Ocean-floor hydrothermal metamorphism in the Limousin ophiolites (western French Massif Central): evidence of a rare preserved Variscan oceanic marker

The Limousin ophiolite is located at the suture zone between two major thrust sheets in the western French Massif Central. This ophiolitic section comprises mantle‐harzburgite, mantle‐dunite, wehrlites, troctolites and layered gabbros. It has recorded a static metamorphic event transforming the gabbros into undeformed amphibolites and the magmatic ultramafites into serpentinites and/or pargasite‐bearing chloritites. With various thermobarometric methods, it is possible to show that the different varieties of amphibole have registered low‐P (c. 0.2 GPa) conditions with temperature ranging from high‐T, late‐magmatic conditions to greenschist–zeolite metamorphic facies. The abundance of undeformed metamorphic rocks (which is typical of the lower oceanic crust), the occurrence of Ca–Al (–Mg) metasomatism illustrated by the growth of Ca–Al silicates in veins or replacing the primary magmatic minerals, the P–T conditions of the metamorphism and the numerous similarities with oceanic crustal rocks from Ocean Drilling Program and worldwide ophiolites are the main arguments for an ocean‐floor hydrothermal metamorphism in the vicinity of a palaeo‐ridge. Among the West‐European Variscan ophiolites, the Limousin ophiolites constitute an extremely rare occurrence that has not been involved in any HP (subduction‐related) or MP (orogenic) metamorphism as observed in other ophiolite occurrences (i.e. France, Spain and Germany).     

HP–LT Variscan metamorphism in the Cubito-Moura schists (Ossa-Morena Zone, southern Iberia)

Multi-equilibrium thermobarometry shows that low-grade metapelites (Cubito-Moura schists) from the Ossa–Morena Zone underwent HP–LT metamorphism from 340–370 °C at 1.0–0.9 GPa to 400–450 °C at 0.8–0.7 GPa. These HP–LT equilibriums were reached by parageneses including white K mica, chlorite and chloritoid, which define the earliest schistosity (S₁) in these rocks. The main foliation in the schists is a crenulation cleavage (S₂), which developed during decompression from 0.8–0.7 to 0.4–0.3 GPa at increasing temperatures from 400–450 °C to 440–465 °C. Fe³⁺ in chlorite decreased greatly during prograde metamorphism from molar fractions of 0.4 determined in syn-S₁ chlorites down to 0.1 in syn-S₂ chlorites. These new data add to previous findings of eclogites in the Moura schists indicating that a pile of allochtonous rocks situated next to the Beja-Acebuches oceanic amphibolites underwent HP–LT metamorphism during the Variscan orogeny. To cite this article: G. Booth-Rea et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Mantle Xenoliths from the Southeastern Slave Craton: Evidence for Chemical Zonation in a Thick, Cold Lithosphere

We present the first data on the petrology of the mantle lithosphereof the Southeastern (SE) Slave craton, Canada. These are basedon petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical studies of mantlexenoliths in Pipe 5034 of the Cambrian Gahcho Kué kimberlitecluster. Major types of mantle xenoliths include altered eclogite,coarse garnet or spinel peridotite, and deformed garnet peridotite.The peridotites belong to the low-temperature suite and formedat T=600–1300°C and P= 25–80 kbar in a thick(at least 220–250 km), cool lithosphere. The SE Slavemantle is cooler than the mantle of other Archaean cratons andthat below other terranes of the Slave craton. The thick lithosphereand the relatively cool thermal regime provide favourable conditionsfor formation and preservation of diamonds beneath the SE Slaveterrane. Similar to average Archaean mantle worldwide, the SESlave peridotite is depleted in magmaphile major elements andcontains olivine with forsterite content of 91–93·5.With respect to olivine composition and mode, all terranes ofthe Slave mantle show broadly similar compositions and are relativelyorthopyroxene-poor compared with those of the Kaapvaal and Siberiancratons. The SE Slave spinel peridotite is poorer in Al, Caand Fe, and richer in Mg than deeper garnet peridotite. Thegreater chemical depletion of the shallow upper mantle is typicalof all terranes of the Slave craton and may be common for thesubcontinental lithospheric peridotitic mantle in general. Peridotiticxenoliths of the SE Slave craton were impregnated by kimberliticfluids that caused late-stage recrystallization of primary clinopyroxene,spinel, olivine and spinel-facies orthopyroxene, and formationof interstitial clinopyroxene. This kimberlite-related recrystallizationdepleted primary pyroxenes and spinel in Al. The kimberliticfluid was oxidizing, Ti-, Fe- and K-rich, and Na-poor, and introducedserpentine, chlorite, phlogopite and spinel into peridotitesat P < 35 kbar. KEY WORDS: kimberlite xenolith; lithosphere; mantle terrane; chemical zoning; thermobarometry; Slave craton     

Late Miocene movement within the Himalayan Main Central Thrust shear zone, Sikkim, north-east India

In the Sikkim region of north‐east India, the Main Central Thrust (MCT) juxtaposes high‐grade gneisses of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines over lower‐grade slates, phyllites and schists of the Lesser Himalaya Formation. Inverted metamorphism characterizes rocks that immediately underlie the thrust, and the large‐scale South Tibet Detachment System (STDS) bounds the northern side of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines. In situ Th–Pb monazite ages indicate that the MCT shear zone in the Sikkim region was active at c. 22, 14–15 and 12–10 Ma, whereas zircon and monazite ages from a slightly deformed horizon of a High Himalayan leucogranite within the STDS suggest normal slip activity at c. 17 and 14–15 Ma. Although average monazite ages decrease towards structurally lower levels of the MCT shear zone, individual results do not follow a progressive younging pattern. Lesser Himalaya sample KBP1062A records monazite crystallization from 11.5 ± 0.2 to 12.2 ± 0.1 Ma and peak conditions of 610 ± 25 °C and 7.5 ± 0.5 kbar, whereas, in the MCT shear zone rock CHG14103, monazite crystallized from 13.8 ± 0.5 to 11.9 ± 0.3 Ma at lower grade conditions of 525 ± 25 °C and 6 ± 1 kbar. The P–T–t results indicate that the shear zone experienced a complicated slip history, and have implications for the understanding of mid‐crustal extrusion and the role of out‐of‐sequence thrusts in convergent plate tectonic settings.     

Pressure and temperature conditions for crystallization of metamorphic allanite and monazite in metapelites: a case study from the Miyar Valley (high Himalayan Crystalline of Zanskar,NW India)

The textural and chemical evolution of allanite and monazite along a well‐constrained prograde metamorphic suite in the High Himalayan Crystalline of Zanskar was investigated to determine the P–T conditions for the crystallization of these two REE accessory phases. The results of this study reveals that: (i) allanite is the stable REE accessory phase in the biotite and garnet zone and (ii) allanite disappears at the staurolite‐in isograd, simultaneously with the occurrence of the first metamorphic monazite. Both monazite and allanite occur as inclusions in staurolite, indicating that the breakdown of allanite and the formation of monazite proceeded during staurolite crystallization. Staurolite growth modelling indicates that staurolite crystallized between 580 and 610 °C, thus setting the lower temperature limit for the monazite‐forming reaction at ~600 °C. Preservation of allanite and monazite inclusions in garnet (core and rim) constrains the garnet molar composition when the first monazite was overgrown and subsequently encompassed by the garnet crystallization front. Garnet growth modelling and the intersection of isopleths reveal that the monazite closest to the garnet core was overgrown by the garnet advancing crystallization front at 590 °C, which establishes an upper temperature limit for monazite crystallization. Significantly, the substitution of allanite by monazite occurs in close spatial proximity, i.e. at similar P–T conditions, in all rock types investigated, from Al‐rich metapelites to more psammitic metasedimentary rocks. This indicates that major silicate phases, such as staurolite and garnet, do not play a significant role in the monazite‐forming reaction. Our data show that the occurrence of the first metamorphic monazite in these rocks was mainly determined by the P–T conditions, not by bulk chemical composition. In Barrovian terranes, dating prograde monazite in metapelites thus means constraining the time when these rocks reached the 600 °C isotherm.     

点苍山-哀牢山杂岩带中北段嘎洒地区变沉积岩的成因矿物学与变质演化特征

点苍山-哀牢山变质杂岩带中北段嘎洒地区出露了多种典型的变沉积岩,其中夕线石榴黑云二长片麻岩和二云母片岩保存多期/多阶段矿物相转变特征,本文通过岩相学和矿物化学的综合分析,并结合传统矿物对温压计的估算结果,限定上述典型变沉积岩峰期角闪-麻粒岩相(M1)阶段、近等温减压-高温剪切变形阶段(M2)和晚期退变质(M3)阶段的矿物组合及变质温压条件。峰期角闪-麻粒岩相(M1)阶段的矿物组合为:石榴石(Grt)+板柱状夕线石(Sil1)+黑云母(Bt1)+钾长石(Kfs)+斜长石(Pl)+石英(Qtz)+钛铁矿(Ilm),变质温度压力条件为t=690~750℃,p=690~810 MPa;近等温减压-高温剪切变形阶段(M2)阶段,稳定矿物组合为:Grt+Sil2+Bt2+Kfs+Pl+Qtz+Ilm,黑云母在强烈走滑剪切作用下发生脱水熔融反应:2 Bt→Sil+6(Mg,Fe)O+K_2O+5 Qtz+2 H_2O,石榴石、黑云母和夕线石等受到剪切变形影响而发生强烈定向,形成的温度压力条件为t=650~720℃,p=450~630 MPa;晚期退变质阶段(M_3)的稳定矿物组合为:Qtz+Bt+Ms+Pl,退变的温度压力条件为t=580~640℃,p=400~500MPa。其变质演化p-T轨迹样式具有近等温减压的顺时针型式,表明点苍山-哀牢山变质杂岩带曾经历了一次明显的俯冲-碰撞造山事件,峰期变质可达到角闪-麻粒岩相;在碰撞后的构造折返过程中,上述变质岩石发生强烈的高温剪切变形作用,并伴随着黑云母等含水矿物的脱水熔融。     

On the interpretation of peak metamorphic temperatures in light of garnet diffusion during cooling

Abstract Finite difference models of Fe-Mg diffusion in garnet undergoing cooling from metamorphic peak conditions are used to infer the significance of temperatures calculated using garnet-biotite Fe-Mg exchange thermometry. For rocks cooled from high grades where the garnet was initially homogeneous, the calculated temperature (T_calc) using garnet core and matrix biotite depends on the size of the garnet, the ratio of garnet to biotite in the rock (V_garnet/V_biotite) and the cooling rate. For garnets with radii of 1 mm and V_garnet/V_biotite<1, T_calc is 633, 700 and 777°C for cooling rates of 1, 10 and 100°C/Ma. For V_garnet/V_biotite= 1 and 4 and a cooling rate of 10° C/Ma, T_calc is approximately 660 and 610° C, respectively. Smaller and larger garnets have lower and higher T_calc, respectively. These results suggest that peak metamorphic temperatures may be reliably attained from rocks crystallized at conditions below T_calc of the garnet core, provided that V_garnet/V_biotite is sufficiently small (<0.1) and that the composition of the biotite at the metamorphic peak has not been altered during cooling. Numerical experiments on amphibolite facies garnets with nominal peak temperatures of 550–600° C generate a ‘well’in Fe/(Fe + Mg) near the rim during cooling. Maximum calculated temperatures for the assemblage garnet + chlorite + biotite + muscovite + plagioclase + quartz using the Fe/(Fe + Mg) at the bottom of the ‘well’with matrix biotite range from 23–43° C to 5–12° C below the peak metamorphic temperature for cooling rates of 1 and 100° C/Ma, respectively. Maximum calculated temperatures for the assemblage garnet + staurolite + biotite + muscovite + plagioclase + quartz are approximately 70° C below the peak metamorphic temperature and are not strongly dependent on cooling rate. The results of this study indicate that it may be very difficult to calculate peak metamorphic temperatures using garnet-biotite Fe-Mg exchange thermometry on amphibolite facies rocks (T_max > 550° C) because the rim composition of the garnet, which is required to calculate the peak temperature, is that most easily destroyed by diffusion.     

Petrology of spinel granulites from Araku, Eastern Ghats, India, and a petrogenetic grid for sapphirine-free rocks in the system FMAS

Abstract Spinel-quartz-cordierite and spinel-quartz are found as relic prograde assemblages in Fe-rich granulites from the Araku area, Eastern Ghats belt, India. Subsequent reactions produced orthopyroxene + sillimanite in the former association and garnet + sillimanite in the latter. The first reaction is univariant in the FMAS system, but is trivariant in the present case because of the presence of Zn and Fe³⁺ in spinel. The second reaction also has high variance because of Zn and Fe³⁺, but also because of the presence of Ca in garnet. Thermobarometry shows that the metamorphic conditions were approximately 950° C and 8.5 kbar and the fo ₂ was near the NNO buffer. In Fe-rich bulk compositions and low- P -high- T conditions of metamorphism, two of the univariant reactions around the invariant point [Sa], namely (Sa, Hy) and (Sa, Cd), change topology due to reverse partitioning of Fe-Mg between coexisting garnet and spinel. An alternative partial petrogenetic grid in the system FMAS is constructed for such conditions and is applied satisfactorily to several sapphirine-free spinel granulites. It is shown that bulk composition ( X _Fe and Zn) exerts greater control on the stability of spinel + quartz than fo ₂. The effect of the presence of Zn and Fe³⁺ in spinel on the proposed grid is evaluated. Reaction textures in the Araku spinel granulites can be explained from the petrogenetic grid as due to near-isobaric cooling.     

Geothermobarometry of mafic granulites and metapelite from the Palghat Gap, South India: petrological evidence for isothermal uplift and rapid cooling

The Palghat Gap region is located near the centre of the large southern Indian granulite terrane. at the northern edge of the Kodaikanal charnockite massif. The dominant rock types in the region are hornblende-biotite ± orthopyroxene gneisses and charnockites along with minor amounts of intercalated mafic granulite, metapelite and calc-silicate. The P-T estimates from garnetiferous mafic granulites and metapelite samples are generally in the range 9-10 kbar and 800-900 C using both conventional thermobarometric methods and the TWEEQU thermobarometry program. These P-T estimates, which should be taken as minimum values, are among the highest yet reported for South Indian and Sri Lankan granulites. The occurrence of orthopyroxene + plagioclase symplectites around embayed garnet grains in the mafic granulites and cordierite rims around garnet grains in metapelite suggest an isothermal decompression-type path. Similarly, a core-rim P-T trajectory indicates c. 3 and 7 kbar decompression at high temperature in the mafic granulites and metapelite, respectively. In both rock types, the key to the determination of the retrograde P-T path was the recognition of small amounts of second generation plagioclase with a more anorthitic composition than the matrix plagioclase. The preservation of high garnet-pyroxene temperatures in the mafic granulites (despite small garnet grain size) suggests rapid cooling of the terrane. Calculated minimum cooling rates range from 8 to 80 C Ma^-1. Such cooling rates are more rapid than those associated with normal isostatic processes and suggest that the terrane was tectonically exhumed at high temperature.     

Eclogitization of the Monviso ophiolite (W. Alps) and implications on subduction dynamics

To constrain deep (40–100 km) subduction dynamics, extensive P–T data are provided on the eclogitic Monviso ophiolite derived from the subducted Liguro‐Piemontese oceanic lithosphere (which was exhumed, together with associated continental units, before the Alpine collision). The Monviso ophiolite has so far been interpreted either as a fossilized subduction channel, with tectonic blocks detached from the slab at different depths and gathered in a weak serpentinized matrix, or as a more or less continuous portion of oceanic lithosphere. To evaluate potential heterogeneities within and between the various subunits, extensive sampling was undertaken on metasedimentary rocks and Fe–Ti metagabbros. The results indicate that the Monviso ophiolite comprises two main coherent tectonic subunits (the Monviso and Lago Superiore Units) detached during subduction at different depths and later juxtaposed at epidote–blueschist facies during exhumation along the subduction interface. Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material suggests (i) a difference in peak temperature of ～50 °C between these two subunits and (ii) a good temperature homogeneity within each subunit. Pseudosections and average P–T estimates using thermocalc in the Lago Superiore Unit suggest for the first time homogeneous HP to UHP conditions (～550 °C, 26–27 kbar). Parageneses, peak conditions and tectonic setting are very similar to those of the Zermatt‐Saas ophiolite, 200 km northwards, thus suggesting a common detachment mechanism for the whole Western Alpine belt.