Cr-rich magnesiochloritoid eclogites from the Monviso ophiolites (Western Alps, Italy)

Cr-rich magnesiochloritoid in the eclogitized ophiolites of the Monviso massif occurs in the least differentiated rocks of the gabbroic sequence (troctolites to melatroctolites). Chloritoid ( X _Mg=0.63–0.85; Cr≤0.55, atoms) co-exists with omphacite, talc and garnet. Minor, syn-eclogitic minerals are chromite, rutile and sometimes magnesite and Cr–Ti oxides.
Coronitic textures, indicative of a static recrystallization, characterize the analysed samples. Layers of variable mineral composition develop among igneous plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel. The minerals in the coronitic layers display sharp compositional zonings. The igneous minerals are commonly not preserved; their presence in the original assemblage is inferred from the mineralogical composition of the pseudomorphs.
Syn-eclogitic volatile components are indicated by the development of OH-bearing minerals (e.g. chloritoid & talc) and carbonates (e.g. magnesite), and supported by the presence of coarse-grained and fibrous mineral growths. The complex pseudomorphic replacements of igneous minerals suggest that these rocks changed their mineralogical composition prior to the eclogite facies recrystallization, most likely during ocean-floor metamorphism. It is suggested that syn-eclogitic fluids formed by breakdown reactions of pre-eclogitic volatile-bearing minerals.
Geothermobarometry indicates that the investigated rocks recrystallized at a depth corresponding to 2.4  GPa and temperatures of 620±50  °C. The attainment of high-pressure conditions is supported by the presence of magnesiochloritoid, magnesite and garnet with high pyrope content (up to 58  mol%). P–T  estimates point to a very low thermal gradient (about 9  °C km^?1), comparable to that deduced in the adjacent Dora-Maira ultra-high pressure unit.