Feldspathic hornblende and garnet granulites and associated anorthosite pegmatites from Doubtful Sound,Fiordland, New Zealand

Feldspathic hornblende granulites from Doubtful Sound, New Zealand with the assemblage plagioclase+hornblende+clinopyroxene+orthopy-roxene +oxide+apatite are criss-crossed by a network of garnetiferous anorthosite veins and pegmatites. The feldspathic gneiss in contact with anorthosite has a reaction zone containing the assemblage plagioclase +garnet+clinopyroxene+quartz+rutile+apatite. The garnet forms distinctive coronas around clinopyroxene. The origin of these rocks is discussed in the light of mineral and whole rock chemical analyses and published experimental work.It is thought that under conditions leading up to 750 °C, 8 kb load pressure and 5 kb H₂O pressure, partial melting occured in feldspathic hornblende granulites. The melt migrated into extensional fractures and eventually crystallised as anorthosite pegmatites and veins. The gneisses adjacent to the pegmatites from which the melt was extracted changed composition slightly, by the loss of H₂O and Na₂O, so that plagioclase reacted simultaneously with hornblende, orthopyroxene, and oxide to form garnet, clinopyroxene, quartz and rutile.