Metamorphic evolution of the Naga Hills eclogite and blueschist, Northeast India: implications for early subduction of the Indian plate under the Burma microplate

Tectonic slices and lenses of eclogite within mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Early Cretaceous–Eocene Naga Hills ophiolite were studied to constrain the physical conditions of eastward subduction of the Indian plate under the Burma microplate and convergence rate prior to the India–Eurasia collision. Some of the lenses are composed of eclogite, garnet-blueschist, glaucophanite and greenschist from core to margin, representing a retrograde hydrothermal alteration sequence. Barroisite, garnet, omphacite and epidote with minor chlorite, phengite, rutile and quartz constitute the peak metamorphic assemblage. In eclogite and garnet-blueschist, garnet shows an increase in Mg and Fe and decrease in Mn from core to rim. In chlorite in eclogite, Mg increases from core to rim. Inclusions of epidote, glaucophane, omphacite and quartz in garnet represent the pre-peak assemblage. Glaucophane also occurs profusely at the rims of barroisite. The matrix glaucophane and epidote represent the post-peak assemblage. The Fe³⁺ content of garnet-hosted omphacite is higher than that of matrix omphacite, and Fe³⁺ increases from core to rim in matrix glaucophane. Albite occurs in late stage veins. P – T pseudosection analysis indicates that the Naga Hills eclogites followed a clockwise P – T path with prograde metamorphism beginning at ∼1.3 GPa/525 °C and peaking at 1.7–2.0 GPa/580–610 °C, and subsequent retrogression to ∼1.1 GPa/540 °C. A comparison of these P – T conditions with numerical thermal models of plate subduction indicates that the Naga Hills eclogites probably formed near the top of the subducting crust with convergence rates of ∼ 55–100 km Myr⁻¹, consistent with high pre-collision convergence rates between India and Eurasia.     

Pressure–temperature conditions and retrograde paths of eclogites, garnet–glaucophane rocks and schists from South Sulawesi, Indonesia

High-pressure metamorphic rocks exposed in the Bantimala area, c . 40  km north-east of Ujung Pandang, were formed as a Cretaceous subduction complex with fault-bounded slices of melange, chert, basalt, turbidite, shallow-marine sedimentary rocks and ultrabasic rocks. Eclogites, garnet–glaucophane rocks and schists of the Bantimala complex have estimated peak temperatures of T  =580–630 °C at 18  kbar and T  =590–640 °C at 24  kbar, using the garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometer. The garnet–omphacite–phengite equilibrium is used to estimate pressures. The distribution coefficient K _D1=[( X _pyr)³( X _grs)⁶/( X _di)⁶]/[(Al/Mg)_M2,wm (Al/Si)_T2,wm]³ among omphacite, garnet and phengite is a good index for metamorphic pressures. The K _D1values of the Bantimala eclogites were compared with those of eclogites with reliable P–T  estimates. This comparison suggests that peak pressures of the Bantimala eclogites were P =18–24  kbar at T  =580–640 °C. These results are consistent with the P–T  range calculated using garnet–rutile–epidote–quartz and lawsonite–omphacite–glaucophane–epidote equilibria.     

Kyanite eclogite xenolith from the orthogneiss terrane of the Tisza Megaunit, Jánoshalma area, crystalline basement of southern Hungary

New evidence for high-pressure, eclogite facies metamorphism in the crystalline basement of the Tisza Megaunit (southern Hungary) is reported. The retrogressed mafic eclogite forms a small lens in the orthogneiss and it was found in the borehole near Jánoshalma. The carbonated eclogite contains the peak metamorphic assemblage omphacite + garnet + phengite + kyanite + clinozoizite + rutile + K-feldspar + quartz. Omphacite (Xjd_0.40–0.41Xdio_0.52–0.53Xhd_0.05Xaug_1.55–2.85) occurs in the matrix and as inclusions in garnet (Xpy_0.37–0.38Xgrs_0.21–0.22Xalm_0.39–0.40Xsps_0–0.01Xadr_0–0.01) and kyanite. Thermobarometry based on net-transfer reactions between garnet, omphacite, kyanite and phengite yields P–T conditions of 710 ± 10 °C and 2.6 ± 0.75 GPa. Retrogression during decompression is manifested by formation of symplectites; the most typical are diopside + plagioclase after omphacite, corundum + spinel + plagioclase after kyanite and biotite + plagioclase after phengite. Carbonatization along the veins of the retrogressed eclogite was probably coeval with formation of these symplectites. At places where carbonate is absent the rock was completely hydrated and retrogressed down to the greenschist facies with the development of actinolite. Similar eclogites together with abundant orthogneisses occur mainly in the eastern parts of the Tisza Megaunit, suggesting the existence of an ancient (possibly Variscan) subduction/accretionary complex.     

Water content in natural eclogite and implication for water transport into the deep upper mantle

Infrared spectroscopy and ion micro-probe measurements showed that the major constituent minerals of eclogites from the Kokchetav massif, which have been subducted to 180 km depths, contain significant amounts of water up to 870 ppm H₂O (by weight) in omphacite, 130 ppm H₂O in garnet and 740 ppm H₂O in rutile. Omphacite shows three hydroxyl absorption bands at 3440–3460, 3500–3530 and 3600–3625 cm^− 1, garnet has a single band at 3580–3630 cm^− 1 and rutile has a single sharp band at 3280 cm^− 1. The hydroxyl absorbance at these wavenumbers changes with the crystal orientation in polarized infrared radiation, indicating that the water is structurally incorporated in these minerals. The water contents in omphacite and garnet increase systematically with the metamorphic pressure of the host eclogites. The partitioning coefficient of the water content between coexisting garnet and omphacite is similar in different eclogites, D^Grt/Omp0.1–0.2, but decreases slightly at high pressure. Based on the mineral proportions of the eclogites, we estimate bulk-rock water content in the eclogites ranging from 3070 to 300 ppm H₂O (by weight). Although hydrous minerals are absent in the diamond-grade eclogite (60 kbar and 1000 °C), trace amounts of water are incorporated in the nominally anhydrous minerals such as omphacite and garnet. The presence of significant water in these minerals implies that the subducting oceanic crust can transport considerable amounts of water into the deep upper mantle beyond the stability of hydrous minerals. Such water may be stored in the deep upper mantle and have an important influence on dynamics in the Earth's interior.     

Well-preserved garnet growth zoning in granulite from the Dabie Mountains, central China

Ultra-high pressure eclogites and granulites both occur in the Dabie Mountains, central China. A garnet porphyroblast from felsic granulite in the Dabie Mountains has been analysed for compositional zoning by electron microprobe. Two segments of the porphyroblast have opposite compositional variations. Segment I (from centre outward 9  mm to analytical point 18) has decreasing X_Sps and increasing X_Pyr, while Segment II (from analytical point 18, 1  mm outward to the rim) has increasing X_Sps and X_Alm and decreasing X_Pyr and X_Grs. The compositional zoning in segment I is considered as growth zoning and that in Segment II as diffusive retrograde zoning. Garnet growth zoning records a P–T  path prior to the peak granulite metamorphism. The minimum P – T  conditions are estimated to be 1.35  GPa and 850  °C for peak metamorphism, based on the highest Mg/(Fe+Mg) composition in the garnet (analytical point 18) and matrix hypersthene, biotite and plagioclase. A symplectitic corona surrounds the porphyroblast and appears to have formed at 0.6  GPa and 700  °C. The well-preserved growth zoning in garnet suggests a short residence time for the granulite at peak metamorphism and thus rapid tectonic uplift history. The P–T  path is consistent with that of ultra-high-pressure eclogite in the area. Tectonic movements during a collisional event could have brought both the granulite and the eclogite to their present positions.     

Decompressional coronas and symplectites in granulites of the Musgrave Complex, central Australia

Abstract In granulite facies metapelitic rocks in the Musgrave Complex, central Australia, reaction between S1 garnet and sillimanite involves the development in S2 of both garnet + cordierite + hercynitic spinel + biotite and hercynitic spinel + cordierite + sillimanite + biotite. The S2 assemblages occur either in coronas and symplectites, mainly around garnet, or, in rocks in which S2 is more strongly developed, as recrystallized assemblages. Ignoring the presence of biotite and ilmenite, the mineral textures can be accounted for qualitatively by a consideration of the model system FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (FMAS); the textural relationships accord with decompression accompanying the change from S1 to S2. However, since biotite and ilmenite are involved in the assemblages, the parageneses are better accounted for in terms of equilibria in the expanded model system K₂O-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂-TiO₂-Fe₂O₃ (KFMASHTO), i.e. AFM + TiO₂+ Fe₂O₃. The coronas reflect the tectonic unroofing of at least part of the Musgrave Complex from peak S1 conditions of about 8 kbar to S2 conditions of about 4 kbar.     

Hydration of eclogite, Pam Peninsula, New Caledonia

Garnet glaucophanite and greenschist facies assemblages were formed by the recrystallization of barroisite-bearing eclogite facies metabasites in northern New Caledonia. The mineralogical evolution can be modelled by calculated P–T and P–X _H2O diagrams for appropriate bulk rock compositions in the model system CaO–Na₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O. The eclogites, having developed in a clockwise P–T path that reached P ≈19 kbar and T  ≈590 °C, underwent decompression with the consumption of free H₂O as the volume of hydrous minerals increased. Eclogite is preserved in domains that experienced no fluid influx following the loss of this fluid. Garnet glaucophanite formed at P ≈16 kbar during semi-pervasive fluid influx. Fluid influx, after further isothermal decompression, was focused in shear zones, and resulted in chlorite–albite-bearing greenschist facies mineral assemblages that reflect P ≈9 kbar.     

Petrology of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from the ZK703 drillhole in the Donghai, eastern China

The 558-m-deep ZK703 drillhole located near Donghai in the southern part of the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt, eastern China, penetrates alternating layers of eclogites, gneisses, jadeite quartzites, garnet peridotites, phengite–quartz schists, and kyanite quartzites. The preservation of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic minerals and their relics, together with the contact relationship and protolith types of the various rocks indicates that these are metamorphic supracrustal rocks and mafic-ultramafic rock assemblages that have experienced in-situ ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. The eclogites can be divided into five types based on accessory minerals: rutile eclogite, phengite eclogite, kyanite–phengite eclogite, quartz eclogite, and common eclogite with rare minor minerals. Rutile eclogite forms a thick layer in the drillhole that contains sufficient rutile for potential mining. Two retrograde assemblages are observed in the eclogites: the first stage is characterized by the formation of sodic plagioclase+amphibole symplectite or symplectitic coronas after omphacite and garnet, plagioclase+biotite after garnet or phengite, and plagioclase coronas after kyanite; the second stage involved total replacement of omphacite and garnet by amphibole+albite+epidote+quartz. Peak metamorphic P–T conditions of the eclogites were around 32 to 40 kbar and 720°C to 880°C. The retrograde P–T path of the eclogites is characterized by rapidly decreasing pressure with slightly decreasing temperature. Micro-textures and compositional variations in symplectitic minerals suggest that the decompression breakdown of ultrahigh-pressure minerals is a domainal equilibrium reaction or disequilibrium reaction. The composition of the original minerals and the diffusion rate of elements involved in these reactions controlled the symplectitic mineral compositions.     

柴北缘锡铁山一带榴辉岩的岩石学特征及其退变PT轨迹

柴北缘锡铁山地区榴辉岩以透镜体的形式存在于花岗质片麻岩和副变质片麻岩中.根据矿物组合的不同,可以分为多硅白云母榴辉岩和角闪石榴辉岩.在多硅白云母榴辉岩中首次发现了柯石英假象.利用榴辉岩中Grt-Cpx-Phn矿物温压计.结合绿辉石中存在柯石英假象包体的现象,得到锡铁山榴辉岩的峰期温压条件为751～791℃,2.71～3.17GPa,证明了锡铁山地区与柴北缘其他地块一样,也经历了超高压变质作用.通过PT视剖面图计算了榴辉岩退变的PT轨迹具有2个阶段演化特征：即先等温降压,然后再降温降压的PT轨迹.详细的岩石学研究探讨了榴辉岩在退变过程中,各矿物的成分和结构的改变过程.石榴石在等温降压过程中成分变化不大,而在角闪石出现后,其边部镁铝榴石含量明显降低,进而形成了韭闪石+斜长石的冠状体.绿辉石在水饱和状态下经过贫硬玉化改造,而后形成了Di+Ab+Amp的后生合晶.多硅白云母分解形成白云母+黑云母及少量石英及钾长石的组合.角闪石随着温压条件的降低由钠钙质闪石逐渐向钙质闪石转化.     

Fluid inclusions in granulites, granulitized eclogites and garnet clinopyroxenites from the Dabie–Sulu terranes, eastern China

Minor granulites (believed to be pre-Triassic), surrounded by abundant amphibolite-facies orthogneiss, occur in the same region as the well-documented Triassic high- and ultrahigh-pressure (HP and UHP) eclogites in the Dabie–Sulu terranes, eastern China. Moreover, some eclogites and garnet clinopyroxenites have been metamorphosed at granulite- to amphibolite-facies conditions during exhumation. Granulitized HP eclogites/garnet clinopyroxenites at Huangweihe and Baizhangyan record estimated eclogite-facies metamorphic conditions of 775–805 °C and ≥15 kbar, followed by granulite- to amphibolite-facies overprint of ca. 750–800 °C and 6–11 kbar. The presence of (Na, Ca, Ba, Sr)-feldspars in garnet and omphacite corresponds to amphibolite-facies conditions. Metamorphic mineral assemblages and P–T estimates for felsic granulite at Huangtuling and mafic granulite at Huilanshan indicate peak conditions of 850 °C and 12 kbar for the granulite-facies metamorphism and 700 °C and 6 kbar for amphibolite-facies retrograde metamorphism. Cordierite–orthopyroxene and ferropargasite–plagioclase coronas and symplectites around garnet record a strong, rapid decompression, possibly contemporaneous with the uplift of neighbouring HP/UHP eclogites.

Carbonic fluid (CO₂-rich) inclusions are predominant in both HP granulites and granulitized HP/UHP eclogites/garnet clinopyroxenites. They have low densities, having been reset during decompression. Minor amounts of CH₄ and/or N₂ as well as carbonate are present. In the granulitized HP/UHP eclogites/garnet clinopyroxenites, early fluids are high-salinity brines with minor N₂, whereas low-salinity fluids formed during retrogression. Syn-granulite-facies carbonic fluid inclusions occur either in quartz rods in clinopyroxene (granulitized HP garnet clinopyxeronite) or in quartz blebs in garnet and quartz matrices (UHP eclogite). For HP granulites, a limited number of primary CO₂ and mixed H₂O–CO₂(liquid) inclusions have also been observed in undeformed quartz inclusions within garnet, orthopyroxene, and plagioclase which contain abundant, low-density CO₂±carbonate inclusions. It is suggested that the primary fluid in the HP granulites was high-density CO₂, mixed with a significant quantity of water. The water was consumed by retrograde metamorphic mineral reactions and may also have been responsible for metasomatic reactions (“giant myrmekites”) occurring at quartz–feldspar boundaries. Compared with the UHP eclogites in this region, the granulites were exhumed in the presence of massive, externally derived carbonic fluids and subsequently limited low-salinity aqueous fluids, probably derived from the surrounding gneisses.     

西藏定结高压基性麻粒岩(退变榴辉岩)的变质P-T轨迹及构造意义

定结（Dinggye）位于藏南高喜马拉雅结晶岩系的中部,研究该区域麻粒岩的变质P-T轨迹对于理解青藏高原的碰撞和抬升过程至关重要.通过对该地区的高压基性麻粒岩（退变榴辉岩）的岩相学观察,确定了4期矿物组合:（1）峰期榴辉岩相矿物组合（M₁）由石榴子石（核部）+绿辉石（假象）+石英+金红石组成;（2）高压麻粒岩相矿物组合（M₂）主要由石榴子石（幔部）+单斜辉石+斜长石+钛铁矿+角闪石+黑云母组成;（3）中压麻粒岩相矿物组合（M₃）由石榴子石（边缘）+斜方辉石+斜长石+钛铁矿+黑云母组成;（4）角闪岩相矿物组合（M₄）主要由角闪石+斜长石组成.在NCFMASHTO体系下,用THERMOCALC软件对该高压基性麻粒岩进行了热力学模拟.结合传统温压计和平均温压计计算结果,求得M₂、M₃、M₄阶段的温压条件分别为786~826 ℃、0.78~0.96 GPa;798~850 ℃、0.71~0.75 GPa;610~666 ℃、0.51~0.60 GPa,这指示了一条以峰期后近等温降压（ITD）为特征的顺时针P-T轨迹.结合已有地质资料,表明定结高压基性麻粒岩（退变榴辉岩）是喜马拉雅碰撞造山的产物,峰期后经历了近等温降压的构造抬升过程.      

Calculated mineral equilibria for eclogites in CaO–Na2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O: application to the Pouébo Terrane, Pam Peninsula, New Caledonia

The high- P , medium- T  Pouébo terrane of the Pam Peninsula, northern New Caledonia includes barroisite- and glaucophane-bearing eclogite and variably rehydrated equivalents. The metamorphic evolution of the Pouébo terrane is inferred from calculated P–T  and P–T  – X H2O pseudosections for bulk compositions appropriate to these rocks in the model system CaO–Na₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O. The eclogites experienced a clockwise P–T  path that reached P ≈19  kbar and T  ≈600  °C. The eclogitic mineral assemblages are preserved because reaction consequent upon decompression consumed the rocks' fluid. Extensive reaction occurred only in rocks with fluid influx during decompression of the Pouébo terrane.     

Constraints on element mobility associated with the conversion of granulite to eclogite along fractures in an anorthositic complex on Holsnøy, Norway

On Holsnøy, an island off the coast of Western Norway, an anorthositic complex metamorphosed to granulite facies was partially overprinted by a later eclogite facies metamorphism. Eclogite facies rocks (containing omphacite, garnet, kyanite and hydrous phases such as mica and zoisite) occur in shear zones of various scales and adjacent to veins. Previous studies of shear zones on Holsnøy reported evidence for substantial element mobility (Jamtveit et al ., 1990; Mattey et al ., 1994). In this work, we compare chemical compositions of granulite and its undeformed eclogitized equivalent adjacent to veins in locations where a single band of granulite can be traced and sampled as it approaches the vein. This tracing is crucial because the pre-granulite rocks cover a substantial compositional range, indicative of a petrologically variable protolith consisting of anorthosite, gabbro and jotunite. We analysed multiple core samples collected across nine separate granulite-eclogite transition zones located at veins in anorthositic, jotunitic and gabbroic protoliths for major and trace elements. For each transition, no compositional difference between the average granulite and average eclogite composition was found at the 90% confidence level except for LOI (loss on ignition), which was consistently significantly higher in the eclogite samples. Although not significant at the 90% confidence level for any single traverse, the average eclogite concentrations of SiO₂ , Na₂O, Cs, As and Br exceed the average granulite concentrations for eight or all nine of the traverses. For most traverses, statistical analysis of the data limits any gain of SiO₂ in the eclogites to no more than a few relative per cent. Other than the introduction of volatile substances, presumably an H₂O-rich fluid, eclogitization associated with vein formation was essentially isochemical.     

Eclogite xenoliths from Wajrakarur kimberlites, southern India

Summary Mineralogical characteristics of eclogite xenoliths from three kimberlite pipes (KL2, P2 and P10) of the Proterozoic Wajrakarur kimberlite field of southern India have been studied. In a rare sample of enstatite eclogite from the KL2 pipe garnet contains microscopic triangular arrays of needles or blebs of omphacite, enstatite and rutile consistent with an origin by exsolution parallel to the isometric form {111}. Discrete omphacite grains in the sample contain exsolved needles or blebs of enstatite and garnet. Kyanite eclogites are abundant in the KL2 pipe which occasionally show a secondary ring of pure celsian around kyanite grains. Omphacite Na₂O contents in the eclogites of the KL2 and P2 pipes are typically between 3 and 6 wt%, and garnet has widely variable composition with end member ranges of Prp22-81Grs0-47Alm10-30Sps0-1Adr0-5Uv0-3. Eclogites of the P10 pipe comprise chromian omphacite and garnet. Phase relations in the ACF projection exhibit systematic increase of the Ca-Tschermak’s component in omphacite from enstatite eclogite through biminerallic eclogite to kyanite eclogite. Garnet-clinopyroxene Fe–Mg geothermometry yields temperatures mostly in the range of 900–1100 °C. A formerly supersilicic nature of garnet in enstatite eclogite as inferred from exsolution mineralogy indicates minimum peak pressure of 5 GPa.     

Sapphirine in SW Sweden: a record of Sveconorwegian (–Grenvillian) late-orogenic tectonic exhumation

In the Sveconorwegian granulite region of SW Sweden, sapphirine occurs in reaction coronas in Mg- and Al-rich kyanite eclogites which form parts of mafic complexes. Aluminous to peraluminous sapphirine forms symplectitic intergrowths with plagioclase±corundum±spinel after kyanite. Kyanite and omphacite were the main reactants in the formation of sapphirine. The sapphirine formed during decompression from the eclogite facies ( P >15  kbar) through the high- to medium-pressure granulite and upper amphibolite facies at c. 750  °C. Preserved growth zoning in garnet, frozen-in reaction textures, and chemical disequilibrium suggest a rapid tectonic exhumation. Ductile deformation in the surrounding gneisses and parts of the mafic complex is characterized by foliation development, WNW–ESE stretching and dynamic recrystallization under granulite to upper amphibolite facies conditions, simultaneous with the sapphirine formation. This decompression, high-grade re-equilibration and associated deformation took place during the exhumation of the Sveconorwegian eclogites, bracketed between 969±14 and 956±7  Ma. Probable tectonic causes are late-orogenic gravitational collapse and/or plate divergence following the Sveconorwegian–Grenvillian continent–continent collision. There are no indications of metastability of aluminous and peraluminous sapphirine in the decompressed kyanite eclogites; sapphirine is stable in amphibole-poor and amphibolitized varieties, including rocks that have undergone dynamic recrystallization. Close similarities between rocks from different parts of the world with respect to reaction textures suggests that sapphirine+plagioclase-forming reactions are a universal feature in high-temperature decompressed kyanite eclogites.     

High-pressure eclogites in northern Jiangsu – southern Shandong province, eastern China

Abstract Eclogites are distributed for more than 500 km along a major tectonic boundary between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons in central and eastern China. These eclogites usually have high-P assemblages including omphacite + kyanite and/or coesite (or its pseudomorph), and form a high-P eclogite terrane. They occur as isolated lenses or blocks 10 cm to 300 m long in gneisses (Type I), serpentinized garnet peridotites (Type II) and marbles (Type III). Type I eclogites were formed by prograde metamorphism, and their primary metamorphic mineral assemblage consists mainly of garnet [pyrope (Prp) = 15–40 mol%], omphacite [jadeite (Jd) = 34–64 mol%], pargasitic amphibole, kyanite, phengitic muscovite, zoisite, an SiO₂ phase, apatite, rutile and zircon. Type II eclogites characteristically contain no SiO₂ phase, and are divided into prograde eclogites and mantle-derived eclogites. The prograde eclogites of Type II are petrographically similar to Type I eclogites. The mantle-derived eclogites have high MgO/(FeO + Fe₂O₃) and Cr₂O₃ compositions in bulk rock and minerals, and consist mainly of pyrope-rich garnet (Prp = 48–60 mol%), sodic augite (Jd = 10–27 mol%) and rutile. Type III eclogites have an unusual mineral assemblage of grossular-rich (Grs = 57 mol%) garnet + omphacite (Jd = 30–34 mol%) + pargasite + rutile. Pargasitic and taramitic amphiboles, calcic plagioclase (An₆₈), epidote, zoisite, K-feldspar and paragonite occur as inclusions in garnet and omphacite in the prograde eclogites. This suggests that the prograde eclogites were formed by recrystallization of epidote amphibolite and/or amphibolite facies rocks with near-isothermal compression reflecting crustal thickening during continent–continent collision of late Proterozoic age. Equilibrium conditions of the prograde eclogites range from P > 26 kbar and T= 500–750°C in the western part to P > 28 kbar and T= 810–880°C in the eastern part of the high-P eclogite terrane. The prograde eclogites in the eastern part are considered to have been derived from a deeper position than those in the western part. Subsequent reactions, manifested by (1) narrow rims of sodic plagioclase or paragonite on kyanite and (2) symplectites between omphacite and quartz are interpreted as an effect of near-isothermal decompression during the retrograde stage. The conditions at which symplectites re-equilibrated tend to increase from west (P < 10 kbar and T < 580°C) to east (P > 9 kbar and T > 680°C). Equilibrium temperatures of Type II mantle-derived eclogites and Type III eclogite are 730–750°C and 680°C, respectively.     

Low-pressure granulite facies metapelitic assemblages and corona textures from MacRobertson Land, east Antarctica: the importance of Fe2O3 and TiO2 in accounting for spinel-bearing assemblages

Low-pressure granulite facies metasedimentary gneisses exposed in MacRobertson Land, east Antarctica, include hercynitic spinel-bearing metapelitic gneisses. Peak metamorphic mineral assemblages include spinel + rutile + ilmenite + sillimanite + garnet, spinel + ilmenite + sillimanite + garnet + cordierite, ortho-pyroxene + magnetite + ilmenite + garnet, spinel + cordierite + biotite + ilmenite and orthopyroxene + cordierite + biotite, each with quartz, K-feldspar and melt. The presence of garnet + biotite- and cordierite + orthopyroxene-bearing assemblages implies crossing tie-lines in AFM projection for the K₂O-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (KFMASH) system. This apparent contradiction, and the presence of spinel, rutile and ilmenite in the assemblages, is acounted for by using the KFMASH-TiO₂-O₂ system, i.e. AFM + TiO₂+ Fe₂O₃. We derive a petrogenetic grid for this system, applicable to low-pressure granulite facies metamorphic conditions. Retrograde assemblages are interpreted from corona textures on hercynitic spinel and Fe-Ti oxides. The relative positions of the peak and retrograde metamorphic assemblages on the petrogenetic grid suggest that corona development occurred during essentially isobaric cooling.     

Petrological sStudies of Jilang Eclogite and Constraints on the Subduction and Exhumation Processes of the Paleo‐Tethys Oceanic Crust

The (ultra‐) high pressure eclogites from Sumdo area, recorded the subduction and exhumation process of the Paleo‐Tethys oceanic crust. Previous studies showed that there are significant differences in temperature and pressure conditions of the eclogites in four regions, e.g. Sumdo, Xindaduo, Bailang and Jilang. The cause of this differences remains unclear. Studying the peak metamorphic conditions and P‐T path of Sumdo eclogite is of great significance to reveal the subduction and exhumation mechanism of Paleo‐Tethys ocean. In this paper, we choose the Jilang eclogite as an example, which has a mineral assemblage of garnet, omphacite, phengite, hornblende, rutile, epidote, quartz and symplectit (diopside + amphibole + plagioclase), and minor biotite. Garnet has a “dirty” core with abundant mineral inclusions and a “clear” rim with less mineral inclusions, showing typical growth zoning. From the core to the rim, Prp content in garnet increasing while Grs content decreasing. P‐T pseudosection calculated with Domino constrained peak P‐T conditions of Jilang eclogite as 563°C, 2.4 GPa. Combined with petrographical observation, four stages of metamorphism have been recognized: (1) early stage prograde metamorphism represent by the core of garnet and mineral inclusions therein; (2) peak metamorphism represent by the rim of garnet, omphacite, phengite, glaucophane, rutile and quartz; (3) first stage of retrograde metamorphism characterized by decomposition of lawsonite to zoisite; (4) second stage of retrograde metamorphism characterized by symplectites surrounding omphacite and cornona rimmed garnet. Jilang eclogite shows a clockwise P‐T path, and near isothermal decompression during exhumation. It differs from eclogites in other area, which are hosted by garnet‐bearing mica schists or serpentinites. Jilang eclogites are enclosed in metamorphic quartzites, with relatively low P‐T conditions. We infer that the Jilang eclogite was derived from the shallow part of the subduction zone, and was exhumated by low density materials in the subduction channel.     

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.