) 25 Ma high-level resurgent plutons composed of monzogranite and silicic metaluminous and peralkaline granite, 2) 23–25 Ma syenogranite, and alkali-feldspar granite intrusions emplaced along the southern caldera margin, and 3) 19–23 Ma granodiorite and granite plutons emplaced south of the caldera. Major-element compositions of both extrusive and intrusive suites in the Latir field are broadly similar; both suites include high-SiO₂ rocks with low Ba and Sr, and high Rb, Nb, Th, and U contents. Moreover, both intermediateto siliciccomposition volcanic and plutonic rocks contain abundant accessory sphene and apatite, rich in rare-earth elements (REE), as well as phases in which REE's are essential components. Strong depletion in Y and REE contents, with increasing SiO₂ content, in the plutonic rocks indicate a major role for accessory mineral fractionation that is not observed in volcanic rocks of equivalent composition. Considerations of the rheology of granitic magma suggest that accessory-mineral fractionation may occur primarily by filter-pressing evolved magmas from crystal-rich melts. More limited accessory-mineral crystallization and fractionation during evolution of the volcanic magmas may have resulted from markedly lower diffusivities of essential trace elements than major elements. Accessory-mineral fractionation probably becomes most significant at high crystallinities. The contrast in crystallization environments postulated for the extrusive and intrusive rocks may be common to other magmatic systems; the effects are particularly pronounced in highly evolved rocks of the Latir field. High-SiO₂ peralkaline porphyry emplaced during resurgence of the Questa caldera represents non-erupted portions of the magma that produced the Amalia Tuff during caldera-forming eruption. The peralkaline porphyry continues compositional and mineralogical trends found in the tuff. Amphibole, mica, and sphene compositions suggest that the peralkaline magma evolved from metaluminous magma. Extensive feldspar fractionation occurred during evolution of the peralkaline magmas, but additional alkali and iron enrichment was likely a result of high halogen fluxes from crystallizing plutons and basaltic magmas at depth.     

The compositional variation of synthetic sodic amphiboles at high and ultra-high pressures

Sodic amphiboles in high pressure and ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks are complex solid solutions in the system Na₂O–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (NMASH) whose compositions vary with pressure and temperature. We conducted piston-cylinder experiments at 20–30?kbar and 700–800?°C to investigate the stability and compositional variations of sodic amphiboles, based on the reaction glaucophane=2jadeite+talc, by using the starting assemblage of natural glaucophane, talc and quartz, with synthetic jadeite. A close approach to equilibrium was achieved by performing compositional reversals, by evaluating compositional changes with time, and by suppressing the formation of Na-phyllosilicates. STEM observations show that the abundance of wide-chain structures in the synthetic amphiboles is low. An important feature of sodic amphibole in the NMASH system is that the assemblage jadeite–talc?±?quartz does not fix its composition at glaucophane. This is because other amphibole species such as cummingtonite (Cm), nyböite (Nyb), Al–Na-cummingtonite (Al–Na-Cm) and sodium anthophyllite (Na-Anth) are also buffered via the model reactions: 3cummingtonite?+?4quartz?+?4H₂O=7talc, nyböite?+?3quartz=3jadeite?+?talc, 3Al–Na-cummingtonite + 11quartz + 2H₂O=6jadeite + 5talc, and 3 sodium anthophyllite?+?13quartz?+?4H₂O=3 jadeite + 7talc. We observed that at all pressures and temperatures investigated, the compositions of newly grown amphiboles deviate significantly from stoichiometric glaucophane due to varying substitutions of Al^IV for Si, Mg on the M(4) site, and Na on the A-site. The deviation can be described chiefly by two compositional vectors: [Na^AAl^IV]<=>[□^ASi] (edenite) toward nyböite, and [Na^(M4)Al^VI]<=>[Mg^(M4)Mg^VI] toward cummingtonite. The extent of nyböite and cummingtonite substitution increases with temperature and decreases with pressure in the experiments. Similar compositional variations occur in sodic amphiboles from UHP rocks. The experimentally calibrated compositional changes therefore may prove useful for thermobarometric applications.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of post-collisional alkaline and peralkaline granites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield: a case study from the southern tip of Sinai Peninsula,Egypt

The southern Sinai Peninsula, underlain by the northernmost extension of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, exposes post-collisional calc-alkaline and alkaline granites that represent the youngest phase of late Neoproterozoic igneous activity. We report a petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical investigation of post-collisional plutons of alkaline and, in some cases, peralkaline granite. These granites intrude metamorphosed country rocks as well as syn- and post-collisional calc-alkaline granitoids. The alkaline and peralkaline granites of the southern tip of Sinai divide into three subgroups: syenogranite, alkali feldspar granite and riebeckite granite. The rocks of these subgroups essentially consist of alkali feldspar and quartz with variable amounts of plagioclase and mafic minerals. The syenogranite and alkali feldspar granite contain small amounts of calcic amphibole and biotite, often less than 3%, while the riebeckite granite is distinguished by sodic amphibole (5–10%). These plutons have geochemical signatures typical of post-collisional A-type granites and were most likely emplaced during a transition between orogenic and anorogenic settings. The parental mafic magma may be linked to lithospheric delamination and upwelling of asthenospheric mantle material. Differentiation of the underplated basaltic magma with contributions from the juvenile crust eventually yielded the post-collisional alkaline granites. Petrogenetic modelling of the studied granitic suite shows that pure fractional crystallization cannot quantitatively explain chemical variations with the observed suite, with both major oxides and several trace elements displaying trends opposite to those required by the equilibrium phase assemblage. Instead, we show that compositional variation from syenogranite through alkali feldspar granite to riebeckite granite is dominated by mixing between a low-SiO₂ liquid as primitive or more primitive than the lowest-SiO₂ syenogranite and an evolved, high-SiO₂ liquid that might be a high-degree partial melt of lower crust.     

Amphibole compositions and metamorphic history of the Rand Schist and the greenschist unit of the Catalina Schist,Southern California

The Catalina Schist and Rand Schist are two high P/T terranes in southern California. The Catalina Schist is correlated with the Franciscan Complex and occurs in the continental borderland. It consists of a blueschist-facies melange tectonically overlain by a greenschist unit, which, in turn, is overthrust by an amphibolite unit. The greenschist unit itself is inversely zoned from epidote-amphibolite fades at the top through greenschist facies in the center to transitional blueschist-greenschist facies at the base. The Rand Schist is part of the eugeoclinal Pelona-Orocopia Schist terrane, which lies interior to the present continental margin, structurally beneath Precambrian to Mesozoic sialic basement. The Rand Schist is inversely zoned from epidote-amphibolite facies to transitional blueschist-greenschist facies, similar to the greenschist unit of the Catalina Schist.Two trends in amphibole composition, one from actinolite to hornblende in greenschists and epidote amphibolites (calcic series) and the other from actinolite through winchite to crossite in glaucophanic greenschists (sodic-calcic series), are present in both the Rand Schist and the greenschist unit of the Catalina Schist. The transition from actinolite to hornblende in the calcic series is defined by increases in tschermakite, edenite, and glaucophane substitution. Amphiboles of the sodic-calcic series differ mainly in the degree of glaucophanic substitution. The similarity of amphibole trends in the two terranes indicates that they were metamorphosed at approximately the same pressures and temperatures, and is evidence that the Rand Schist originated in a subduction zone, despite its present intracontinental setting.Most glaucophanic greenschists in the Rand and Catalina Schists contain both a sodic and a calcic member of the sodic-calcic series. Textural relations indicate that calcic members generally developed after the sodic ones. This implies that sodic amphibole formerly may have been present in many of the structurally higher greenschists and epidote amphibolites. Preservation of the inverted zonations, as well as microstructural evidence for the syntectonic development of calcic and sodic-calcic amphiboles, suggest that glaucophanic greenschists, greenschists, and epidote amphibolites all formed during underthrusting (subduction). This contrasts with many orogenic belts, where replacement of blueschists by greenschists to amphibolites is attributed to thermal reequilibration during erosional unroofing.     

Glaucophane-bearing assemblage overprinted by greenschist-facies metamorphism in the Variscan Kaczawa complex, Sudetes, Poland

An Early Palaeozoic (Ordovician ?) metamudstone sequence near Wojcieszow, Kaczawa Mts, Western Sudetes, Poland, contains numerous metabasite sills, up to 50 m thick. These subvolcanic rocks are of within-plate alkali basalt type. Primary igneous phases in the metabasites, clinopyroxene (salite) and kaersutite, are veined and partly replaced by complex metamorphic mineral assemblages. Particularly, the kaersutite is corroded and rimmed by zoned sodic, sodic–calcic and calcic amphiboles. The matrix is composed of actinolite, pycnochlorite, albite (An ≤ 0.5%), epidote (Ps 27–33), titanite, calcite, opaques and, occasionally, biotite, phengite and stilpnomelane. The sodic amphiboles are glaucophane to crossite in composition with Na^B from 1.9 to 1.6. They are rimmed successively by sodic–calcic and calcic amphiboles with compositions ranging from magnesioferri-winchite to actinolite. No compositions between Na^B= 0.92 and Na^B= 1.56 have been ascertained. The textures may be interpreted as representing a greenschist facies overprint on an earlier blueschist (or blueschist–greenschist transitional) assemblage. The presence of glaucophane and no traces of a jadeitic pyroxene + quartz association indicate pressures between 6 and 12 kbar during the high-pressure episode. Temperature is difficult to assess in this metamorphic event. The replacement of glaucophane by actinolite + chlorite + albite, with associated epidote, allows restriction of the upper pressure limit of the greenschist recrystallization to <8 kbar, between 350 and 450°C. The mineral assemblage representing the greenschist episode suggests the P–T conditions of the high-pressure part of the chlorite or lower biotite zone. The latest metamorphic recrystallization, under the greenschist facies, may have taken place in the Viséan.     

The petrology of a complex sodic and sodic–calcic amphibole association and its implications for the metasomatic processes in the jadeitite area in northwestern Myanmar,formerly Burma

In the Myanmar jadeitite area of Pharkan, amphibole felses occur between jadeitites and serpentinized dunites. These so-called amphibole fels boundary zones were studied optically and by electron microprobe, and found to include the six amphibole species magnesiokatophorite (Mg-kat), nyböite (Nyb), eckermannite (Eck), glaucophane (Gln), richterite (Rich) and winchite (Win). In most samples, the two main amphibole species Mg-kat and Eck coexist with amphiboles containing variable amounts of components of the remaining four species, as well as with the clinopyroxenes jadeite (Jd), omphacite (Omp) and kosmochlor (Ko). However, Mg-kat, Nyb and Eck are also present as separate phases as well as in zoned porphyroblasts with Mg-kat in the core, Nyb in the inner rims, and Eck in the outer rims. The analytical data on such zoned amphiboles reveal that the chemistry changes from core to inner rim by virtue of the substitution NaAlCa _-1Mg _-1 (glaucophane vector), and from the inner to the outer rim along MgSiAl _-1Al _-1 (tschermak vector). The overall substitution from core to outer rim is, therefore, along NaSiCa _-1Al _-1 (plagioclase vector). Based on the Si content, three groups can be distinguished within Eck: Eck coexisting with Nyb has low Si contents of <7.6 a.p.f.u., Eck rimming Nyb has higher Si contents of 7.6–8.0 a.p.f.u., and fine-grained Eck in the matrix has Si contents of 7.9–8.0 a.p.f.u. Plotting the amphibole analyses in a compositional volume with the axes (Na+K) in A, Na in M(4), and tetrahedral Si shows that three groups of amphibole compositions can be distinguished, one being subdivided into three subsets. Group A contains Rich and Mg-kat, B comprises of Win and Gln, whereas the subsets C can be defined as follows: C1: high-Na amphiboles with low tetrahedral Si; these are mainly amphiboles from the Eck field but overlap with the two fields of Gln and Win; C2: high-Na and low-Si Ecks overlapping to high-Si Nybs; this group is midway between Eck and Nyb end members; C3: high-Na Mg-kats. Textural observations indicate three stages of sodic and sodic–calcic amphibole growth: stage 1 are amphiboles of group A (Mg-kat+Rich), stage 2 are amphiboles of group C2 (Nyb+Eck with Si<7.6 a.p.f.u.), and stage 3 are amphiboles of groups C1 and B (Eck with Si>7.6 a.p.f.u., +Gln+Win). Based on the subdivision into the compositional groups A–C, the only hint to a miscibility gap is provided by the large gap in the (Na+K) content on the A site which may point to a possible solvus in the system Eck–Win. Overall, the amphiboles investigated here show discontinuities in their growth compositions, rather than miscibility gaps. Textural observations suggest amphibole formation during fluid infiltration in the contact zone between the jadeitite bodies and the surrounding peridotite under high-pressure conditions (>1.0 GPa) and rather low temperatures of about 250–370 °C. Based on compositional trends within the amphiboles as well as phase-equilibrium constraints between amphibole and coexisting pyroxene solid solutions, the chemical composition of zoned amphibole porphyroblasts indicates two growth episodes—increasing pressures from stage 1 to stage 2 lead to the formation of Nyb from Mg-kat, and subsequently decreasing pressures lead to the formation of stage 3 Eck from Rich.     

P–T path of high-pressure/low-temperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tianshan Mountains, NW China

The Chinese western Tianshan high-pressure/low-temperature (HP–LT) metamorphic belt, which extends for about 200 km along the South Central Tianshan suture zone, is composed of mainly metabasic blueschists, eclogites and greenschist facies rocks. The metabasic blueschists occur as small discrete blocks, lenses, bands, laminae or thick beds in meta-sedimentary greenschist facies country rocks. Eclogites are intercalated within blueschist layers as lenses, laminae, thick beds or large massive blocks (up to 2 km² in plan view). Metabasic blueschists consist of mainly garnet, sodic amphibole, phengite, paragonite, clinozoisite, epidote, chlorite, albite, accessory titanite and ilmenite. Eclogites are predominantly composed of garnet, omphacite, sodic–calcic amphibole, clinozoisite, phengite, paragonite, quartz with accessory minerals such as rutile, titanite, ilmenite, calcite and apatite. Garnet in eclogite has a composition of 53–79 mol% almandine, 8.5–30 mol% grossular, 5–24 mol% pyrope and 0.6–13 mol% spessartine. Garnet in blueschists shows similar composition. Sodic amphiboles include glaucophane, ferro-glaucophane and crossite, whereas the sodic–calcic amphiboles mainly comprise barroisite and winchite. The jadeite content of omphacite varies from 35–54 mol%. Peak eclogite facies temperatures are estimated as 480–580 °C for a pressure range of 14–21 kbar. The conditions of pre-peak, epidote–blueschist facies metamorphism are estimated to be 350–450 °C and 8–12 kbar. All rock types have experienced a clockwise P–T path through pre-peak lawsonite/epidote-blueschist to eclogite facies conditions. The retrograde part of the P–T path is represented by the transition of epidote-blueschist to greenschist facies conditions. The P–T path indicates that the high-pressure rocks formed in a B-type subduction zone along the northern margin of the Palaeozoic South Tianshan ocean between the Tarim and Yili-central Tianshan plates.     

Metamorphic evolution of the Susunai metabasites in southern Sakhalin, Russian Republic

The Susunai Complex of southeast Sakhalin represents a subduction-related accretionary complex of pelitic and basic rocks. Two stages of metamorphism are recognized: (1) a local, low- P / T  event characterized by Si-poor calcic amphiboles; (2) a regional, high- P / T  event characterized by pumpellyite, actinolite, epidote, sodic amphibole, sodic pyroxene, stilpnomelane and aragonite. The major mineral assemblages of the high- P / T  Susunai metabasites contain pumpellyite+epidote+actinolite+chlorite, epidote+actinolite+chlorite, epidote+Na-amphibole+Na-pyroxene+chlorite+haematite. The Na- amphibole is commonly magnesioriebeckite. The Na-pyroxene is jadeite-poor aegirine to aegirine-augite. Application of empirically and experimentally based thermobarometers suggests peak conditions of T  =250–300 °C, P= 4.7–6 kbar. Textural relationships in Susunai metabasite samples and a petrogenetic grid calculated for the Fe³⁺-rich basaltic system suggest that pressure and temperature increased during prograde metamorphism.     

Multi-stage reaction history in different eclogite types from the Pakistan Himalaya and implications for exhumation processes

Metabasites were sampled from rock series of the subducted margin of the Indian Plate, the so-called Higher Himalayan Crystalline, in the Upper Kaghan Valley, Pakistan. These vary from corona dolerites, cropping out around Saif-ul-Muluk in the south, to coesite–eclogite close to the suture zone against rocks of the Kohistan arc in the north. Bulk rock major- and trace- element chemistry reveals essentially a single protolith as the source for five different eclogite types, which differ in fabric, modal mineralogy as well as in mineral chemistry. The study of newly-collected samples reveals coesite (confirmed by in situ Raman spectroscopy) in both garnet and omphacite. All eclogites show growth of amphiboles during exhumation. Within some coesite-bearing eclogites the presence of glaucophane cores to barroisite is noted whereas in most samples porphyroblastic sodic–calcic amphiboles are rimmed by more aluminous calcic amphibole (pargasite, tschermakite, and edenite). Eclogite facies rutile is replaced by ilmenite which itself is commonly surrounded by titanite. In addition, some eclogite bodies show leucocratic segregations containing phengite, quartz, zoisite and/or kyanite. The important implication is that the complex exhumation path shows stages of initial cooling during decompression (formation of glaucophane) followed by reheating: a very similar situation to that reported for the coesite-bearing eclogite series of the Tso Morari massif, India, 450 km to the south-east.