Occurrence of lawsonite in pelitic schists from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, central Shikoku, Japan

The occurrence of lawsonite is described from pelitic schists of the lower-grade part of the pumpellyite-bearing subzone of the chlorite zone in the Asemi River area of central Shikoku. The lawsonite-bearing parageneses are consistent with the generally accepted view that the Sanbagawa facies series represents higher pressures than the lawsonite-bearing facies series in New Zealand.     

Chloritoid and barroisite-bearing pelitic schists from the eclogite unit in the Besshi district, Sanbagawa metamorphic belt

The Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks in the Besshi district, central Shikoku, are grouped into eclogite and noneclogite units. Chloritoid and barroisite-bearing pelitic schists occur as interlayers within basic schist in an eclogite unit of the Seba area in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, central Shikoku, Japan. Major matrix phases of the schists are garnet, chlorite, barroisite, paragonite, phengite, and quartz. Eclogite facies phases including chloritoid and talc are preserved only as inclusions in garnet. P–T conditions for the eclogite facies stage estimated using equilibria among chloritoid, barroisite, chlorite, interlayered chlorite–talc, paragonite, and garnet are 1.8 GPa/520–550 °C. Zonal structures of garnet and matrix amphibole show discontinuous growth of minerals between their core and mantle parts, implying the following metamorphic stages: prograde eclogite facies stage→hydration reaction stage→prograde epidote–amphibolite stage. This metamorphic history suggests that the Seba eclogite lithologies were (1) juxtaposed with subducting noneclogite lithologies during exhumation and then (2) progressively recrystallized under the epidote–amphibolite facies together with the surrounding noneclogite lithologies.

The pelitic schists in the Seba eclogite unit contain paragonite of two generations: prograde phase of the eclogite facies included in garnet and matrix phase produced by local reequilibration of sodic pyroxene-bearing eclogite facies assemblages during exhumation. Paragonite is absent in the common Sanbagawa basic and pelitic schists, and is, however, reported from restricted schists from several localities near the proposed eclogite unit in the Besshi district. These paragonite-bearing schists could be lower-pressure equivalents of the former eclogite facies rocks and are also members of the eclogite unit. This idea implies that the eclogite unit is more widely distributed in the Besshi district than previously thought.     

A model for garnet and plagioclase growth in pelitic schists: implications for thermobarometry and P-T path determinations

Numerical models of the progressive evolution of pelitic schists in the NCMnKFMASH system with the assemblage garnet + biotite + chlorite ± staurolite + plagioclase + muscovite + quartz + H₂O are presented with the goal of predicting compositional changes in garnet and plagioclase along different P-T paths. The numerical models support several conclusions that should prove useful for interpreting the P-T paths of natural parageneses: (i) Garnet may grow along P-T vectors ranging from heating with decompression to cooling with compression. P-T paths deduced from garnet zoning that are inconsistent with these growth vectors are self-contradictory. (ii) There is a systematic relation between garnet and plagioclase composition and growth such that for most P-T paths, garnet growth requires plagioclase consumption. Furthermore, mass balance in a closed system requires that as plagioclase is consumed the remaining plagioclase becomes increasingly albitic. Inclusions of plagioclase in the core of garnet should be more anorthitic than those near the rim and zoned matrix plagioclase should have rims that are more albitic than the cores. Complex plagioclase textures may arise from the local variability of growth and precipitation kinetics. (iii) A decrease of Fe/(Fe + Mg) in a garnet zoning profile is a reliable indicator of increasing temperature for the assemblage modelled. However, there is no single reliable ΔP monitor and inferences about ΔP can only be made by considering plagioclase and garnet together. (iv) Consumption of garnet during the production of staurolite removes material from the outer shell of a garnet and may make recovery of peak metamorphic compositions and P-T conditions impossible. Low ‘peak’temperatures typically recorded by staurolite-bearing assemblages may reflect this phenomenon. (v) Diffusional homogenization of garnet affects the computed P-T path and results in a clockwise rotation of the computed P-T vector relative to the true P-T path.     

Petrology of pelitic schists in the oligoclase-biotite zone of the Sanbagawa metamorphic terrain, Japan: phase equilibria in the highest grade zone of a high-pressure intermediate type of metamorphic belt

The oligoclase-biotite zone of the Bessi area, central Shikoku is characterized by sodic plagioclase (X_Ca= 0.10–0.28)-bearing assemblages in pelitic schists, and represents the highest-grade zone of the Sanbagawa metamorphic terrain. Mineral assemblages in pelitic schists of this zone, all with quartz, sodic plagioclase, muscovite and clinozoisite (or zoisite), are garnet + biotite + chlorite + paragonite, garnet + biotite + hornblende + chlorite, and partial assemblages of these two types. Correlations between mineral compositions, mineral assemblages and mineral stability data assuming PH₂O = P_solid suggests that metamorphic conditions of this zone are about 610 ± 25°C and 10 ± 1 kbar.
Based upon a comparative study of mineralogy and chemistry of pelitic schists in the oligoclase-biotite zone of the Sanbagawa terrain with those in the New Caledonia omphacite zone as an example of a typical high-pressure type of metamorphic belt and with those in a generalized'upper staurolite zone'as an example of a medium-pressure type of metamorphic belt, progressive assemblages within these three zones can be related by reactions such as:     

Progress of actinolite-forming reactions in mafic schists during retrograde metamorphism: an example from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt in central Shikoku, Japan

Hydration reactions are direct evidence of fluid–rock interaction during regional metamorphism. In this study, hydration reactions to produce retrograde actinolite in mafic schists are investigated to evaluate the controlling factors on the reaction progress. Mafic schists in the Sanbagawa belt contain amphibole coexisting with epidote, chlorite, plagioclase and quartz. Amphibole typically shows two types of compositional zoning from core to rim: barroisite → hornblende → actinolite in the high‐grade zone, and winchite → actinolite in the low‐grade zone. Both types indicate that amphibole grew during the exhumation stage of the metamorphic belt. Microstructures of amphibole zoning and mass‐balance relations suggest that: (1) the actinolite‐forming reactions proceeded at the expense of the preexisting amphibole; and (2) the breakdown reaction of hornblende consumed more H₂O fluid than that of winchite, when one mole of preexisting amphibole was reacted. Reaction progress is indicated by the volume fraction of actinolite to total amphibole, Y_act, with the following details: (1) reaction proceeded homogeneously in each mafic layer; (2) the extent of the hornblende breakdown reaction is commonly low (Y_act < 0.5), but it increases drastically in the high‐grade part of the garnet zone (Y_act > 0.7); and (3) the extent of the winchite breakdown reaction is commonly high (Y_act > 0.7). Many microcracks are observed within hornblende, and the extent of hornblende breakdown reaction is correlated with the size reduction of the hornblende core. Brittle fracturing of hornblende may have enhanced retrograde reaction progress by increasing of influx of H₂O and the surface area of hornblende. In contrast to high‐grade rocks, the winchite breakdown reaction is well advanced in the low‐grade rocks, where reaction progress is not associated with brittle fracturing of winchite. The high extent of the reaction in the low‐grade rocks may be due to small size of winchite before the reaction.     

Jadeite–garnet glaucophane schists in the Bizan area,Sambagawa metamorphic belt,eastern Shikoku,Japan: significance and extent of eclogite facies metamorphism

Eclogite facies metamorphic rocks have been discovered from the Bizan area of eastern Shikoku, Sambagawa metamorphic belt. The eclogitic jadeite–garnet glaucophane schists occur as lenticular or sheet‐like bodies in the pelitic schist matrix, with the peak mineral assemblage of garnet + glaucophane + jadeite + phengite + quartz. The jadeitic clinopyroxene (X_Jd 0.46–0.75) is found exclusively as inclusions in porphyroblastic garnet. The eclogite metamorphism is characterized by prograde development from epidote–blueschist to eclogite facies. Metamorphic P–T conditions estimated using pseudosection modelling are 580–600 °C and 18–20 kbar for eclogite facies. Compared with common mafic eclogites, the jadeite–garnet glaucophane schists have low CaO (4.4–4.5 wt%) and MgO (2.1–2.3 wt%) bulk‐rock compositions. The P–T– pseudosections show that low X_Ca bulk‐rock compositions favour the appearance of jadeite instead of omphacite under eclogite facies conditions. This is a unique example of low X_Ca bulk‐rock composition triggered to form jadeite at eclogite facies conditions. Two significant types of eclogitic metamorphism have been distinguished in the Sambagawa metamorphic belt, that is, a low‐T type and subsequent high‐T type eclogitic metamorphic events. The jadeite–garnet glaucophane schists experienced low‐T type eclogite facies metamorphism, and the P–T path is similar to lawsonite‐bearing eclogites recently reported from the Kotsu area in eastern Shikoku. During subduction of the oceanic plate (Izanagi plate), the hangingwall cooled gradually, and the geothermal gradient along the subduction zone progressively decreased and formed low‐T type eclogitic metamorphic rocks. A subsequent warm subduction event associated with an approaching spreading ridge caused the high‐T type eclogitic metamorphism within a single subduction zone.     

Low-grade metamorphism of the Mikabu and northern Chichibu belts in central Shikoku, SW Japan: implications for the areal extent of the Sanbagawa low-grade metamorphism

In central Shikoku, SW Japan, the Mikabu belt is bounded to the north by the Sanbagawa belt, and to the south by the northern (N) Chichibu belt. The N-Chichibu belt can be further subdivided into northern and southern parts. There is no apparent difference in the overall geology, structure, or fossil and radiometric ages between the Mikabu belt and the northern part of the N-Chichibu belt. Greenstones from the Mikabu belt and the northern part of the N-Chichibu belt show evidence for similar low-grade metamorphism, and include the following mineral assemblages with albite+chlorite in excess: metamorphic aragonite, sodic pyroxene+quartz, epidote+actinolite+pumpellyite, glaucophane+ pumpellyite+quartz, and lawsonite (not with actinolite or glaucophane). These similarities suggest that the Mikabu belt and the northern part of the N-Chichibu belt belong to the same geological unit (the MB-NNC complex). The mineral assemblages also indicate that the MB-NNC complex belongs to a different metamorphic facies from the low-grade part of the Sanbagawa belt, that is, the former represents lower temperature/higher pressure conditions than the latter. Structural and petrological continuity between the MB-NNC complex and Sanbagawa belt has not yet been confirmed, but both have similar radiometric ages. It is therefore most likely that the MB-NNC complex and Sanbagawa belt belong to the same subduction complex, and were metamorphosed under similar but distinct conditions. These two units were juxtaposed during exhumation. In contrast, the southern part of the N-Chichibu belt is distinct in lithology and structure, and includes no mineral assemblages diagnostic of the MB-NNC complex and the Sanbagawa belt. Thus, the southern part of the N-Chichibu belt may represent a different geological unit from the MB-NNC complex and Sanbagawa belt.     

Mineral distribution within polymineralic veins in the Sanbagawa belt,Japan: implications for mass transfer during vein formation

Pelitic schists of the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt contain several types of polymineralic veins that formed during the late stages of exhumation. The vein mineral assemblages are quartz + albite + K-feldspar + chlorite ± calcite (Type I, II) and quartz + albite + calcite (Type III). Type I and II veins contain quartz and albite with stretched-crystal and elongate-blocky textures, respectively. The mineral species within Type I veins vary with compositional bands within the host rocks. Type III veins are characterized by euhedral to subhedral quartz grains with concentric zoning and a homogeneous distribution along the vein length. The vein textures vary depending on the crack aperture during multiple crack-seal events: <0.08 mm for Type I, and 0.5–10 mm for Type III. Type II veins show intermediate features between Type I and III veins in terms of mineral distribution (weak dependence on the host rock composition) and apparent crack aperture (less than 1–15 mm). These observations suggest a transition in the dominant transport mechanism of vein components with increasing crack aperture, from diffusion from host rocks to fluid advection along cracks.     

Prograde amphiboles in hematite-bearing basic and quartz schists in the Sanbagawa belt, central Shikoku: relationship between metamorphic field gradient and P-T paths of individual rocks

The prograde amphibole that coexists with chlorite, epidote, muscovite, albite, quartz and hematite in Sanbagawa schists was examined to investigate the relationship between the prograde P-T paths of individual rocks and the metamorphic field gradient in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, central Shikoku. The amphibole changes from actinolite, through ferri-winchite and crossite, to barroisite and hornblende with increasing grade along the metamorphic field gradient. However, the sequence of prograde amphibole compositions in each sample varies in different mineral zones. The general scheme can be summarized as: magnesioriebeckite-riebeckite crossite in the upper chlorite zone of lower-grade rocks; crossite or glaucophane barroisite in the garnet zone of medium-grade rocks; and actinolite or winchite barroisite hornblende in the albite-biotite zone of higher-grade rocks. Changes of amphibole composition indicate that the prograde P-T path recorded in the higher-grade rocks was situated on the higher-temperature side of that of the lower-grade rocks and on the lower-pressure side of the metamorphic field gradient. The systematic change of P-T paths implies an increasing d P /d T during continuous subduction. These features can be interpreted as documenting prograde metamorphism within a young subduction zone that has a non-steady-state geotherm.     

Polymetamorphic evolution of pelitic schists and evidence for Permian low-pressure metamorphism in the Vepor Unit, West Carpathians

Phase equilibrium modelling and monazite microprobe dating were used to characterize the polymetamorphic evolution of metapelites from the northern part of the Vepor Unit, West Carpathians. Three generations of garnet and associated metamorphic assemblages found in these rocks correspond to three distinct metamorphic events related to the Variscan orogeny, a Permian phase of crustal extension and the Alpine orogeny. Variscan staurolite‐bearing and Alpine chloritoid‐bearing assemblages record medium‐temperature and medium‐pressure regional metamorphisms reaching 540–570 °C/5–7.5 kbar and 530–550 °C/5–6.5 kbar respectively. The Permian metamorphic assemblage involves garnet, andalusite, sillimanite, biotite, muscovite, plagioclase and corundum and locally forms silica‐undersaturated andalusite‐biotite‐spinel coronas around older staurolite. The transition from andalusite to sillimanite indicates a prograde low‐pressure and medium‐temperature metamorphism characterized by temperature increase from 500 to 650 °C at ～3 kbar. As accessory monazite is abundant in the rocks, an attempt was made to derive its age of formation by means of electron microprobe‐based Th‐U‐Pb chemical dating. Despite the polymetamorphic nature of the metapelites, the monazite yielded uniform Permian ages. Microstructures confirm that monazite was formed in relation to the low‐pressure and medium‐temperature paragenesis, and the weighted average ages obtained for two different samples are 278 ± 5 and 275 ± 12 Ma respectively. The virtual lack of Variscan and Alpine monazite populations points to interesting aspects concerning the growth systematics of monazite in metamorphic rocks.     

Polyphase deformation and garnet growth in pelitic schists of Sausar Group in Ramtek area,Maharashtra, India: A study of porphyroblast-matrix relationship

Polyphase deformation and metamorphism of pelitic schists of Chorbaoli Formation of Sausar Group in and around Ramtek area, Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India has led to the development of garnet and sataurolite porphyroblasts in a predominantly quartz-mica matrix. Microstructural study of oriented thin sections of these rocks shows that garnet and staurolite have different growth histories and these porphyroblasts share a complex relationship with the matrix. Garnet shows at least two phases of growth — first intertectonic between D₁ and D₂ (pre-D₂ phase) and then syn-tectonic to post-tectonic with respect to D₂ deformation. Growth of later phase of garnet on the earlier (pre-D₂) garnet grains has led to the discordance of quartz inclusion trails between core and rim portion of the same garnet grain. Staurolite develops only syn-D₂ and shows close association with garnet of the later phase. The peak metamorphic temperature thus coincided with D₂ deformation, which developed the dominant crenulation schistosity (S₂), regionally persistent in the terrain. The metamorphic grade reached up to middle amphibolite facies in the study area, which is higher than the adjoining southern parts of Sausar Fold Belt.     

Microscopic calcite dendrites in cold-water tufa: implications for nucleation of micrite and cement

Dendritic calcite forms in an active cold-water tufa system in association with extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that discontinuously coat bryophytes and cyanobacteria. Dendrites consist of 100–200 nm thick calcite fibres that form 3D lattice-like domains. In each dendrite domain, fibres have three structurally equal orientations, which correspond in disposition to radii from the centre of a calcite unit cell to the convex triple face junctions on its surface. Fibres do not form in the orientation of the c-axis. The external form of each dendrite has the shape of half of a shortened octahedron, with an upper triangular surface parallel to the substrate. Dendrite nucleation takes place on or in microbial EPS, whether microbial cells are present or not, and is probably effected by attraction of Ca²⁺ cations to negatively charged EPS, together with CO₂-degassing and concomitant pH increase of supersaturated spring water in stream splash zones. Ensuing dendrite growth is abiogenic and controlled by diffusion. Dendrite c-axes are perpendicular to the substrate, probably because the negative charge of EPS forces the orientation of Ca²⁺ and CO planes within the developing dendrite crystal to be parallel to the EPS film surface. Dendrites are eventually filled and overgrown by solid, syntaxial calcite, which gradually and completely obliterates the dendrites as more familiar calcite crystal forms develop. No trace of the dendritic nucleus remains in the rock record. Calcite crystal nucleation may take place by this mechanism in many marine and meteoric settings, given that microbial EPS is now assumed to be virtually ubiquitous in these environments. This phenomenon could contribute to the development of familiar fabrics such as marine micrite cement and fibrous calcite cement, radial ooids, peloids, ‘abiogenic’ stromatolites, sea floor precipitates, microbialites, tufa, travertine, speleothems, and some meteoric cements. It may also contribute to the substrate-normal orientation of c-axes of common cement fabrics.     

K-Ar Age and Chemistry of Phengite from the Sanbagawa Schists in the Kanto Mountains, Central Japan, and their Implication for Exhumation Tectonics

EPMA analyses and K-Ar age determinations were carried out on phengite in pelitic schist from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt of the Kanto Mountains, Central Japan.

Phengite from the Sanbagawa pelitic schist in the Kanto Mountains generally occurs as aggregates of fine-grained crystals. It is extremely fine-grained in domains adjacent to relatively rigid garnet and albite porphyroblasts. This suggests that deformation-induced grain-size reduction took place in phengite during the ductile deformation accompanying the exhumation of the host schists. EPMA analysis shows that phengite is chemically heterogeneous at the thin-section scale, suggesting that it formed during retrograde metamorphism in restricted equilibrium domains. The retrograde chemical reaction was promoted by the ductile deformation.

K-Ar ages of phengite get younger from the Southern Unit (82 Ma) to the Northern Unit (58 Ma) in the Kanto Mountains. The age range is similar to that in Central Shikoku. The older schists occur in the higher metamorphic grade zone in Central Shikoku and in the lower-grade zone in the Kanto Mountains. The thermal structures in Central Shikoku are inverted, so that the highest-grade zone occurs in the upper or middle parts of the apparent stratigraphic succession. In contrast, the Kanto Mountains have a normal thermal structure: the higher-grade zone is in the lower part of the apparent stratigraphic succession. The different tectonic features in exhumation produced the two contrasting age-temperature-structure relations at the western side of Sanbagawa belt in Central Shikoku and the eastern end of the Sanbagawa belt in the Kanto Mountains that are 800 km distant from each other. Namely, the western Sanbagawa belt in Central Shikoku underwent longer ductile deformation during the exhumation than the eastern Sanbagawa belt in the Kanto Mountains.     

Mg–Fe carpholites from aluminous schists in the Diahot region and implications for preservation of high-pressure/low-temperature schists, northern New Caledonia

Abstract Mg–Fe carpholite is widespread in the Diahot region of New Caledonia in highly aluminous schists and as veins in what was originally a clay-rich hydrothermal alteration envelope about massive suphide deposits. These carpholites have Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratios of 0.03–0.65 and no significant Mn component. Mg-carpholite + quartz occur in assemblages with chlorite or pyrophyllite, pyrophyllite + kaolinite and pyrophyllite + diaspore. Temperatures of 230–320° C and minimum pressures of 7 kbar are indicated for the Mg–Fe carpholite-bearing rocks. The regional distribution of aragonite and Mg–Fe carpholite parallel to a major zone of dominantly transcurrent movement and oblique to the trend of the subduction complex indicates the high- P /low- T schists owe their rapid uplift and preservation to the vertical component of the transcurrent faulting.     

Equilibria within the mineral assemblage quartz + muscovite + biotite + garnet + plagioclase,and implications for the mixing properties of octahedrally-coordinated cations in muscovite and biotite

Interaction parameters derived using empirical calibration methods indicate strong non-ideality in the mixing of octahedrally-coordinated cations in muscovite and biotite. The data set used for calibration comprises mineral compositions from 49 samples containing quartz, muscovite, biotite, garnet, plagioclase and Al₂SiO₅ (kyanite or sillimanite). Pressures and temperatures in the data set were determined through the simultaneous application of geothermometry based on the garnet-biotite FeMg₁ exchange equilibrium and geobarometry based on the anorthite-breakdown equilibrium. Two equilibria yielded simple expressions from which binary interaction parameters for octahedrally-coordinated cations in biotite could be directly determined. A four-component (Fe²⁺, Mg, Al, Ti) regular symmetric mixing model was assumed for biotite. One equilibrium yielded a simple expression from which an interaction parameter for the mixing of the MgAl-celadonite component in muscovite could be directly determined. Two sets of calculations were performed utilizing different calibrations of the garnet-biotite geothermometer and the anothite-breakdown geobarometer and different garnet activity models. Both placed samples within or near the stability field of the Al₂SiO₅ phase present in each sample and both yielded similar values for the interaction parameters within narrow uncertainties, indicating that the values are insensitive to differences in the underlying methods. Using the derived interaction parameters, activity models were formulated for the annite, phlogopite, eastonite, and siderophyllite components of biotite, and for the MgAl-celadonite component of muscovite. These were utilized for the empirical calibration of 45 fluid-independent equilibria involving unique combinations of phase components from the mineral assemblage garnet + plagioclase±biotite±muscovite±quartz. Forty-three of the equilibria may be applied as geobarometers to equilibrium assemblages of quartz + muscovite + biotite + garnet + plagioclase when care is taken to insure that applications are restricted to valid compositional ranges. For these, the calibrations yielded multiple correlation coefficients ranging from 0.953 to 0.998 and standard deviations of the residuals ranging from 597 to 118 bars.     

Chromium and manganese zoning in pelitic garnet and kyanite: Spiral,overprint, and oscillatory (?) zoning patterns and the role of growth rate

X‐ray composition maps and quantitative analyses for Mn, Ca and Cr have been made for six pelitic and calc‐pelitic garnet crystals and Al, Fe and Cr analyses maps have been made for two kyanite crystals, from lower and mid/upper amphibolite facies rocks from the Grenville Province of western Labrador, using an electron microprobe analyser and a laser ablation ICP‐MS. Garnet with spiral (‘snowball’) internal fabrics (S_i) has spiral zoning in major elements, implying that growth was concentrated in discrete regions of the crystal at any one time (spiral zoning). Cr zoning is parallel to S_i in low amphibolite facies garnet with both straight and spiral internal fabrics, indicating that the garnet overprinted a fabric defined by Cr‐rich (mica±chlorite±epidote) and Cr‐poor (quartz±plagioclase) layers during growth (overprint zoning) and that Cr was effectively immobile. In contrast, in mid/upper amphibolite facies garnet porphyroblasts lacking S_i, Cr zoning is concentric, implying that Cr diffusion occurred. Cr zoning in kyanite porphyroblasts appears superficially similar to oscillatory zoning, with up to three or four annuli of Cr enrichment and/or depletion present in a single grain. However, the variable width, continuity, Cr concentration and local bifurcation of individual annuli suggest that an origin by overprint zoning may be more likely. The results of this study explain previously observed nonsystematic Cr zoning in garnet and irregular partitioning of Cr between coexisting metamorphic mineral pairs. In addition, this study points to the important role of crystal growth rate in determining the presence or absence of inclusions and the type of zoning exhibited by both major and trace elements. During fast growth, inclusions are preferentially incorporated into the growing porphyroblast and slow diffusing elements such as Cr are effectively immobile, whereas during slow growth, inclusions are not generally included in the porphyroblast and Cr zoning is concentric.     

Spiral and staircase inclusion trail axes within garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts from schists of the Bolton Syncline, Connecticut: timing of porphyroblast growth and the effects of fold development

In the Littleton Formation, garnet porphyroblasts preserve three generations of growth that occurred before formation of the Bolton Syncline. Inclusion trails of foliations overgrown by these porphyroblasts are always truncated by the matrix foliation suggesting that garnet growth predated the matrix foliation. In contrast, many staurolite porphyroblasts grew synchronously with formation of the Bolton Syncline. However, local rim overgrowths of the matrix foliation suggest that some staurolite porphyroblasts continued to grow after development of the fold during younger crenulation producing deformations. The axes of curvature or intersection of foliations defined by inclusion trails inside the garnet porphyroblasts lie oblique to the axial plane of the Bolton Syncline but do not change orientation across it. This suggests the garnets were not rotated during the subsequent deformation associated with fold development or during even younger crenulation events. Three samples also contain a different set of axes defined by curvature of inclusion trails in the cores of garnet porphyroblasts suggesting a protracted history of garnet growth. Foliation intersection axes in staurolite porphyroblasts are consistently orientated close to the trend of the axial plane of the Bolton Syncline on both limbs of the fold. In contrast, axes defined by curvature or intersection of foliations in the rims of staurolite porphyroblasts in two samples exhibit a different trend. This phase of staurolite growth is associated with a crenulation producing deformation that postdated formation of the Bolton Syncline. Measurement of foliation intersection axes defined by inclusion trails in both garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts has enabled the timing of growth relative to one another and to the development of the Bolton Syncline to be distinguished in rocks where other approaches have not been successful. Consistent orientation of foliation intersection axes across a range of younger structures suggests that the porphyroblasts did not rotate relative to geographical coordinates during subsequent ductile deformation. Foliation intersection axes in porphyroblasts are thus useful for correlating phases of porphyroblastic growth in this region.     

Lack of porphyroblast rotation in the Otago schists, New Zealand: implications for crenulation cleavage development, folding and deformation partitioning

Porphyroblasts of garnet and plagioclase in the Otago schists have not rotated relative to geographic coordinates during non-coaxial deformation that post-dates their growth. Inclusion trails in most of the porphyroblasts are oriented near-vertical and near-horizontal, and the strike of near-vertical inclusion trails is consistent over 3000 km². Microstructural relationships indicate that the porphyroblasts grew in zones of progressive shortening strain, and that the sense of shear affecting the geometry of porphyroblast inclusion trails on the long limbs of folds is the same as the bulk sense of displacement of fold closures. This is contrary to the sense of shear inferred when porphyroblasts are interpreted as having rotated during folding.
Several crenulation cleavage/fold models have previously been developed to accommodate the apparent sense of rotation of porphyroblasts that grew during folding. In the light of accumulating evidence that porphyroblasts do not generally rotate, the applicability of these models to deformed rocks is questionable.
Whether or not porphyroblasts rotate depends on how deformation is partitioned. Lack of rotation requires that progressive shearing strain (rotational deformation) be partitioned around rigid heterogeneities, such as porphyroblasts, which occupy zones of progressive shortening or no strain (non-rotational deformation). Therefore, processes operating at the porphyroblast/matrix boundary are important considerations. Five qualitative models are presented that accommodate stress and strain energy at the boundary without rotating the porphyroblast: (a) a thin layer of fluid at the porphyroblast boundary; (2) grain-boundary sliding; (3) a locked porphyroblast/matrix boundary; (4) dissolution at the porphyroblast/matrix boundary, and (5) an ellipsoidal porphyroblast/shadow unit.     

The initial garnet‐in reaction involving siderite–rhodochrosite,garnet re‐equilibration and P–T–t paths of graphitic schists in the Black Hills orogen,South Dakota,USA

It is generally thought that garnet in metapelites is produced by continuous reactions involving chlorite or chloritoid. Recent publications have suggested that the equilibrium temperatures of garnet‐in reactions may be significantly overstepped in regionally metamorphosed terranes. The growth of small spessartine–almandine garnet crystals on Mn‐siderite at the garnet isograd in graphitic metapelites in the Proterozoic Black Hills orogen, South Dakota, demonstrates that Mn‐siderite was the principal reactant that produced the initial garnet in the schists. Moreover, the positions of garnet compositions in isobaric, T–(C/H) pseudosections for the schists show that the temperature of the garnet‐in reaction from Mn‐siderite was overstepped minimally at the most. In the Black Hills, garnet was initially produced during regional metamorphism beginning at c. 1755 Ma due to the collision of Wyoming and Superior cratons, and was subsequently partially or fully re‐equilibrated at more elevated temperatures and pressures during intrusion of the Harney Peak Granite (HPG) at c. 1715 Ma. Garnet occurs in graphitic schists in garnet, staurolite and sillimanite zones, the latter being a product of contact metamorphism by HPG. During metamorphism, coexisting fluid contained both CO₂ and CH₄. In the garnet zone, garnet crystals contain petrographically distinct cores with inclusions of quartz, graphite and other minerals. Centres of the cores have distinctly elevated Y concentrations that mark the positions of garnet nucleation. The elevated Y is thought to have come from the Mn‐siderite onto which Y was probably absorbed during precipitation in an ocean. In the upper garnet and staurolite zones, the cores were overgrown by inclusion‐poor mantles. Mantles are highly zoned and have more elevated Fe and Mg and lower Mn and Ca than cores. The growth of mantles is attributed to late‐orogenic heating by leucogranite magmas and attendant influx of H₂O that caused consumption of graphite in rock matrices. A portion of the Proterozoic terrane that includes the HPG is surrounded by four large faults. In this ‘HPG block’, garnet is inclusion‐poor and its composition does not preserve its early growth history. This garnet appears to have re‐equilibrated by internal diffusion of its major components and/or recrystallization of an earlier inclusion‐rich garnet. It has equilibrated within the kyanite stability range, and together with remnant kyanite in the high‐strain aureole of the HPG, indicates that the HPG block had a ≥6 kbar history. The HPG block has undergone decompression during emplacement of the HPG. The decompression is evident in occurrences of retrograde andalusite and cordierite in the thermal aureole of the HPG. The data support a polybaric metamorphic history of the Black Hills orogen with different segments of the orogen having their own clockwise P–T–t paths.