Planar and line defects in the sapphirine polytypes

Transmission electron microscopy of various natural and synthetic sapphirines shows the existence of extensive polytypic variation in some samples. In addition to the previously described 1Tc and 2M polytypes, 3Tc, 4M and 5Tc structures are observed. The structural principles underlying the polytypism and the associated diffraction behaviour are reviewed, and the correlation between the nature of the observed stacking faults and their origin during crystal growth, in deformation or as a result of solid-state transformation is discussed. Pairs of c/2 partial dislocations observed in synthetic material provide a likely solid-state transformation mechanism, although the evidence suggests that most observed stacking variation arises during growth.A new type of non-conservative planar defect has been found in sapphirine from Finero, Italy, suggestive of unit-cell scale intergrowth with a surinamite- or pyroxene-like structure. A polysomatic model of the sapphirine and surinamite structures as stackings of pyroxene P and spinel S modules is proposed.     

Sapphirine-quartz and sapphirine-corundum assemblages in metamorphic rocks associated with the Semail Ophiolite (United Arab Emirates)

Granulite facies metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks occur imbricated with the Cretaceous Semail Ophiolite in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Peak metamorphic assemblages in highly oxidized lithologies of these rocks include sapphirine (7 : 9 : 3)-hercynitic spinel-magnetite-ilmeno-hematite-plagioclase-enstatite-quartz and sapphirine (2 : 2 : 1)-corundum-ilmeno-hematite-phlogopite-plagioclase. The observed mineral assemblages in quartzitic rocks are an example of overlapping stability of sapphirine-quartz and spinel-quartz and are therefore not diagnostic for high pressures. Both types of sapphirine occur within the stability field of Mg-rich cordierite. The common association of sapphirine and spinel with magnetite and ilmeno-hematite in quartzitic rocks suggests that sapphirine was formed by a reaction including spinel, hematite and quartz on the educt side. Metamorphic conditions estimated from associated parageneses point to temperatures of 800–850°C and pressures of 6.5–9 kbar.     

Calculated phase equilibria in K2O-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O for sapphirine-quartz-bearing mineral assemblages

Sapphirine, coexisting with quartz, is an indicator mineral for ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism in aluminous rock compositions. Here a new activity‐composition model for sapphirine is combined with the internally consistent thermodynamic dataset used by THERMOCALC, for calculations primarily in K₂O‐FeO‐MgO‐Al₂O₃‐SiO₂‐H₂O (KFMASH). A discrepancy between published experimentally derived FMAS grids and our calculations is understood with reference to H₂O. Published FMAS grids effectively represent constant a_H2O sections, thereby limiting their detailed use for the interpretation of mineral reaction textures in compositions with differing H₂O. For the calculated KFMASH univariant reaction grid, sapphirine + quartz assemblages occur at P–T in excess of 6–7 kbar and 1005 °C. Sapphirine compositions and composition ranges are consistent with natural examples. However, as many univariant equilibria are typically not ‘seen’ by a specific bulk composition, the univariant reaction grid may reveal little about the detailed topology of multi‐variant equilibria, and therefore is of limited use for interpreting the P–T evolution of mineral assemblages and reaction sequences. Calculated pseudosections, which quantify bulk composition and multi‐variant equilibria, predict experimentally determined KFMASH mineral assemblages with consistent topology, and also indicate that sapphirine stabilizes at increasingly higher pressure and temperature as X_Mg increases. Although coexisting sapphirine and quartz can occur in relatively iron‐rich rocks if the bulk chemistry is sufficiently aluminous, the P–T window of stability shrinks with decreasing X_Mg. An array of mineral assemblages and mineral reaction sequences from natural sapphirine + quartz and other rocks from Enderby Land, Antarctica, are reproducible with calculated pseudosections. That consistent phase diagram calculations involving sapphirine can be performed allows for a more thorough assessment of the metamorphic evolution of high‐temperature granulite facies terranes than was previously possible. The establishment of a a‐x model for sapphirine provides the basis for expansion to larger, more geologically realistic chemical systems (e.g. involving Fe³⁺).     

Spinel–Sapphirine Reaction Structures in the Garnet Metaultramafic Rocks of the Omolon Massif: Petrogenesis and Geological Interpretation (Northeast Asia)

Spinel–sapphirine reaction structures are studied in detail in the sapphirine gedritites which form a small segregation in one of the garnet metaultramafic bodies framing the Aulandzha charnockitic dome (the pre-Riphean basement of the Omolon Massif). It is established that the sapphirine gedritites resulted from the retrograde evolution of the garnet–spinel metaultramafic rocks, the formation temperature of which may have exceeded 900°C at a probable pressure no more than 7 kbar. It is shown that the spinel–sapphirine reaction structures were formed under conditions of elevated O₂ potential close to the magnetite–hematite buffer. Subsequent diaphthoresis of the metaultramafic rocks was accompanied by an increase in the H₂O potential and decrease in temperature to at least 760°C. This explains the formation of another group of diaphthorites, garnet gedritites, the index minerals of which are sodium gedrite and calcic plagioclase with strong inverse zoning. A comprehensive analysis of the new petrological data and published materials on the isotope–geochronological study of the pre-Riphean basement of the Omolon Massif makes it possible to attribute the formation of the sapphirine gedritites to 1.9 Ga (middle of the second half of the Early Proterozoic, according to the General Stratigraphic Scale of Russia). The unusually high value of the O₂ potential calculated for the spinel–sapphirine reaction structures; the unique magnesian–alumina composition of the gedritites; and the extremely high contents of Zr, Ba, Rb, and Hf allow O.V. Avchenko to hypothesize that the protoliths of these scarce rocks were products of weathering crust after orthomagmatic ultramafic rocks. In this case, the calculated parameters for the formation of the spinel–sapphirine reaction structures may indicate that the value of the O₂ potential on the Earth’s surface in the Paleoproterozoic corresponded to the magnetite–hematite buffer.     

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.     

Sapphirine in SW Sweden: a record of Sveconorwegian (–Grenvillian) late-orogenic tectonic exhumation

In the Sveconorwegian granulite region of SW Sweden, sapphirine occurs in reaction coronas in Mg- and Al-rich kyanite eclogites which form parts of mafic complexes. Aluminous to peraluminous sapphirine forms symplectitic intergrowths with plagioclase±corundum±spinel after kyanite. Kyanite and omphacite were the main reactants in the formation of sapphirine. The sapphirine formed during decompression from the eclogite facies ( P >15  kbar) through the high- to medium-pressure granulite and upper amphibolite facies at c. 750  °C. Preserved growth zoning in garnet, frozen-in reaction textures, and chemical disequilibrium suggest a rapid tectonic exhumation. Ductile deformation in the surrounding gneisses and parts of the mafic complex is characterized by foliation development, WNW–ESE stretching and dynamic recrystallization under granulite to upper amphibolite facies conditions, simultaneous with the sapphirine formation. This decompression, high-grade re-equilibration and associated deformation took place during the exhumation of the Sveconorwegian eclogites, bracketed between 969±14 and 956±7  Ma. Probable tectonic causes are late-orogenic gravitational collapse and/or plate divergence following the Sveconorwegian–Grenvillian continent–continent collision. There are no indications of metastability of aluminous and peraluminous sapphirine in the decompressed kyanite eclogites; sapphirine is stable in amphibole-poor and amphibolitized varieties, including rocks that have undergone dynamic recrystallization. Close similarities between rocks from different parts of the world with respect to reaction textures suggests that sapphirine+plagioclase-forming reactions are a universal feature in high-temperature decompressed kyanite eclogites.     

Ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism in the Tuguiwula area,Khondalite Belt,North China Craton

In this study, sapphirine‐bearing granulites and sapphirine‐absent garnet–sillimanite gneisses from the Tuguiwula area in the eastern segment of the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton (NCC) are interpreted to show a P–T evolution involving cooling at pressures of 8–9 kbar from >960°C to the solidus (~820°C) and late subsolidus decompression. This interpretation is based on the sequence of mineral appearance and thermodynamic modelling of phase equilibria. Sapphirine is observed to coexist with spinel within the peak assemblages. This observation conflicts with the traditional view that spinel generally appears prior to sapphirine and thus indicates pre‐T_max compression. For ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT) metapelites at Tuguiwula, a clockwise P–T path may be more likely, which would be consistent with the clockwise P–T evolution of the extensive “normal” granulites (T_max <900°C) and UHT granulites at other localities in the eastern segment of the Khondalite Belt. At Tuguiwula, for UHT metapelites with low bulk‐rock Mg/(Mg+Fe^T), the oxidation state/Fe³⁺ content is interpreted to be a significant factor in controlling the mineral assemblages. We find that these compositions tend to contain sapphirine under oxidized conditions but spinel (without sapphirine) under reduced conditions. This difference may account for the simultaneous presence of both sapphirine‐bearing UHT granulites and sapphirine‐absent garnet–sillimanite UHT gneisses at Tuguiwula. LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb dating of metamorphic zircon in the UHT metapelites yields mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of c. 1.92 Ga (two samples), which are interpreted to record the timing of cooling of the UHT rocks to the solidus. The UHT metamorphism is interpreted to have been generated by mantle upwelling and emplacement of mafic magmas within a post‐orogenic setting.     

Sapphirine + quartz assemblage in contrasting textural modes from the Eastern Ghats Belt, India: Implications for stability relations in UHT metamorphism and retrograde processes

Stability of the assemblage sapphirine + quartz in Mg–Al-rich granulites implies ultrahigh temperature (UHT) condition of metamorphism but their direct contact is rarely preserved in natural rocks. The present study shows contrasting textural relations between sapphirine and quartz in different parts of the same occurrence of a Mg–Al-rich granulite, Eastern Ghats Belt, India. Textural data suggest stabilization of the assemblage sapphirine + quartz with orthopyroxene and cordierite during the metamorphic peak. Thermometric estimates yield temperature exceeding 950 °C for the stability of this assemblage. Most of such sapphirine grains (Spr₁) are texturally separated from quartz and cordierite grains by double corona of sillimanite + orthopyroxene that results due to isobaric cooling during the post-peak stage. Sapphirine (Spr₂) also forms a symplectic intergrowth with quartz and orthopyroxene at the fringe of coarse orthopyroxene. This textural feature can be explained by the breakdown of (Fe, Mg)-Tschermak components of orthopyroxene during the same isobaric cooling episode from UHT peak condition. The preservation of grain contact of this intergrown sapphirine and quartz can be attributed to a problem in reaction kinetics. In the other mode, sapphirine (Spr₃) occurs with quartz with a thin skin of cordierite near a quartz vein. Such texture could result from isothermal decompression of the cooled crust. Alternatively and more possibly, cordierite could form from ingress of CO₂–H₂O rich fluid during terminal stage of cooling. Finally, sapphirine (Spr₄) and quartz show direct contact close to the quartz vein. Direct contact of such sapphirine and quartz represents textural disequilibrium as this particular quartz is introduced as a vein much later than the peak metamorphism but prior to the major foliation-forming deformation. Coarse sapphirine and vein quartz, therefore, accidentally came in contact with each other and persisted metastably. Therefore, though coexistence of sapphirine and quartz is considered to be a strong evidence for ultrahigh temperature condition, care should be taken to decipher their stable coexistence. Different types of textural relations involving this mineral pair could originate in a single rock, probably in different stages of its metamorphic history.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000843

We report equilibrium sapphirine t quartz assemblage in biotiteeorthopyroxeneegarnet granulites from a new locality in Panasapattu of Paderu region in the Eastern Ghats granulite belt, which provide new evidence for ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism at 1030e1050 C and 10 kbar in this region. The development of migmatitic texture, stabilization of the garneteorthopyroxenee plagioclaseeK-feldspar association, prograde biotite inclusions within garnet and sapphirine as well as sapphirine and cordierite inclusions within garnet in these granulites indicate that the observed peak assemblages probably formed during prograde dehydration melting of a BteSilleQtz assemblage, and constrain the prograde stage of the PeT path. The core domains of orthopyroxene porphyroblasts have up to wt(Al2O3) 9.6%, which suggest that the temperatures reached up to 1150 C suggesting extreme crustal metamorphism. These conditions were also confirmed by the garneteorthopyroxene thermobarometery, which yields a PeT range of 1012e960 C and 9.4 kbar. The PeT phase topologies computed using isochemical sections calculated in the model system Na2OeCaOeK2OeFeOeMgOeAl2O3eSiO2 eH2O (NCKFMASH) for metapelites, garnet-free sapphirine granulites and garnet-bearing sapphirine granulites match the melt-bearing assemblages observed in these rocks. Isochemical sections constructed in the NCKFMASH system for an average sub-aluminous metapelite bulk composition, and contoured for modal proportions of melt and garnet, as well as for the compositional isopleths of garnet, predict phase and reaction relations that are consistent with those observed in the rocks. Garnet and orthopyroxene contain Ti-rich phlogopite inclusions, suggesting formation by prograde melting reactions at the expense of phlogopite during ultrahigh-temperature conditions. These PeT results underestimate ‘peak’ conditions, in part as a result of the modification of garnet compositions in the domains where some melt was retained. The post-peak evolution is constrained by a succession of melt-present reactions that occur at P < 10 kbar, inferred from micro-structural relations among various minerals. After high-temperature decompression from the metamorphic peak, the PeT path followed a near isobaric cooling stage to T < 900 C. The UHT rocks investigated in this study occur within a continental collision suture which witnessed prolonged subductioneaccretion history prior to the final collision. We correlate the extreme metamorphism and the stabilization of UHT mineral assemblages to heat and volatile input from an upwelled asthenosphere during subductionecollision tectonics in a Proterozoic convergent plate margin.     

A new thermodynamic model for sapphirine: calculated phase equilibria in K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–Fe2O3

The activity–composition (a–x) relations of sapphirine are re‐evaluated in the light of a recent new internally‐consistent data set of phase end‐members for use in phase equilibria modelling, particularly of ultra‐high‐temperature (UHT) rocks. This is achieved with the aid of relatively oxidized sapphirine+quartz‐bearing granulites from Wilson Lake, Canada. Calculated P–T projections and compatibility diagrams in the K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–Fe₂O₃ (KFMASHTO) system are used to illustrate sapphirine+quartz‐bearing phase equilibria in the context of UHT metamorphism. These new a–x relations for sapphirine should allow pseudosection thermobarometry in NCKFMASHTO for estimating peak P–T conditions of sapphirine‐bearing rocks.     

Metastable growth of corundum adjacent to quartz in a spinel-bearing quartzite from the Archaean Napier Complex, Antarctica

In a granulite-facies spinel-bearing quartzite, corundum, orthopyroxene and sapphirine (and rarely cordierite and sillimanite) form partial rims separating spinel from quartz. Textures indicate the reactions:
spinel + quartz = orthopyroxene + corundum, and
spinel + quartz = orthopyroxene + sapphirine.
Thus, corundum and sapphirine are produced by reactions involving quartz. The low Al-content of the orthopyroxene (0.5–2.8 wt %) and low values for Mg–Fe distribution coefficient for spinel–sapphirine and spinel–orthopyroxene reflect low-temperature conditions during formation of the reaction products. Absence of zoning in spinel and a constant Mg–Fe distribution coefficient for spinel–sapphirine and spinel–orthopyroxene, over a compositional range, indicate Mg–Fe equilibration. It is suggested that stable reactions such as spinel + quartz = cordierite or spinel + quartz = garnet + sillimanite were over-stepped and that metastable reactions give rise to the anomalous juxtaposition of corundum + quartz.     

Paleoproterozoic UHT metamorphism with isobaric cooling (IBC) followed by decompression–heating in the Khondalite Belt (North China Craton): New evidence from two sapphirine formation processes

Interpretation of reaction microstructures may provide constraints on the P–T path followed by rocks, with implications for the geodynamic evolution. Sapphirine generally occurs in diverse microstructures in ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) Mg–Al-rich granulites. Understanding multi-stage sapphirine formation processes and the resultant P–T path may provide insights into the cause of UHT metamorphism, which is otherwise under broad debate. Here, we investigate samples of UHT granulite containing two distinct types of sapphirine from the Dongpo locality in the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton, with the aim of understanding the processes of sapphirine formation and the metamorphic evolution of the host rocks. Petrographic observations show that early sapphirine, which occurs as coronas on spinel and as single porphyroblasts, formed together with biotite, sillimanite, and inclusion-rich garnet. Late symplectitic sapphirine along with fine-grained plagioclase and spinel plus plagioclase symplectites, formed by consumption of sillimanite, biotite, and garnet. Three pseudosections based on the bulk compositions of microdomains inferred to reflect spatially restricted equilibrium suggest that the rocks record near isobaric cooling (IBC) from ~980 to 830ºC at ~0.9 GPa for early sapphirine formation, and decompression and heating to ≤0.7 GPa and ~900ºC for late sapphirine formation. Our study in combination with other metamorphic P–T and age information reveals the common occurrence of IBC paths and long duration (c. 1.93 to 1.86 Ga) regional UHT metamorphism in the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton. Locally, this is followed by decompression–heating paths at c. 1.86 Ga. The Palaeoproterozoic UHT metamorphism with long-lived IBC path in the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton supports large hot orogen model in the amalgamation of this part in the supercontinent Nuna.     

南极拉斯曼丘陵高级区假蓝宝石及有关矿物组合的形成过程

通过对南极拉斯曼丘陵含假蓝宝石矿物及有关组合的研究,得知假蓝宝石的成分以富镁、铁、铝但贫硅为特征,其粒间及粒内成分的变化均较为明显,这种变化主要表现为以钙契尔马克代换(Mg, Fe) + Si = 2Al为主的类质同象置换。在形成假蓝宝石的高级变质-深熔作用过程中,岩石矿物组合的变化主要是多阶段变质造成的,如浅-暗色组分发生了分离,其中含镁铁组分多的矿物较早结晶,而镁铁组分的分离使得相对富Fe的矿物较早结晶,即晚期形成的镁铁质矿物更富Mg组分,并形成递进演化的不同阶段的组合。假蓝宝石的出现与组分的活动有关,而不仅仅是由岩石成分决定的。变质矿物组合的多次递进演化,反映了活动组分的不断变化,以及体系组分相当程度的开放性。含假蓝宝石的变质岩石之原岩未必是富镁泥质岩。本区假蓝宝石成分的多变性主要是环境成分而不是pT变化所引起的,假蓝宝石形成于840~880℃,并没有达到超高温（>1 000℃）的条件,其形成与高级变质-深熔作用过程中组分渗透和扩散的共同作用有关。     

Sapphirine bearing granulites from the Sipiwesk Lake area of the late Archean Pikwitonei granulite terrain,Manitoba, Canada

Sapphirine occurs in the orthopyroxene-cordierite and feldspar-sillimanite granulites in the Sipiwesk Lake area of the Pikwitonei granulite terrain, Manitoba (97°40W, 55°05N). The orthopyroxene-cordierite granulites have extremely high Al₂O₃ (24.5 wt%) and MgO (24.6 wt%) contents and contain sapphirine (up to 69.2 wt% Al₂O₃), aluminous orthopyroxene (up to 8.93 wt% Al₂O₃), cordierite, spinel, phlogopite, and corundum. Sapphirine forms coronas mantling spinel and corundum. Corona sapphirine is zoned and its composition varies through the substitution (Mg, Fe, Mn) Si=2 Al as a function of the phases with which it is in contact. Textural and chemical relationships of sapphirine with coexisting phases indicate that spinel + cordierite reacted to form orthopyroxene + sapphirine under conditions of increasing pressure. Moreover, decreasing core to rim variation of Al₂O₃ in orthopyroxene porphyroblasts suggests decreasing temperature during sapphirine formation. On the basis of experimentally determined P-T stability of the assemblage enstatite + sapphirine + cordierite, and the Al content of hypothetical Fe²⁺-free orthopyroxene associated with sapphirine and cordierite, metamorphic temperatures and pressures are estimated to be 860–890° C and 3.0–11.2 kbar.In the feldspar-sillimanite granulites, sapphirine occurs as a relict phase mantled by sillimanite and/or by successive coronas of sillimanite and garnet. These textural relations suggest the reaction sapphirine + garnet + quartz = orthopyroxene + sillimanite with decreasing temperature. Compositions of minerals in the assemblage garnet-orthopyroxene-sillimanite-plagioclase-quartz, indicate metamorphic P-T conditions of 780–880° C and 9±1 kb.The metamorphic conditions estimated in this study suggest that the sapphirine bearing granulites in the Sipiwesk Lake area represent Archean lower crustal rocks. Their formation might be related to the crustal thickening processes in this area as suggested by Hubregtse (1980) and Weber (1983).     

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.     

Two Stages of Sapphirine Formation During Prograde and Retrograde Metamorphism in the Palaeoproterozoic Lewisian Complex in South Harris, NW Scotland

Two types of sapphirine occurrences were found in the Lewisiancomplex in South Harris, NW Scotland: (1) inclusions withinporphyroblasts; (2) symplectic grains together with secondarycordierite, plagioclase and orthopyroxene. The presence of sapphirineinclusions implies that sapphirine was stable at the early stageof ultra-high-temperature metamorphism, whereas symplectic sapphirinegrains were formed during decompressional retrograde metamorphism.The sapphirine occurrences and compositions of associated mineralsdepend on the host rock composition. Sapphirine inclusions occuronly in rocks with high bulk-X_Mg, and sapphirine is never presentas porphyroblastic grains because of its breakdown in responseto pressure increase. Sapphirine symplectites can be seen inthe relatively low bulk-X_Mg rocks, and the texture suggestslocal equilibrium in the Mg–Al-rich domain that is formedby metamorphic segregation of the Mg–Al-rich mineralsin response to partial melting. The various sapphirine occurrencesobserved in South Harris were controlled by not only protolithcomposition but also local, mineral-scale, composition in acontinuous metamorphic history. KEY WORDS: sapphirine; Lewisian complex; high-Mg garnet; partial melting     

Reaction history of sapphirine granulites and a decompressional P-T path in a granulite complex from the Eastern Ghats

The sapphirine granulites from G. Madugula, Eastern Ghats preserve a variety of mineral textures and reactions. Corona and reaction textures are used in conjunction with mineral compositions to construct a sequence of metamorphic reactions describing the mineralogical evolution of sapphirine granulites. An early stage is characterized by the development of sapphirine + quartz, spinel + quartz in textural equilibrium, and possible relicts after osumilite during peak metamorphic conditions. Sapphirine/spinel crystals were later detached from quartz in the form of mineral coronas. During a subsequent sapphirine-cordierite stage, several cordierite forming reactions reflect decreasingP-T conditions. Finally during the late stage, a few samples show evidence of retrogressive hydration. Sapphirine is rather iron-rich (12.8 wt%) and the Mg number in the analysed minerals varies in the order: cordierite > phlogopite > sapphirine > orthopyroxene > spinel > garnet.P-T conditions of metamorphism have been constrained through the application of geothermobarometry and thermodynamically calibrated MAS equilibria.P-T vectors from granulite facies rocks in the G. Madugula area indicate that the rocks experienced substantial decompression (up to 3 kbar) and moderate cooling (150–200°C) subsequent to peak conditions of metamorphism (8.4 kbar, > 900°C). The decompressionalP-T history of sapphirine granulites interpreted from textural features and thermobarometric estimates suggest that they may have eventually resulted from exhumation of thickened crust.     

Diffusion metasomatism in silica-undersaturated sapphirine-bearing granulite from Rumdoodle Peak, Framnes Mountains, east Antarctica

At Rumdoodle Peak, near Mawson Base, east Antarctica, an enclave of metasedimentary granulite is enclosed in the Mawson Charnockite, an extensive c. 960 Ma intrusion. The enclave contains a disrupted layer of black spinel-orthopyroxene-phlogopite gneiss, which was truncated by a quartz-rich vein. A reaction band that developed between these units is composed of a sequence of mineral zones that contain spinel, orthopyroxene, sapphirine, cordierite and plagioclase. The sequence of mineral zones approximately matches that predicted by a model of closed system diffusion metasomatism, involving the exchange of Si for Fe and Mg. The reaction bands differ from the model in the presence of micro-scale disequilibrium textures, that include “double coronas” composed of cordierite surrounding sapphirine and sapphirine surrounding spinel. The growth of the reaction band was controlled by diffusion along intergranular pathways, with local equilibrium maintained adjacent to grain boundaries. The presence of corona textures is a result of slow reaction rates, due to limited diffusive exchange of Si and Al across mineral grains. Received: 15 January 1998 / Accepted: 7 September 1998     

Stability of sapphirine + quartz in the oxidized rocks of the Wilson Lake terrane,Labrador: calculated equilibria in NCKFMASHTO

The equilibrium coexistence of sapphirine + quartz is inferred to record temperatures in excess of 980 °C, based on the stability of this assemblage in the simplified chemical system FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ (FMAS) system. However, the potential for sapphirine to contain significant Fe³⁺ suggests that the stability of sapphirine + quartz could extend to lower temperatures than those constrained in this ideal system. The Wilson Lake terrane in the Grenville Province of central Labrador preserves sapphirine + quartz‐bearing assemblages in highly oxidized bulk compositions, and provides an opportunity to explore the stability of sapphirine + quartz in such rock compositions within the Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O (NCKFMASHTO) chemical system. Starting with the phase equilibria in FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–TiO₂–O (FMASTO), expansion into K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O (KFMASHTO) allows the effect of the stability of the additional phases, biotite, K‐feldspar and melt, on the stability of sapphirine + quartz to be assessed. These phase relations are evaluated generally using P–T projections, and the ultimate extension into NCKFMASHTO is done with pseudosections. Conditions of peak metamorphism in the Wilson Lake terrane are constrained using P–T pseudosections, and the appropriate H₂O and O contents to use in the modelled compositions are investigated using T–M_H2O and T–M_O pseudosections. The peak P–T estimates from a sapphirine + quartz‐bearing sample are ～960 to 935 °C at ～10 to 8.6 kbar, similar to estimates from orthopyroxene + sillimanite + quartz ± garnet‐bearing samples. Whereas the sapphirine + quartz‐bearing sample is more Fe‐rich than the orthopyroxene + sillimanite‐bearing sample on an all‐Fe‐as‐FeO basis, once the oxidation state is taken into account, the former is effectively more magnesian than the latter, accounting for the sapphirine occurrence.     

Exsolution textures in orthopyroxene in aluminous granulites as indicators of UHT metamorphism: New evidence from the Eastern Ghats Belt, India

Highly aluminous orthopyroxene, coexisting with sapphirine, cordierite, sillimanite, quartz and garnet in various combinations, constitute granoblastic mosaic peak metamorphic assemblages in aluminous granulites from three localities in the Eastern Ghats Belt, India. Orthopyroxene contains four types of intergrowths: (a) involving sapphirine with or without cordierite, (b) involving spinel, but without sapphirine, (c) involving cordierite, but without sapphirine and spinel, and (d) involving garnet, without sapphirine, spinel or cordierite. On the basis of textural and compositional data, origin of the intergrowths is ascribed to breakdown of Mg-Tschermak component, locally also involving Fe- and Ti-Tschermak. An attempt is made to compute the “pre-breakdown” compositions of orthopyroxene by image analysis, which shows maximum Al₂O₃ content of 13.4 wt.% in the pristine orthopyroxene. Geothermometry, phase equilibria consideration and application of existing experimental data on alumina solubility in orthopyroxene coexisting with sapphirine and quartz, collectively indicate extreme thermal conditions of metamorphism (> 1000 °C) for the studied assemblages. This re-affirms the notion that Al₂O₃ solubility in orthopyroxene is the most powerful indicator of UHT metamorphism (Harley, S.L., 2004. Extending our understanding of ultrahigh temperature crustal metamorphism. J. Mineral. Petrol. Sci. 99, 140–158). The intergrowths are considered to have formed due to cooling from the thermal peak spanning a temperature range of approximately 150 °C. Appearance of diverse types of intergrowths is probably related to subtle differences in bulk composition, particularly Fe:Mg ratios.