The Serra da Graciosa A-type Granites and Syenites, southern Brazil. Part 3: Magmatic evolution and post-magmatic breakdown of amphiboles of the alkaline association

Amphiboles are the main mafic minerals in most metaluminous to peralkaline alkali-feldspar granites and syenites, and they usually preserve an important record of the compositional evolution of the melts from which they crystallize. In the alkaline association of the Serra da Graciosa A-type Granites and Syenites (southern Brazil), amphibole compositions span a large range, including calcic, sodic–calcic, and sodic amphiboles. Calcic amphiboles are typically observed in the metaluminous rocks, while sodic amphiboles are characteristic of the more strongly peralkaline rocks; sodic–calcic amphiboles are found in intermediate varieties. Compositional variations record the differentiation trends within two petrographic series of the alkaline association. The overall evolution of amphibole compositions is similar in both: they reveal a progressive increase in Na and Fe³⁺ with differentiation (increase in alkalinity of the magmas), a characteristic shared by undersaturated peralkaline (or agpaitic) differentiation trends. In detail, however, the evolutions of the amphibole compositions in the two series are distinct. In Alkaline series 1, the cores of the crystals form a continuum from calcic to sodic compositions, with the exception of a small compositional gap within the sodic–calcic amphiboles. The rims, however, show compositions that diverge from this main trend; this divergence results from increasing amounts of the oxy-amphibole component, and reflects more oxidizing conditions at the final stages of magmatic crystallization. In Alkaline series 2, these oxidation trends are much more subtle and a reverse trend is observed in the sodic amphiboles. Sodic–calcic amphiboles are in several cases replaced by intergrowths of post-magmatic sodic amphibole and Al-poor (“tetrasilicic”) biotite.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of post-collisional alkaline and peralkaline granites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield: a case study from the southern tip of Sinai Peninsula,Egypt

The southern Sinai Peninsula, underlain by the northernmost extension of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, exposes post-collisional calc-alkaline and alkaline granites that represent the youngest phase of late Neoproterozoic igneous activity. We report a petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical investigation of post-collisional plutons of alkaline and, in some cases, peralkaline granite. These granites intrude metamorphosed country rocks as well as syn- and post-collisional calc-alkaline granitoids. The alkaline and peralkaline granites of the southern tip of Sinai divide into three subgroups: syenogranite, alkali feldspar granite and riebeckite granite. The rocks of these subgroups essentially consist of alkali feldspar and quartz with variable amounts of plagioclase and mafic minerals. The syenogranite and alkali feldspar granite contain small amounts of calcic amphibole and biotite, often less than 3%, while the riebeckite granite is distinguished by sodic amphibole (5–10%). These plutons have geochemical signatures typical of post-collisional A-type granites and were most likely emplaced during a transition between orogenic and anorogenic settings. The parental mafic magma may be linked to lithospheric delamination and upwelling of asthenospheric mantle material. Differentiation of the underplated basaltic magma with contributions from the juvenile crust eventually yielded the post-collisional alkaline granites. Petrogenetic modelling of the studied granitic suite shows that pure fractional crystallization cannot quantitatively explain chemical variations with the observed suite, with both major oxides and several trace elements displaying trends opposite to those required by the equilibrium phase assemblage. Instead, we show that compositional variation from syenogranite through alkali feldspar granite to riebeckite granite is dominated by mixing between a low-SiO₂ liquid as primitive or more primitive than the lowest-SiO₂ syenogranite and an evolved, high-SiO₂ liquid that might be a high-degree partial melt of lower crust.     

Fe isotope systematics of coexisting amphibole and pyroxene in the alkaline igneous rock suite of the Ilímaussaq Complex,South Greenland

The Ilímaussaq intrusion, South Greenland, provides an exceptional test case for investigating the changes of stable Fe isotope fractionation of solidus phases with changes in the Fe³⁺/∑Fe ratio of an evolving melt. The intrusion comprises a sequence of four melt batches that were fed from the same parental alkali basaltic magma. Differentiation produced cumulate rocks that range from augite syenite (phase I) over peralkaline granite (phase II) to agpaitic syenites (phases IIIa and IIIb). Fe³⁺/∑Fe ratios in amphiboles increase substantially from phase I to phase II and III rocks and mark a major change in the parental magma composition from augite syenites to peralkaline granites and agpaitic syenites. Before this transition, olivine, clinopyroxene, and amphibole in augite syenite, the most primitive rock type in the Ilímaussaq Complex, have a uniform Fe isotope composition that is identical to that of the bulk of igneous crustal rocks and approximated by the average isotopic composition of basalts (δ^56/54Fe_IRMM-014 = 0.072 ± 0.046‰). After the transition, amphiboles in the peralkaline granites and agpaitic syenites yield significantly heavier Fe isotope compositions with δ^56/54Fe_IRMM-014 values ranging from 0.123 to 0.237‰. Contamination of the Ilímaussaq magma by ongoing crustal assimilation as cause for this increase can be excluded on the grounds of Nd isotope data. Large-scale metasomatic overprint with an external fluid can also be dismissed based on amphibole O and Li isotope systematics. Rather, the increase towards heavy Fe isotope compositions most likely reflects the change in chemical compositions of amphiboles (calcic in augite syenite to sodic in the agpaitic syenites) and their Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios that mirror changes in the chemical composition of the melt and its oxygen fugacity. A sensitive adjustment of equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation factors to amphibole ferric/ferrous ratios is also supported by beta-factors calculated from Mössbauer spetroscopy data. Comparison of the measured isotope fractionation between clinopyroxene and amphibole with that predicted from Mössbauer data reveal Fe isotope systematics close to equilibrium in augite syenites but Fe isotopic disequilibrium between these two phases in phase IIIa agpaitic syenites. These results are in agreement with O and Li isotope systematics. While amphiboles in all Ilímaussaq lithologies crystallized at temperatures between 650 and 850 °C, textural evidence reveals later clinopyroxene crystallization at temperatures as low as 300–400 °C. Therefore, isotopic equilibrium at crystallization conditions between these two phases can not be expected, but importantly, subsolidus reequilibration can also be dismissed.     

The petrology and geochemistry of intrusive alkaline rocks of Elchuru,Prakasam District,Andhra Pradesh,India

The Elchuru alkaline igneous intrusion is an arcuate-shaped ring complex, approximately 16 km² in area, cropping out in the Eastern Ghats high grade metamorphic series. It is part of an alkaline province composed of a number of intrusions which range from ijolite-melteigite to alkali gabbro (viz. malignite, melalusitanite, shonkinite) and then to hypersolvus nepheline syenite followed by subsolvus nepheline syenite. The complex is cut by late lamprophyric dykes. A nephelinized alkaline gneiss, within the investigated complex, is the only deformed rock type and is regarded as an older unit not related to the comagmatic series. The remainder of the complex was emplaced post-tectonically. Sovitic carbonatite is a conspicuous Iithologic unit associated with the complex. Chemical analyses of 19 selected samples for 13 major oxides and 5 trace elements (Rb, Ba, Sr, Zr and Nb) are presented to establish a geochemical model for the investigated complex. The mineralogy, petrography and geochemistry of the rocks of the Elchuru Alkaline Complex suggest that it was formed by differentiation of an initially alkali-rich ijolitic magma as reflected in the crystallization of nepheline, kaersutitic amphibole and alkali feldspar. With progressive increase in alkali feldspar content (volume percentage) the ijolite passes to malignite and then nepheline syenites. Amphibole shows sodic enrichment from a dominant calcic variety. Pyroxene, likewise, shows sodic enrichment following the scheme salite-ferrosalite to aegirine-augite. The igneous cycle closes with the intrusion of biotite lamprophyre. There is a systematic increase in total alkalies (Na₂O+K₂O) and decrease in CaO from the early mafic rocks to the syenitic rocks. The alkali-lime index of the complex is 48 indicating its strongly alkaline nature (Peacock 1931), and they are miaskitic in character (agpaicity index <1, Currie 1976). Such miaskitic complexes are associated with carbonatites (Heinrich 1966).     

塔里木巴楚小海子正长岩杂岩体的岩石成因探讨

巴楚小海子正长岩杂岩体是二叠纪塔里木大火成岩省的重要组成部分.SIMS锆石U-Pb定年显示其形成于279.7±2.0Ma,与本区辉绿岩脉和石英正长斑岩岩脉近于同时侵位.根据矿物学特征,小海子正长岩体可分为铁橄榄石正长岩和角闪正长岩两类.前者主要由碱性长石、铁橄榄石、单斜辉石、角闪石和少量石英、斜长石组成,后者主要由碱性长石、角闪石、黑云母和少量的石英、斜长石组成.小海子正长岩体为铁质、碱性系列,轻稀土相对富集,重稀土亏损,具有明显的Eu正异常,无Nb、Ta负异常,相对低的(87Sr/86Sr);(0.7033 ～0.7038)和正的εNd(t)值(+3.1～+3.8),暗示它们来自亏损的地幔源区,没有地壳物质的加入.主微量和同位素地球化学分析,暗示巴楚小海子正长岩的母岩浆为碱性的幔源玄武质岩浆经橄榄石、单斜辉石分离结晶后的残余熔体,并且含有堆晶的碱性长石.这种含有碱性长石堆晶的熔体,在相对还原的条件下结晶,形成铁橄榄石正长岩;在相对氧化的条件下结晶,并经过不同程度斜长石的分离结晶形成角闪正长岩.     

Geochemistry and Rb-sr geochronology of associated proterozoic peralkaline and subalkaline anorogenic granites from Labrador

Anorogenic granites of middle to late Proterozoic age in the Davis Inlet — Flowers Bay area of Labrador are subdivided on the basis of petrology and geochemistry into three coeval suites. Two of these are high-temperature anhydrous hypersolvus granites: a peralkaline aegirine-sodic-calcic to sodic amphibole-bearing suite and a non-alkaline fayalite-pyroxene-bearing suite. The third is a group of non-alkaline subsolvus hornblende-biotite-bearing granites. Associated with the hypersolvus peralkaline suite is a group of genetically related syenites and quartz syenites. The granites cut ca. 3,000 Ma old Archaean gneisses as well as Elsonian layered basic intrusions of the Nain Complex. One of these, a crudely layered mass which ranges in composition from gabbro to diorite and monzonite, appears to be related to the syenites. The peralkaline granites and some of the syenites are extremely enriched in the high field-strength elements such as Y, Zr, Nd, as well as Rb, Ga and Zn, and have low abundances of Ba, Sr and most of the transition elements. In contrast, the non-alkaline hypersolvus and subsolvus granites do not show the same degree of enrichment. Concentration of the highly charged cations in the peralkaline suite is believed to be the result of halogen-rich fluid activity during fractionation of the magma. The sodic evolution trend in the peralkaline suite is reflected mineralogically by the development of aegirine and aegirine-hedenbergite solid solutions, and by a spectacular amphibole compositional range from katophorite through winchite, richterite, riebeckite to arfvedsonite and ferro eckermannite. Accessory phases which are ubiquitous in these rocks include aenigmatite, astrophyllite, fluorite, monazite and zircon. The non-alkaline hypersolvus granites typically contain iron-rich phases such as fayalite, eulite, ferrosilite-hedenbergite, and annite rich biotite. In the subsolvus granites, amphiboles range in composition from edenite through common hornblende to actinolite and also coexist with annite-rich biotite.Whole-rock and mineral isotopic data for the different suites yield isochrons that are within error of ca. 1,260 Ma, but they have variable initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the syenites and peralkaline granites (0.7076±11) is significantly lower than the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the subsolvus granites (0.7138±22). These isotopic data provide further confirmation of the importance of a late Elsonian alkaline event in Labrador which can be correlated with Gardar igneous activity in south Greenland. The petrogenesis of the peralkaline suite is interpreted to reflect the effects of fractionation of anhydrous phases from mantle derived basic magma which was contaminated during ascent by radiogenic partial melts of crustal derivation. The non-alkaline hypersolvus and subsolvus granites are interpreted as crustal melts which formed under conditions of variable in response to the same thermal event, and which subsequently experienced feldspar fractionation during crystallization.     

Mineralogy of New Caledonian metamorphic rocks

The chemistry and phase relations of calcic and sodic amphiboles in the Ouégoa blueschists are investigated. The first appearance of sodic amphiboles is controlled by bulkrock chemistry. Sodic amphibole appears first in weakly-metamorphosed pumpellyite metabasalts prior to the crystallization of lawsonite but does not crystallize in pelitic schists until the middle of the lawsonite zone; sodic amphibole continues as an apparently stable phase in rocks of all bulk compositions into, and throughout, the highest-grade rocks in the district. Calcic amphibole is widespread in metabasalts of the lawsonite and epidote zones and also occurs in metasediments of appropriate composition. Coexisting pairs of calcic and sodic amphiboles are common in metabasalts but they have also been found in some metasediments. A grunerite-riebeckite pair is described.Electron-probe analyses of 120 amphiboles from representative rock-types are presented in graphical form. Sodic amphiboles show an increased Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio with increasing metamorphic grade. Sodic amphiboles in pelitic schists are ferroglaucophane in the lawsonite zone and crossite and glaucophane in the epidote zone. Sodic amphiboles in metabasalts are iron-rich crossites in weakly-metamorphosed rocks and more-magnesian crossites and glaucophanes in the lawsonite and epidote zones. The abrupt increase in Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio in sodic amphiboles at the epidote isograd is attributed to the crystallization of epidote and almandine which take the place of lawsonite and spessartine of the lawsonite zone. Calcic amphiboles are fibrous actinolites in the lawsonite zone and grade with increasing Al and Na/Ca ratio into prismatic blue-green hornblendes (barroisites) in the upper epidote zone. In calcic amphiboles, increasing metamorphic grade effects the coupled substitution of (Na+Al) for (Ca+Mg) and a small increases in Fe/Mg ratio; octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated Al increases in an approximately 11 ratio. Both the calcic and the sodic amphiboles show an increase in A-site occupancy with increasing metamorphic grade. In two-amphibole assemblages Ti, Mn and K are concentrated in the calcic amphibole.The textural and chemical relations between coexisting calcic and sodic amphiboles are discussed. If the calcic and sodic amphiboles are an equilibrium pair then the data collected from the Ouégoa amphiboles gives a picture of a very asymmetric solvus in the system glaucophane-actinolite-hornblende, i.e. steep-sided to glaucophane and with a gentle slope to the calcic amphibole field; there is no indication of any termination of the solvus under the pressure-temperature conditions of crystallization of the Ouégoa schists.     

Coexisting Amphiboles from Blueschist Facies Metamorphic Rocks

Four pairs of associated calcic and sodic amphiboles from blueschistfacies metamorphic rocks were analyzed with the electron microprobeand studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques.Except for ranges in the ratios Mg/(Mg+Fe) and Fe³⁺/(Fe³⁺+Al+Ti),the sodic amphiboles are similar in chemical composition. Theamount of calcium in the M(4)-site ranges only from 0·18to 0·21 ion per formula unit. The calcic amphiboles,in addition to a range in Mg/(Mg+Fe), vary in Na/(Na+Ca) ratio(0·29–0·48). Three of the calcic amphibolescontain less than 1·5 calcium ions per formula unit,indicating a significant solid solution of sodic amphibole componentsin the calcic amphibole phase. The a and b unit-cell parametersof the calcic amphiboles decrease with increased content ofthe sodic component.     

Glaucophane-bearing assemblage overprinted by greenschist-facies metamorphism in the Variscan Kaczawa complex, Sudetes, Poland

An Early Palaeozoic (Ordovician ?) metamudstone sequence near Wojcieszow, Kaczawa Mts, Western Sudetes, Poland, contains numerous metabasite sills, up to 50 m thick. These subvolcanic rocks are of within-plate alkali basalt type. Primary igneous phases in the metabasites, clinopyroxene (salite) and kaersutite, are veined and partly replaced by complex metamorphic mineral assemblages. Particularly, the kaersutite is corroded and rimmed by zoned sodic, sodic–calcic and calcic amphiboles. The matrix is composed of actinolite, pycnochlorite, albite (An ≤ 0.5%), epidote (Ps 27–33), titanite, calcite, opaques and, occasionally, biotite, phengite and stilpnomelane. The sodic amphiboles are glaucophane to crossite in composition with Na^B from 1.9 to 1.6. They are rimmed successively by sodic–calcic and calcic amphiboles with compositions ranging from magnesioferri-winchite to actinolite. No compositions between Na^B= 0.92 and Na^B= 1.56 have been ascertained. The textures may be interpreted as representing a greenschist facies overprint on an earlier blueschist (or blueschist–greenschist transitional) assemblage. The presence of glaucophane and no traces of a jadeitic pyroxene + quartz association indicate pressures between 6 and 12 kbar during the high-pressure episode. Temperature is difficult to assess in this metamorphic event. The replacement of glaucophane by actinolite + chlorite + albite, with associated epidote, allows restriction of the upper pressure limit of the greenschist recrystallization to <8 kbar, between 350 and 450°C. The mineral assemblage representing the greenschist episode suggests the P–T conditions of the high-pressure part of the chlorite or lower biotite zone. The latest metamorphic recrystallization, under the greenschist facies, may have taken place in the Viséan.     

Sidewall crystallization in the Klokken intrusion: zoned ternary feldspars and coexisting minerals

The syenitic layered series in the Klokken intrusion is surrounded by a zone (500 m thick) of nearly structureless unlaminated syenite followed outwards by a zone of vertically banded gabbro (200 m thick) at the outer rim. The unlaminated syenite is intrusive into the gabbro and develops a thin (2 m) transition zone of syenodiorite at the contact. A traverse across the vertical transition zone and inwards towards the layered series was sampled with a portable drill. Mafic silicates (olivine, clinopyroxene, biotite) show inward evolution in Fe/(Fe+Mg) across the syenodiorite-unlaminated syenite zones. Feldspars change rapidly across the syenodiorite zone from rocks dominated by plagioclase, in some cases together with two alkali feldspars, one a mesoperthite or cryptomesoperthite, the other a cryptoperthite, to rocks in which plagioclase is seen only rarely as cores to cryptomesoperthitic alkali feldspar crystals. Plagioclase is absent from the layered series.Alkali feldspars occurring in pairs have bulk compositions on solvus isotherms in the Or-Ab-An ternary system, estimated at 950° C in a syenogabbro and 910° C in a syenodiorite, at 1 kbar. The more calcic liquids from which they crystallized fractionated on paths that intersected the two- feldspar surface, whereas the more syenitic members crystallized from liquids which terminated crystallization in the one- feldspar field at 900° C. Plagioclases evolve from calcic andesine in syenodiorites, to very rare sodic oligoclase in the most evolved unlaminated syenites. The boundaries between plagioclase cores and alkali feldspar rims, which are usually optically abrupt, involve complex mixed zones on the m -scale, consistent with arrested reaction between plagioclase primocrysts and crystallizing syenitic liquid. Ternary liquidus-solidus relationships are in qualitative agreement with this interpretation. The syenodiorites are cumulates produced during sidewall crystallization of a trachytic magma against a gabbroic chamberlining. This magma changed little in bulk composition as it evolved, giving rise to the unlaminated syenites by further sidewall crystallization. Water build- up in this liquid probably caused a change in style of chamber filling, giving rise to the layered series by bottom accumulation. Microtextures in the zoned feldspars are described in an accompanying paper.CRPG contribution 729     

THE HISTORY OF TETHYS IN THE LATE PALEOZOIC-EARLY MESOZOIC AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF PANGEA

The Terra Nova ultrapotassic igneous rocks of northeastern Brazil consist of two dike swarms (alkali-feldspar syenites to quartz syenites and alkali-feldspar granites) and one elongated E-W syenitic body (the Serra do Livramento pluton), which intruded metasediments of the Cachoeirinha-Salgueiro fold belt from 580 to 514 Ma. Mafic ultrapotassic syenite enclaves are recorded in the Serra do Livramento and Terra Nova shoshonitic plutons, both of which are cut by the dike swarms.

Mineralogically, Terra Nova ultrapotassic hypabyssal rocks resemble shoshonitic lamprophyres. Pyroxene is present in all facies; the clinopyroxenes are zoned, SiO₂ saturated, and Al₂O₃ poor (0.12 to 1.15%), and range from earlier diopside to late acmite. Amphiboles are characterized by high SiO₂ and low Al₂O₃ (0.20 to 2.00%) and TiO₂ (0.0 to 1.76%) contents; their compositions range from calcic to alkaline. The late amphiboles are riebeckite-arfvedsonites instead of K-richterites, as expected in ultrapotassic rocks, reflecting the early crystallization of K-feldspar.

The syenitic-facies rocks are mostly peralkaline, whereas the granites are metaluminous. The syenites have high concentrations of incompatible elements (Ba, Sr, and Rb) and light-rare-earth-element (LREE) concentrations lower than for typical ultrapotassic rocks, with chondrite-normalized Ce/Yb ratios of 10 to 20 and wide variation in the La/Ta ratios (40 to 250). The granites have lower incompatible-element contents and La/Ta ratios (20 to 60) than do the syenites.

Syenites from the dike swarm exhibit high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7106), whereas εNd, values for the ultrapotassic mafic enclaves range from -1.1 to -3.7, suggesting that the enclaves and the syenites have different sources.

Field evidence, combined with geochemical data, shows that the granites and the syenites alternate in space and time, suggesting that syenites and granites cannot be associated by either fractional crystallization or partial melting of the same source. The syenites probably represent partial melting of a metasomatized lithospheric mantle, modified by subduction-zone fluids and crustal metasediments during the early stages of a Brasiliano (Pan-African) collisional event. Low-degree partial melting of a metasomatized lower crust appears to be the source of the granites.     

The M?gantic Unstrusive Complex, Qu?bec: a Study of the Derivation of Silica-Oversaturated Anorogenic Magmas of Alkaline Affinity

The Cretaceous M?gantic intrusive complex of southern Qu?beccontains early noritic gabbrodiorites which represent cumulatesfrom crustally contaminated hawaiite to syenite magmas. Wholerock and mineral chemistry, as well as textural evidence, indicatethat post-cumulus recrystallization and reaction were important,and most of the amphibole and biotite are thought to have formedin this way. A younger plutonic quartz-syenite ringdyke maynot be cogenetic with the gabbro-diorites sice it lacks orthopyroxene.It may, however, be cogenetic with basaltic to riebeckite granitedykes. Fractionation of olivine, plagioclase, aluminous clinopyroxene,and minor Ti-magnetite from critically undersaturated alkalibasaltic magmas generated hawaiitic magmas. The developmentof quartzbearing mugearitic and syenitic residua from the hawaiitescan best be modelled by fractionation of amphibole, plagioclase,olivine, oxides, and apatite. Attempts to model fractionationusing observed phenocrysts (including clinopyroxene) were unsuccessful.Amphibole fractionation is interpreted to have taken place througha reaction with still-porous, higher-temperature cumulates onthe walls of the magma chamber. The plutonic syenites probablyrepresent alkali feldspar cumulates from the residual syeniticmelts. Magnesian calc-alkaline lamprophyres exhibit olivineto phlogopite reaction textures, are enriched in Cr, Ni, K,Rb, Nb, Y, Zr, and Si relative to the basaltic dykes, yet havesimilar incompatible element ratios. Their relation to the basaltsis problematical. The late biotite-granite core to the complexis identical to typical White Mountain granites and may haveformed as an anatectic cap on rising, fractionating, mantlederivedmagmas.     

In situ differentiation and evolution of potassic syenites from Svidnya, Bulgaria

Potassic syenites from Svidnya, Bulgaria crop out as small isolated bodies as the primary for this intrusion liquid has basic to intermediate composition. The evolution in a closed magma chamber created plutonic rocks ranging from basic (melasyenite) to acid (granite) and from metaluminous to peralkaline. The most mafic varieties show cumulative textures typical for orthocumulates with cumulus phases clinopyroxene, biotite, apatite and potassium feldspar as gravitational settling is a viable process for separation of particles in the bottom parts of magma chamber. In the middle stratigraphic level of biggest body modal igneous layering with development of dark (clinopyroxene?+?amphibole) and light (potassium feldspar) laminas was observed. Oscillatory crystallization around eutectic point resulted in cyclic separation of mafic and felsic phases in repetitive layers. Fractionation of Ca- and Al-rich phases—clinopyroxene, biotie and potassium feldspar created peralkaline residual liquid strongly enriched in HFS elements.     

Coexisting amphiboles in an eclogite from the Western Alps: new constraints on the miscibility gap between sodic and calcic amphiboles

Abstract Crystal-chemical relationships between coexisting sodic and calcic amphiboles have been studied in eclogitic metagabbros from the Aosta Valley, Western Alps. Textural analysis gives evidence of three successive high-pressure parageneses:
1. Pre-kinematic high-grade blueschist assemblages, preserved as polymineralic inclusions in garnet cores and made of glaucophane and actinolite (stage A).
2. Synkinematic eclogite assemblages, composed of garnet + omphacite + glaucophane ± actinolite ± white mica ° Clinozoisite + quartz + rutile (stage B).
3. Post-kinematic epitactic overgrowths of barroisitic amphibole on glaucophane and actinolite (stage C).
P–T conditions of the eclogitic metamorphism have been estimated at around 500–550°C, 16 kbar.
Glaucophane and actinolite coexist as discrete grains in stage A and B assemblages. This texture and the chemistry of the amphiboles unambiguously denotes the existence of a miscibility gap between sodic and calcic amphiboles (from Na^M4= 0.80 in actinolite to Na^M4= 1.70 in glaucophane at T = 500–550°C). A comparison with published analyses allows a new solvus along the glaucophane–actinolite join to be drawn.
The later barroisitic amphibole (stage C) exhibits strong chemical zonation indicating disequilibrium growth. This amphibole cannot either be used to define a miscibility gap with glaucophane or actinolite or be considered as an intermediate stage between these two end-members.     

Petrology of granitoids from Indus syntaxis,northern Pakistan: Implications for Paleo-Proterozoic A-type magmatism in north-western Indian Plate

The granites are exposed at Dubair and Shang respectively in the north and south of Besham, northern Pakistan. The two exposures are very similar in terms of field features, petrographic details, petrogenetically important geochemical parameters and, more importantly, crystallization temperatures and ages. All this strongly suggests that granites at the two locations are co-genetic and represent two widely separated exposures of the same predominantly un-exposed large intrusion. The Dubair-Shang granites are mostly mega-porphyritic; however evenly fine grained massive and foliated to gneissose varieties also occur at places. The studied samples essentially consist of perthitic feldspar, plagioclase and quartz together with substantial quantities of biotite, minor to accessory amphibole, and accessory to trace amounts of ilmenite, apatite, epidote, titanite and zircon. The amphibole is ferro-edenite and ferro-pargasite while the biotite is markedly Fe-rich and thus approaches annite in composition. The Dubair-Shang granites are per-aluminous, magnesian to ferroan and alkali-calcic to alkalic in composition. Variations in major and trace element contents indicate evolution of the Dubair-Shang intrusion through magmatic differentiation involving early fractionation of amphibole, plagioclase, ilmenite and apatite at 850–890 °C temperature, 6–8 kb pressure and low fO₂. The relatively higher amounts of SiO₂, Th, U, ΣREE, greater LREE/HREE ratios, and higher negative Eu anomaly, lower average MgO, Fe₂O₃, CaO, TiO₂, P₂O₅, Nb, Sr, Ba in the Shang than Dubair samples indicate that the exposure at Shang largely represents more evolved part of the intrusion. The chemical details of biotite and calcic amphibole, whole-rock major and trace element contents including both HFSE and LILE, higher ΣREE and general REE patterns and high magma temperature (averg. Zr Tsat = 834 ± 24 °C) all endorse A-type affinity of the granites and suggest their solidification from a largely crust-derived melt emplaced during Paleo-Proterozoic at 20−30 km depth in post-orogenic realm.     

Parageneses and compositions of amphiboles from Franciscan jadeite–glaucophane type facies series metabasites at Cazadero, California

Abstract Sodic amphiboles are common in Franciscan type II and type III metabasites from Cazadero, California. They occur as (1) vein-fillings, (2) overgrowths on relict augites, (3) discrete tiny crystals in the groundmass, and (4) composite crystals with metamorphic Ca–Na pyroxenes in low-grade rocks. They become coarse-grained and show strong preferred orientation in schistose high-grade rocks. In the lowest grade, only riebeckite to crossite appears; with increasing grade, sodic amphibole becomes, first, enriched in glaucophane component, later coexists with actinolite, and finally, at even higher grade, becomes winchite. Actinolite first appears in foliated blueschists of the upper pumpellyite zone. It occurs (1) interlayered on a millimetre scale with glaucophane prisms and (2) as segments of composite amphibole crystals. Actinolite is considered to be in equilibrium with other high-pressure phases on the basis of its restricted occurrence in higher grade rocks, textural and compositional characteristics, and Fe/Mg distribution coefficient between actinolite and chlorite. Detailed analyses delineate a compositional gap for coexisting sodic and calcic amphiboles. At the highest grade, winchite appears at the expense of the actinolite–glaucophane pair. Compositional characteristics of Franciscan amphiboles from Ward Creek are compared with those of other high P/T facies series. The amphibole trend in terms of major components is very sensitive to the metamorphic field gradient. Na-amphibole appears at lower grade than actinolite along the higher P/T facies series (e.g. Franciscan and New Caledonia), whereas reverse relations occur in the lower P/T facies series (e.g. Sanbagawa and New Zealand). Available data also indicate that at low-temperature conditions, such as those of the blueschist and pumpellyite–actinolite facies, large compositional gaps exist between Ca- and Na-amphiboles, and between actinolite and hornblende, whereas at higher temperatures such as in the epidote–amphibolite, greenschist and eclogite facies, the gaps become very restricted. Common occurrence of both sodic and calcic amphiboles and Ca–Na pyroxene together with albite + quartz in the Ward Creek metabasites and their compositional trends are characteristic of the jadeite–glaucophane type facies series. In New Caledonia blueschists, Ca–Na pyroxenes are also common; Na-amphiboles do not appear alone at low grade in metabasites, instead, Na-amphiboles coexist with Ca-amphiboles throughout the progressive sequence. However, for metabasites of the intermediate pressure facies series, such as those of the Sanbagawa belt, Japan and South Island, New Zealand, Ca–Na pyroxene and glaucophane are not common; sodic amphiboles are restricted to crossite and riebeckite in composition and clinopyroxenes to acmite and sodic augite, and occur only in Fe₂O₃-rich metabasites. The glaucophane component of Na-amphibole systematically decreases from Ward Creek, New Caledonia, through Sanbagawa to New Zealand. This relation is consistent with estimated pressure decrease employing the geobarometer of Maruyama et al. (1986). Similarly, the decrease in tschermakite content and increase in NaM₄ of Ca-amphiboles from New Zealand, through Sanbagawa to New Caledonia is consistent with the geobarometry of Brown (1977b). Therefore, the difference in compositional trends of amphiboles can be used as a guide for P–T detail within the metamorphic facies series.     

Alkaline basic intrusives of Elchuru,Prakasam District,Andhra Pradesh,India

The igneous alkaline rocks at Elchuru start from a parent ijolite-melteigite association to basic malignite, melalusitanite and shonkinite followed by nepheline syenites and then biotite lamprophyres (as dykes) at the waning phase of the evolutionary course of the complex. The distinct alkalinity of the rocks is manifested by the development of modal nepheline and calcic amphibole (kaersutite). For both the basic rocks,i.e. alkali gabbro and biotite lamprophyre, the percentages of normative nepheline are always higher than modal nepheline, indicating silica deficiency and alkali enrichment of the mafics. It is evident from detailed petrological and geochemical studies that the two basic members are very much akin to each other and there is no major deviation in their bulk chemistry.     

The Petrological and Geochemical Evolution of Ediacaran Rare-Metal Bearing A-type Granites from the Jabal Aja Complex, Northern Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia

New fieldwork, mineralogical and geochemical data and interpretations are presented for the rare-metal bearing A-type granites of the Aja intrusive complex(AIC) in the northern segment of the Arabian Shield. This complex is characterized by discontinuous ring-shaped outcrops cut by later faulting. The A-type rocks of the AIC are late Neoproterozoic post-collisional granites, including alkali feldspar granite, alkaline granite and peralkaline granite. They represent the outer zones of the AIC, surrounding a core of older rocks including monzogranite, syenogranite and granophyre granite. The sharp contacts between A-type granites of the outer zone and the different granitic rocks of the inner zone suggest that the AIC was emplaced as different phases over a time interval, following complete crystallization of earlier batches. The A-type granites represent the late intrusive phases of the AIC, which were emplaced during tectonic extension, as shown by the emplacement of dykes synchronous with the granite emplacement and the presence of cataclastic features. The A-type granites consist of K-feldspars, quartz, albite, amphiboles and sodic pyroxene with a wide variety of accessory minerals, including Fe-Ti oxides, zircon, allanite, fluorite, monazite, titanite, apatite, columbite, xenotime and epidote. They are highly evolved(71.3–75.8 wt% SiO_2) and display the typical geochemical characteristics of post-collisional, within-plate granites. They are rare-metal granites enriched in total alkalis, Nb, Zr, Y, Ga, Ta, REE with low CaO, MgO, Ba, and Sr. Eu-negative anomalies(Eu/Eu* = 0.17–0.37) of the A-type granites reflect extreme magmatic fractionation and perhaps the effects of late fluid-rock interactions. The chemical characteristics indicate that the A-type granites of the AIC represent products of extreme fractional crystallization involving alkali feldspar, quartz and, to a lesser extent, ferromagnesian minerals. The parent magma was derived from the partial melting of a juvenile crustal protolith with a mantle contribution. Accumulation of residual volatile-rich melt and exsolved fluids in the late stage of the magma evolution produced pegmatite and quartz veins that cut the peripheries of the AIC. Post-magmatic alteration related to the final stages of the evolution of the A-type granitic magma, indicated by alterations of sodic amphibole and sodic pyroxene, hematitization and partial albitization.     

Characterisation of granites from the Midyan terrain,NW Saudi Arabia

Five, Neoproterozoic, poorly studied felsic intrusives from NW Saudi Arabia have been subjected to a detailed geological, geochemical and mineralogical study to identify their characteristics and to understand their processes of formation. The results have indicated that the individual plutons in the region are each subtly different. This is mainly displayed by the existence of different types of granites, based on chemistry and petrography (peralkaline, alkaline and calc-alkaline) and mineralogy (particularly the presence of different types of amphibole, both sodic and calcic). The granites were most likely derived by low-pressure, partial melting of crustal rocks with possible crustal contamination, followed by fractional crystallization and later sub-solidus alteration by fluids. The geochemical differences between the granites could be related to their formation during different stages of the region’s evolution. The granites contain relatively high contents of rare earth elements and rare metals, mostly hosted by phosphates (monazite-Ce and xenotime), Nb oxide (fergusonite-Y) and possible rare earth carbonates (synchysite). Further detailed geochemical study would determine the economic significance of the studied granitoids and allow understanding how the plutons were fit into tectonic setting of the region.     

Phase relations in the greenschist-blueschist-amphibolite-eclogite facies in the system Na2O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O (NCFMASH), with application to metamorphic rocks from Samos, Greece

Calculated phase equilibria among the minerals sodic amphibole, calcic amphibole, garnet, chloritoid, talc, chlorite, paragonite, margarite, omphacite, plagioclase, carpholite, zoisite/clinozoisite, lawsonite, pyrophyllite, kyanite, sillimanite, quartz and H₂O are presented for the model system Na₂O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (NCFMASH), which is relevant for many greenschist, blueschist, amphibolite and eclogite facies rocks. Using the activity-composition relationships for multicomponent amphiboles constrained by Will and Powell (1992), equilibria containing coexisting calcic and sodic amphiboles could be determined. The blueschist–greenschist transition reaction in the NCFMASH system, for example, is defined by the univariant reaction sodic amphibole + zoisite = calcic amphibole + chlorite + paragonite + plagioclase (+ quartz + H₂O) occurring between approximately 420 and 450 °C at 9.5 to 10 kbar. The calculated petrogenetic grid is a valuable tool for reconstructing the PT-evolution of metabasic rocks. This is shown for rocks from the island of Samos, Greece. On the basis of mineral and whole rock analyses, PT-pseudosections were calculated and, together with the observed mineral assemblages and reaction textures, are used to reconstruct PT-paths. For rocks from northern Samos, pseudomorphs after lawsonite preserved in garnet, the assemblage sodic amphibole-garnet-paragonite-chlorite-zoisite-quartz and the retrograde appearance of albitic plagioclase and the formation of calcic amphibole around sodic amphibole constrain a clockwise PT-path that reaches its thermal maximum at some 520 °C and 19 kbar. The derived PT-trajectory indicates cooling during exhumation of the rocks and is similar to paths for rocks from the western part of the Attic-Cycladic crystalline complex. Rocks from eastern Samos indicate lower pressures and are probably related to high-pressure rocks from the Menderes Massif in western Turkey. Received: 8 July 1997 / Accepted: 11 February 1998