High to ultrahigh temperature contact metamorphism and dry partial melting of the Tasiuyak paragneiss,Northern Labrador

Contact aureoles of the anorthositic to granitic plutons of the Mesoproterozoic Nain Plutonic Suite (NPS), Labrador, are particularly well developed in the Palaeoproterozoic granulite facies, metasedimentary, Tasiuyak gneiss. Granulite facies regional metamorphism (M_R), c. 1860 Ma, led to biotite dehydration melting of the paragneiss and melt migration, leaving behind biotite‐poor, garnet–sillimanite‐bearing quartzofeldspathic rocks. Subsequently, Tasiuyak gneiss within a c. 1320 Ma contact aureole of the NPS was statically subjected to lower pressure, but higher temperature conditions (M_C), leading to a second partial melting event, and the generation of complex mineral assemblages and microstructures, which were controlled to a large extent by the textures of the M_R assemblage. This control is clearly seen in scanning electron microscopic images of thin sections and is further supported by phase equilibria modelling. Samples collected within the contact aureole near Anaktalik Brook, west of Nain, Labrador, mainly consist of spinel–cordierite and orthopyroxene–cordierite (or plagioclase) pseudomorphs after M_R sillimanite and garnet, respectively, within a quartzofeldspathic matrix. In addition, some samples contain fine‐grained intergrowths of K‐feldspar–quartz–cordierite–orthopyroxene inferred to be pseudomorphs after osumulite. Microstructural evidence of the former melt includes (i) coarse‐grained K‐feldspar–quartz–cordierite–orthopyroxene domains that locally cut the rock fabric and are inferred to represent neosome; (ii) very fine‐ to medium‐grained cordierite–quartz intergrowths interpreted to have formed by a reaction involving dissolution of biotite and feldspar in melt; and (iii) fine‐scale interstitial pools or micro‐cracks filled by feldspar interpreted to have crystallized from melt. Ultrahigh temperature (UHT) conditions during contact metamorphism are supported by (i) solidus temperatures >900 °C estimated for all samples, coupled with extensive textural evidence for contact‐related partial melting; (ii) the inferred (former) presence of osumilite; and (iii) titanium‐in‐quartz thermometry indicating temperatures within error of 900 °C. The UHT environment in which these unusual textures and minerals were developed was likely a consequence of the superposition of more than one contact metamorphic event upon the already relatively anhydrous Tasiuyak gneiss.     

The cordierite‐bearing anatectic rocks of the higher Himalayan crystallines (eastern Nepal): low‐pressure anatexis,melt productivity,melt loss and the preservation of cordierite

Cordierite‐bearing anatectic rocks inform our understanding of low‐pressure anatectic processes in the continental crust. This article focuses on cordierite‐bearing lithologies occurring at the upper structural levels of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines (eastern Nepal Himalaya). Three cordierite‐bearing gneisses from different geological transects (from Mt Everest to Kangchenjunga) have been studied, in which cordierite is spectacularly well preserved. The three samples differ in terms of bulk composition likely reflecting different sedimentary protoliths, although they all consist of quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, cordierite and sillimanite in different modal percentages. Analysis of the microstructures related to melt production and/or melt consumption allows the distinction to be made between peritectic and cotectic cordierite. The melt productivity of different prograde assemblages (from two‐mica metapelite/metagreywacke to biotite‐metapelite) has been investigated at low‐pressure conditions, evaluating the effects of muscovite v. biotite dehydration melting on both mineral assemblages and microstructures. The results of the thermodynamic modelling suggest that the mode and type of the micaceous minerals in the prograde assemblage is a very important parameter controlling the melt productivity at low‐pressure conditions, the two‐mica protoliths being significantly more fertile at any given temperature than biotite gneisses over the same temperature interval. Furthermore, the cordierite preservation is promoted by melt crystallization at a dry solidus and by exhumation along P‐T paths with a peculiar dP/dT slope of about 15–18 bar °C^?1. Overall, our results provide a key for the interpretation of cordierite petrogenesis in migmatites from any low‐P regional anatectic terrane. The cordierite‐bearing migmatites may well represent the source rocks for the Miocene andalusite‐bearing leucogranites occurring at the upper structural levels of the Himalayan belt, and low‐P isobaric heating rather than decompression melting may be the triggering process of this peculiar peraluminous magmatism.     

A TEM and microprobe study of a two-perthite alkali gabbro: Implications for the ternary feldspar system

An unusual magmatic three-feldspar syenogabbro occurs 3 m inside the contact of the Klokken gabbro-syenite stock. It contains plagioclase, mesoperthite and cryptoperthite, together with a low temperature symplectite intergrowth. Textural relationships have been investigated by cathodoluminescence, bulk chemistry by microprobe, and exsolution microtextures and intracrystalline boundaries by TEM. The mesoperthite has a bulk composition around Or₂₆Ab₅₂An₂₂, well outside accepted limits of ternary feldspar solid solution. It is a mainly coherent, lamellar intergrowth of sodic andesine and orthoclase with incipient Mtwinning. The cryptoperthite, bulk composition around Or₆₁Ab₃₃An₆, is a coherent lamellar intergrowth of orthoclase and sodic low oligoclase. The compositions of the exsolved phases have been estimated. The meso- and cryptoperthite crystals have sharp boundaries with each other. Plagioclase (zoned An 55-35, with 2–3% Or) defines a solidus fractionation path. It behaved as an inert phase during crystallization of the perthites, which grew as homogeneous monoclinic phases in equilibrium on the strain-free ternary solvus, defining a solvus isotherm at ～ 950° C. Both of the monoclinic phases exsolved on reaching the coherent ternary spinodal at temperatures estimated to be close to 800–850° C and 700–830° C respectively. Lamellar periodicities (529±149 nm and 148±18 nm respectively) are considerably finer scale than predicted by coarsening experiments, suggesting that An and/or Al-Si order greatly inhibit coarsening. The symplectite is a coarse, incoherent intergrowth of sodic andesine and nearly pure K-feldspar, probably produced by simultaneous crystallization at <400° C. The new data and literature analyses are used to construct the geometry of the ternary feldspar system. Solvus isotherms implied by existing experimental data approach the Ab apex too closely at high temperature. The critical solution curve becomes slightly more albitic after leaving the binary Ab-Or join, and then turns sharply towards the An-Or join. It intersects the proposed new limit of feldspar solid solution near Or₃₆Ab₄₄An₂₀ at 1,060° C. This probably approximates to the highest temperature on the ternary critical curve at 1 bar.     

Partial melting due to breakdown of an epidote‐group mineral during exhumation of ultrahigh‐pressure eclogite: An example from the North‐East Greenland Caledonides

In the North‐East Greenland Caledonides, P–T conditions and textures are consistent with partial melting of ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) eclogite during exhumation. The eclogite contains a peak assemblage of garnet, omphacite, kyanite, coesite, rutile, and clinozoisite; in addition, phengite is inferred to have been present at peak conditions. An isochemical phase equilibrium diagram, along with garnet isopleths, constrains peak P–T conditions to be subsolidus at 3.4 GPa and 940°C. Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry on inclusions in garnet yields values of ~820°C at 3.4 GPa. In the eclogite, plagioclase may exhibit cuspate textures against surrounding omphacite and has low dihedral angles in plagioclase–clinopyroxene–garnet aggregates, features that are consistent with former melt–solid–solid boundaries and crystallized melt pockets. Graphic intergrowths of plagioclase and amphibole are present in the matrix. Small euhedral neoblasts of garnet against plagioclase are interpreted as formed from a peritectic reaction during partial melting. Polymineralic inclusions of albite+K‐feldspar and clinopyroxene+quartz±kyanite±plagioclase in large anhedral garnet display plagioclase cusps pointing into the host, which are interpreted as crystallized melt pockets. These textures, along with the mineral composition, suggest partial melting of the eclogite by reactions involving phengite and, to a large extent, an epidote‐group mineral. Calculated and experimentally determined phase relations from the literature reveal that partial melting occurred on the exhumation path, at pressures below the coesite to quartz transition. A calculated P–T phase diagram for a former melt‐bearing domain shows that the formation of the peritectic garnet rim occurred at 1.4 GPa and 900°C, with an assemblage of clinopyroxene, amphibole, and plagioclase equilibrated at 1.3 GPa and 720°C. Isochemical phase equilibrium modelling of a symplectite of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and amphibole after omphacite, combined with the mineral composition, yields a P–T range at 1.0–1. 6 GPa, 680–1,000°C. The assemblage of amphibole and plagioclase is estimated to reach equilibrium at 717–732°C, calculated by amphibole–plagioclase thermometry for the former melt‐bearing domain and symplectite respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that partial melt formed in the UHP eclogite through breakdown of an epidote‐group mineral with minor involvement of phengite during exhumation from peak pressure; melt was subsequently crystallized on the cooling path.     

Microstructural and metamorphic evolution of a high‐pressure granitic orthogneiss during continental subduction (Orlica–Śnieżnik dome,Bohemian Massif)

A microstructural and metamorphic study of a naturally deformed medium‐ to high‐pressure granitic orthogneiss (Orlica–?nie?nik dome, Bohemian Massif) provides evidence of behaviour of the felsic crust during progressive burial along a subduction‐type apparent thermal gradient (～10 °C km^?1). The granitic orthogneisses develops three distinct microstructural types, as follows: type I – augen orthogneiss, type II – banded orthogneiss and type III – mylonitic orthogneiss, each representing an evolutionary stage of a progressively deformed granite. Type I orthogneiss is composed of partially recrystallized K‐feldspar porphyroclasts surrounded by wide fronts of myrmekite, fully recrystallized quartz aggregates and interconnected monomineralic layers of recrystallized plagioclase. Compositional layering in the type II orthogneiss is defined by plagioclase‐ and K‐feldspar‐rich layers, both of which show an increasing proportion of interstitial minerals, as well as the deformation of recrystallized myrmekite fronts. Type III orthogneiss shows relicts of quartz and K‐feldspar ribbons preserved in a fine‐grained polymineralic matrix. All three types have the same assemblage (quartz + plagioclase + K‐feldspar + muscovite + biotite + garnet + sphene ± ilmenite), but show systematic variations in the composition of muscovite and garnet from types I to III. This is consistent with the equilibration of the three types at different positions along a prograde P?T path ranging from <15 kbar and <700 °C (type I orthogneiss) to 19–20 kbar and >700 °C (types II and III orthogneisses). The deformation types thus do not represent evolutionary stages of a highly partitioned deformation at constant P?T conditions, but reflect progressive formation during the burial of the continental crust. The microstructures of the type I and type II orthogneisses result from the dislocation creep of quartz and K‐feldspar whereas a grain boundary sliding‐dominated diffusion creep regime is the characteristic of the type III orthogneiss. Strain weakening related to the transition from type I to type II microstructures was enhanced by the recrystallization of wide myrmekite fronts, and plagioclase and quartz, and further weakening and strain localization in type III orthogneiss occurred via grain boundary sliding‐enhanced diffusion creep. The potential role of incipient melting in strain localization is discussed.     

Role of plagioclase and reaction softening in a metagranite shear zone at mid‐crustal conditions (Gotthard Massif,Swiss Central Alps)

A lower amphibolite Alpine shear zone from the Fibbia metagranite (Gotthard Massif, Central Alps) has been studied to better understand the parameters controlling strain localization in granitic rocks. The strain gradient on the metre‐scale shows an evolution from a weakly deformed metagranite (Qtz_I–Kfs_I–Ab_I–Bt_I ± Pl_II–Zo_I–Phg_I–Grt) to a fine banded ultramylonite (Qtz_II–Kfs_II–Ab_II–Pl_II–Bt_II–Phg_II ± Grt–Zo_II). Strain localization is coeval with dynamic recrystallization of the quartzofeldspathic matrix and a modal increase in mica, at the expense of K‐feldspar. The continuous recrystallization of plagioclase during deformation into a very fine‐grained assemblage forming anastomosed ribbons is interpreted as the dominant process in the shear zone initiation and development. The shear zone initiated under closed‐system conditions with the destabilization of metastable Ab_I–Zo_I porphyroclasts into fine‐grained (20–50 μm sized) Ab_II–Pl_II aggregates, and with minor crystallization of phengite at the expense of K‐feldspar. The development of the shear zone requires a change in state of the system, which becomes open to externally derived fluids and mass transfer. Indeed, mass balance calculations and thermodynamic modelling show that the ultramylonite is characterized by gains in CaO, FeO and H₂O. The progressive input of externally derived CaO drives the continuous metamorphic recrystallization of the fine‐grained Ab_II–Pl_II aggregate into a more Pl_II‐rich and finer aggregate. Input of water favours the crystallization of phengite at the expense of K‐feldspar to form an interconnected network of weak phases. Thus, recrystallization of 50% of the bulk rock volume would induce a decrease of the strength of the rock that might contribute to the development of the shear zone. This study emphasizes the major role of metamorphic reactions and more particularly plagioclase on strain localization process. Plagioclase represents at least one‐third of the bulk rock volume in granitic systems and forms a stress‐supporting framework that controls the rock rheology. Therefore, recrystallization of plagioclase due to changes in P–T conditions and/or bulk composition must be taken into account, together with quartz and K‐feldspar, in order to understand strain localization processes in granites.     

High‐temperature,low‐pressure metamorphism and development of prograde symplectites,Marble Hall Fragment,Bushveld Complex (South Africa)

Metapelitic rocks from the Marble Hall Fragment, enclosed in the granites of the magmatic Bushveld Complex, record a two‐stage, low‐pressure, high‐temperature metamorphism. An early paragenesis containing chiastolitic andalusite, cordierite, biotite and quartz ± garnet crystallized in most rocks and equilibrated at 550–600 °C, 0.2 GPa. It was transformed during the second, peak event into various parageneses that commonly coexist within a single thin section. These include garnet–cordierite–biotite–K‐feldspar–quartz, sillimanite–cordierite–K‐feldspar–quartz and spectacular quartz‐undersaturated cordierite–spinel symplectites replacing the chiastolite porphyroblasts. Based on a detailed phase diagram analysis, we argue that these parageneses result from rapid heating at an approximately constant pressure to temperatures of more than about 720 °C. At these temperatures, the internally buffered activity of water was reduced by incipient water‐saturated partial melting, while only minor quantities of melt were produced. Subsequent dry conditions inhibited large‐scale equilibration and, together with local inhomogeneities in mineral distribution, led to the development of contrasting parageneses and symplectite textures. No signs of widespread fluid‐absent melting of biotite were found, and so the temperature probably did not exceed 760 °C. The peak metamorphic event is attributed to the emplacement of the hot Nebo granite, whereas the early metamorphism was probably caused by the intrusion of one of the phases of the Rustenburg Layered Suite. We infer the conditions of development of the cordierite–spinel intergrowths and we show that, although symplectites are commonly associated with retrograde processes (cooling and/or decompression), they can record a prograde metamorphic evolution. Furthermore, our contribution emphasizes the importance of the concept of reduced equilibration volume for the understanding and interpretation of some particular textures and parageneses in common rocks.     

Growth of myrmekite coronas by contact metamorphism of granitic mylonites in the aureole of Cima di Vila, Eastern Alps, Italy

In the contact aureole of the Oligocene granodiorite of Cima di Vila, granitic pegmatites of Variscan age were strongly deformed during eo‐Alpine regional metamorphism, with local development of ultramylonites. In the ultramylonite matrix, consisting of quartz, plagioclase, muscovite and biotite, microstructures show grain growth of quartz within quartz ribbons, and development of decussate arrangements of mica. These features indicate that dynamic recrystallization related to mylonite development was followed by extensive static growth during contact metamorphism. K‐feldspar porphyroclasts up to 1.5 cm are mantled by myrmekite that forms a continuous corona with thickness of about 1 mm. In both XZ and YZ sections, myrmekite tubules are undeformed, and symmetrically distributed in the corona, and oligoclase‐andesine hosts have random crystallographic orientation. Myrmekite development has been modelled from the P–T–t evolution of the ultramylonites, assuming that the development of the ultramylonites occurred during eo‐Alpine metamorphism at c. 450 °C, 7.5 kbar, followed by contact metamorphism at c. 530 °C, 2.75 kbar. Phase diagram pseudosections calculated from the measured bulk composition of granitic pegmatite protolith indicate that the equilibrium assemblage changes from Qtz–Phe–Ab ± Zo ± Cpx ± Kfs during the ultramylonite stage to Qtz–Pl(An_30–40)–Ms–Kfs–Bt(Ann₅₅) during the contact metamorphic stage. The thermodynamic prediction of increasing plagioclase mode and anorthite content, change of white mica composition and growth of biotite, occurring during the end of the heating path, are in agreement with the observed microstructures and analysed phase compositions of ultramylonites. Along with microstructural evidence, this supports the model that K‐feldspar replacement by myrmekite took place under static conditions, and was coeval with the static growth accompanying contact metamorphism. Myrmekite associated with muscovite can develop under prograde (up‐temperature) conditions in granites involved in polymetamorphism.     

Myrmekite — one hundred years later

Myrmekite, first detected by Michel-Lévy in 1875 and named by Sederholm in 1899, is an intergrowth between vermicular quartz and (sodic) plagioclase situated next to potash feldspar. In felsic plutonic rocks it occurs as: rims bordering granular plagioclase, intergranular blebs set between adjacent microperthite crystals, lobes associated with muscovite in deformed alkali feldspar megacrysts or as bulbous growths at their margins, and rims on plagioclase inclusions held within orthocalse megacrysts. A literature review based largely on papers published in the past quarter century shows that hypotheses for myrmekite genesis fall mainly into five categories: simultaneous or direct crystallization, replacement of potash feldspar by plagioclase, replacement of plagioclase by potash feldspar, solid-state exsolution, and recrystallizing quartz involved with blastic plagioclase.     

Petrological Implication of the Albite Rims in the Felsic Gneisses of the Fuping Complex

The albite rim is present in most felsic gneisses of the Fuping Complex. The presence of the rim indicates the coexistence of plagioclase and K-feldspar in the rock. The rim is formed immediately after the myrmekite, and both textures were derived from the alteration of K-feldspar. The difference is that that there is no quartz present in the rim, and the rim is nearly albite and the anorthite content of the rim plagioclase is substantially lower than that of the myrmekite plagioclase. Formed at 400–500°C the albite rim was derived from the K-feldspar composition adjustment in the late or post-magmatism stage. As the temperature decreased, the equilibrium between K-feldspar and plagioclase could be maintained, and reactions between the minerals occurred. The leucocratic veins in the complex show distinguished magma or migmatitic characteristics. The rim might form in the late magma or deuteric stage. The formation of the rim implies obvious granitic magma- or melt-injection activity. Typical metamorphic rocks cannot produce the rims. Anatexis after medium–high grade metamorphism might be subordinate. If present, the anatexis is water-present, but the rim texture cannot be taken as the symbol of anatexis.     

Distribution and significance of cordierite in paragneisses of the Hudson Highlands,southeastern New York

Cordierite occurs locally and sporadically in biotite-quartz-two feldspar paragneisses of the Precambrian Highlands complex in southeastern New York. Cordieritic and associated non-cordieritic gneisses were compared to determine the significance of cordierite for the metamorphic history of the complex.Microprobe analyses of the ferromagnesian phases show the following ranges in Fe/Mg (mol.): cordierite 0.19–0.43; biotite 0.33–0.73; garnet 1.98–3.56. Feldspar compositional ranges are: plagioclase An_25–53; K-feldspar in microperthite Or_62–87Ab_12–37 An_0–1. Garnet and plagioclase associated with cordierite are depleted in Ca relative to those in cordierite-free assemblages.Textural evidence, phase rule considerations and consistent distribution coefficients for FeO and MgO in coexisting garnet, cordierite and biotite from each locality examined suggest that all phases formed in at least local equilibrium during the hornblende-granulite subfacies metamorphism. The assemblages studied limit the conditions of metamorphism to between 700 and 750° C and 3.0 to 5.5. Kb. total pressure, with P _T greater than . Differences in mineral compositions and partitioning coefficients among the sampled areas suggest slight local differences within these ranges.Mineral and modal analyses of cordierite-bearing and cordierite-free gneisses show the latter to be enriched in calcium and potassium and depleted in alumina relative to the former. We conclude that the rarity of cordierite in the Highlands paragneisses reflects a scarcity of parent rocks of suitable composition rather than unfavorable physical conditions.     

Mineralogy of silicate inclusions of the Colomera IIE iron and crystallization of Cr-diopside and alkali feldspar from a partial melt

We studied the mineralogy, mineral chemistry, and compositions of 48 interior silicate inclusions and a large K-rich surface inclusion from the Colomera IIE iron meteorite. Common minerals in the interior silicate inclusions are Cr diopside and Na plagioclase (albite). They are often enclosed by or coexist with albitic glasses with excess silica and minor Fe-Mg components. This mineral assemblage is similar to the “andesitic” material found in the Caddo County IAB iron meteorite for which a partial melt origin has been proposed. The fairly uniform compositions of Cr diopside (Ca₄₄Mg₄₆Fe₁₀) and Na plagioclase (Or_2.5Ab_90.0An_7.5 to Or_3.5Ab_96.1An_0.4) in Colomera interior inclusions and the angular boundaries between minerals and metal suggest that diopside and plagioclase partially crystallized under near-equilibrium conditions from a common melt before emplacement into molten metal. The melt-crystal assemblage has been called “crystal mush.” The bulk compositions of the individual composite inclusions form an array between the most diopside-rich inclusion and plagioclase. This is consistent only with a simple mechanical mixing relationship, not a magmatic evolution series. We propose a model in which partly molten metal and crystal mush were mixed together by impact on the IIE parent body. Other models involving impact melting of the chondritic source material followed by growth of diopside and plagioclase do not easily explain near equilibrium growth of diopside and Na plagioclase, followed by rapid cooling. In the K-rich surface inclusion, K feldspar, orthopyroxene, and olivine were found together with diopside for the first time. K feldspar (sanidine, Or_92.7Ab_7.2An_0.1 to Or_87.3Ab_11.0An_1.7) occurs in an irregular veinlike region in contact with large orthopyroxene crystals of nearly uniform composition (Ca_1.3Mg_80.5Fe_17.8 to Ca_3.1Mg_78.1Fe_18.9) and intruding into a relict olivine with deformed-oval shape. Silica and subrounded Cr diopside are present within such K-feldspar regions. Some enrichments of the albite component have been detected at the end of curved elongated nodules of K feldspar intruded into the mafic silicates. The textural relationships suggest that a K-rich melt was present. A K-rich melt is neither the first melt of a chondritic system nor a differentiation product of a Na-rich partial melt of chondritic material. The K-rich material may have originated as a fluid phase that leached K from surrounding materials and segregated by a mechanism similar to that proposed for the Na-rich inclusions.     

河北武安坦岭多斑斜长斑岩的成因:冻结岩浆房活化机制

流变学实验表明,当岩浆中晶体体积分数达到约50vol%时,岩浆体实际上处于冻结状态,不再具有整体迁移的能力。但在自然界中仍存在含大量斑晶的浅成火成岩和火山岩。因此,富晶体岩浆的上升过程和侵位机制是近年来地球科学领域关注的热点之一。目前,冻结岩浆房的活化机制主要有二种:升温活化机制和流体活化机制。河北武安坦岭地区新发现的多斑斜长斑岩为揭示冻结岩浆房的活化提供了契机。野外观察和晶体粒度分布(CSD)分析表明,坦岭斜长斑岩中斜长石斑晶高达70vol%,基质为显微晶质结构。斜长石斑晶粒径分布均一,大小约为3.1×1.7mm;显微镜观察和背散射图像揭示,斜长石斑晶具环带结构,由宽广的斜长石核部+宽度可变的条纹长石边部组成,且无熔蚀现象;电子探针成分剖面分析表明,斑晶核部成分为更长石(An_(27)Ab_(71)Or_2),幔部为更长石(An_(13)Ab_(83)Or_4),边部为条纹长石。边部条纹长石的成分有一定变化,从内侧到外侧,主晶钠长石成分由Ab_(53)Or_(47)变为Ab_(99)Or_1,客晶钾长石成分由Ab_(48)Or_(51)变为Ab3Or97。斑晶斜长石核部存在细长条状或斑点状钾长石,且越靠近中心,钾长石斑点的数量越少。这些特点表明,边部条纹长石为交代成因。稀土和微量元素分析则显示,边部条纹长石具弱正Eu异常,相对富集LREE和K、Rb、Ba、Sr等大离子亲石元素,亏损Th、Zr、Nb的特点。CSD相关图解及以上特征表明,斜长石斑晶形成于稳定,封闭的结晶环境,并受到晚期碱交代作用的改造。基质主要由微粒钙质角闪石,条纹长石,石英,钾长石和钠长石组成,含少量自形-半自形磁铁矿和钛铁矿、磷灰石、榍石、金红石和锆石等11种矿物组成。11种矿物相和结构特征暗示基质形成于极端不稳定的结晶环境,与斜长石斑晶形成条件鲜明对照。根据基质的矿物组成,推测形成基质的岩浆具有富含K、Na、Fe、Si和挥发分的特征。这种特征与上述关于条纹长石环边形成条件的判断一致。据此,本文认为:产生斜长石斑晶的岩浆曾经在地壳深部作过长时间滞留,导致了斜长石的稳定结晶,增加了岩浆的粘度和密度,使岩浆处于冻结状态;富碱高铁熔体-流体流的注入大幅降低了岩浆的总粘度,并提高了岩浆的浮力,从而促使冻结岩浆房迅速活化和上升侵位;同时,富碱高铁熔体-流体流强烈交代了先存的斜长石斑晶,使其边部形成条纹长石;这种熔体-流体流则在快速排气,冷却过程中迅速结晶,形成了具有不平衡矿物组合的显微晶质基质。在岩浆侵入体较深部位,富碱高铁熔体-流体经历了很缓慢的固结过程,而相分离产生的流体有可能萃取携带岩浆中的铁质,形成富Fe流体流,后者可能对区内"铁矿浆"型铁矿的形成具有重要的贡献。     

Twinning and exsolution in an antiperthite

An antiperthite feldspar (composition of the main part An_27.2 Ab_69.2Or_3.6) has been studied by x-rays and transmission electron microscopy. Complex twinning and exsolution on very fine scale are described for the first time for this compositional range. Evidence is given for a distinct intermediate region between the plagioclase and the potash feldspar. The formation of the crystal probably involves partial replacement, at least two step exsolution, and transformation of monoclinic plagioclase to triclinic plagioclase.     

Growth of plagioclase rims around metastable kyanite during decompression of high‐pressure felsic granulites (Bohemian Massif)

Samples of high‐pressure felsic granulites from the Bohemian Massif (Variscan belt of Central Europe) characterized by a peak metamorphic (high‐pressure) mineral assemblage of garnet – kyanite – plagioclase – K‐feldspar – quartz ± biotite show well‐developed plagioclase reaction rims around kyanite grains in two microstructural settings. In one setting, kyanite is randomly distributed in the polyphase matrix, whereas in the other setting, it is enclosed within large perthitic K‐feldspar. Kyanite is regarded as a relict of the high‐pressure metamorphic assemblage that became metastable during transition to a low‐pressure overprint. Plagioclase rims from both microstructural settings show continuous outwards decrease of the anorthite content from An_32–25 at the contact with kyanite to An_20–19 at the contact with the matrix or to the perthitic K‐feldspar respectively. Based on mass balance considerations, it is shown that in some cases, a small amount of kyanite was consumed in the rim‐forming reaction to provide the Al₂O₃ component for the growth of plagioclase, whereas in other cases no Al₂O₃ from kyanite was necessary. In a majority of examples, the necessary Al₂O₃ was supplied with CaO and Na₂O from the surrounding matrix material. For kyanite in perthite, a thermodynamic analysis reveals that the kyanite became metastable at the interface with the host perthite at the peak metamorphic pressure, and therefore the plagioclase rim started to grow at ～ 18 kbar. In contrast, kyanite in the polyphase matrix remained stable down to pressures of ～ 16 kbar, and the plagioclase rim only started to grow at a later stage during the decompression. Plagioclase rims around kyanite inclusions within large perthite have a radial thickness of up to 50 μm. In contrast, the radial thickness of plagioclase rims around kyanite in the polycrystalline matrix is significantly larger, up to 200 μm. Another peculiarity is that the plagioclase rims around kyanite in the matrix are polycrystalline, whereas the plagioclase rims around kyanite inclusions in perthitic hosts are single crystals with the same crystallographic orientation as the host perthite. The difference in rim thickness for the two microstructural settings is ascribed to the differences in the efficiency of chemical mass transfer next to the reaction site. The comparatively large thickness of the plagioclase rims grown around kyanite in the matrix is probably due to efficient material transport along the grain and phase boundaries in the matrix. In contrast, chemical mass transfer was comparatively slow in the large perthitic K‐feldspar grains.     

An exsolution silica-pump model for the origin of myrmekite

Myrmekite, as defined here, is the microscopic intergrowth between vermicular quartz and modestly anorthitic plagioclase (calcic albite-oligoclase), intimately associated with potassium feldspar in plutonic rocks of granitic composition. Hypotheses previously invoked in explanation of myrmekite include: (1) direct crystallization; (2) replacement; (3) exsolution. The occurrence of myrmekite in paragneisses and its absence in rocks devold of discrete grains of potassium feldspar challenge those hypotheses based on direct crystallization or replacement. However, several lines of evidence indicate that myrmekite may in fact originate in response to kinetic effects associated with the exsolution of calcic alkali feldspar into discrete potassium feldspar and plagioclase phases. Exsolution of potassium feldspar system projected from [AlSi₂O₈] involves the exchange CaAlK_-1Si_-1, in which the AlSi_-1 tetrahedral couple is resistant to intracrystalline diffusion. By contrast, diffusion of octahedral K proceeds relatively easily where it remains uncoupled to the tetrahedral exchange. We suggest here that where the ternary feldspar system is open to excess silica, the exchange reaction that produces potassium feldspar in the ternary plane is aided by the net-transfer reaction K+Si=Orthoclase, leaving behind indigenous Si that reports as modal quartz in the evolving plagioclase as the CaAl component is concomitantly incorporated in this same phase. Thus silica is pumped into the reaction volume from a silica reservoir, a process that enhances redistribution of both Si and Al through the exsolving ternary feldspar.     

Statistical analysis of granophyric intergrowths in the Main Hill Arkasani Granophyre Pluton, eastern India

The Main Hill Arkasani Granophyre Pluton (MAG), a product of Proterozoic intraplate acid magmatic activity, represents an anatectic melt of the enveloping rocks of dominantly pelitic composition with subordinate trondhjemitic gneiss and basic rocks. Petrography, chemistry, correlation between compositional attributes, areal variation of volume percent granophyric intergrowth, and varimax rotated factor analysis of compositional attributes of these rocks suggest that in the MAG pluton, plagioclase phenocrysts and biotite crystallized first, followed by change of level of emplacement of the magma when the groundmass started crystallizing at a rapid rate. The rapid growth of quartz and alkali feldspar crystallizing from the residual melt gave rise to the ubiquitous granophyric intergrowth in the late stage of crystallization. The alkali-rich residual liquid tended to concentrate toward the margin of the pluton where there is a profusion of granophyric intergrowths.     

Origin of mantle (rapakivi) feldspars: experimental evidence of a dissolution- and diffusion-controlled mechanism

Experiments designed to simulate the dissolution of alkali feldspar during magma mixing produced plagioclase mantles that are texturally and compositionally similar to those in some hybrid volcanic rocks. In hydrous dacite melt (69% SiO₂) at 0.8 GPa, 850°C, orthoclase (Or₉₃) and sanidine (Or₃₀) partially dissolved and were mantled by sodic plagioclase (An_25–30). Although plagioclase nucleated epitaxially as a thin shell on the alkali feldspar surface near the time of initial resorption, plagioclase subsequently grew inward —mostly in the form of parallel blades — toaard the receding dissolution surface. Orthoclase dissolved at a rate approximately proportional to the square root of run duration, indicating diffusional control. Plagioclase grew inward within a static boundary zone of melt that formed between the original crystal-dacite interface and the dissolution surface. During orthoclase dissolution, this boundary zone rapidly and simultancously gained Na (by diffusion from dacite) and lost K (by diffusion into dacite); Ca diffused more slowly into this zone, from which non-feldspar species were mostly excluded. Plagioclase was stable where sufficient Ca had diffused in that the boundary zone melt intersected the plagioclase-saturation liquidus. Plagioclase subsequently grew toward the receding dissolution surface as the Ca compositional gradient (and hence the site of plagioclase saturation) stepped inward. Crystallization of plagioclase in the form of parallel blades allowed continued diffusive exchange of melt components between the dissolution surface and the host melt. Bladed growth also served to maintain (at blade tips) proximity of plagioclase to the dissolution surface, thereby apparently preserving (locally) a thin zone of low-variance melt. In natural systems, mantling of alkali feldspar by plagioclase will occur in a similar manner when (a) P, T, or X are changed to induce alkali feldspar dissolution, (b) sufficient Ca is available in the host melt to drive (by diffusion) boundary zone melt compositions to plagioclase saturation, and (c) temperatures are low enough to stabilize sodic plagioclase and to maintain a coherent boundary zone. These reqjirements are satisfied in volcanic systems when alkali feldspar is juxtaposed during mixing with hybrid melts of dacitic composition. Mantled feldspars in some intrusive systems (i.e., rapakivi granites) may form by a similar dissolution- and diffusion-controlled mechanism. Textural evidence of a similar origin may be obscurred in intrusive rocks, however, by products of late-stage magmatic and subsolidus processes.     

Cordierite formation during the experimental reaction of plagioclase with Mg-rich aqueous solutions

The reaction between plagioclase (labradorite and oligoclase) and Mg-rich aqueous solutions was studied experimentally at hydrothermal conditions (600–700 °C, 2 kbar). During the experiments, plagioclase grains were readily converted to cordierite and quartz within 4 days. The cordierite crystals had well-developed polyhedral shapes, but showed skeletal internal morphologies suggesting that the initial growth occurred fast under high-driving-force conditions. In pure MgCl₂ solutions (0.5–5 M), plagioclase dissolution and cordierite precipitation were spatially uncoupled indicating that Al was to some extent mobile in the fluid. Cordierite crystals formed at 700 °C showed orthorhombic symmetry, whereas those formed at 600 °C dominantly persisted in the metastable hexagonal form suggesting a strong increase in Al, Si ordering speed between 600 and 700 °C. The thermodynamic evolution of the fluid–solid system ultimately resulted in stabilization of Ca-rich plagioclase as demonstrated by partial anorthitization of unreacted plagioclase grains. Cordierite was also observed to form when Mg was added to a potentially albitizing Na-silicate-bearing solution. In that case, cordierite precipitation appeared to be more closely coupled to plagioclase dissolution, and secondary alteration of remnant plagioclase grains did not occur most likely due to armoring of the plagioclase by the cordierite overgrowth. The fast reaction rates observed in our experimental study have potential implications for Mg-metasomatism as a rock-forming process.     

Pro- and retrograde P–T evolution of granulites of the Beit Bridge Complex (Limpopo Belt, South Africa): constraints from quantitative phase diagrams and geotectonic implications

Interpretations based on quantitative phase diagrams in the system CaO–Na₂O–K₂O–TiO₂–MnO–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O indicate that mineral assemblages, zonations and microstructures observed in migmatitic rocks from the Beit Bridge Complex (Messina area, Limpopo Belt) formed along a clockwise P–T path. That path displays a prograde P–T increase from 600 °C/7.0 kbar to 780 °C/9–10 kbar (pressure peak) and 820 °C/8 kbar (thermal peak), followed by a P–T decrease to 600 °C/4 kbar. The data used to construct the P–T path were derived from three samples of migmatitic gneiss from a restricted area, each of which has a distinct bulk composition: (1) a K, Al‐rich garnet–biotite–cordierite–sillimanite–K‐feldspar–plagioclase–quartz–graphite gneiss (2) a K‐poor, Al‐rich garnet–biotite–staurolite–cordierite–kyanite–sillimanite–plagioclase–quartz–rutile gneiss, and (3) a K, Al‐poor, Fe‐rich garnet–orthopyroxene–biotite–chlorite–plagioclase–quartz–rutile–ilmenite gneiss. Preservation of continuous prograde garnet growth zonation demonstrates that the pro‐ and retrograde P–T evolution of the gneisses must have been rapid, occurring during a single orogenic cycle. These petrological findings in combination with existing geochronological and structural data show that granulite facies metamorphism of the Beit Bridge metasedimentary rocks resulted from an orogenic event during the Palaeoproterozoic (c. 2.0 Ga), caused by oblique collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons. Abbreviations follow Kretz (1983 ).