P–T evolution of Precambrian eclogite in the Sveconorwegian orogen,SW Sweden

Conditions of the prograde, peak‐pressure and part of the decompressional P–T path of two Precambrian eclogites in the eastern Sveconorwegian orogen have been determined using the pseudosection approach. Cores of garnet from a Fe–Ti‐rich eclogite record a first prograde and syn‐deformational stage along a Barrovian gradient from ~670 °C and 7 kbar to 710 °C and 8.5 kbar. Garnet rims grew during further burial to 16.5–19 kbar at ~850–900 °C, along a steep dP/dT gradient. The pseudosection model of a kyanite‐bearing eclogite sample of more magnesian bulk composition confirms the peak conditions. Matrix reequilibration associated with subsequent near‐isothermal decompression and partial exhumation produced plagioclase‐bearing symplectites replacing kyanite and clinopyroxene at an estimated 850–870 °C and 10–11 kbar. The validity of the pseudosections is discussed in detail. It is shown that in pseudosection modelling the fractionation of FeO in accessory sulphides may cause a significant shift of field boundaries (here displaced by up to 1.5 kbar and 70 °C) and must not be neglected. Fast burial, exhumation and subsequent cooling are supported by the steepness of both the prograde and the decompressional P–T paths as well as the preservation of garnet growth zoning and the symplectitic reaction textures. These features are compatible with deep tectonic burial of the eclogite‐bearing continental crust as part of the underthrusting plate (Eastern Segment, continent Baltica) in a collisional setting that led to an effectively doubled crustal thickness and subsequent exhumation of the eclogites through tectonic extrusion. Our results are in accordance with regional structural and petrological relationships, which demonstrate foreland‐vergent partial exhumation of the eclogite‐bearing nappe along a basal thrust zone and support a major collisional stage at c. 1 Ga. We argue that the similarities between Sveconorwegian and Himalayan eclogite occurrences emphasize the modern style of Grenvillian‐aged tectonics.     

Petrological evidence for shock‐induced high‐P metamorphism in a gabbro

Microlites (minute spherulitic, dendritic, skeletal, acicular and poikilitic crystals) diagnostic of crystallization in quenched melt or glass in fault rocks have been used to infer fossil earthquakes. High‐P microlites and crystallites are described here in a variably eclogitized gabbro, the wallrock to the coesite‐bearing eclogite breccia at Yangkou in the Chinese Su‐Lu high‐P metamorphic belt. The studied hand specimens are free of discernible shear deformation, although microfractures are not uncommon under the microscope. In the least eclogitized gabbro, the metagabbro, stellate growths of high‐P minerals on the relict igneous minerals are common. Dendritic garnet crystals (<1?5 μm) grew around rutile and/or phengite replacing ilmenite and biotite, respectively. Skeletal garnet also rims broken flakes of igneous biotite and mechanically twinned augite. Radial intergrowths of omphacite and quartz developed around relict igneous orthopyroxene and are rimmed by skeletal or poikilitic garnet where a Ti‐bearing mineral relict is present. Acicular epidote, kyanite and phengite crystallites are randomly distributed in a matrix of Na‐rich plagioclase, forming the pseudomorphs after igneous plagioclase. In the more eclogitized gabbro, the coronitic eclogite located closer to the eclogite breccia, all the igneous minerals broke down into high‐P assemblages. Thick coronas of poikilitic garnet grew between the pseudomorphs after igneous plagioclase and ferromagnesian minerals. The igneous plagioclase is replaced by omphacite crystallites, with minor amounts of phengite and kyanite. Thermodynamic modelling of the plagioclase pseudomorphs shows an increase in P–T in the wallrock from the metagabbro to the coronitic eclogite, and the P–T variation is unrelated to H₂O content. The fluid‐poor pressure overstepping scenario is unsupported both by phase diagram modelling and by whole‐rock chemical data, which show that the various types of eclogitized gabbro are all fairly dry. A large pressure difference of >2 GPa between the metagabbro and the coesite‐bearing eclogites ~20 m apart cannot be explained by the subduction hypothesis because this would require a depth difference of >60 km. The microlites and crystallites are evidence for dynamic crystallization due to rapid cooling because constitutional supercooling was unlikely for the plagioclase pseudomorphs. The lack of annealing of the broken biotite and augite overgrown by strain free skeletal garnet is consistent with a transient high‐P–T event at a low ambient temperature (<300 °C), probably in the crust. Therefore, the eclogitization of the wallrock to the eclogite breccia was also coseismic, as proposed earlier for the eclogite facies fault rocks. The outcrop‐scale P–T variation and the transient nature of the high‐P–T event are inconsistent with the other existing tectonic models for high‐P metamorphism. The fact that the less refractory but denser biotite is largely preserved while the more refractory but less dense plagioclase broke down completely into high‐P microlite assemblages in the metagabbro indicates a significant rise in pressure rather than temperature. Given that the metamorphic temperatures are far below the melting temperatures of most of the gabbroic minerals under fluid‐absent conditions, stress‐induced amorphization appears to be the more likely mechanism of the coseismic high‐P metamorphism.     

Dynamics of Saxothuringian subduction channel/wedge constrained by phase‐equilibria modelling and micro‐fabric analysis

Subduction and exhumation dynamics can be investigated through analysis of metamorphic and deformational evolution of associated high‐grade rocks. The Erzgebirge anticline, which forms at the boundary between the Saxothuringian and Teplá‐Barrandian domains of the Bohemian Massif, provides a useful study area for these processes owing to the occurrence of numerous meta‐basites preserving eclogite facies assemblages, and coesite and diamond bearing quartzofeldspathic lithologies indicating subduction to deep mantle depths. The prograde and retrograde evolution of meta‐basite from the Czech portion of the Erzgebirge anticline has been constrained through a combination of thermodynamic modelling and conventional thermobarometry. Garnet growth zoning indicates that the rocks underwent burial and heating to peak conditions of 2.6 GPa and at least 615 °C. Initial exhumation occurred with concurrent cooling and decompression resulting in the growth of amphibole and zoisite poikiloblasts overgrowing and including the eclogite facies assemblage. The development of clinopyroxene–plagioclase–amphibole symplectites after omphacite and Al‐rich rims on matrix amphibole indicate later heating at the base of the lower crust. Omphacite microstructures, in particular grain size analysis and lattice‐preferred orientations, indicate that the prograde evolution was characterized by a constrictional strain geometry transitioning into plane strain and oblate fabrics during exhumation. The initial constrictional strain pattern is interpreted as being controlled by competing slab pull and crustal buoyancy forces leading to necking of the subducting slab. The transition to plane strain and flattening geometries represents transfer of material from the subducting lithosphere into a subduction channel, break‐off of the dense slab and rebound of the buoyant crustal material.     

羌塘地区榴辉岩中矿物出溶体及其成因机制探讨

西藏羌塘地区榴辉岩石榴子石和磷灰石中均发育矿物出溶体,结合电子探针和扫描电镜分析及能谱分析,确定了石榴子石中的出溶体有金红石、石英和角闪石,指示其可能经历了高压/超高压变质作用。本研究在磷灰石中发现了金红石出溶,并认为其可能是在高压/超高压条件下元素相互置换的结果,置换方式为Ti~(4+)(Fe~(2+)、Si~(4+))=2Ca~(2+),这些出溶体的形成为榴辉岩曾经历高压/超高压变质作用提供了矿物学证据。     

滇西勐库地区退变质榴辉岩锆石U-Pb年龄及其地质意义

滇西双江县勐库地区退变质榴辉岩呈构造透镜体产于湾河蛇绿混杂岩带内,该发现弥补了东特提斯造山带高压-超高压变质岩在云南境内的空缺。在岩石学观察的基础上,借助激光剥蚀等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)技术,对退变质榴辉岩中的锆石开展了精确的U-Pb年龄测定。所测试的3件样品分别采自3个不同的露头:样品PM011-9-1采自勐库控角剖面,样品PM038-15-4采自勐库地界剖面,样品GH1612-1-1采自勐库根恨大寨。测年结果显示,样品PM011-9-1的23个测点中存在2组较集中的~(206)Pb/~(238)U年龄,分别为801.0±9.8Ma和227.0±12Ma;样品PM038-15-4的26个测点中存在2组较集中的~(206)Pb/~(238)U年龄,分别为447.5±3.6Ma和291.7±6.3Ma;样品GH1612-1-1的30个测点中存在一组较集中的~(206)Pb/~(238)U年龄,为229.0±1.3Ma。结合区域资料及锆石阴极发光图像分析,801.0±9.8Ma应属退变质榴辉岩的原岩年龄,可能代表了Rodinia超大陆裂解早期出现的初始洋壳;而447.5±3.6Ma、291.7±6.3Ma和229.0±1.3～227.0±12Ma这3组年龄可能代表了退变质榴辉岩经历的3期变质作用年龄:分别为峰期硬柱石榴辉岩相的变质作用;中期角闪石榴辉岩相-高压麻粒岩相的退变质作用,为一个降压-增温的"热折返"过程;主期角闪岩相的退变质作用,是一个大幅度的降温-减压过程,奠定了勐库地区退变质榴辉岩的主体面貌。     

三江南段景洪大勐龙地区基性高压变质岩岩石地球化学特征及其大地构造意义

本文以三江南段景洪大勐龙地区新发现的退变榴辉岩和蓝片岩为研究对象,对其进行了系统的地球化学、原岩性质及锆石U-Pb定年的综合研究。大勐龙地区退变榴辉岩呈透镜状产于白云钠长石英片岩、白云母片岩和斜长角闪(片)岩中,其原岩为亚碱性拉斑玄武岩,球粒陨石标准化稀土元素配分曲线呈轻稀土弱亏损、重稀土平坦型的分布特征,不具有Nb、Ta、Ti的亏损,与典型的N-MORB(正常型洋中脊玄武岩)地球化学特征一致,表明其原岩可能来源于亏损的地幔区,形成于洋中脊环境;变质锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄为230.3±1.7Ma,可能代表榴辉岩峰期的变质时代。蓝片岩的原岩为亚碱性拉斑玄武岩,具有较高Ti玄武岩的特征(TiO₂含量2.55%~2.88%,均大于2%),稀土元素总量变化范围小,比典型的N-MORB稀土总量偏高,轻稀土元素(LREE)亏损,无明显负Eu异常,地球化学性质与N-MORB类似。结合以往区域研究成果,进一步确定研究区退变榴辉岩和蓝片岩的原岩属于典型N-MORB型,该项研究不仅在昌宁-孟连缝合带的南段发现典型的特提斯洋壳残片,而且为进一步深入探讨滇西地区特提斯洋消减-闭合的动力学背景及其复杂的构造演化过程提供了重要的科学依据。     

Nb–Ta fractionation induced by fluid‐rock interaction in subduction‐zones: constraints from UHP eclogite‐ and vein‐hosted rutile from the Dabie orogen,Central‐Eastern China

Niobium and Ta concentrations in ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) eclogites and rutile from these eclogites and associated high pressure (HP) veins were used to study the behaviour of Nb–Ta during dehydration and fluid‐rock interaction. Samples were collected through a ～2 km profile at the Bixiling complex in the Dabie orogenic belt, Central‐Eastern China. All but one eclogite away from veins (EAVs) display nearly constant Nb/Ta ratios ranging from 16.1 to 19.2, with an average of 16.9 ± 0.8 (2 SE), similar to that of their gabbroic protolith from the Yangtze Block. Nb/Ta ratios of rutile from the EAVs range from 12.7 to 25.3 among different individual grains, with the average values close to those of the corresponding bulk rocks. These observations show that Nb and Ta were not significantly fractionated by prograde metamorphism up to eclogite facies when no significant fluid‐rock interaction occurs. In contrast, Nb/Ta ratios of rutile from eclogites close to veins (ECVs) are highly variable from 17.8 to 49.8, which are systematically higher (by up to 17) than those of rutile from the veins. These observations demonstrate that Nb and Ta were mobilized and fractionated during localized fluid flow and intensive fluid‐rock interaction. This is strongly supported by Nb/Ta zoning patterns in single rutile grains revealed by in situ LA‐ICP‐MS analysis. Ratios of Nb/Ta in the ECV‐hosted rutile decrease gradually from cores towards rims, whereas those in the EAV‐hosted rutile are nearly invariable. Furthermore, the vein rutile shows Nb/Ta zoning patterns that are complementary to those in rutile from their immediate hosts (ECVs), suggesting an internal origin for the vein‐forming fluids. The Nb/Ta ratios of such fluids evolved from low values at the early stage of subduction to higher values at later supercritical conditions with increased temperature and pressure. Quantitative modelling was conducted to constrain the compositional evolution of metamorphic fluids during dehydration and fluid‐rock interaction focusing on Nb–Ta distribution. The modelling results based on our proposed multistage fluid phase evolution path can essentially reproduce the natural observations reported in the present study.     

Element mobility during continental collision: insights from polymineralic metamorphic vein within UHP eclogite in the Dabie orogen

Metamorphic dehydration and partial melting are two important processes during continental collision. They have significant bearing on element transport at the slab interface under subduction‐zone P–T conditions. Petrological and geochemical insights into the two processes are provided by a comprehensive study of leucocratic veins in ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks. This is exemplified by this study of a polymineralic vein within phengite‐bearing UHP eclogite in the Dabie orogen. The vein is primarily composed of quartz, kyanite, epidote and phengite, with minor accessory minerals such as garnet, rutile and zircon. Primary multiphase solid inclusions occur in garnet and epidote from the both vein and host eclogite. They are composed of quartz ± K‐feldspar ± plagioclase ± K‐bearing glass and exhibit irregular to negative crystal shapes that are surrounded by weak radial cracks. This suggests their precipitation from solute‐rich metamorphic fluid/melt that involved the reaction of phengite breakdown. Zircon U–Pb dating for the vein gave two groups of concordant ages at 217 ± 2 and 210 ± 2 Ma, indicating two episodes of zircon growth in the Late Triassic. The same minerals from the two rocks give consistent δ¹⁸O and δD values, suggesting that the vein‐forming fluid was directly derived from the host UHP eclogite. The vein is much richer in phengite and epidote than the host eclogite, suggesting that the fluid is associated with remarkable concentration of such water‐soluble elements as LILE and LREE migration. Garnet and rutile in the vein exhibit much higher contents of HREE (2.2–5.7 times) and Nb–Ta (1.8–2.0 times) than those in the eclogite, indicating that these normally water‐insoluble elements became mobile and then were sunken in the vein minerals. Thus, the vein‐forming agent would be primarily composed of the UHP aqueous fluid with minor amounts of the hydrous melt, which may even become a supercritical fluid to have a capacity to transport not only LILE and LREE but also HREE and HFSE at subduction‐zone metamorphic conditions. Taken together, significant amounts of trace elements were transported by the vein‐forming fluid due to the phengite breakdown inside the UHP eclogite during exhumation of the deeply subducted continental crust.     

当前高压变质作用研究中几个值得注意的动向

高压、超高压变质作用是地学研究的热点，它能很好地反映深部地质作用特征和恢复地质历史演化的过程。当前高压、超高压变质作用研究中有几个值得注意的动向：（１）高压变质作用中流体性状和物理化学特点的研究是解决高压变质作用成因的关键；（２）高压变质矿物流变学研究是揭示变质过程的有效途径；（３）超高压变质岩的发现是８０年代地学领域中的一场“革命”，其动力学模式为探讨大陆动力学开辟了新的思路。文中介绍了产生超高压变质的柯石英榴辉岩亚相组合的六种动力学模式。