Cordierite-Cummingtonite Facies Rocks from the Gold Brick District, Colorado

The unusual association of cordierite and cummingtonite (? gedrite+ chlorite + biotite + ilmenite + plagioclase + quartz) definesa metamorphic facies within aluminous, low-Ca amphibolites fromthe Proterozoic rocks of the Gold Brick District, east of Gunnison,Colorado. More Fe-rich bulk chemistries in the same facies arecharacterized by assemblages consisting of cordierite+-gedrite+ garnet + chlorite + biotite + ilmenite + plagioclase + quartz,whereas more Mg-rich compositions are characterized by cordierite+ anthophyllite + chlorite + biotite + ilmenite ? plagioclase+ quartz. The assemblage gedrite 4- cummingtonite + chlorite+ biotite + ilmenite + plagioclase + quartz was also observed.Coexisting cordierite+ anthophyllite + cummingtonite was notobserved in any rocks, apparently because this assemblage isstable over only a very narrow range of bulk compositions. Metamorphosedpelitic rocks are more iron rich than the assemblage cordierite+ gedrite + garnet + chlorite + biotite + ilmenite + plagioclase+ quartz and consist of garnet ?cordierite ?staurolite ? chlorite? andalusite + biotite + ilmenite + plagioclase + quartz? microclineor muscovite. Mineral rim compositions from cordierite-bearing amphibolitesand metapelites determined by electron microprobe analysis showsystematic Fe/Mg partitioning and define assemblages that occupynon-overlapping regions of the compositional system SiO₂-TiO₂-Al₂O₃-MnO-FeO-MgO-CaO-Na₂O-K₂O-H₂Oas determined by algebraic and statistical methods developedby Braun & Stout (1975) and Fisher (1989). Graphical methods(projections) produced spurious overlaps not confirmed by themore rigorous algebraic tests. The spurious overlaps were generatedbecause standard projective analysis was not able simultaneouslyto account for the important effects of the components Na₂O,CaO, and MnO on the AFM topologies. The results of algebraicand statistical analysis are consistent with an equilibriumorigin at constant values of temperature and pressure. The cordierite-cummingtonite facies encompasses the relativelylow-pressure and moderate-temperature conditions associatedwith the stability field of andalusite. Garnet-biotite geothermo-metry,and garnet, aluminosilicate, silica, plagioclase (GASP) geobarometrysuggest that temperatures and pressures were nearly constantacross the study area at 550( ? 70) ?C and 3 kb, respectively,near the peak of metamorphism. Other geothermometers and geobarometers,and independent pressure and temperature estimates, are compatiblewith garnet-biotite thermometry and GASP geo-barometry. Gradientsin fO₂ or H₂O are not required to explain the compatibilityof these assemblages at constant T and P. Cordierite + cummingtonite-bearingrocks can apparently be derived from anthophyllite +garnet-bearingrocks by increasing temperature or decreasing pressure.     

Geothermometry, Geobarometry and T-X(Fe-Mg) Relations in Metapelites, Snow Peak, Northern Idaho

The most recent of two metamorphic events (M2) in the Snow Peakarea caused progressive changes in mineral parageneses in peliticrocks ranging from chlorite-biotite to kyanite grade. Systematicpartitioning of elements between coexisting phases indicatesa close approach to equilibrium during M2. Temperature estimatesfor M2 range from 440 ?C in the chlorite-biotite zone to 565?C in the kyanite zone. Coexistence of kyanite, garnet, ilmenite,and quartz places an upper pressure limit of approximately 60kb, and an upper temperature limit at the kyanite-sillimaniteboundary. Equilibrium of garnet, kyanite, plagioclase, and quartzindicates that total pressure of equilibration of kyanite-bearingassemblages was approximately 6 kb. Pressure estimates basedon equilibrium of garnet, muscovite, biotite, and plagioclaseindicate a pressure gradient between garnet and lower staurolitezone samples, which equilibrated at approximately 3? 5 kb, andupper staurolite to kyanite zone samples, which equilibratedat 5? 5 kb. Equilibrium of paragonite component of muscovitewith plagioclase, kyanite and quartz, distribution of speciesin C-O-H fluids in equilibrium with graphite, and the presenceof zoisite in adjacent calc-silicate rocks indicate that themetamorphic fluid in kyanite-bearing assemblages contained 65-90mole per cent H₂O. However, the experimentally calibrated equilibriumof staurolite, quartz, garnet, and kyanite can be reconciledwith estimated temperature only if X_H2O in the fluid was verylow ( 33 mole per cent). T-X(Fe-Mg) relations among chlorite, biotite, garnet, staurolite,kyanite, muscovite and quartz are calculated at 6 kb on thebasis of 3 independent Fe-Mg exchange equilibria: garnet-biotite,chlorite-biotite (empirical, this study), garnet-staurolite(empirical, this study), and three independent net transferequilibria. Alternative sets of data for Mg-chlorite and Fe-stauroliteare evaluated by comparing observed and calculated changes inmineral paragenesis and mineral composition with grade. Chloritedata from Helgeson et al., 1978 give T-X(Fe-Mg) relations consistentwith trends observed in these rocks, whereas data derived frombreakdown of clinochlore and clinochlore + dolomite do not.Calculation of T-X(Fe-Mg) relations consistent with observationsrequires lower values of and than those consistent with experiments on the breakdown of staurolite+quartz.     

Separate or shared metamorphic histories of eclogites and surrounding rocks? An example from the Bohemian Massif

Eclogite boudins occur within an orthogneiss sheet enclosed in a Barrovian metapelite‐dominated volcano‐sedimentary sequence within the Velké Vrbno unit, NE Bohemian Massif. A metamorphic and lithological break defines the base of the eclogite‐bearing orthogneiss nappe, with a structurally lower sequence without eclogite exposed in a tectonic window. The typical assemblage of the structurally upper metapelites is garnet–staurolite–kyanite–biotite–plagioclase–muscovite–quartz–ilmenite ± rutile ± silli‐manite and prograde‐zoned garnet includes chloritoid–chlorite–paragonite–margarite, staurolite–chlorite–paragonite–margarite and kyanite–chlorite–rutile. In pseudosection modelling in the system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (NCKFMASH) using THERMOCALC, the prograde path crosses the discontinuous reaction chloritoid + margarite = chlorite + garnet + staurolite + paragonite (with muscovite + quartz + H₂O) at 9.5 kbar and 570 °C and the metamorphic peak is reached at 11 kbar and 640 °C. Decompression through about 7 kbar is indicated by sillimanite and biotite growing at the expense of garnet. In the tectonic window, the structurally lower metapelites (garnet–staurolite–biotite–muscovite–quartz ± plagioclase ± sillimanite ± kyanite) and amphibolites (garnet–amphibole–plagioclase ± epidote) indicate a metamorphic peak of 10 kbar at 620 °C and 11 kbar and 610–660 °C, respectively, that is consistent with the other metapelites. The eclogites are composed of garnet, omphacite relicts (jadeite = 33%) within plagioclase–clinopyroxene symplectites, epidote and late amphibole–plagioclase domains. Garnet commonly includes rutile–quartz–epidote ± clinopyroxene (jadeite = 43%) ± magnetite ± amphibole and its growth zoning is compatible in the pseudosection with burial under H₂O‐undersaturated conditions to 18 kbar and 680 °C. Plagioclase + amphibole replaces garnet within foliated boudin margins and results in the assemblage epidote–amphibole–plagioclase indicating that decompression occurred under decreasing temperature into garnet‐free epidote–amphibolite facies conditions. The prograde path of eclogites and metapelites up to the metamorphic peak cannot be shared, being along different geothermal gradients, of about 11 and 17 °C km^?1, respectively, to metamorphic pressure peaks that are 6–7 kbar apart. The eclogite–orthogneiss sheet docked with metapelites at about 11 kbar and 650 °C, and from this depth the exhumation of the pile is shared.     

Thermobarometry, Geochronology and the Interpretation of P-T-t Data in the Britt Domain, Ontario Grenville Orogen, Canada

Textural evidence, thermobarometry, and geochronology were usedto constrain the pressure-temperature-time (P—T—t)history of the southern portion of the Britt domain in the CentralGneiss Belt, Ontario Grenville Province. Typical metapeliticassemblages are quartz+plagioclase+ biotite + garnet + kyanite alkali feldspar sillimanite rutile ilmenite staurolite gahnite muscovite. Metatonalitic assemblages have quartz+ plagioclase + garnet biotite + hornblende + rutile + ilmenite.Metagabbroic rocks contain plagioclase + garnet + clinopyroxene+ biotite + ilmenite hornblende rutile quartz. Notabletextural features include overgrowths of sillimanite on kyaniteand of spinel on staurolite. The spinel overgrowths can be modeledby the breakdown of staurolite via the reaction Fe-staurolite= hercynite +kyanite + quartz + H₂O. The decomposition of stauroliteto her-cynite has a steep dP/dT slope and constrains the lateprograde path of a staurolite metapelite. Garnet—Al₂SiO₅—plagioclase—quartz(GASP) barometry applied to metapelitic garnets that preservecalcium zoning reveals a pressure decrease from 11 to 6 kbat an assumed temperature of 700 C. Garnet—plagioclase—ilmenite—rutile—quartzand garnet—clinopyroxene—plagioclase—quartzbarometry is in good agreement with pressures obtained withthe GASP barometer. Geochronologic data from garnet, allanite,and monazite in metapelitic rocks give ages that fall into twogroups, 1–4 Ga and 1.1 Ga, suggesting the presence ofat least two metamorphic events in the area. It is most reasonableto assign the 1.4 Ga age to the high-pressure data and the 1.1Ga age to the lower-pressure data. Collectively the P—T—tdata indicate a complex and protracted history rather than asingle cycle of burial and uplift for this part of the GrenvilleProvince.     

Intersecting Isograds in the Whetstone Lake Area, Ontario

Pelitic and calcareous rocks in the Whetstone Lake area havean unusually wide range of chemical composition. Metamorphicreactions have been deduced that represent the observed ‘discontinuities’in compatible mineral assemblages, and by plotting the reactantand the product assemblage of each reaction on a map, metamorphicisograds have been delincated ‘from both sides’.For the pelitic rocks, successively higher-grade isograds arebased on the following reactions: (1)chlorite+muscovite+garnetstaurolite+biotite+quartz+water; (2) chlorite+muscovite+staurolite+quartz kyanite+biotite+water; (3) kyanitesillimanite; (4)staurolite+museovite+quartzsillimanite+garnet+biotite+water. A fifth isograd, based on the reaction (5) biotite+calcite+quartzCa-amphibole+K-feldspar+carbon dioxide+water intersects the isograds based on reactions (2), (3), and (4)in such a manner as to indicate that the H₂O/CO₂ fugacity ratiowas significantly higher in the vicinity of a granite plutonthan in the metasedimentary rocks remote from the pluton. Chemicalanalyses of the coexisting minerals in reaction (5) indicatethat the real reaction may involve plagioclase, epidote, sphene,and Fe-Ti oxides as well.     

The Garnet+Hornblende Isograd in Calcic Schists from an Andalusite-Type Regional Metamorphic Terrain, Panamint Mountains, California

Calcic schists in the andalusite-type regional metamorphic terrainin the Panamint Mountains, California, contain the low-varianceassemblage quartz+epidote+muscovite+biotite+calcic amphibole+chlorite+plagioclase+spheneat low grade. Near the sillimanite isograd, chlorite in thisassemblage is replaced by garnet. The low variance in many calcicschists allows the determination of the nature of the reactionthat resulted in the coexistence of garnet+hornblende. A graphicalanalysis of the mineral assemblages shows that the reactioncan not be of the form biotite+epidote+chlorite+plagioclase+quartz=garnet+hornblende+muscovite+sphene+H₂Obecause garnet+chlorite never coexisted during metamorphismand the chlorite-bearing and garnet-bearing phase volumes donot overlap. The compositions of the minerals show that withincreasing grade amphibole changed from actinolite to pargasitichornblende with no apparent miscibility gap, the partitioningof Fe and Mg between chlorite and hornblende changed from K_D(Mg/Fe, chl&amp) < 1 to K_D > 1, the partitioning betweenbiotite and hornblende changed from K_D (Mg/Fe, bio/amp) <1 in chlorite-zone samples to K_D > 1 in garnet + hornblende-zonesamples, and the transition to the garnet-bearing assemblageoccurred when the composition of plagioclase was between An₅₅and An₈₀. Both the graphical analysis and an analytical analysisof the compositions of the minerals using simplified componentsderived from the natural mineral compositions indicate thatat the garnet+hornblende isograd the composition of hornblendewas colinear with that of plagioclase and biotite, as projectedfrom quartz, epidote, muscovite, and H₂O. During progressivemetamorphism, chlorite+biotite+epidote+quartz continuously brokedown to form hornblende+muscovite+sphene until the degeneracywas reached. At that point, tie lines from hornblende couldextend to garnet without allowing garnet to coexist with chlorite.Thus, the garnet+hornblende isograd was established throughcontinuous reactions within the chlorite-grade assemblage ratherthan through a discontinuous reaction. In this type of isograd,the low-grade diagnostic assemblage occurs only in Mg-rich rocks;whereas the high-grade assemblage occurs only in Fe-rich rocks.This relation accounts for the restricted occurrence of garnet+hornblendeassemblage in low-pressure terrains. In Barrovian terrains,garnet+chlorite commonly occurs, and the first appearana ofgarnet+hornblende can simply result from the continuous shiftof the garnet+chlorite tie line to Mg-rich compositions.     

The juxtaposition of eclogite and mid‐crustal rocks in the Orlica–Śnieżnik Dome,Bohemian Massif

Eclogite, felsic orthogneiss and garnet–staurolite metapelite occur in a 5 km long profile in the area of Mi?dzygórze in the Orlica–?nie?nik dome (Bohemian Massif). Petrographic observations and mineral equilibria modelling, in the context of detailed structural work, are used to document the close juxtaposition of high‐pressure and medium‐pressure rocks. The structural succession in all lithologies shows an early shallow‐dipping fabric, S1, that is folded by upright folds and overprinted by a heterogeneously developed subvertical foliation, S2. Late recumbent folds associated with a weak shallow‐dipping axial‐plane cleavage, S3, occur locally. The S1 fabric in the eclogite is defined by alternation of garnet‐rich (grs = 22–29 mol.%) and omphacite‐rich (jd = 33–36 mol.%) layers with oriented muscovite (Si = 3.26–3.31 p.f.u.) and accessory kyanite, zoisite, rutile and quartz, indicating conditions of ～19–22 kbar and ～700–750 °C. The assemblage in the retrograde S2 fabric is formed by amphibole, plagioclase, biotite and relict rutile surrounded by ilmenite and sphene that is compatible with decompression and cooling from ～9 kbar and ～730 °C to 5–6 kbar and 600–650 °C. The S3 fabric contains in addition domains with albite, chlorite, K‐feldspar and magnetite indicating cooling to greenschist facies conditions. The metapelites are composed of garnet, staurolite, muscovite, biotite, quartz, ilmenite and chlorite. Chemical zoning of garnet cores that contain straight ilmenite and staurolite inclusion trails oriented perpendicular to the external S2 fabric indicates prograde growth, from ～5 kbar and ～520 °C to ～7 kbar and ～610 °C, during the formation of the S1 fabric. Inclusion trails parallel with the S2 fabric at garnet and staurolite rims are interpreted to be a continuation of the prograde path to ～7.5 and ～630 °C in the S2 fabric. Matrix chlorite parallel to the S2 foliation indicates that the subvertical fabric was still active below 550 °C. The axial planar S2 fabrics developed during upright folding are associated with retrogression of the eclogite under amphibolite facies conditions, and with prograde evolution in the metapelites, associated with their juxtaposition. The shared part of the eclogite and metapelite P–T paths during the development of the subvertical fabric reflects their exhumation together.     

Submicron polyphase inclusions in garnet from the Tananao Metamorphic Complex, Taiwan: a key to unravelling otherwise unrecognized metamorphic events

Kyanite and staurolite occur in the Tananao Metamorphic Complex as submicron inclusions in almandine‐rich garnet from a metamorphosed palaeosol weathering horizon, near Hoping, eastern Taiwan. Quartz, rutile/brookite and zircon are also found as associated submicron inclusions in garnet. Employing the reaction ilmenite+kyanite+quartz=almandine+rutile, and the breakdown of staurolite and quartz as thermobarometers, these submicron‐scale minerals formed at >8.3–8.8 kbar and < 660–690 °C. This P–T estimate is different from that (i.e. 5–7 kbar and 530–550 °C) derived from matrix minerals, which include almandine‐rich garnet, muscovite, chlorite, chloritoid, plagioclase, quartz and ilmenite. These results suggest that submicron inclusions in garnet‐like materials may record portions of the otherwise undocumented prograde path or provide information about previous metamorphic events and thus yield new insights into orogenic belts.     

Coexisting chloritoid-staurolite from the Sillimanite (fibrolite) zone,Sini, district Singhbhum,India

Microprobe analyses of the minerals from an unusual chloritoid-staurolite-garnet (+ muscovite + quartz + ilmenite) assemblage from the sillimanite (fibrolite) zone of Sini, India are presented and the petrological significance of the paragenesis is discussed. The X Mg in the different minerals from the chloritoid-staurolite-bearing rock varies in the order, muscovite > chlorite > chloritoid > staurolite > garnet > ilmenite, and from the associated sillimanite-bearing schists: muscovite > biotite > staurolite > garnet rim > garnet core > ilmenite. A graphical representation of the mineral compositions in an AFM projection displays a consistent topology if the effects of non-AFM components such as Zn in the staurolite and Mn in the garnet are taken into account. Petrographic and mineralogical data are consistent with a prograde formation of the chloritoid-staurolite-garnet assemblage. It is suggested that the paragenesis has been formed at similar PT conditions to the associated sillimanite (fibrolite)-staurolite-garnet-mica schists. These conditions are estimated to be 600–625°C/6±0.5 Kb.     

A petrogenetic grid for pelitic schists in the system SiO2-Al2O3-FeO-MgO-K2O-H2O

A quantitative petrogenetic grid for pelitic schists in the system KFMASH that includes the phases garnet, chlorite, biotite, chloritoid, cordierite, staurolite, talc, kyanite, andalusite, sillimanite, and pyrophyllite (with quartz, H₂O and muscovite or K-feldspar in excess) is presented. The grid is based on thermodynamic data of Berman et al. (1985) and Berman (1988) for endmember KFASH and KMASH equilibria and natural Fe-Mg partitioning for the KFMASH system. Calculation of P-T slopes and the change in Fe/(Fe+Mg) along reactions in the KFMASH system were made using the Gibbs method. In addition, the effect on the grid of MnO and CaO is evaluated quantitatively. The resulting grid is consistent with typical Buchan and Barrovian parageneses at medium to high grades. At low grades, the grid predicts an extensive stability field for the paragenesis chloritoid+biotite which arises because of the unusual facing of the reaction chloritoid+biotite + quartz+H₂O = garnet+chlorite+muscovite, which proceeds to the right with increasing T in the KFMASH system. However, the reaction proceeds to the left with increasing T in the MnKFASH system so the assemblage chloritoid + biotite is restricted to bulk compositions with high Fe/(Fe+Mg+Mn). Typical metapelites will therefore contain garnet+chlorite at low grades rather than chloritoid + biotite.     

Reaction relationships during retrograde metamorphism at Olary, South Australia

Abstract In metapelitic schists of the north-eastern Weekeroo Inliers, Olary Block, Willyama Supergroup, South Australia, syn-S1 and syn-S2 assemblages involving staurolite, garnet, biotite and another mineral, most probably cordierite, were overgrown by large syn-S3 andalusite porphyroblasts, owing to isobaric heating from metamorphic conditions that existed during the development of S2. Conditions during the development of S3 probably just reached the andalusite—sillimanite transition. During the development of S4, at somewhat lower temperatures than those that accompanied the development of S3, the following reaction occurred:
staurolite + chlorite + muscovite ± biotite + andalusite + quartz + H₂O.
The amount of retrogression is controlled primarily by the amount of H₂O added by infiltration. As the syn-S3 matrix assemblage was stable during the development of S4, but the andalusite porphyroblasts were no longer stable with the matrix when H₂O was added, the retrogression is focused in and around the porphyroblasts. With enough H₂O available, and if quartz was consumed before biotite in a porphyroblast, then the following reaction occurred:
staurolite + chlorite + muscovite + corundum ± biotite + andalusite + H₂O.
This reaction allowed corundum inclusions in the andalusite to grow, regardless of the presence of quartz in the matrix assemblage.     

Metamorphic Reactions in the Kyanite and Sillimanite Zones of the Barrovian Type Area

Metamorphic conditions in the staurolite, kyanite, and sillimanitezones of the Barrovian type area have been calculated usinga variety of equilibria. Temperatures ranged from 550?C (transitionzone) to 650?C (sillimanite zone) with P {small tilde} 6000bars and XH₂O {small tilde} 0?6. Metamorphism was progressive,and the exact nature of the continuous reactions responsiblefor the formation of index minerals was strongly controlledby bulk rock Mg/(Mg + Fe). Thus, in magnesian rocks staurolitebroke down to kyanite + biotite, whereas in iron-rich rocksit broke down to garnet + muscovite and kyanite was not produced.Sillimanite formed both from kyanite and by dehydration reactionsof staurolite and white mica.     

Petrology of Biotite-Cordierite-Garnet Gneiss of the McCullough Range, Nevada I. Evidence for Proterozoic Low-Pressure Fluid-Absent Granulite Grade Metamorphism in the Southern Cordillera

Proterozoic migmatitic paragneisses exposed in the McCulloughRange, southern Nevada, consist of cordierite+almanditic garnet+biotite+sillimanite+plagioclase+K-feldspar+quartz+ilmenite+hercynite.This assemblage is indicative of a low-pressure fades seriesat hornblende-granulite grade. Textures record a single metamorphicevent involving crystallization of cordierite at the expenseof biotite and sillimanite. Thermobarometry utilizing cation exchange between garnet, biotite,cordierite, hercynite, and plagioclase yields a preferred temperaturerange of 590–750?C and a pressure range of 3–4 kb.Equilibrium among biotite, sillimanite, quartz, garnet, andK-feldspar records a_H2O between 0?03 and 0?26. The low a_H2Otogetherwith low f_O2 (QFM) and optical properties of cordierite indicatemetamorphism under fluid-absent conditions. Preserved mineralcompositions are not consistent with equilibrium with a meltphase. Earlier limited partial melting was apparently extensiveenough to cause desiccation of the pelitic assemblage. The relatively low pressures attending high-grade metamorphismof the McCullough Range paragneisses allies this terrane withbiotite-cordierite-garnet granulites in other orogenic belts.aosure pressures and temperatures require a transient apparentthermal gradient ofat least 50?C/km during part of this Proterozoicevent in the southern Cordillera. ^*Present address: Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1567     

Staurolite porphyroblast controls on local bulk compositional and microstructural changes during decompression of a St–Bt–Grt–Crd–And schist (Ancasti metamorphic complex,Sierras Pampeanas,W Argentina)

The staurolite–biotite–garnet–cordierite–andalusite–plagioclase–muscovite–quartz metapelitic mineral assemblage has been frequently interpreted in the literature as a result of superimposition of various metamorphic events, for example, in polymetamorphic sequences. The assemblage was identified in schists from the Ancasti metamorphic complex (Sierras Pampeanas of Argentina) where previous authors have favoured the polymetamorphic genetic interpretation. A pseudosection in the MnNCKFMASH system for the analysed XRF bulk composition predicts the stability of the sub‐assemblage staurolite–biotite–garnet–plagioclase–muscovite–quartz, and the compositional isopleths also agree with measured mineral compositions. Nevertheless, the XRF pseudosection does not predict any field with staurolite, andalusite and cordierite being stable together. As a result of more detailed modelling making use of the effective bulk composition concept, our interpretation is that the staurolite–biotite–garnet–plagioclase–muscovite–quartz sub‐assemblage was present at peak metamorphic conditions, 590 °C and 5.2 kbar, but that andalusite and cordierite grew later along a continuous P–T path. These minerals are not in mutual contact and are observed in separate microstructural domains with different proportions of staurolite. These domains are explained as a result of local reaction equilibrium subsystems developed during decompression and influenced by the previous peak crystal size and local modal distribution of staurolite porphyroblasts that have remained metastable. Thus, andalusite and cordierite grew synchronously, although in separate microdomains, and represent the decompression stage at 565 °C and 3.5 kbar.     

Metamorphic P-T paths from calcic pelitic schists from the Strafford Dome, Vermont, USA

Metamorphism of the Gile Mountain Formation and Waits River Formation in the Strafford Dome and Townshend-Brownington Syncline in east-central Vermont records two nappe-style events, D1 and D2, followed by doming. D1 formed a muscovite + biotite ± ilmenite schistosity subparallel to compositional layering, SO, and was followed by heating to garnet grade. The temperature and pressure at the end of D1 are estimated to be c . 450 C and 6-8 kbar. D2 variably crenulated and folded S1 during a nearly isothermal pressure increase of 1-2 kbar, calculated from compositions of garnet, which have inclusions trails with progressive crenulation and rotation of the S1 fabric. Similar P-T paths are computed for most of the area, suggesting that the later schistosity developed during emplacement of a regional nappe 3-6 km thick. There is a general lack of D3 (dome-stage) microstructures.
Near the Strafford-Willoughby Arch, staurolite and kyanite overgrew S2 in pelites, and plagioclase with increasing X _An overgrew S2 in calcic pelites, reflecting post-D2 heating to a maximum of 550-600 C. Metamorphic pressures at the end of D2 are fairly constant on the west side of the dome, indicating minor dome-stage uplift. In contrast, pressures at the thermal peak of metamorphism decrease by more than 4 kbar east of the dome. The observed pattern of isotherms and isobars is mainly the result of post-metamorphic, differential uplift and unroofing.
Finally, a minor, retrograde metamorphism produced the assemblage albite + epidote + K-feldspar + muscovite + chlorite, with grade increasing east toward the Connecticut River.     

Contrasting P-T Paths in the Eastern Himalaya, Nepal: Inverted Isograds in a Paired Metamorphic Mountain Belt

Petrology and phase equilibria of rocks from two profiles inEastern Nepal from the Lesser Himalayan Sequences, across theMain Central Thrust Zone and into the Greater Himalayan Sequencesreveal a Paired Metamorphic Mountain Belt (PMMB) composed oftwo thrust-bound metamorphic terranes of contrasting metamorphicstyle. At the higher structural level, the Greater HimalayanSequences experienced high-T/moderate-P metamorphism, with ananticlockwise P–T path. Low-P inclusion assemblages ofquartz + hercynitic spinel + sillimanite have been overgrownby peak metamorphic garnet + cordierite + sillimanite assemblagesthat equilibrated at 837 ± 59°C and 6·7 ±1·0 kbar. Matrix minerals are overprinted by numerousmetamorphic reaction textures that document isobaric coolingand re-equilibrated samples preserve evidence of cooling to600 ± 45°C at 5·7 ±1·1 kbar.Below the Main Central Thrust, the Lesser Himalayan Sequencesare a continuous (though inverted) Barrovian sequence of high-P/moderate-Tmetamorphic rocks. Metamorphic zones upwards from the loweststructural levels in the south are: Zone A: albite + chlorite + muscovite ± biotite; Zone B: albite + chlorite + muscovite + biotite + garnet; Zone C: albite + muscovite + biotite + garnet ± chlorite; Zone D: oligoclase + muscovite + biotite + garnet ± kyanite; Zone E: oligoclase + muscovite + biotite + garnet + staurolite+ kyanite; Zone F: bytownite + biotite + garnet + K-feldspar + kyanite± muscovite; Zone G: bytownite + biotite + garnet + K-feldspar + sillimanite+ melt ± kyanite. The Lesser Himalayan Sequences show evidence for a clockwiseP–T path. Peak-P conditions from mineral cores average10·0 ± 1·2 kbar and 557 ± 39°C,and peak-metamorphic conditions from rims average 8·8± 1·1 kbar and 609 ± 42°C in ZonesD–F. Matrix assemblages are overprinted by decompressionreaction textures, and in Zones F and G progress into the sillimanitefield. The two terranes were brought into juxtaposition duringformation of sillimanite–biotite ± gedrite foliationseams (S₃) formed at conditions of 674 ± 33°C and5·7 ± 1·1 kbar. The contrasting averagegeothermal gradients and P–T paths of these two metamorphicterranes suggest they make up a PMMB. The upper-plate positionof the Greater Himalayan Sequences produced an anticlockwiseP–T path, with the high average geothermal gradient beingpossibly due to high radiogenic element content in this terrane.In contrast, the lower-plate Lesser Himalayan Sequences weredeeply buried, metamorphosed in a clockwise P–T path anddisplay inverted isograds as a result of progressive ductileoverthrusting of the hot Greater Himalayan Sequences duringprograde metamorphism. KEY WORDS: thermobarometry; P–T paths; Himalaya; metamorphism; inverted isograds; paired metamorphic belts     

浙西南八都杂岩早中生代泥质麻粒岩变质作用及构造意义

遂昌-大柘泥质麻粒岩出露于华夏地块东北部的浙西南八都杂岩中,该岩石保留了典型的减压反应结构.但其变质演化特点、变质作用时代及构造意义目前尚不明确.通过系统的岩相学、矿物化学和同位素年代学分析,结果表明遂昌-大柘泥质麻粒岩记录了4个阶段的变质矿物组合,其中早期进变质阶段M₁的矿物组合为石榴石+黑云母+石英;压力峰期变质阶段M₂的矿物组合为石榴石+铝绿泥石+金红石+蓝晶石+刚玉+黑云母+石英±十字石,该矿物组合可能预示着岩石曾经历了超高压变质作用过程;峰期变质阶段M₃的矿物组合为石榴石+黑云母+夕线石+石英±钾长石±斜长石±钛铁矿;峰后近等温降压M_4-1阶段的矿物组合为石榴石+黑云母+夕线石+堇青石+石英+钛铁矿±尖晶石±斜长石±钾长石;M_4-2阶段的矿物组合为石榴石+堇青石+夕线石+斜长石+黑云母+石英±钾长石.相平衡模拟结合传统地质温压计限定其峰期变质阶段的温压条件为T=780~810 ℃、P=8.0~9.2 kbar;峰期后近等温降压的M_4-1阶段的温压条件为T=780~860 ℃和P=5.7~6.0 kbar,M_4-2阶段的温压条件为T=~700 ℃和P=~4.4 kbar,具有典型的顺时针近等温减压型P-T轨迹特征.LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年结果表明其麻粒岩相变质作用时代为233.5~238.9 Ma.变质作用历史说明浙西南地体可能卷入了古特提斯洋域内印支-华南-华北板块之间的俯冲-碰撞过程,并经历了早中生代的麻粒岩相变质作用后快速折返至地表.      

Regional metamorphism of pelitic rocks around Kandra,Singhbhum, Bihar

A suite of pelitic rocks around Kandra, Singhbhum District, Bihar, displays a metamorphic gradient registered by the index minerals chlorite, biotite, garnet, staurolite and sillimanite in a Barrovian sequence. Metamorphism was by and large coeval with folding movements, and correlating the internal fabric of minerals and deformational characters, a regular sequence of the index minerals is derived. It is argued that the chronological order by itself is not sufficient to prove that metamorphism was progressive in time.Among the index minerals, garnet appears to have formed by the reaction chlorite+biotite_a+quartz garnet+biotite_b+H₂O. For the origin of sillimanite, a new reaction, 3 staurolite+muscovite+quartz=7 sillimanite+biotite+3H₂O, is suggested on the basis of significant textural features. Textural and petrological indications regarding the formation of staurolite are in discordance. Staurolite was either derived from the biotite zone phases, or should be taken to have formed, against textural evidences, from chloritoids of the garnet zone.Graphical analysis of the assemblages by Thompson's AFM projection reveals that chlorite and staurolite are excess phases owing to retrogression and incomplete reaction. Shifting of apices of triangular fields and intersection of garnet-biotite tie lines within a zone can be satisfactorily explained in terms of extra components CaO and MnO or their ratios. It is pointed out that if MgO/(MgO + FeO) between two phases show a linear relation, their tie lines will be concurrent on the AF side of the projection, the point of concurrence reflecting equilibrium and temperature of recrystallisation.     

Evolution of a kyanite-bearing belt within a HT-LP orogen: the case of NW Variscan Iberia

Kyanite replaces andalusite in a belt of Ordovician and Silurian pelitic rocks that form a narrow synform pinched between high-grade antiforms in NW Variscan Iberia. Kyanite occurs across the belt in Al-rich, black pelites in assemblages I: kyanite–chloritoid–chlorite–muscovite and II: kyanite–staurolite– chlorite–muscovite. In I, kyanite occurs in the matrix and in kyanite–muscovite aggregates that pseudomorph earlier andalusite porphyroblasts. The aggregates are found across the belt and can still be recognized in assemblage II and even in III: andalusite–staurolite–biotite–muscovite, this latter being a hornfelsic Silurian schist where kyanite is relic and staurolite occurs in the matrix, and is resorbed inside new massive pleochroic andalusite. KFMASH and MnKFMASH pseudosections have been constructed using Thermocalc for Al-rich and Al-poorer compositions from the belt. Chloritoid zoning in Al-rich rocks containing assemblage I, plus chloritoid–chlorite thermometry complemented with garnet–chlorite thermometry in Al-poorer lithologies, mean that the path is one of increasing pressure and temperature. Conditions prior to assemblage I, with earlier andalusite stable, are those of the andalusite–chloritoid– chlorite field as testified by chloritoid enclosed in andalusite porphyroblast rims. The passage from assemblage I to II implies a prograde path within the kyanite field. Assemblage III represents peak conditions, indicating a prograde staurolite-consuming reaction across a KFMASH field, leading eventually to a locally found andalusite–biotite–muscovite hornfels. The lowest pressure stages are recorded by cordierite–biotite in Al-poor pelites. Garnet-bearing MnKFMASH assemblages in Al-poorer pelites record conditions similar to assemblages II and III. The replacement of andalusite by kyanite in assemblage I is attributed to downdragging of andalusite-bearing rocks into a synform as testified by the strained andalusite porphyroblasts affected by a subvertical crenulation cleavage. Prograde metamorphism in the eastern contact of the belt is due to heat transferred to the belt from the ascending high grade antiform across the Vivero fault.     

Deformation-induced cordierite breakdown–An example from western Maine,USA

Preservation of partially completed metamorphic reactions in the form of partial pseudomorphs is very important as it provides direct insight onto the reaction mechanism and the phases involved in the reaction. The staurolite and andalusite grade rocks in western Maine, USA, contain cordierite porphyroblasts partly pseudomorphed by coarse-grained muscovite and biotite. The pseudomorphs consist of a cordierite core surrounded by a reaction rim. Modal mineralogy, calculated using the ImageJ processing software based on backscatter images and X-ray compositional maps, reveals that the core consists of cordierite (53.5%), muscovite (22.8%), biotite (9.1%), quartz (1 0.4%), plagioclase (3.1%) and ilmenite/pyrrhotite and apatite (1.1%) whereas the reaction rim consists of cordierite (1.8%), muscovite (51.6%), biotite (30.4%), quartz (4.3%), plagioclase (10%), garnet (1.2%), ilmenite/pyrrhotite and apatite (0.8%). The net effect of the cordierite breakdown reaction is an increase of 226% in muscovite, 334% in biotite and 323% in plagioclase content and a decrease of 97% in cordierite. The reaction involved exchange of components with the matrix requiring addition of H₂O, K⁺, Na⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ and removal of SiO₂, Mg²⁺ and PO₄^3- from the reaction site. PT estimates using the garnet–biotite, Ti-in-biotite, Na-in-cordierite thermometers and the garnet–biotite–muscovite–plagioclase barometer indicate that cordierite breakdown occurred at ~550°C and 3.5 kbar. thermocalc modelling using the bulk rock composition suggests that cordierite is not stable at these conditions, whereas modelling using a thin section-derived bulk composition indicates that cordierite stability extends to higher pressures, and most likely that the cordierite breakdown was not PT dependent. The incorporation of Na (up to 0.18 a.f.u.) into the cordierite structure has the effect of stabilizing the cordierite under a variety of H₂O activity and limiting the role of fluids into destabilizing it. The cordierite cores contain evidence of plastic and brittle deformation in the form of subgrains and microcracks, which facilitated the infiltration of fluids that destabilized cordierite at constant PT conditions by leaching Na and introducing K. New mica growth along these structural heterogeneities suggests that deformation played an important role promoting breakdown of cordierite to muscovite and biotite.