Metamorphic evolution of diamond-bearing and associated rocks from the Kokchetav Massif, northern Kazakhstan

Representative diamond-bearing gneisses and dolomitic marble, eclogite and Ti-clinohumite-bearing garnet peridotite from Unit I at Kumdy Kol and whiteschist from Unit II at Kulet, eastern Kokchetav Massif, northern Kazakhstan, were studied. Diamond-bearing gneisses contain variable assemblages, including Grt+Bt+Qtz±Pl±Kfs±Zo±Chl±Tur±Cal and minor Ap, Rt and Zrn; abundant inclusions of diamond, graphite+chlorite (or calcite), phengite, clinopyroxene, K-feldspar, biotite, rutile, titanite, calcite and zircon occur in garnet. Diamond-bearing dolomitic marbles consist of Dol+Di±Grt+Phl; inclusions of diamond, dolomite±graphite, biotite, and clinopyroxene were identified in garnet. Whiteschists carry the assemblage Ky+Tlc+Grt+Rt; garnet shows compositional zoning, and contains abundant inclusions of talc, kyanite and rutile with minor phlogopite, chlorite, margarite and zoisite. Inclusions and zoning patterns of garnet delineate the prograde P–T path. Inclusions of quartz pseudomorphs after coesite were identified in garnet from both eclogite and gneiss. Other ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) indicators include Na-bearing garnet (up to 0.14 wt% Na₂O) with omphacitic Cpx in eclogite, occurrence of high-K diopside (up to 1.56 wt% K₂O) and phlogopite in diamond-bearing dolomitic marble, and Cr-bearing kyanite in whiteschist. These UHP rocks exhibit at least three stages of metamorphic recrystallization. The Fe-Mg partitioning between clinopyroxene and garnet yields a peak temperature of 800–1000 °C at P >40 kbar for diamond-bearing rocks, and about 740–780 °C at >28–35 kbar for eclogite, whiteschist and Ti-bearing garnet peridotite. The formation of symplectitic plagioclase+amphibole after clinopyroxene, and replacement of garnet by biotite, amphibole, or plagioclase mark retrograde amphibolite facies recrystallization at 650–680 °C and pressure less than about 10 kbar. The exsolution of calcite from dolomite, and development of matrix chlorite and actinolite imply an even lower grade greenschist facies overprint at c. 420 °C and 2–3 kbar. A clockwise P–T path suggests that supracrustal sediments together with basaltic and ultramafic lenses apparently were subjected to UHP subduction-zone metamorphism within the diamond stability field. Tectonic mixing may have occurred prior to UHP metamorphism at mantle depths. During subsequent exhumation and juxtaposition of many other tectonic units, intense deformation chaotically mixed and mylonitized these lithotectonic assemblages.     

Petrogenetic relations among titanium‐rich minerals in an anatectic high‐P mafic granulite

The petrogenetic relations among Ti‐rich minerals in high‐grade metabasites is illuminated here through a detailed petrological investigation of an anatectic garnet–clinopyroxene granulite from the Grenville Province, Ontario, Canada containing rutile, titanite and ilmenite in distinct microtextural settings. Garnet porphyroblasts exhibit zoned Ti concentrations (up to 0.15 wt% TiO₂ in their cores), as well as a variety of rutile inclusion types, including clusters of small, variably elongate grains and thin (≤1 μm) oriented needles. Calcite inclusions in garnet, commonly observed surrounding garnet cores containing quartz and clinozoisite, indicate the presence of evolving C–O–H fluids during garnet growth and suggest that the rutile clusters may have formed from subsequent Ti diffusion and rutile precipitation within existing fluid inclusions. Titanite forms large subhedral crystals and typically occurs where the primary garnet–clinopyroxene assemblage is in contact with leucosome containing megacrystic hornblende, silvialitic scapolite and calcic plagioclase. Many titanite crystals exhibit marginal subgrains that correspond with sharp changes in their major and trace element composition, likely related to a dissolution–precipitation or recrystallization process following primary crystallization. Clinopyroxene–ilmenite symplectite coronas surround titanite in most locations, likely forming from reaction with the hornblende‐plagioclase matrix (±fluids/melt). Integration of multi‐equilibria thermobarometry and Zr thermometry in rutile and titanite with phase equilibrium modelling allows definition of a clockwise P–T path evolving to peak pressures of ~1.5 GPa at ~750°C during garnet and rutile growth, followed by peak temperature conditions of ~1.2 GPa and ~820–880°C associated with melt‐present titanite growth, and finally cooling and decompression to regional amphibolite facies conditions (~1.0 GPa and ~750°C) associated with the formation of clinopyroxene–ilmenite symplectites surrounding titanite. P–T pseudosections calculated for the pristine (leucosome‐ and titanite ‐free) metabasite bulk composition reproduce much of the prograde phase relations, but predict rutile as the stable Ti‐rich mineral at the peak thermal conditions associated with melt‐present titanite growth. The P–M(CaO) and T–M(CaO) models show that bulk CaO concentrations have a significant effect on the stability ranges of titanite and rutile. Increased bulk CaO tends to stabilize titanite to higher pressure and temperature at the expense of rutile, with a ≥15% increase in CaO producing the observed titanite‐bearing assemblage at high‐P granulite facies conditions. Thus, the model results are consistent with the textural observations, which suggest that titanite stability is associated with a chemical exchange between the host metabasite and a Ca‐rich melt.     

P–T–t evolution of garnet amphibolites in the Wutai–Hengshan area,North China Craton: insights from phase equilibria and geochronology

Garnet amphibolites can provide valuable insights into geological processes of orogenic belts, but their metamorphic evolution is still poorly constrained. Garnet amphibolites from the Wutai–Hengshan area of the North China Craton mainly consist of garnet, hornblende, plagioclase, quartz, rutile and ilmenite, with or without titanite and epidote. Four samples selected in a south–north profile were studied by the pseudosection approach in order to elucidate the characteristics of their metamorphic evolution, and to better reveal the northwards prograde change in P–T conditions as established previously. For the sample from the lower Wutai Subgroup, garnet exhibits obvious two‐substage growth zoning characteristic of pyrope (X_py) increasing but grossular (X_gr) decreasing outwards in the core, and both X_py and X_gr increasing outwards in the rim. Phase modelling using thermocalc suggests that the garnet cores were formed by chlorite breakdown over 7–9 kbar at 530–600 °C, and rims grew from hornblende and epidote breakdown over 9.5–11.5 kbar at 600–670 °C. The isopleths of the minimum An in plagioclase and maximum X_py in garnet were used to constrain the peak P–T conditions of ~11.5 kbar/670 °C. The modelled peak assemblage garnet + hornblende + epidote+ plagioclase + rutile + quartz matches well the observed one. Plagioclase–hornblende coronae around garnet indicate post‐peak decompression and fluid ingress. For the samples from the south Hengshan Complex, the garnet zoning weaken gradually, reflecting modifications during decompression of the rocks. Using the same approach, the rocks are inferred to have suprasolidus peak conditions, increasing northwards from 11.5 kbar/745 °C, 12.5 kbar/780 °C to 13 kbar/800 °C. Their modelled peak assemblages involve diopside, garnet, hornblende, plagioclase, rutile and quartz, yet diopside is not observed petrographically. The post‐peak decompression is characterized by diopside + garnet + quartz + melt = hornblende + plagioclase, causing the diopside consumption and garnet compositions to be largely modified. Thus, the pesudosection approach is expected to provide better pressure results than conventional thermobarometry, because the later approach cannot be applied with confidence to rocks with multi‐generation assemblages. U–Pb dating of zircon in the Wutai sample records a protolith age of c. 2.50 Ga, and a metamorphic age of c. 1.95 Ga, while zircon in the Hengshan samples records metamorphic ages of c. 1.92 Ga. The c. 1.95 Ga is interpreted to represent the pre‐peak or peak metamorphic stages, and the ages of c. 1.92 Ga are assigned to represent the cooling stages. All rocks in the Wutai–Hengshan area share similar clockwise P–T morphologies. They may represent metamorphic products at different crustal depths in one orogenic event, which included a main thickening stage at c. 1.95 Ga followed by a prolonged uplift and cooling after 1.92 Ga.     

Ultra-high-pressure metamorphism of carbonate rocks in the Dabie Mountains, central China

Abstract Widespread ultra-high-P assemblages including coesite, quartz pseudomorphs after coesite, aragonite, and calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite in marble, gneiss and phengite schist are present in the Dabie Mountains eclogite terrane. These assemblages indicate that the ultra-high-P metamorphic event occurred on a regional scale during Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons. Marble in the Dabie Mountains is interlayered with coesite-bearing eclogite and gneiss and as blocks of various size within gneiss. Discontinuous boudins of eclogite occur within marble layers. Marble contains an ultra-high-P assemblage of calcite/aragonite, dolomite, clinopyroxene, garnet, phengite, epidote, rutile and quartz/coesite. Coesite, quartz pseudomorphs after coesite, aragonite and calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite occur as fine-grained inclusions in garnet and omphacite. Phengites contain about 3.6 Si atoms per formula unit (based on 11 oxygens). Similar to the coesite-bearing eclogite, marble exhibits retrograde recrystallization under amphibolite–greenschist facies conditions generated during uplift of the ultra-high-P metamorphic terrane. Retrograde minerals are fine grained and replace coarse-grained peak metamorphic phases. The most typical replacements are: symplectic pargasitic hornblende + epidote after garnet, diopside + plagioclase (An₁₈) after omphacite, and fibrous phlogopite after phengite. Ferroan pargasite + plagioclase, and actinolite formed along grain boundaries between garnet and calcite, and calcite and quartz, respectively. The estimated peak P–T conditions for marble are comparable to those for eclogite: garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometry yields temperatures of 630–760°C; the garnet–phengite thermometer gives somewhat lower temperatures. The minimum pressure of peak metamorphism is 27 kbar based on the occurrence of coesite. Such estimates of ultra-high-P conditions are consistent with the coexistence of grossular-rich garnet + rutile, and the high jadeite content of omphacite in marble. The fluid for the peak metamorphism was calculated to have a very low X_CO2 (<0.03). The P–T conditions for retrograde metamorphism were estimated to be 475–550°C at <7 kbar.     

An Early Palaeozoic HP/HT granulite–garnet peridotite association in the south Altyn Tagh, NW China: P–T history and U-Pb geochronology

High‐pressure kyanite‐bearing felsic granulites in the Bashiwake area of the south Altyn Tagh (SAT) subduction–collision complex enclose mafic granulites and garnet peridotite‐hosted sapphirine‐bearing metabasites. The predominant felsic granulites are garnet + quartz + ternary feldspar (now perthite) rocks containing kyanite, plagioclase, biotite, rutile, spinel, corundum, and minor zircon and apatite. The quartz‐bearing mafic granulites contain a peak pressure assemblage of garnet + clinopyroxene + ternary feldspar (now mesoperthite) + quartz + rutile. The sapphirine‐bearing metabasites occur as mafic layers in garnet peridotite. Petrographical data suggest a peak assemblage of garnet + clinopyroxene + kyanite + rutile. Early kyanite is inferred from a symplectite of sapphirine + corundum + plagioclase ± spinel, interpreted to have formed during decompression. Garnet peridotite contains an assemblage of garnet + olivine + orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene. Thermobarometry indicates that all rock types experienced peak P–T conditions of 18.5–27.3 kbar and 870–1050 °C. A medium–high pressure granulite facies overprint (780–820 °C, 9.5–12 kbar) is defined by the formation of secondary clinopyroxene ± orthopyroxene + plagioclase at the expense of garnet and early clinopyroxene in the mafic granulites, as well as by growth of spinel and plagioclase at the expense of garnet and kyanite in the felsic granulite. SHRIMP II zircon U‐Pb geochronology yields ages of 493 ± 7 Ma (mean of 11) from the felsic granulite, 497 ± 11 Ma (mean of 11) from sapphirine‐bearing metabasite and 501 ± 16 Ma (mean of 10) from garnet peridotite. Rounded zircon morphology, cathodoluminescence (CL) sector zoning, and inclusions of peak metamorphic minerals indicate these ages reflect HP/HT metamorphism. Similar ages determined for eclogites from the western segment of the SAT suggest that the same continental subduction/collision event may be responsible for HP metamorphism in both areas.     

Constraining the P–T path of a MORB-type eclogite using pseudosections, garnet zoning and garnet-clinopyroxene thermometry: an example from the Bohemian Massif

A mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB)‐type eclogite from the Moldanubian domain in the Bohemian Massif retains evidence of its prograde path in the form of inclusions of hornblende, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, titanite, ilmenite and rutile preserved in zoned garnet. Prograde zoning involves a flat grossular core followed by a grossular spike and decrease at the rim, whereas Fe/(Fe + Mg) is also flat in the core and then decreases at the rim. In a pseudosection for H₂O‐saturated conditions, garnet with such a zoning grows along an isothermal burial path at c. 750 °C from 10 kbar in the assemblage plagioclase‐hornblende‐diopsidic clinopyroxene‐quartz, then in hornblende‐diopsidic clinopyroxene‐quartz, and ends its growth at 17–18 kbar. From this point, there is no pseudosection‐based information on further increase in pressure or temperature. Then, with garnet‐clinopyroxene thermometry, the focus is on the dependence on, and the uncertainties stemming from the unknown Fe³⁺ content in clinopyroxene. Assuming no Fe³⁺ in the clinopyroxene gives a serious and unwarranted upward bias to calculated temperatures. A Fe³⁺‐contributed uncertainty of ±40 °C combined with a calibration and other uncertainties gives a peak temperature of 760 ± 90 °C at 18 kbar, consistent with no further heating following burial to eclogite facies conditions. Further pseudosection modelling suggests that decompression to c. 12 kbar occurred essentially isothermally from the metamorphic peak under H₂O‐undersaturated conditions (c. 1.3 mol.% H₂O) that allowed the preservation of the majority of garnet with symplectitic as well as relict clinopyroxene. The modelling also shows that a MORB‐type eclogite decompressed to c. 8 kbar ends as an amphibolite if it is H₂O saturated, but if it is H₂O‐undersaturated it contains assemblages with orthopyroxene. Increasing H₂O undersaturation causes an earlier transition to SiO₂ undersaturation on decompression, leading to the appearance of spinel‐bearing assemblages. Granulite facies‐looking overprints of eclogites may develop at amphibolite facies conditions.     

Retrograde metamorphism of eclogite in the southern Appalachian Mountains,U.S.A.–A case involving seamount subduction?

This work supports a growing body of evidence that the Ashe Metamorphic Suite (AMS) of the eastern Blue Ridge province in North Carolina has an ensimatic origin and is part of a subduction‐related accretionary mélange, marking the Taconic suture between the North American craton and the Inner Piedmont. In a palinspastic reconstruction, the thrust fault at the base of the AMS appears to have intercepted the greatest depths (i.e. highest‐P metamorphic rocks) beneath parts of the AMS now exposed adjacent to the Grandfather Mountain window. The greatest volume of mafic rock is found in these same areas. We suggest that the nascent, subduction‐related, basal thrust fault was deflected downward by an obstacle in the form of an isolated, mafic volcanic edifice on the oceanic crust–a sea mount. Pelitic and mafic rocks dominate the AMS. North of the Grandfather Mountain window, retrograded eclogite occurs in the amphibolite near the base of the AMS. Textures and mineralogy indicate that an original eclogite assemblage was subjected to the following sequence of parageneses: (a) Eclogite(I) facies: omphacite+garnet+quartz, (b) Eclogite(II) facies: omphacite+garnet+epidote+quartz, (c) Symplectic (diopside+plagioclase)+garnet+epidote+quartz, (d) Amphibolite facies: (diopside+plagioclase)+garnet+epidote+hornblende+quartz, (e) Amphibolite facies: plagioclase+garnet+epidote+hornblende+quartz. P–T conditions, estimated from geothermobarometry applied to relevant mineral compositions, are c.720 °C and c.16 kbar for (b) eclogite(II) facies; c.655 °C and c.8.5 kbar for (e) amphibolite facies.     

K-rich fluid metasomatism at high-pressure metamorphic conditions: Lawsonite decomposition in rodingitized ultramafite of the Maksyutovo Complex, Southern Urals (Russia)

Fine grained rodingite‐like rocks containing epidote, clinozoisite, garnet, chlorite, phengite and titanite occur within antigorite serpentinite boudins from the high‐pressure metamorphic Maksyutovo Complex in the Southern Urals. Pseudomorphs after lawsonite, resorption of garnet by chlorite and phengite and stoichiometry suggest the reaction lawsonite + garnet + K‐bearing fluid → clinozoisite + chlorite + phengite, and define a relic assemblage of lawsonite + garnet + chlorite + titanite ± epidote as well as a later post‐lawsonite assemblage of clinozoisite + phengite + chlorite + titanite. The reaction lawsonite + titanite → clinozoisite + rutile + pyrophyllite + H₂O delimits the maximum stability of former lawsonite + titanite to pressures >13 kbar. P–T conditions of 18–21 kbar/520–540 °C result, if the average chlorite, Mg‐rich garnet rim and average epidote compositions are used as equilibrium compositions of the former lawsonite assemblage. These estimates indicate a similar depth of formation but lower temperatures to those recorded in nearby eclogites. The metamorphic conditions of the lawsonite assemblage are considerably higher than previously suggested and, together with published structural data, support a model in which a normal fault within the Maksyutovo complex acted as the major transport plane of eclogite exhumation. The maximum Si content of phengite and minimum Fe content in clinozoisite constrain the metamorphic conditions of the later pseudomorph assemblage to be >4.5 kbar and <440 °C. Rb–Sr isotopic dating of the pseudomorph assemblage results in a formation age of 339 ± 6 and 338 ± 5 Ma, respectively. These results support the recent exhumation models for this complex.     

Metamorphism of the Basement of the Qilian Fold Belt in the Minhe-Ledu Area, Qinghai Province, NW China

The basement of the central Qilian fold belt exposed along the Minhe-Ledu highway consists of psammitic schists, metabasitic rocks, and crystalline limestone. Migmatitic rocks occur sporadically among psammitic schist and metabasitic rocks. The mineral assemblage of psammitic schist is muscovite + biotite + feldspar + quartz ± tourmaline ± titanite ± sillimanite and that of metabasitic rocks is amphibole + plagioclase + biotite ± apatite ± magnetite ± pyroxene ± garnet ± quartz. The migmatitic rock consists of leucosome and restite of various volume proportions; the former consists of muscovite + alkaline feldspar + quartz ± garnet ± plagioclase while the latter is either fragments of psammitic schist or those of metabasitic rock. The crystalline limestone consists of calcite that has been partly replaced by olivine. The olivine was subsequently altered to serpentine. Weak deformations as indicated by cleavages and fractures were imposed prominently on the psammitic schists, occasionally on me     

Paragonite–hornblende assemblages and their petrological significance: an example from the Austroalpine Schneeberg Complex, Southern Tyrol, Italy

ABSTRACT Paragonite-bearing amphibolites occur interbedded with a garbenschist-micaschist sequence in the Austroalpine Schneeberg Complex, southern Tyrol. The mineral assemblage mainly comprises paragonite + Mg-hornblende/tschermakite + quartz + plagioclase + biotite + ankerite + Ti-phase + garnet ± muscovite. Equilibrium P–T conditions for this assemblage are 550–600°C and 8–10 kbar estimated from garnet–amphibole–plagioclase–ilmenite–rutile and Si contents of phengitic muscovites. In the vicinity of amphibole, paragonite is replaced by symplectitic chlorite + plagioclase + margarite +± biotite assemblages. Muscovite in the vicinity of amphibole reacts to form plagioclase + biotite + margarite symplectites. The reaction of white mica + hornblende is the result of decompression during uplift of the Schneeberg Complex. The breakdown of paragonite + hornblende is a water-consuming reaction and therefore it is controlled by the availability of fluid on the retrogressive P–T path. Paragonite + hornblende is a high-temperature equivalent of the common blueschist-assemblage paragonite + glaucophane in Ca-bearing systems and represents restricted P–T conditions just below omphacite stability in a mafic bulk system. While paragonite + glaucophane breakdown to chlorite + albite marks the blueschist/greenschist transition, the paragonite + hornblende breakdown observed in Schneeberg Complex rocks is indicative of a transition from epidote-amphibolite facies to greenschist facies conditions at a flatter P–T gradient of the metamorphic path compared to subduction-zone environments. Ar/Ar dating of paragonite yields an age of 84.5 ± 1 Ma, corroborating an Eoalpine high-pressure metamorphic event within the Austroalpine unit west of the Tauern Window. Eclogites that occur in the Ötztal Crystalline Basement south of the Schneeberg Complex are thought to be associated with this Eoalpine metamorphic event.     

Separate or shared metamorphic histories of eclogites and surrounding rocks? An example from the Bohemian Massif

Eclogite boudins occur within an orthogneiss sheet enclosed in a Barrovian metapelite‐dominated volcano‐sedimentary sequence within the Velké Vrbno unit, NE Bohemian Massif. A metamorphic and lithological break defines the base of the eclogite‐bearing orthogneiss nappe, with a structurally lower sequence without eclogite exposed in a tectonic window. The typical assemblage of the structurally upper metapelites is garnet–staurolite–kyanite–biotite–plagioclase–muscovite–quartz–ilmenite ± rutile ± silli‐manite and prograde‐zoned garnet includes chloritoid–chlorite–paragonite–margarite, staurolite–chlorite–paragonite–margarite and kyanite–chlorite–rutile. In pseudosection modelling in the system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (NCKFMASH) using THERMOCALC, the prograde path crosses the discontinuous reaction chloritoid + margarite = chlorite + garnet + staurolite + paragonite (with muscovite + quartz + H₂O) at 9.5 kbar and 570 °C and the metamorphic peak is reached at 11 kbar and 640 °C. Decompression through about 7 kbar is indicated by sillimanite and biotite growing at the expense of garnet. In the tectonic window, the structurally lower metapelites (garnet–staurolite–biotite–muscovite–quartz ± plagioclase ± sillimanite ± kyanite) and amphibolites (garnet–amphibole–plagioclase ± epidote) indicate a metamorphic peak of 10 kbar at 620 °C and 11 kbar and 610–660 °C, respectively, that is consistent with the other metapelites. The eclogites are composed of garnet, omphacite relicts (jadeite = 33%) within plagioclase–clinopyroxene symplectites, epidote and late amphibole–plagioclase domains. Garnet commonly includes rutile–quartz–epidote ± clinopyroxene (jadeite = 43%) ± magnetite ± amphibole and its growth zoning is compatible in the pseudosection with burial under H₂O‐undersaturated conditions to 18 kbar and 680 °C. Plagioclase + amphibole replaces garnet within foliated boudin margins and results in the assemblage epidote–amphibole–plagioclase indicating that decompression occurred under decreasing temperature into garnet‐free epidote–amphibolite facies conditions. The prograde path of eclogites and metapelites up to the metamorphic peak cannot be shared, being along different geothermal gradients, of about 11 and 17 °C km^?1, respectively, to metamorphic pressure peaks that are 6–7 kbar apart. The eclogite–orthogneiss sheet docked with metapelites at about 11 kbar and 650 °C, and from this depth the exhumation of the pile is shared.     

A garnet–hornblende geothermometer: calibration, testing, and application to the Pelona Schist, Southern California

Abstract A garnet–hornblende Fe–Mg exchange geothermometer has been calibrated against the garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometer of Ellis & Green (1979) using data on coexisting garnet + hornblende + clinopyroxene in amphibolite and granulite facies metamorphic assemblages. Data for the Fe–Mg exchange reaction between garnet and hornblende have been fitted to the equation. In K_D=Δ (X_Ca,g) where K_D is the Fe–Mg distribution coefficient, using a robust regression approach, giving a thermometer of the form: with very satisfactory agreement between garnet–hornblende and garnet–clinopyroxene temperatures. The thermometer is applicable below about 850°C to rocks with Mn-poor garnet and common hornblende of widely varying chemistry metamorphosed at low a_O2. Application of the garnet–hornblende geothermometer to Dalradian garnet amphibolites gives temperatures in good agreement with those predicted by pelite petrogenetic grids, ranging from 520°C for the lower garnet zone to 565–610°C for the staurolite to kyanite zones. These results suggest that systematic errors introduced by closure temperature problems in the application of the garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometer to the ‘calibration’data set are not serious. Application to ‘eclogitic’garnet amphibolites suggests that garnet and hornblende seldom attain Fe–Mg exchange equilibrium in these rocks. Quartzo-feldspathic and mafic schists of the Pelona Schist on Sierra Pelona, Southern California, were metamorphosed under high pressure greenschist, epidote–amphibolite and (oligoclase) amphibolite facies beneath the Vincent Thrust at pressures deduced to be 10±1 kbar using the phengite geobarometer, and 8–9kbar using the jadeite content of clinopyroxene in equilibrium with oligoclase and quartz. Application of the garnet–hornblende thermometer gives temperatures ranging from about 480°C at the garnet isograd through 570°C at the oligoclase isograd to a maximum of 620–650°C near the thrust. Inverted thermal gradients beneath the Vincent Thrust were in the range 170 to 250°C per km close to the thrust.     

Petrology of ultrahigh-pressure rocks from the southern Su-Lu region, eastern China

Abstract In the Su-Lu ultrahigh- P terrane, eastern China, many coesite-bearing eclogite pods and layers within biotite gneiss occur together with interlayered metasediments now represented by garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite. In addition to garnet + omphacite + rutile + coesite, other peak-stage minerals in some eclogites include kyanite, phengite, epidote, zoisite, talc, nyböite and high-Al titanite. The garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite contain jadeite + quartz + garnet + rutile ± zoisite ± apatite and quartz + kyanite + garnet + epidote + phengite + rutile ± omphacite assemblages, respectively. Coesite and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet, omphacite, jadeite, kyanite and epidote from both eclogites and metasediments. Study of major elements indicates that the protolith of the garnet-quartz jadeite rock and the kyanite quartzite was supracrustal sediments. Most eclogites have basaltic composition; some have experienced variable 'crustal'contamination or metasomatism, and others may have had a basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rock protolith.
The Su-Lu ultrahigh- P rocks have been subjected to multi-stage recrystallization and exhibit a clockwise P-T path. Inclusion assemblages within garnet record a pre-eclogite epidote amphibolite facies metamorphic event. Ultrahigh- P peak metamorphism took place at 700–890° C and P >28 kbar at c . 210–230 Ma. The symplectitic assemblage plagioclase + hornblende ± epidote ± biotite + titanite implies amphibolite facies retrogressive metamorphism during exhumation at c . 180–200 Ma. Metasedimentary and metamafic lithologies have similar P-T paths. Several lines of evidence indicate that the supracrustal rocks were subducted to mantle depths and experienced in-situ ultrahigh- P metamorphism during the Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons.     

Partial melting due to breakdown of an epidote‐group mineral during exhumation of ultrahigh‐pressure eclogite: An example from the North‐East Greenland Caledonides

In the North‐East Greenland Caledonides, P–T conditions and textures are consistent with partial melting of ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) eclogite during exhumation. The eclogite contains a peak assemblage of garnet, omphacite, kyanite, coesite, rutile, and clinozoisite; in addition, phengite is inferred to have been present at peak conditions. An isochemical phase equilibrium diagram, along with garnet isopleths, constrains peak P–T conditions to be subsolidus at 3.4 GPa and 940°C. Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry on inclusions in garnet yields values of ~820°C at 3.4 GPa. In the eclogite, plagioclase may exhibit cuspate textures against surrounding omphacite and has low dihedral angles in plagioclase–clinopyroxene–garnet aggregates, features that are consistent with former melt–solid–solid boundaries and crystallized melt pockets. Graphic intergrowths of plagioclase and amphibole are present in the matrix. Small euhedral neoblasts of garnet against plagioclase are interpreted as formed from a peritectic reaction during partial melting. Polymineralic inclusions of albite+K‐feldspar and clinopyroxene+quartz±kyanite±plagioclase in large anhedral garnet display plagioclase cusps pointing into the host, which are interpreted as crystallized melt pockets. These textures, along with the mineral composition, suggest partial melting of the eclogite by reactions involving phengite and, to a large extent, an epidote‐group mineral. Calculated and experimentally determined phase relations from the literature reveal that partial melting occurred on the exhumation path, at pressures below the coesite to quartz transition. A calculated P–T phase diagram for a former melt‐bearing domain shows that the formation of the peritectic garnet rim occurred at 1.4 GPa and 900°C, with an assemblage of clinopyroxene, amphibole, and plagioclase equilibrated at 1.3 GPa and 720°C. Isochemical phase equilibrium modelling of a symplectite of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and amphibole after omphacite, combined with the mineral composition, yields a P–T range at 1.0–1. 6 GPa, 680–1,000°C. The assemblage of amphibole and plagioclase is estimated to reach equilibrium at 717–732°C, calculated by amphibole–plagioclase thermometry for the former melt‐bearing domain and symplectite respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that partial melt formed in the UHP eclogite through breakdown of an epidote‐group mineral with minor involvement of phengite during exhumation from peak pressure; melt was subsequently crystallized on the cooling path.     

Petrology and P–T path of the Fuping mafic granulites: implications for tectonic evolution of the central zone of the North China craton

The Fuping Complex and the adjoining Wutai and Hengshan Complexes are located in the central zone of the North China craton. The dominant rock types in the Fuping Complex are high‐grade tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioritic (TTG) gneisses, with minor amounts of mafic granulites, syntectonic granitic rocks and supracrustal rocks. The petrological evidence from the mafic granulites indicates three stages of metamorphic evolution. The M₁ stage is represented by garnet porphyroblasts and matrix plagioclase, quartz, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and hornblende. Orthopyroxene+plagioclase symplectites and clinopyroxene+plagioclase±orthopyroxene coronas formed in response to decompression during M₂ following the peak metamorphism at M₁. Hornblende+plagioclase symplectites formed as a result of further isobaric cooling and retrograde metamorphism during M₃. The P–T estimates using TWQ thermobarometry are: 900–950 °C and 8.0–8.5 kbar for the peak assemblage (M₁), based on the core compositions of garnet, matrix pyroxene and plagioclase; 700–800 °C and 6.0–7.0 kbar for the pyroxene+plagioclase symplectites or coronas (M₂); and 550–650 °C and 5.3–6.3 kbar for the hornblende+plagioclase symplectites (M₃), based on garnet rim and corresponding symplectic mineral compositions. These P–T estimates define a clockwise P–T path involving near‐isothermal decompression for the Fuping Complex, similar to the P–T path estimated for the metapelitic gneisses. The inferred P–T path suggests that the Fuping Complex underwent initial crustal thickening, subsequent exhumation, and finally cooling and retrogression. This tectonothermal path is similar to P–T paths inferred for the Wutai and Hengshan Complexes and other tectonic units in the central zone of the North China craton, but different from anti‐clockwise P–T paths estimated for the basement rocks in the eastern and western zones of the craton. Based on lithological, structural, metamorphic and geochronological data, the eastern and western zones of the craton are considered to represent two different Archean to Paleoproterozoic continental blocks that amalgamated along the central zone at the end of Paleoproterozoic. The P–T paths of the Fuping Complex and other tectonic units in the central zone record the collision between the eastern and western zones that led to the final assembly of the North China craton at c. 1800 Ma.     

Garnet–clinopyroxene intermediate granulites in the St. Leonhard massif of the Bohemian Massif: ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism at high pressure or not?

Garnet–clinopyroxene intermediate granulites occur as thin layers within garnet–kyanite–K–feldspar felsic granulites of the St. Leonhard granulite body in the Bohemian Massif. They consist of several domains. One domain consists of coarser‐grained coexisting ternary feldspar, clinopyroxene, garnet, quartz and accessory rutile and zircon. The garnet has 16–20% grossular, and the clinopyroxene has 9% jadeite and contains orthopyroxene exsolution lamellae. Reintegrated ternary feldspar and the Zr‐in‐rutile thermometer give temperatures higher than 950 °C. Mineral equilibria modelling suggests crystallization at 14 kbar. The occurrence and preservation of this mineral assemblage is consistent with crystallization from hot dry melt. Between these domains is a finer‐grained deformed matrix made up of diopsidic clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, plagioclase and K‐feldspar, apparently produced by reworking of the coarser‐grained domains. Embedded in this matrix, and pre‐dating the reworking deformation, are garnet porphyroblasts that contain clinopyroxene, feldspar, quartz, rutile and zircon inclusions. In contrast with the garnet in the coarser‐grained domains, the garnet generally has >30% grossular, the included clinopyroxene has 7–27% jadeite and the Zr content of rutile indicates much lower temperatures. Some of these high‐grossular garnet show zoning in Fe/(Fe + Mg), decreasing from 0.7 in the core to 0.6 and then increasing to 0.7 at the rim. These garnet are enigmatic, but with reference to appropriate pseudosections are consistent with localized new mineral growth from 650 to 850 °C and 10 to 17 kbar, or with equilibration at 20 kbar and 770 °C, modified by two‐stage diffusional re‐equilibration of rims, at 10–15 and 8 kbar. The strong pervasive deformation has obscured relationships that might have aided the interpretation of the origin of these porphyroblasts. The evolution of these rocks is consistent with formation by igneous crystallization and subsequent metamorphism to high‐T and high‐P, rather than an origin by ultrahigh‐T metamorphism. Regarding the petrographic complexity, combination of the high grossular garnet with the ternary feldspar to infer ultrahigh‐T metamorphism at high pressure is not justified.     

Metamorphic history of eclogites and country rock gneisses in the Aktyuz area,Northern Tien‐Shan,Kyrgyzstan: a record from initiation of subduction through to oceanic closure by continent–continent collision

Eclogites and related high‐P metamorphic rocks occur in the Zaili Range of the Northern Kyrgyz Tien‐Shan (Tianshan) Mountains, which are located in the south‐western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Eclogites are preserved in the cores of garnet amphibolites and amphibolites that occur in the Aktyuz area as boudins and layers (up to 2000 m in length) within country rock gneisses. The textures and mineral chemistry of the Aktyuz eclogites, garnet amphibolites and country rock gneisses record three distinct metamorphic events (M1–M3). In the eclogites, the first MP–HT metamorphic event (M1) of amphibolite/epidote‐amphibolite facies conditions (560–650 °C, 4–10 kbar) is established from relict mineral assemblages of polyphase inclusions in the cores and mantles of garnet, i.e. Mg‐taramite + Fe‐staurolite + paragonite ± oligoclase (An_<16) ± hematite. The eclogites also record the second HP‐LT metamorphism (M2) with a prograde stage passing through epidote‐blueschist facies conditions (330–570 °C, 8–16 kbar) to peak metamorphism in the eclogite facies (550–660 °C, 21–23 kbar) and subsequent retrograde metamorphism to epidote‐amphibolite facies conditions (545–565 °C and 10–11 kbar) that defines a clockwise P–T path. thermocalc (average P–T mode) calculations and other geothermobarometers have been applied for the estimation of P–T conditions. M3 is inferred from the garnet amphibolites and country rock gneisses. Garnet amphibolites that underwent this pervasive HP–HT metamorphism after the eclogite facies equilibrium have a peak metamorphic assemblage of garnet and pargasite. The prograde and peak metamorphic conditions of the garnet amphibolites are estimated to be 600–640 °C; 11–12 kbar and 675–735 °C and 14–15 kbar, respectively. Inclusion phases in porphyroblastic plagioclase in the country rock gneisses suggest a prograde stage of the epidote‐amphibolite facies (477 °C and 10 kbar). The peak mineral assemblage of the country rock gneisses of garnet, plagioclase (An_11–16), phengite, biotite, quartz and rutile indicate 635–745 °C and 13–15 kbar. The P–T conditions estimated for the prograde, peak and retrograde stages in garnet amphibolite and country rock are similar, implying that the third metamorphic event in the garnet amphibolites was correlated with the metamorphism in the country rock gneisses. The eclogites also show evidence of the third metamorphic event with development of the prograde mineral assemblage pargasite, oligoclase and biotite after the retrograde epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism. The three metamorphic events occurred in distinct tectonic settings: (i) metamorphism along the hot hangingwall at the inception of subduction, (ii) subsequent subduction zone metamorphism of the oceanic plate and exhumation, and (iii) continent–continent collision and exhumation of the entire metamorphic sequences. These tectonic processes document the initial stage of closure of a palaeo‐ocean subduction to its completion by continent–continent collision.     

High-Pressure Granulites (Retrograded Eclogites) from the Hengshan Complex, North China Craton: Petrology and Tectonic Implications

Both high- and medium-pressure granulites have been found asenclaves and boudins in tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioriticgneisses in the Hengshan Complex. Petrological evidence fromthese rocks indicates four distinct metamorphic assemblages.The early prograde assemblage (M₁) is preserved only in thehigh-pressure granulites and represented by quartz and rutileinclusions within the cores of garnet porphyroblasts, and omphacitepseudomorphs that are indicated by clinopyroxene + sodic plagioclasesymplectic intergrowths. The peak assemblage (M₂) consists ofclinopyroxene + garnet + sodic plagioclase + quartz ±hornblende in the high-pressure granulites and orthopyroxene+ clinopyroxene + garnet + plagioclase + quartz in the medium-pressuregranulites. Peak metamorphism was followed by near-isothermaldecompression (M₃), which resulted in the development of orthopyroxene+ clinopyroxene + plagioclase symplectites and coronas surroundingembayed garnet grains, and decompression-cooling (M₄), representedby hornblende + plagioclase symplectites on garnet. The THERMOCALCprogram yielded peak (M₂) P–T conditions of 13·4–15·5kbar and 770–840°C for the high-pressure granulitesand 9–11 kbar and 820–870°C for the medium-pressuregranulites, based on the core compositions of garnet, matrixpyroxene and plagioclase. The P–T conditions of pyroxene+ plagioclase symplectite and corona (M₃) were estimated at     

Transformation of garnet epidote amphibolite to eclogite, western Dabie Mountains, China

Omphacite and garnet coronas around amphibole occur in amphibolites in the Hong'an area, western Dabie Mountains, China. These amphibolites consist of an epidote–amphibolite facies assemblage of amphibole, garnet, albite, clinozoisite, paragonite, ilmenite and quartz, which is incompletely overprinted by an eclogite facies assemblage of garnet, omphacite and rutile. Coronas around amphibole can be divided into three types: an omphacite corona; a garnet–omphacite–rutile corona; and, a garnet–omphacite corona with less rutile. Chemographic analysis for local reaction domains in combination with petrographical observations show that reactions Amp + Ab + Pg = Omp +Czo + Qtz + H₂O, and Amp + Ab = Omp ± Czo + Qtz + H₂O may lead to the development of omphacite coronas. The garnet–omphacite–rutile corona was formed from the reaction Amp + Ab + Czo + Ilm ± Qtz = Omp + Grt + Rt + H₂O. In garnet–omphacite coronas, the garnet corona grew during an early stage of epidote amphibolite facies metamorphism, whereas omphacite probably formed by the reactions forming the omphacite corona during the eclogite facies stage. It is estimated that these reactions occurred at 0.8–1.4 GPa and 480–610 °C using the garnet–clinopyroxene thermometer and omphacite barometer in the presence of albite.     

Quartz and orthopyroxene exsolution lamellae in clinopyroxene and the metamorphic P–T path of Belomorian eclogites

The Shirokaya Salma eclogite‐bearing complex is located in the Archean–Palaeoproterozoic Belomorian Province (Russia). Its eclogites and eclogitic rocks show multiple clinopyroxene breakdown textures, characterized by quartz–amphibole, orthopyroxene and plagioclase lamellae. Representative samples, a fresh eclogite, two partly retrograded eclogites, and a strongly retrograded eclogitic rock, were collected for this study. Two distinct mineral assemblages—(1) omphacite+garnet+quartz+rutile±amphibole and (2) clinopyroxene+garnet+amphibole+plagioclase+quartz+rutile+ilmenite±orthopyroxene—are described. Based on phase equilibria modelling, these assemblages correspond to the eclogite and granulite facies metamorphism that occurred at 16–18 kbar, 750–800°C and 11–15 kbar, 820–850°C, respectively. The quartz–amphibole lamellae in clinopyroxene formed during retrogression with water ingress, but do not imply UHP metamorphism. The superfine orthopyroxene lamellae developed due to breakdown of an antecedent clinopyroxene (omphacite) during retrogression that was triggered by decompression from the peak of metamorphism, while the coarser orthopyroxene grains and rods formed afterwards. The P–T path reconstructed for the Shirokaya Salma eclogites is comparable to that of the adjacent 1.9 Ga Uzkaya Salma eclogite (Belomorian Province), and those of several other Palaeoproterozoic high‐grade metamorphic terranes worldwide, facts allowing us to debate the exact timing of eclogite facies metamorphism in the Belomorian Province.