The stability of sapphirine + clinopyroxene: implications for phase relations in the CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system under deep-crustal and upper mantle conditions

Reaction textures and chemographic relations in sapphirine-bearing basic granulites at Finero, Italy, suggest that sapphirine and aluminous diopside were formed in mutual equilibrium from an inferred early spinel-bearing assemblage. Finero appears to be the only known locality where this association has been found in situ, although it is also known from kimberlite and breccia pipe nodules elsewhere. The reactions deduced to have occurred in these rocks suggest the existence of stable invariant points involving the phases sapphirine-spinel-orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-garnet-anorthite and sapphirine-two pyroxenes-garnetanorthite-kyanite (or sillimanite) in the CMAS end-member system. P-T estimates for the relevant rocks, and the available experimental data, suggest that these points lie at around 800°–900° C, 9–11 kbar. A semi-quantitative petrogenetic grid, incorporating these invariant points with previously determined univariant reactions, is proposed. It is inferred that sapphirine+diopside are stable relative to spinel-bearing assemblages below 900° C. The relatively low temperature explains why sapphirine has not to date been reported from experimental work on the CMAS system. It also suggests that sapphirine may be an important aluminous phase in Mg-rich metagabbros under conditions corresponding to the base of the continental crust, despite the observed rarity of such rocks at the surface.     

Silica-undersaturated sapphirine, spinel and kornerupine granulite facies rocks, NE Strangways Range, Central Australia

Small pods of silica-undersaturated Al-rich and Mg-rich granulite facies rocks containing sapphirine, pleonastic spinel, kornerupine, cordierite, orthopyroxene, corundum, sillimanite and gedrite are scattered throughout the NE Strangways Range, Central Australia. These are divided into four distinct rock types, namely orthopyroxene-rich aluminous granofels and metapelitic gneisses containing sapphirine, spinel or kornerupine. Two granulite facies metamorphic events are recognized, of which only the first (M1) is considered in this paper. Peak metamorphic mineral parageneses indicate that the M1 thermal maximum occurred at approximately 900–950 °C and 8–9 kbar. All samples are characterized by profuse and diverse coronitic and symplectic reaction textures. These are interpreted as evidence for the sequential crossing of the following reactions in the system FMAS: cordierite + spinel + corundum = sapphirine + sillimanite, cordierite + spinel = orthopyroxene + sapphirine + sillimanite, sapphirine + spinel + sillimanite = orthopyroxene + corundum, sapphirine + sillimanite = cordierite + orthopyroxene + corundum. Phase stability relationships in FMAS and MASH indicate an anticlockwise P–T path terminated by isobaric cooling. Such a path is exemplified by early low-P mineral parageneses containing spinel, corundum and gedrite and the occurrence of both prograde and retrograde corundum. Reaction textures preserve evidence for an increase in aH₂O and aB₂O₃ with progressive isobaric cooling. This hydrous retrogression resulted from crystallization of intimately associated M1 partial melt segregations. There is no evidence for voluminous magmatic accretion giving rise to the high M1 thermal gradient. The M1 P–T path may be the result of either lithospheric thinning after both crustal thickening and burial of the supracrustal terrane, or concomitant crustal thickening and mantle lithosphere thinning.     

Evolution of high-Mg–Al granulites from Sunkarametta, Eastern Ghats, India: evidence for a lower crustal heating–cooling trajectory

A suite of high-Mg–Al granulites from Sunkarametta, Eastern Ghats Belt, India, shows contrasting prograde assemblages of extremely aluminous orthopyroxene+cordierite+sapphirine and similarly aluminous orthopyroxene+Ti-rich spinel in closely associated domains. Textural and compositional characteristics indicate that both were derived from prograde dehydration–melting of biotite–plagioclase–quartz-bearing protoliths. The former assemblage was stabilized at relatively more magnesian bulk composition. Geothermobarometric data and petrogenetic grid considerations place 'peak' metamorphic conditions at c. 950 °C and 9 kbar. Subsequent to peak metamorphism, the rocks cooled to c . 700–750 °C, with slight lowering of pressure, and the retrograde reactions also involved melt–solid interaction. The inferred P – T  trajectory is one of heating–cooling at lower crustal (25–30 km) depths.     

Water solubility in orthopyroxene

The solubility of water in pure enstatite was measured on samples synthesized at 1,100 °C and pressures to 100 kbar. Enstatite crystals were grown under water-saturated conditions from a stoichiometric mixture of high-purity SiO₂ and Mg(OH)₂. Water contents were calculated from polarized FTIR spectra measured on oriented single crystals. The water solubility in orthoenstatite increases with pressure to 867ᆷ ppm H₂O by weight at 75 kbar. At 100 kbar, in the stability field of high-clinoenstatite, a water solubility of 714ᆷ ppm was observed. The water solubility in enstatite at 1,100 °C can be described by the equation c_H2O=Af_H2O exp(-P(V/RT), where f_H2O is water fugacity, A=0.0204 ppm/bar and (V=12.3 cm³/mol. The infrared spectra of the hydrous enstatite crystals show a sharp, intense band at 3,363 cm^-1 and a broad, weaker band at 3,064 cm^-1. Both bands are strongly polarized parallel c. Most likely, pairs of protons attached to non-bridging oxygen atoms substitute for Mg²⁺. In order to investigate the effect of chemical impurities on water solubility in enstatite, an additional series of experiments was carried out with gels doped with Al, B, or Li as starting material. Whereas, the presence of Li and B had no detectable effect on water solubility, the addition of about 1 wt% Al₂O₃ increased water solubility in enstatite from 199 to 1,100 ppm at 1,100°C and 15 kbar. In the infrared spectra of these aluminous samples, additional bands occur in the range from 3,450 to 3,650 cm^-1. Similar bands are also observed in natural, aluminous orthopyroxenes and are most likely caused by protons coupled with Al according to the substitution of Al³⁺+H⁺ for Si⁴⁺. A series of hydrous annealing experiments on a natural, gem-quality aluminous enstatite from Tanzania yielded water solubilities generally consistent with the results from the synthetic model systems. The results presented here imply that pure enstatite has a similar storage capacity for water as olivine; however, aluminous orthopyroxenes in the mantle may dissolve much larger amounts of water comparable with the entire mass of the present hydrosphere. Moreover, the mechanism of aluminum substitution in orthopyroxenes, i.e., the distribution of Al between tetrahedral and octahedral sites, may be a potential probe of water fugacity.     

Mineral Chemistry and Metasomatic Growth of Aluminous Enclaves in Gedrite--Cordierite-Gneiss from Southwestern New Hampshire, USA

The aluminous enclaves occur in gedrite-cordierite-gneissesof the Middle Ordovician Ammonoosuc Volcanics, and are composedof combinations of the aluminous minerals sillimanite (Sill),kyanite, corundum (Cor), staurolite (St), sapphirine (Sa), andspinel (Sp), which are set in a matrix of cordierite (Crd) orplagioclase (Plag). Generally, where plagioclase is present,both it and the aluminous minerals are separated from gedrite(Ged) and rare hornblende (Hbl) by cordierite. The enclavesarc interpreted to have formed near the peak of Acadian (Devonian)metamorphism at sillimanite-staurolite-muscovite grade by reactionsthat were encountered during the pressure decrease which accompaniedthe rise of gneiss domes in the region. The enclaves are divided into two main types: (1) enclaves ofcordierite surrounding aluminous minerals; and (2) enclavesof cordierite and plagioclase surrounding aluminuous minerals.Sapphirine grains contain between 9?2 and 9?3 Al atoms per formulacalculated to 14 cations. Staurolites from the enclaves areMg-rich and have (Fe²⁺+ Mn)/(Fe²⁺+Mn+Mg) ratios of 0-59–0?64. The textures and mineralogy of the enclaves suggest that theserocks originally consisted of Ged+Sill?Qz?Hbl?Sp?Plag. Theseminerals reacted to form Crd+Aluminous Minerals?Plag. The mineralogyof both main types of enclaves can be explained by two analogoussets of continuous Fe-Mg reactions:The structure of the enclavessuggests that the mineral growth by the above reactions wasdiffusion controlled, which would have resulted from oversteppingthe above reactions (i.e. the P change exceeded the reactionrate). Therefore, chemical potential gradients (relative mobilityof diffusing components) between gedrite and sillimanite controlledthe location of mineral growth. The Fe-Mg ratio of the bulkcomposition and the proportions of non-Fe-Mg minerals (quartzand sillimanite) appear to determine which continuous Fe-Mgreactions were encountered. Examples of mineral sequences in the cordierite enclaves are:Sill (core)/St+Crd/Ged (matrix); Cor+Crd (core)/Ged (matrix),and Sill (core)/St+Crd/Sa+Crd/Ged (matrix). Examples of themineral sequences in the cordierite-plagioclase enclaves are:Sill (core)/St+Plag/Plag+Crd/Hbl+Ged (matrix); Cor+Plag (core)/St+Plag/Sa+Plag/Ged+ Hbl (matrix); and St+Plag (core)/Plag+Crd/Ged+Hbl (matrix). P–µ_FeMg–1 diagrams proved to be an importanttool for understanding and illustrating the development of theenclaves. These diagrams allow one to view simultaneously allthe discontinuous and continuous Fe-Mg reactions along a P–µ_H2O(or T) rock path. With this information it is possible to determinequalitatively which reactions and what sequence of reactionsmight be encountered by bulk compositions with variable Fe-Mgratios and modal proportions of phases.     

Internally consistent gahnitic spinel-cordierite-garnet equilibria in the FMASHZn system: geothermobarometry and applications

The equilibrium (Mg, Fe, Zn)₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂+2Al₂SiO₅=3(Mg, Fe, Zn)Al₂O₄+5SiO₂ garnet + sillimanite/kyanitc = spinel + quartz was calibrated in the piston-cylinder apparatus between 11 and 30 kbar, and over the temperature range of 950 to 1200°C. Three experimental mixes of Mg no. [100^*MgO/(MgO+FeO)] 40, 47 and 60, in the FeO –MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–ZnO (FMASZn) system were used under low oxygen fugacities and anhydrous conditions. We derive a ternary Fe–Mg–Zn symmetric mixing model for aluminous spinels in equilibrium with garnet, to quantify the increase in gahnitic end-member of spinel with increasing pressure and descreasing temperature. Further experiments in the spinel-cordieritequartz-sillimanite field were combined with garnet-cordierite data from the literature to produce a consistent set of equations describing the exchange reactions in FMASHZn relevant to quartz-sillimanite bearing rocks at granulite facies conditions. As spinel is an important mineral participating in many rocks of aluminous composition at granulite-facies conditions, and as zinc contributes to an enlargement of spinel's stability field towards higher pressures and lower temperatures, the thermobarometric calibrations presented here will be most significant in delineating the prograde and retrograde trajectory of P-T paths.     

福建太姥山地区和鼓山地区A型花岗岩对比及其地球动力学意义

太姥山和鼓山位于福建东南沿海地带。岩石学和岩相学研究表明太姥山地区和鼓山地区花岗岩分属铝质A型花岗岩和碱性A型花岗岩。锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb同位素定年结果表明,两地区花岗岩成岩年龄分别为(96.6±1.6)Ma(MSWD=0.65)和(99.4±2.3)Ma(MSWD=0.49),成岩时代均属晚白垩世早期。结合中国东部沿海两类A型花岗岩,讨论了它们在岩石学、岩相学、地球化学及其判别图解上的区别。总体上认为,碱性A型花岗岩在AKI值、TFeO/MgO比值、104×Ga/Al以及(Zr+Nb+Ce+Y)值上均大于同区域的铝质A型花岗岩,但上述化学指标的数值也存在一定范围的重叠;且传统A型花岗岩判别图解不完全适用于强分异的铝质A型花岗岩。地球化学特征表明,两地区A型花岗岩应具有相似的源区,即岩浆起源于地壳物质熔融,同时成岩过程有一定的地幔物质参与。但鼓山地区碱性A型花岗岩较太姥山地区铝质A型花岗岩有更多地幔物质的加入,导致前者显示出部分幔源岩浆起源的特征。结合地球化学、野外地质、区域背景及年代学综合判定,两地区花岗岩成因与古太平洋板块对欧亚板块的俯冲角度密切相关,均属于弧后拉伸体制之下的构造环境。     

Origin of coronas in metagabbros of the Adirondack mts., N. Y.

Metagabbros from two widely separated areas in the Adirondacks show development of coronas. In the Southern Adirondacks, these are cored by olivine which is enclosed in a shell of orthopyroxene that is partially, or completely, rimmed by symplectites consisting of clinopyroxene and spinel. Compositions of the corona phases have been determined by electron probe and are consistent with a mechanism involving three partial reactions, thus:

1. Olivine=Orthopyroxene+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺.
2. Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺+Ca⁺⁺=Clinopyroxene+Spinel+Na⁺.
3. Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺+Na⁺=Spinel+more sodic plagioclase+Ca⁺⁺.

Reaction (a) occurs in the inner shell of the corona adjacent to olivine; reaction (b) in the outer shell; and (c) in the surrounding plagioclase, giving rise to the spinel clouding which is characteristic of the plagioclase in these rocks. Alumina and silica remain relatively immobile. These reactions, when balanced, can be generalized to account for the aluminous nature of the pyroxenes and for changing plagioclase composition. Summed together, the partial reactions are equivalent to:

1. Olivine + Anorthite = Aluminous orthopyroxene + Aluminous Clinopyroxene + Spinel (Kushiro and Yoder, 1966).

In the Adirondack Highlands, coronas between olivine and plagioclase commonly have an outer shell of garnet replacing the clinopyroxene/spinel shell. The origin of the garnet can also be explained in terms of three partial reactions:

1. Orthopyroxene+Ca⁺⁺=Clinopyroxene+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺.
2. Clinopyroxene+Spinel+Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺=Garnet+Ca⁺⁺+Na⁺.
3. Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺+Na⁺=Spinel + more sodic plagioclase+Ca⁺⁺.

These occur in the inner and outer corona shell and the surrounding plagioclase, respectively, and involve the products of reactions (a)-(d). Alumina and silica are again relatively immobile. Balanced, and generalized to account for aluminous pyroxenes and variable An content of plagioclase, they are equivalent to:

1. Orthopyroxene+Anorthite+Spinel=Garnet (Green and Ringwood, 1967).

Amphibole coronas about opaque oxides in rocks of both areas are the result of oxide/plagioclase reactions with addition of magnesium from coexisting olivine. Based on published experimental data, pressure and temperature at the time of corona formation were on the order of 8 kb and 800° C for the garnet bearing coronas, with somewhat lower pressures indicated for the clinopyroxene/spinel coronas.     

The occurrence of högbomite in high-grade metamorphic rocks

Högbomite has generally been considered to be a rare accessory phase in metamorphic rocks. While investigating high-grade peraluminous metamorphites in the Benson Mine District, Adirondack Mountains, New York and the Manitouwadge Massive Sulfide District, Ontario, Canada, we have found several högbomite occurrences and believe that högbomite is more widespread in high-grade aluminous rocks than previously recognized. At Benson Mine, an iron-rich högbomite (Hög) occurs with K-feldspar-magnetite (Mt)-ilmenite (Ilm)-biotite-almandine (Alm)-sillimanite (Sil)-quartz (Qz)-hercynite (Hc)-corundum (Cor)-rutile (Ru). At Manitouwadge, Fe -Zn högbomite is found with gedrite-cordierite-staurolite-hercynite-magnetite±quartz ±ilmenite±rutile±biotite±cassiterite. Because composition varies with structure type, it is essential to determine the structure of högbomite utilized in specific reactions. Högbomite from Benson Mine has an 8H structure type, while that at Manitouwadge has a complex mixed structure. Both are more iron-rich than previously reported högbomites, and their composition can be approximated by the ideal formula Fe₅Al₁₆TiO₃₀(OH)₂. Proposed reactions for 8H-högbomite are Hög=Ilm+Hc+Cor+V, Hög=Ru+Hc+Cor+V, Hög+Ru=Ilm+Cor+V, and Hög+Ilm=Ru+Hc+V. These reactions can be combined with the experimentally determined reactions Alm+Sil=Hc+Qz and Ru+Alm=Ilm+Sil+Qz to derive reactions in the system FeO-Al₂O₃-TiO₂-SiO₂-H₂O that limit the stability of the assemblages Hög+Alm and Hög+Sil. Oxidation-sulfidation reactions define a wedge-shaped stability field for högbomite that is closed on the high f S₂ side.Contribution No. 456 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA     

Experimental determination of the fluid-absent melting relations in the pelitic system

In order to provide additional constraints on models for partial melting of common metasediments, we have studied experimentally the melting of a natural metapelite under fluid-absent conditions. The starting composition contains quartz, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite, garnet, staurolite, and kyanite. Experiments were done in a halfinch piston-cylinder apparatus at 7, 10, and 12 kbar and at temperatures ranging from 750° to 1250° C. The following reactions account for the mineralogical changes observed at 10 kbar between 750° and 1250° C: Bi+Als+Pl+Q=L+Gt+(Kf), Ky=Sill, Gt+Als=Sp+Q, Gt=L+Sp+Q, and Sp+Q=L+Als.The compositions of the phases (at T>875° C) were determined using an energy-dispersive system on a scanning electron microscope. The relative proportions of melt and crystals were calculated by mass balance and by processing images from the SEM. These constraints, together with other available experimental data, are used to propose a series of P-T, T-XH₂O, and liquidus diagrams which represent a model for the fluid-present and fluid-absent melting of metapelites in the range 2–20 kbar and 600°–1250° C.We demonstrate that, even under fluid-absent conditions, a large proportion (40%) of S-type granitic liquid is produced within a narrow temperature range (850°–875° C), as a result of the reaction Bi+Als+Pl+Q=L+Gt(+/-Kf). Such liquids, or at least some proportion of them, are likely to segregate from the source, leaving behind a residue composed of quartz, garnet, sillimanite, plagioclase, representing a characteristic assemblage of aluminous granulites.The production of a large amount of melt at around 850° C also has the important effect of buffering the temperature of metamorphism. In a restitic, recycled, lower crust undergoing further metamorphism, temperature may reach values close to 1000° C due to the absence of this buffering effect. Partial melting is the main process leading to intracontinental differentiation. We discuss the crustal cross-section exposed in the North Pyrenean Zone in the context of our experiments and modelling.     

Diffusion in coronas around clinopyroxene: modelling with local equilibrium and steady state,and a non-steady-state modification to account for zoned actinolite-hornblende

Retrograde coronas of Caledonian age, between clinopyroxene and plagioclase in the Jotun Nappe Complex, Norway, illustrate the effects of diffusion kinetics on mineral distributions among layers and on the compositions of hornblende-actinolite. One corona type comprises a symplectite of epidote + quartz adjacent to plagioclase, and a less well-organized intergrowth of amphibole + quartz replacing clinopyroxene. The observed mineral proportions imply an open-system reaction, but the similarity of Al/Si ratios in reactant plagioclase and product symplectite indicates approximate conservation of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂. The largest inferred open-system flux is a loss of CaO, mostly derived from consumption of clinopyroxene. The approximate layer structure, Pl|Ep + Qtz|Hbl + Qtz|Act±Hbl + Qtz|Cpx, is modelled using the theory of steady-state diffusion-controlled growth with local equilibrium. To obtain a solution, it is necessary to use a reactant plagioclase composition which takes into account aluminous (epidote) inclusions. The results indicate that, in terms of Onsager diffusion coefficients L _ii , Ca is more mobile than AL (L _CaCa/L _AlAl3.) (where means greater than or approximately equal to). This behaviour of Ca is comparable with that of Mg in previously studied coronas around olivine. Si is non-diffusing in the present modelling, because of silica saturation. Oxidation of some Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ occurs within the corona. Mg diffuses towards its source (clinopyroxene) to maintain local equilibrium. Other coronas consist of two layers, hornblende adjacent to plagioclase and zoned amphibole + quartz adjacent to clinopyroxene. In the zoned layer, actinolitic hornblende forms relict patches, separated from quartz blebs by more aluminous hornblende. A preliminary steady-state, local-equilibrium model of grain-boundary diffusion explains the formation of low-Al and high-Al layers as due to Al immobility. Zoning and replacement are qualitatively explained in terms of evolution of actinolite to more stable aluminous compositions. This is modelled by a non-steady-state modification of the theory, retaining local equilibrium in grain boundaries while relatively steep zoning profiles develop in grain interiors through slow intracrystalline diffusion. Replacement of actinolite by hornblende does not require a change in P–T conditions if actinolite is a kinetically determined, non-equilibrium product. The common preservation of a sharp contact between hornblende and actionolite layers may be explained by ineffectiveness of intracrystalline diffusion: according to the theory, given sufficient grain-boundary Al flux, a metastable actinolite + quartz layer in contact with hornblende may be diffusionally stable and may continue to grow in a steady state.     

Petrology and microthermometry of aluminous rocks in the Botswanan Limpopo Central Zone: evidence for isothermal decompression and isobaric cooling

Phase analysis in the model K₂O-poor aluminous rock system (FMASH) illustrates the following sequence of reactions during retrograde metamorphism in the Botswanan Limpopo Central Zone:
Opx+Sil+Qtz=Crd ,
Opx+Sil=Spr+Crd ,
Grt+Qtz=Opx+Crd ;
Opx+Crd+W=Ged+Qtz ,
Grt+Opx+Crd+W=Ged ;
and
Grt+Qtz+W=Ged+Crd .
A quantitative petrogenetic grid with phase relations shows that sapphirine results from nearly isothermal decompression in the quartz-undersaturated portions of the grid, and that gedrite formation by reactions (4)–(6) records isobaric cooling from high temperature ( c . 800°  C) after the decompression. Conditions for hydration in the western part of the area were 700–800°  C and c . 6  kbar, based on microthermometric data and the available garnet–cordierite geothermometer. On the basis of these conditions and predicted thermodynamic properties of gedrite, phase relations in T–X _Mg space were constructed to investigate the isobaric cooling event. The results are in good agreement with the hydration P–T  path. Further, the T–X _Mg topologies show that hydration of orthopyroxene in the central part of the area (reaction 4) occurred at about 800°  C and c . 5  kbar. Therefore, we conclude that the Botswanan Limpopo Central Zone has suffered isothermal decompression, similar to the Central Zone in South Africa and Zimbabwe, followed by isobaric cooling. The isobaric cooling event in the western (at c . 6  kbar) and central (at c . 5  kbar) parts of the area commenced at nearly the same temperature ( c . 800°  C), and appear to be consistent with a tectonic model that involved westward movement (thrusting) of the Central Zone.     

Aluminous enstatites of lunar meteorites and deep-seated lunar rocks

Fragments of aluminous enstatite from lunar meteorites of highland origin were investigated. It was found that such fragments usually occur in impact breccias of troctolitic composition. The aluminous enstatite contains up to 12 wt % Al₂O₃ and shows low CaO (<1 wt %) and almost constant high Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio (89.5 ± 1.4 at %) identical to that of the Earth’s mantle. With respect to these parameters, the aluminous enstatites are distinctly different from common orthopyroxene of lunar rocks. The aluminous enstatite associates with spinel (pleonaste), olivine, anorthite (clinopyroxene was never found), and accessory minerals: rutile, Ti-Zr oxides, troilite, and Fe-Ni metal. The same assemblage was described in rare fragments of spinel cataclasites from the samples of the Apollo missions. Thermobarometry and the analysis of phase equilibria showed that the rocks hosting aluminous enstatite are of deep origin and occurred at depths from 25 km to 130–200 km at T from 800 to 1300°C, i.e., at least in the lower crust and, possibly, in the upper mantle of the Moon. These rocks could form individual plutons or dominate the composition of the lower crust. The most probable source of aluminous enstatite is troctolitic magnesian rocks and, especially, spinel troctolites with low Ca/Al and Ca/Si ratios. The decompression of such rocks must produce cordierite-bearing assemblages. The almost complete absence of such assemblages in the surficial rocks of lunar highlands implies that vertical tectonic movements were practically absent in the lunar crust. The transport of deep-seated materials to the lunar surface was probably related to impact events during the intense meteorite bombardments >3.9 Ga ago.     

Garnet clinopyroxenite inclusions from diatremes in the Gloucester area,New South Wales,Australia

The paper discusses the petrography, mineralogy, petrochemical affinities, P/T crystallization regimes and genetic aspects of four garnet clinopyroxenite inclusions from diatremes in the Gloucester area, New South Wales. Inclusion mineral assemblages (which generally display textural evidence of annealing) include garnet-plagioclase-(sulphur-rich scapolite)-clinopyroxene, garnet-hornblende-orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene and garnet-hornblende-clinopyroxene. The garnet-plagioclase clinopyroxenite inclusion possesses an essentially alkali basaltic chemistry. It probably represents a crystallized basaltic liquid whereas the petrochemical affinities of the two garnet pyroxenites carrying amphiboles are more appropriate to subcalcie clinopyroxenites with variable Mg/Fe ratios. Experimental and other data suggest that the Gloucester garnet clinopyroxenite suite crystallized at pressures of the order of 10–14 kb and temperatures in the vicinity of 1000° C. The chemical compositions of many garnet pyroxenites, occurring either as inclusions in alkali basaltic rocks or as localized facies within some alpine-type peridotites, such as those in the western Mediterranean region, suggest that they can be interpreted as lower temperature heteromorphs of “primitive” subcalcic clinopyroxenites, variable in Al contents and hy/di ratios, but retaining consistently low Ti, Na, K and P. It is suggested that many inclusions of garnet (-spinel) pyroxenite and subcalcie Clinopyroxenite, restricted to alkali basaltic rocks and their associates, originally may have been interleaved with upper mantle aluminous peridotites and that they represent partial melt products of their aluminous peridotitic hosts.     

The stability of sapphirine-quartz and hypersthene-sillimanite-quartz assemblages: an experimental investigation in the system FeO−MgO−Al2O3−SiO2 under H2O and CO2 conditions

Phase relations and mineral chemistry involving the phases garnet (Gt), spinel (Sp), hypersthene (Hy), sapphirine (Sa), cordierite (Cd), sillimanite (Sil) and quartz (Qz) have been experimentally determined in the system FMAS (FeO−MgO−Al₂O₂−SiO₂) under low fO₂ and for various H₂O/CO₂ conditions. Several compositions were studied with 100 (Mg/Mg+Fe) ratio ranging from 64 to 87 with excess quartz and sillimanite. Our data do not show any differences in Gt−Cd stability and composition as a function of H₂O, CO₂ and H₂O−CO₂ (±CH₄) content, in good agreement with a previous experimental study at lower temperature (Aranovich and Podlesskii 1983). At 1,000° C and 11 kbar, under CO₂-saturated conditions, cordierite grew from a crystalline mix unseeded with cordierite. Thus, under water-absent conditions, cordierite will have a high-P stability field in the presence of CO₂. If water has a pressure stabilizing effect on cordierite, then our results would indicate that the effects of H₂O and CO₂ are of the same magnitude at high temperature. Our data support the theoretical P-T grid proposed by Hensen (1986) for high-T metapelites and are largely consistent with the high-temperature experimental data of Hensen and Green (1973). The univariant boundary Gt+Cd=Hy+Sil+Qz, which marks the disappearance of Hy−Sil−Qz assemblages, has a negative dP/dT slope above 1,000° C and a positive one below this temperature. Extrapolation of our data to iron-free systems shows that the high-P breakdown limit of Mg-cordierite has a negative slope in the range 1,025–1,300° C and probably positive below 1,000° C. This indicates a maximum of stability for Mg-cordierite at around 1,000° C and 13 kbar. Because of the curvature of the univariant reactions En+Sil=Py+Qz, Mg−Cd=En+Sil+Qz and Gt+Cd=Hy+Sil+Qz, the iron-free invariant point involving the phases Py, En, Cd, Sil and Qz probably does not exist. Sapphirine—Qz-bearing assemblages are stable only at temperatures above 1,050° C. At 1,075° C, the joint Gt−Sa is stable up to 11 kbar. At higher pressure, garnet, sapphirine and quartz react according to the reaction Gt+Sa+Qz=Hy+Sil. Reequilibrated sapphirines are more aluminous than the theoretical endmember Mg₂Al₄SiO₁₀ due to AlAl=MgSi substitutions [100(Al₂O₃/Al₂O₃+FeO+MgO) in experimental sapphirines ranges from 50.5 to 52.2]. Sapphirine in the assemblage Sa−Cd−Sil−Qz shows a decrease in Al content with decreasing temperature and pressure, such that the alumina isopleths for sapphirine have a slight negative dP/dT slope. A similar decrease in Al content of sapphirine with temperature is also observed in Sa−Sil−Qz assemblages.     

Partial melting and the formation of granulite facies assemblages in Namaqualand, South Africa

Abstract Dehydration-melting reactions, in which water from a hydrous phase enters the melt, leaving an anhydrous solid assemblage, are the dominant mechanism of partial melting of high-grade rocks in the absence of externally derived vapour. Equilibria involving melt and solid phases are effective buffers of aH₂,o. The element-partitioning observed in natural rocks suggests that dehydration melting occurs over a temperature interval during which, for most cases, aH₂o is driven to lower values. The mass balance of dehydration melting in typical biotite gneiss and metapelite shows that the proportion of melt in the product assemblage at T± 850°C is relatively small (10–20%), and probably insufficient to mobilize a partially melted rock body. Granulite facies metapelite, biotite gneiss and metabasic gneiss in Namaqualand contain coarse-grained, discordant, unfoliated, anhydrous segregations, surrounded by a finer grained, foliated matrix that commonly includes hydrous minerals. The segregations have modes consistent with the hypothesis that they are the solid and liquid products of the dehydration-melting reactions: Bt + Sil + Qtz + PI = Grt ° Crd + Kfs + L (metapelite), Bt + Qtz + Pl = Opx + Kfs + L (biotite gneiss), and Hbl + Qtz = Opx + Cpx + Pl + L (metabasic gneiss). The size, shape, distribution and modes of segregations suggest only limited migration and extraction of melt. Growth of anhydrous poikiloblasts in matrix regions, development of anhydrous haloes around segregations and formation of dehydrated margins on metabasic layers enclosed in migmatitic metapelites all imply local gradients in water activity. Also, they suggest that individual segregations and bodies of partially melted rock acted as sinks for soluble volatiles. The preservation of anhydrous assemblages and the restricted distribution of late hydrous minerals suggest that retrograde reaction between hydrous melt and solids did not occur and that H₂O in the melt was released as vapour on crystallization. This model, combined with the natural observations, suggests that it is possible to form granulite facies assemblages without participation of external fluid and without major extraction of silicate melt.     

Paragenetic Relationships in an Amphibolitic Tectonic Block in the Franciscan Terrain, Panoche Pass, California

Two tectonic inclusions within the Franciscan mélangeof California display a relict epidoteamphibolitic assemblagethat has been modified by rather continuous degrees of retrogressivereplacement to blueschist facies minerals. The relict assemblageconsists of plagioclase +hornblende+epidote+sphene±rutile±calcicpyroxene±garnet; superimposed during later blueschistmetamorphism is the asemblage sodic amphibole+lawsonite±sodicpyroxene±pumpellyite±phengitic mica ±albite+sphene±Ca-carbonate.In an attempt to evaluate chemical redistribution accompanyingblueschist metamorphism, electron microprobe analyses have beendetermined for all major minerals from both assemblages. Hornblende commonly exhibits replacement by crossite aroundgrain boundaries and replacement patches of more riebeckiticamphibole adjacent to mafic grains or inclusions; actinoliticamphibole occurs in veins cross-cutting hornblende and in somecases these veins are zoned to include a central core of sodicamphibole. Omphacitic pyroxene occurs in veinlets and replacescalcic pyroxene in some cases; a more aluminous omphacite varietyis commonly associated with the breakdown of epidote. Garnetis highly retrogressed to chlorite. In general, relict Ca-Alsilicates are in various stages of breakdown, being largelyconverted to lawsonite and pumpellyite; concurrently Na-Al silicatesformed by replacement where early calcic minerals participatedin blueschist reactions. Reactants and products may be separatedby phases not participating in the reactions. Whole rock compositionspoint strongly to a closed system with respect to all majorcations, and the principal source for Na participating in replacementreactions appears to be from the breakdown of albite. The mechanismfor replacement of the older assemblage is primarily attributedto a contemporaneous series of coupled reactions among nearlyall the early minerals and a fluid phase. Sea-floor spreading models may explain the tectonic emplacementof the amphibolite from a relatively high temperature-high pressureregime into a comparatively low temperature-high pressure environmentleading to the observed mineralogical re-adjustments.     

The reaction history of kyanite in high‐P aluminous granulites

Cathodoluminescence (CL) mapping of kyanite in high pressure, aluminous granulites from the central Grenville Province reveals internal structures that are linked to their metamorphic reaction history. In two samples, individual kyanite crystals are shown to be composite porphyroblasts comprising three distinct generations, defined by their CL intensity and Cr (±V, Ti, Fe and Ga) content, and each separated by resorbed interfaces. In contrast, a sub‐aluminous sample contains two types of kyanite, one as resorbed inclusions in garnet and another in the groundmass or replacing garnet. These textural variants of kyanite are interpreted within the framework of phase equilibria modelling. In P–T pseudosections, a first generation of kyanite, which is only present in the most aluminous samples, is potentially linked to staurolite breakdown, and its resorption is consistent with a subsequent increase in pressure. This kyanite represents the earliest remnant of prograde metamorphism identifiable in these rocks. The second generation, present in the porphyroblasts in the same samples and as inclusions in garnet in the sub‐aluminous sample, is interpreted to be the peritectic product of muscovite dehydration melting. Resorption of this kyanite is consistent with subsequent continuous dehydration melting of biotite, which is also inferred based on microstructural considerations. The final generation of kyanite, present as rims on the prograde kyanite porphyroblasts in aluminous samples and as part of the groundmass or replacing garnet in the sub‐aluminous rock, is interpreted to have grown during melt crystallization upon retrogression. The presence of retrograde kyanite implies that the melt crystallized over a wide range of temperatures, and provides an important constraint on the P–T conditions of the metamorphic peak and on the retrograde P–T path. CL mapping is crucial for identifying retrograde kyanite in aluminous samples, as it preferentially overgrows existing kyanite rather than replacing other prograde phases. The scarcity of kyanite in sub‐aluminous rocks allows retrograde kyanite to grow as discrete crystals that can be identified by optical microscopy. This work attests to the potential of unconventional tools such as CL imaging for deciphering the metamorphic history of rocks.     

Petrology of the Hara Lake paragneisses,northeastern Saskatchewan,Canada

Precambrian aluminous paragneisses in the Hara Lake area of northeastern Saskatchewan are characterized by the stable association of cordierite and garnet with either sillimanite or biotite; alkali feldspar is an important mineral of this association. The aluminous gneisses are interlayered with pyroxene-plagioclase gneisses that contain orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, hornblende, and biotite. The gneisses in the study area and in the adjacent Charcoal Lake area were metamorphosed under conditions of the granulite facies. The petrologic evidence is consistent with a first metamorphic event during which the association sillimanite-biotite was stable, followed by a second event during which cordierite-garnet was stable. Consideration of mineral assemblages and mineral chemistries of the aluminous gneisses in terms of experimentally established or thermodynamically derived reactions suggests that recrystallization from the sillimanite-biotite association to cordierite-garnet took place at 680 °–750 °C and 3.2–4.4 kb.     

An experimental study of spinel clinopyroxenite xenoliths from the Duncansby Ness vent,Caithness, Scotland

Xenoliths of coarse-grained spinel-clinopyroxenite up to 15 cm in size occur in tuff in an isolated Permian vent on the Caithness coast at Duncansby Ness. Highly altered fragments of chrome-spinel lherzolite and wehrlite are also found in the tuff and in a body of monchiquite within the vent. The spinel-clinopyroxenites consist of aluminous augite and aluminous pleonaste spinel (FeO/MgO = 0.9) and their texture suggests the spinel to have exsolved from the augite. Experiments on representative natural xenolith compositions at 18 kb (dry) indicate that all the spinel in the estimated average bulk composition (Sp_4.9Px_95.1) could have exsolved from an original homogeneous pyroxene. Initial fractionation of such a pyroxene from an alkali basaltic magma at P≥18 kb, 1450-1350 °C, would be followed by spinel exsolution at T< 1290 ° C. A similar origin by fractionation of a highly aluminous augite (± aluminous spinel) at high pressure, with subsequent spinel exsolution is proposed for spinel-clinopyroxenites from alkali basalts elsewhere in the world. The similarity of these xenoliths suggests that such a process may form an important stage in the evolution of some undersaturated basaltic rocks.