Process of serpentinization in the ultramafic massif of Beni Bousera (internal Rif,Morocco)

The Beni Bousera massif forms part of the Sebtide units in the internal Rif Mountain (Morocco). It is mainly composed of mantle peridotites surrounded by crustal metamorphic rocks (kinzigites, micaschists, and schists). The serpentinization affects all of peridotite massif to various degrees. Serpentinization is concentrated at the top of the peridotites, along the mylonitized zone, and in the NE part of the massif. It is manifested by the formation of mesh and hourglass textures along the tectonic foliation in the highly serpentinized peridotites; and brecciated texture in the least serpentinized peridotites. Pyroxene minerals are still intact hosting few serpentine veins. These petrographic features are consistent with the geochemical data, marked by the increasing of LOI and decreasing of MgO and FeO toward the top of the massif and Aaraben fault. The Raman characterization of serpentine with the brecciated mesh and hourglass textures correspond to lizardite type whereas the serpentine with the vein texture is formed by lizardite + chrysotile.     

The Beni Bousera Peridotite(Rif Belt,Morocco): A Subsolidus Evolution Interpretation

正The Beni Bousera ultramafic massif is a tectonically emplaced body of upper mantle material that is exposed over 72 km2at the base of the internal zones of the Alpine Rif belt of northern Morocco.The predominant lithology in     

Graphite–sulfide deposits in Ronda and Beni Bousera peridotites (Spain and Morocco) and the origin of carbon in mantle-derived rocks

This paper describes unusual graphite–sulfide deposits in ultramafic rocks from the Serranía de Ronda (Spain) and Beni Bousera (Morocco). These deposits occur as veins, stockworks and irregular masses, ranging in size from some centimeters to a few meters in thickness. The primary mineral assemblage mainly consists of Fe–Ni–Cu sulfides (pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite and cubanite), graphite and chromite. Weathering occurs in some sulfide-poor deposits that consist of graphite (up to 90%), chromite and goethite. Texturally, graphite may occur as flakes or clusters of flakes and as rounded, nodule-like aggregates. Graphite is highly crystalline and shows light carbon isotopic signatures (δ¹³C≈− 15‰ to − 21‰). Occasionally, some nodule-like graphite aggregates display large isotopic zoning with heavier cubic forms (probably graphite pseudomorphs after diamond with δ¹³C up to − 3.3‰) coated by progressively lighter flakes outwards (δ¹³C up to − 15.2‰).Asthenospheric-derived melts originated the partial melting (and melt–rock reactions) of peridotites and pyroxenites generating residual melts from which the graphite–sulfide deposits were formed. These residual melts concentrated volatile components (mainly CO₂ and H₂O), as well as S, As, and chalcophile elements. Carbon was incorporated into the melts from the melt–rock reactions of graphite-bearing (formerly diamonds) garnet pyroxenites with infiltrated asthenospheric melts. Graphite-rich garnet pyroxenites formed through the UHP transformation of subducted kerogen-rich crustal material into the mantle. Thus, graphite in most of the studied occurrences has light (biogenic) carbon signatures. Locally, reaction of the light carbon in the melts with relicts of ¹³C-enriched graphitized diamonds (probably generated from hydrothermal calcite veins in the subducting oceanic crust) reacted with the partial melts to form isotopically zoned nodule-like graphite aggregates.     

Noble metals segregation and fractionation in magmatic ores from Ronda and Beni Bousera Lherzolite Massifs (Spain,Morocco)

Summary Three types of mineralization are found in high-temperature lherzolite massifs of Southern Spain and Northern Morocco: (Cr) chromite, (Cr-Ni) chromite-nickel arsenide, (S-G) sulphide-graphite. The ore veins are distributed in this order from the plagioclase-lherzolite core to the garnet-lherzolite border of the massifs. These hightemperature ore assemblages (1200-600°C) have cumulate textures including orthopyroxene and/or cordierite as main silicate minerals.High average PGE concentrations are present in the Cr-Ni ores (2000 ppb) in relation to the Ni-arsenide abundance. The Cr ores have only 900 ppb PGE, and the S-G ores are PGE-poor (350 ppb). Gold roughly follows the PGE distribution: 13,000 ppb in Cr-Ni ores, 570 ppb in Cr ores, and only 88 ppb in S-G ores. The chondrite normalized PGE patterns of the Cr-Ni ores are chondritic, whereas those of the Cr and S-G ores have respectively negative and positive slopes. The Pd/Ir ratio strongly increases from the Cr ores (0.39) to the Cr-Ni and the S-G ores (2.7 and 3.4)). There are some (Os, Ru)S₂ inclusions in the chromite of the Cr ores. In the Cr-Ni ores, some minute Au, Au-Cu, and Au-Bi-Te grains are observed. No PGM have been found, except in a weathered Cr-Ni ore sample where abundant PGM (PtAs₂, IrAsS) are present., suggesting that PGE may be hidden as solid solution in the Ni-arsenide.The ore-forming magma probably has a mantle source-rock. The earliest chromites (Cr ores) contain Os-Ir-Ru mineral inclusions, whereas most of the gold and the remaining PGE with higher Pd/Ir ratio were partitioned into an immiscible As-S-liquid, which fractionated later into an earliest PGE-Au-rich NiAs-phase (Cr-Ni ores) and then a PGE-Au-poor MSS-phase (S-G ores).

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Abtrennung und Fraktionierung von Edelmetallen in magmatischen Erzen der LherzolitMassive von Ronda und Beni Bousera (Spanien, Marokko)

Zusammenfassung In den Hochtemperatur-Lherzolit Massiven von Süd-Spanien und Nord-Marokko kommen drei Typen von Vererzung vor: (Cr) Chromit, (Cr-Ni) Chromit-Nickelarsenid, (S-G) Sulfid-Graphit. Die Erzgänge sind in dieser Abfolge vom Plagioklas-Lherzolit Kern zum Granat-Lherzolit Rand der Massive angeordnet. Diese Hochtemperaturparagenesen (1200°-600° C) haben Kumulattexturen mit Orthopyroxen und/oder Cordierit als Hauptsilikatminerale.Hohe Durchschnittsgehalte an PGE kommen in den Cr-Ni Erzen (2000 ppb) vor, und diese stehen in Beziehung zur Häufigkeit der Nickel-Arsenide. Die Cr-Erze führen nur 900 ppb PGE und die S-G Erze sind PGE-arm (350 ppb). Gold folgt in ungefähr der PGE-Verteilung: 13000 ppb in Cr-Ni Erzen, 570 ppb in Cr Erzen, und nur 88 ppb in S-G Erzen. Die Chondrit-normalisierten PGE Verteilungen der Chrom-Nickel Erze sind chondritisch, während jene der Cr- und S-G Erze negative, bzw. positive Neigungen zeigen. Das Pd/Ir Verhältnis nimmt von den Cr-Erzen (0, 39) zu den Cr-Ni und den S-G Erzen (2,7 und 3,4) deutlich zu. Es gibt einige (Os, Ru)S₂ Einschlüsse in den Chromiten der Cr Erze. In den Cr-Ni Erzen, kommen winzige Einschlüsse von Au, Au-Cu und AuBi-Te Körnern vor. Keine PGM konnten nachgewiesen werden, mit Ausnahme eines verwitterten Cr-Ni Erzes wo reichlich PGM (PtAs₂,1rAsS) vorliegen. Dies weist darauf hin, daß PGE in fester Lösung in den Nickel-Arseniden gebunden sein könnten.Das erzbildende Magma dürfte dem Mantel entstammen. Die am frühesten gebildeten Chromite (Cr-Erze) enthalten Einschlüsse von Os-Ir-Ru Mineralen, während ein Großteil des Goldes und der verbleibenden PGE mit höheren Pd/Ir Verhältnissen in eine nicht mischbare As-S fluide Phase gingen; die letztere fraktionierte später in eine frühe PGE-Au-reiche NiAs-Phase (Cr-Ni Erze) und dann in eine PGE-Au-arme MSS-Phase (S-G Erze).

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Inconsistencies between cpx-grt geothermometry and field observations: example of the peraluminous eclogites from Beni Bousera (North Morocco)

Large variations in clinopyroxene-garnet (cpx-grt) temperatures are recorded in thin peraluminous eclogite layers from Beni Bousera ultramafic massif (Morocco): cpx-grt temperatures in the core of layers < 20 cm thick are higher by up to 300°C than in the margins. The cpx-grt temperatures are correlated to both Al-concentration in cpx and Ca-concentration in grt, the two latter parameters being themselves closely intercorrelated. It is demonstrated that the regular interaction parameter Δw^grt_Ca calculated from the Beni Bousera natural data is very close to Δw^grt_Ca calculated from experimental data analysis for Ca-rich garnet. It is concluded that: (i) Al-concentration in cpx has no significant effect on the distribution of Fe and Mg between cpx and grt; and (ii) cpx-grt temperature variations observed across Beni Bousera peraluminous eclogite layers do not correspond to real thermal gradients, but merely result from the inadequacy of the thermometric equations in Ca-rich systems (X^grt_Ca > 0.15).     

Geochemical Constraints on the Petrogenesis of Diamond Facies Pyroxenites from the Beni Bousera Peridotite Massif, North Morocco

The petrogenesis of pyroxenite layers within the Beni Bouseraperidotite massif is investigated by means of elemental andNd-Sr-Pb-O-S isotope analyses. The light rare earth element(LREE) depleted nature of many of the pyroxenites, their widevariation in composition, and lack of correlation between incompatibleelements and fractionation indices preclude them from representingcrystallized melts from a peridotitic source. The physical characteristicsof the pyroxenites and their large (greater than a factor of20) range in Ni rule out partial melting as the cause of theirpetrological and geochemical diversity. Major and compatibletrace element geochemistry is consistent with formation of mostof the pyroxenite suite via high-pressure crystal segregationin magma conduits intruding the peridotites. These magmas crystallizedclinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and garnet. The pressure of crystallizationis constrained to be above {small tilde}45 kbar from the presenceof graphitized diamonds in pyroxenite layers. Lack of correlationbetween fractionation indices and highly incompatible elementsand the wide variation in incompatible element abundances suggestthat the suite did not form from genetically related magmas.The presence of positive and negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* =0•54–2•0) in pyroxenites which crystallizedat pressures much greater than the plagioclase stability field({small tilde} 45 kbar) suggests that the parental magmas originatedfrom precursors which formed in the crust. Oxygen isotope compositionsof coexisting minerals in the pyroxenites indicate high-temperatureequilibration but ¹⁸O values vary from +4•9 to + 9•3,ruling out their derivation from the host peridotites or othernormal mantle sources. The extreme O-isotope variation, togetherwith ³⁴S values of up to + 13 in sulphides included within CPXstrongly suggests that the melts from which the pyroxenitescrystallized were derived from hydrothermally altered, subductedoceanic lithosphere. Extreme initial radiogenic isotope variationin the pyroxenites (_Nd + 26 to –9 , ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr 0•7025–0•7110,²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 18•21–19•90) support such an originbut also require a component with ancient, high U/Pb and Th/Pbin their source to explain the high 7/4 and 8/4 values of somepyroxenites. This component may be subducted hemi-pelagic sediment.Further evidence for a sediment component in the pyroxenitesis provided by isotopically light carbon in the graphite pyroxenites(¹³C–16 to – 28). Parentdaughter isotopes in thepyroxenites are strongly decoupled, making estimation of formationages speculative. The decoupling occurred recently (<200Ma), probably as a result of partial melting associated withdiapiric upwelling and emplacement of the massif into the crustfrom the diamond stability field. This late partial meltingevent further depleted the pyroxenites in incompatible elements.The variably altered nature of the subducted protolith and complexhistory of trace element fractionation of the pyroxenites haslargely obscured geochemical mixing trends. However, Nd–Pbisotope systematics indicate that incorporation of the componentwith high U/Pb–Th/Pb occurred relatively recently (<200Ma) for some pyroxenites. Other pyroxenites do not show evidencefor incorporation of such a component and may be substantiallyolder. Tectonic, geophysical, and isotopic constraints indicateformation of the pyroxenites in the mantle wedge above a subductingslab during the Cretaceous. Physical and chemical evidence forhigh-pressure fractionation seen in most of the pyroxenitesprecludes them from simply representing ancient subducted oceaniclithosphere, thinned by diffusion. However, the petrologicaland isotopic diversity of the massif support the concept ofa ‘marble cake’ mantle capable of producing theobserved geochemical diversity seen in oceanic magmas. *Present Address: Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, 5241 Broad Branch Road, N.W., Washington, DC 20015 Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, 1066 C.C. Little Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109     

Corundum-bearing Garnet Clinopyroxenites at Beni Bousera (Morocco): Original Plagioclase-rich Gabbros Recrystallized at Depth within the Mantle?

The Beni Bousera ultramafic massif, Morocco, is composed ofperidotite with subordinate garnet pyroxenitc units which belongto two different families: (1) the Type I pyroxenites, whichare characterized by an Fe-enrichment trend; and (2) the TypeII pyroxenites, which are characterized by high but nearly constantMg/Fe ratios and highly variable concentrations of Ca and Al;the latter family includes corundum-bearing garnet pyroxeniteswhich resemble the peraluminous eclogites and grospydites describedas xenoliths in kimberlite diatremes. The Type II pyroxenites appear as layered sheets in the peridotite,and have granuloblastic metamorphic texture. They contain aprimary association of a coarse-grained assemblage (cpx + gt;cpx + gt + sp; cpx + gt + co), and a variety of secondary andtertiary associations includ ng clinopyrox-ene, orthopyroxene,olivine, spinel, corundum, sapphirine, plagioclase, and amphibole.The primary assemblage in the corundum-bearing pyroxenite ischaracterized by clinopyroxene rich in A1₂O₃ (up to 20 wt%),and poor in Na₂O (generally less than 2 wt.%). The clinopyroxenephase is therefore richer in the Ca-Ts molecule than in thejadeite molecule. On the other hand, the composition of theprimary and secondary clinopyroxene and garnet phases showsstrong variation across the pyroxenite sheets. These variationsexpress compositional variations of the rock system across thesheets. The cpx-gt associations indicate high temperatures (1200–1350?C) in the central parts of the sheets. The crystallizationpressure may have reached at least 20 kb in the corundum-bearingassemblages. The bulk-rock composition and the compatible element's behaviourin the Type II pyroxenite sheets suggest that the modal andcryptic layering mainly resulted from igneous fractionationprocesses. The REE patterns of corundum-bearing Type II pyroxeniteare characterized by low concentrations of HREE and by significantEu anomalies. These, together with the high bulk-rock Sr/Ndratios, suggest that plagioclase segregation may have playeda significant part in the rock genesis. These geochemical featuresare similar to those described, in the literature, in some low-pressure,plagioclase-bearing adcumulates (e.g., in the crustal sequenceof the Oman ophiolite). They are quite different from thoseobserved in the Type I pyroxenite sheets in the Beni Bouseramassif, whose geochemistry suggests that plagioclase playedno part in the fractionation process, whereas garnet probablyfractionated as an early igneous phase. The Type II pyroxenitesheets have a primary isotopic signature similar to MORB, basedon the composition of leached clinopyroxene. It is concluded that the Mg-rich Type II pyroxenite sheets resultedultimately from the fractionation of a basaltic melt at lowpressure, and from the accumulation of olivine, clinopyroxene,and plagioclase along dykes cross-cutting the surrounding peridotite.The close similarities with the geochemical features in theOman ophiolite lead us to suggest that these processes may havebeen operative in an oceanic crustal environment. The high-pressureand high-temperature crystallization of the ‘primary’cpx+gt + co assemblage was achieved deep in the mantle, aftersubduction and/or dragging down in convection currents of thisparticular piece of the (oceanic?) lithosphere. Further ascentmay have resulted in partial melting of peridotite and/or pyroxenite,and in the emplacement of the Type I pyroxenite sheets.     

The behaviour of the upper mantle sulfide component during the incipient alteration of “Alpine”-type peridotites as illustrated by the Beni Bousera (northern Morocco) and Ronda (southern Spain) ultramafic bodies

Summary A volumetrically minor Cu–Fe–Ni–S component derived from the uppermost mantle is found within the Beni Bousera (northern Morocco) and Ronda (southern Spain) Alpine-type peridotites; it occurs today as inclusions within primary silicates or as assemblages disseminated in the intergranular sites of the host rocks. Detailed microtextural and microprobe data indicate that inclusions and intergranular assemblages behaved as two contrasting systems during the low temperature, incipient serpentinization of the host rocks. The former were equilibrated in closed systems whereas the latter behaved as open systems with respect to hydrothermal fluids; as a result, intergranular assemblages were controlled by redox conditions generated by serpentinization. An early stage of alteration is characterized by a slight decrease of the sulfur content and would be due to the first influx of water inside peridotites; a further transformation was produced by anomalous highly reducing conditions responsible for the crystallization of native iron-bearing alloy assemblages as well as for a preferential partioning of Fe from silicate into pentlandite. The production of anomalous, reducing conditions during incipient serpentinization is ascribed to a low permeability of the host rocks with respect to the diffusion of hydrogen out of the sites of serpentinization. Because of its low temperature behaviour, the intergranular sulfide component would not be of use reconstructing the initial composition of the upper mantle sulfide component; thus, it is concluded that only the sulfide inclusions would provide such informations.

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Le comportement du composant sulfuré du manteau supérieur pendant les premiers stades de serpentinisation des péridotites de type alpin; une discussion a partir de l'exemple des massifs ultramafiques de Beni Bousera (Maroc) et de Ronda (Espagne)

Résumé Des traces d'un composant sulfuré du système Cu–Fe–Ni–S d'origine mantellique sont présentes dans les péridotites alpines de Beni Bousera (Maroc) et Ronda (Espagne); il forme actuellement des inclusions dans les silicates primaires ou des plages intergranulaires disséminées dans les interstices des roches. Une analyse minéralogique et chimique détaillée démontre qu'inclusions et plages intergranulaires sulfurées ont eu un comportement opposé dès les premiers stades de serpentinisation des roches encaissantes. Les premières ont été reéquilibrées en système chimique ouvert vis-à-vis des fluides de serpentinisation; en conséquence les paragenèses intergranulaires résultent d'une suite de transformations du composant sulfuré mantellique, controlée par le degré d'oxydo réduction du fluide de serpentinisation. Dans un premier stade, l'entrée de l'eau dans les péridotites a provoqué une légère baisse de la fugacité du soufre et la cristallisation d'assemblages sulfurés riches en mackinawite. L'augmentation du degré de serpentinisation a ensuite engendré des conditions inhabituellement réductrices responsables d'un important fractionnement du fer libéré par la serpentinisation de l'olivine dans la pentlandite ainsi que de la cristallisation d'une paragenèse complexe de phases métalliques incluant localement le fer natif; ces conditions anormalement reductrices sont imputées à une faible perméabilité des roches encaissantes vi-à-vis de la diffusion de l'hydrogène en dehors dessites de serpentinisation. En raison de leur comportement à basse température, les plages sulfurées intergranulaires sont inutilisables pour reconstituer le composant sulfuré du manteau supérieur; sur ce plan, on conclut que seules les inclusions blindées dans les silicates peuvent apporter des informations.

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Post‐Variscan exhumation of the Central Anti‐Atlas (Morocco) constrained by zircon and apatite fission‐track thermochronology

The origin of the Anti‐Atlas relief is one of the currently debated issues of Moroccan geology. To constrain the post‐Variscan evolution of the Central Anti‐Atlas, we collected nine samples from the Precambrian basement of the Bou Azzer‐El Graara inlier for zircon and apatite fission‐track thermochronology. Zircon ages cluster between 340 ± 20 and 306 ± 20 Ma, whereas apatite ages range from 171 ± 7 Ma to 133 ± 5 Ma. Zircon ages reflect the thermal effect of the Variscan orogeny (tectonic thickening of the ca. 7 km‐thick Paleozoic series), likely enhanced by fluid advection. Apatite ages record a complex Mesozoic–Cenozoic exhumation history. Track length modelling yields evidence that, (i) the Precambrian basement was still buried at ca. 5 km depth by Permian times, (ii) the Central Anti‐Atlas was subjected to (erosional) exhumation during the Triassic‐Early Cretaceous, then buried beneath ca. 1.5 km‐thick Cretaceous‐Paleogene deposits, (iii) final exhumation took place during the Neogene, contemporaneously with that of the High Atlas.     

拉斯曼丘陵新生代剥露作用的裂变径迹证据

在西南极和横贯南极山脉地区,新生代裂谷和剥露作用非常普遍。但是,文献中很少记录东南极地区的新生代剥露作用。文中根据东南极普里兹湾拉斯曼丘陵地质样品的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄和热历史的模拟,认为在东南极海岸边缘存在新生代的隆升和伸展作用,其年龄为始于(49.8±12)Ma。该年龄略晚于西南极裂谷系的启动年龄(约60~50Ma)。由于差异隆升作用,在拉斯曼丘陵地区发育了更新的正断层作用--拉斯曼丘陵拆离断层的新活动,其年龄为约5.4Ma。东南极周缘新生代裂谷和伸展作用的普遍存在,是冈瓦纳裂解以来大陆分离和印度洋形成的结果。     

拉斯曼丘陵新生代剥露作用的裂变径迹证据

在西南极和横贯南极山脉地区,新生代裂谷和剥露作用非常普遍。但是,文献中很少记录东南极地区的新生代剥露作用。文中根据东南极普里兹湾拉斯曼丘陵地质样品的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄和热历史的模拟,认为在东南极海岸边缘存在新生代的隆升和伸展作用,其年龄为始于(49.8±12)Ma。该年龄略晚于西南极裂谷系的启动年龄(约60~50Ma)。由于差异隆升作用,在拉斯曼丘陵地区发育了更新的正断层作用——拉斯曼丘陵拆离断层的新活动,其年龄为约5.4Ma。东南极周缘新生代裂谷和伸展作用的普遍存在,是冈瓦纳裂解以来大陆分离和印度洋形成的结果。     

Stratigraphy,age and petrography of the Beni Issef successions (External Rif; Morocco): Insights for the evolution of the Maghrebian Chain

In the Beni Issef Massif, nearly 30 km west of Chefchaouen (Morocco), the thickest post-nappe succession within the Rifian sector of the Maghrebian Chain seals the tectonic contact between the Intrarifian External Tanger and Loukkos Units, related to the Rifian External Domain. This succession is very important for the reconstruction of the deformation timing of the Rifian Maghrebids. The age of its base, in fact, is an important constraint for defining an upper boundary to the stacking of both the Intrarifian and Maghrebian Flysch Basin Units, because clasts fed by the Melloussa and Numidian Flysch Nappes are abundant in the conglomerate layers. Field and biostratigraphic analyses pointed out the presence of a Lower Beni Issef Fm, unconformable on the Intrarifian External Tanger and Loukkos Units, and an Upper Beni Issef Fm, unconformable on both the Intrarifian Units and the Lower Beni Issef Fm. The Lower Beni Issef Fm, 150 m thick, consists of lenticular conglomerates with huge blocks in a marly-clayey matrix, followed by marls and minor sandstones. It deposited in a siliciclastic platform, shows a fining upward trend and is affected by metre- to hectometre-sized, locally reversed, folds. Samples collected 45–50 m above the base of the formation resulted not older than Late Tortonian in age, but an older age for the base of the formation cannot be excluded. The Upper Beni Issef Fm, up to 550 m thick, starts with coarse conglomerates followed by medium- to coarse-grained well-bedded sandstones and by grey-blue marls and mudrocks. It indicates deposition in a channelized marine delta, with evolution towards pro-delta pelites, and shows sub-horizontal or gently dipping beds towards the east. Biostratigraphic data indicate a probable Messinian age for this formation. The composition of the arenites of both Lower Beni Issef and Upper Beni Issef Fms is quartzolithic and all samples show a notable content of monocrystalline well-rounded quartz and sedimentary lithic fragments. Detrital modes, all falling in the Quartzose Recycled and Transitional Recycled fields, suggest a provenance from recycling of sedimentary successions, easily recognizable in the Flysch Basin and External Units, mainly the Numidian Nappe sandstones. A Tortonian age of the Lower Beni Issef Fm would agree with the Late Serravallian age of the uppermost beds of the External Tanger Unit and indicate that the most probable age for the stacking of the Intrarifian Units falls in the Late Serravallian-Middle Tortonian time span. The Lower Beni Issef Fm was involved in a compressive tectonic phase testified by north-south striking folds. Later, probably during Messinian, the Upper Beni Issef Fm deposited in a younger intramontane basin, resting on both the Intrarifian Units and the Lower Beni Issef Fm. Successively, the Upper Beni Issef Fm was passively transported piggyback on top of the fold and thrust belt during later tectonic evolution of the Rifian Maghrebids. This tectonic evolution results quite similar to that recognized in the Tellian and Sicilian Maghrebids and also in the southern Apennines.     

Preservation of old U–Th–Pb ages in shielded monazite: example from the Beni Bousera Hercynian kinzigites (Morocco)

Four samples from the metamorphic aureole around the Beni Bousera ultramafic massif were studied in detail for U–Th–Pb electron microprobe dating on monazite. The samples include three meta-sedimentary granulites (kinzigites), collected at variable distance from the peridotites, and one kyanite-bearing leucosome in the kinzigite. Two types of monazite were identified in thin section, using SEM. The main population consists of interstitial grains, 20–70  μ m in size, while the second population consists of small grains (<20  μ m), included in garnet. A total of 64 U–Th–Pb electron microprobe measurements on 53 monazite crystals were undertaken. Most crystals have a Pb content lower than the Pb detection limit, indicating that they crystallized, or were reset, during a young event, probably Cainozoic in age. Few crystals, all entirely included in garnet, have Hercynian age, the best estimate of which is 284±27 Ma. This is a direct demonstration of the shielding effect of garnet for the U–Th–Pb system in monazite. The grains in inclusion in garnet are not reset by the post-Hercynian events, despite the high temperature reached at this time (>850 °C). Thus, the monazite closure temperature depends on its textural position in the host rock. The data also show that a Hercynian event occurred in the Beni Bousera granulitic metapelites, which equates with a high- P , high- T  event. The emplacement of the peridotite in the Cainozoic may be linked a low- P , high- T  event, followed by a low- P , low- T  retrogression. These two events reset the U–Th–Pb system in almost all monazite grains, except for the few crystals shielded by garnet.     

Petrostructural evolution of ultramafic rocks of the Kalninsky chromite-bearing massif, Western Sayan

The Kalininsky ultramafic massif is a fragment of lower structural zone of the Kurtushiba ophiolitic belt in the extreme northeastern part of the Western Sayan. The massif is composed largely of rocks making up the dunite-garzburgite banded complex. The northeastern part of the massif is composed mainly of dunite with linear NW-trending chromite-bearing zones, the localization of which is controlled by banding of the dunite-harzburgite complex. Harzburgite and dunite are characterized by inhomogeneous structures and textures caused by nonuniform ductile deformation, which is expressed as heterogeneous extinction, kink bands, and syntectonic and annealing recrystallization. The petrostructural patterns of olivine in harzburgite and dunite provide evidence for three stages of ductile deformation. At the first stage under deep mantle-crustal conditions, the ductile flow of ultramafic rocks developed mainly in a regime of axial compression, high temperature (>1000°C), and low strain rate (? < 10^?6 s^?1), which resulted in translational gliding along the (010)[100] and (100)[001] systems in olivine and enstatite, respectively, in combination with a subordinate role of syntectonic recrystallization. Consequently, the rocks acquired a medium-grained (mesogranular) microstructure. At the second stage, related to the thermal effect on ultramafics, the ductile flow developed under the settings of low strain rate (? < 10^?6 s^?1) and rising temperature (>1000°C). The translational gliding in olivine proceeded largely along (010)[100] and was accompanied by diffusion creep. As the temperature rose, ductile deformation gave way to secondary recrystallization of annealing, which facilitated the growth of olivine grains free of dislocations owing to absorption of individual grains oriented adversely relative to the compression axis and deformed grains saturated with dislocations. As a result, dunite and harzburgite with a coarse-grained porphyroblastic microstructure have been formed. The third stage of ductile flow was apparently related to their transport along deep-seated thrust faults under settings of intense shear deformations at a high temperature (～1000°C) and strain rate (? >10^?4 s^?1). The ductile flow in olivine resulted in heterogeneous translational gliding along (010)[100] and accompanied by intense syntectonic recrystallization with the formation of a porphyroblastic microstructure. Chromite mineralization in dunite is controlled by internal banding. Intense ductile flow facilitated the metamorphic separation of linearbanded Cr-spinel segregations. Thus, the results of a petrostructural study show that ultramafic rocks of the Kalninsky massif, ascending to the upper lithosphere, underwent both axial and shear ductile deformations in the mantle and lower crust, and these deformations controlled chromite mineralization.     

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and exhumation of garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks from the Lanterman Range (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica)

Northern Victoria Land is a key area for the Ross Orogen – a Palaeozoic foldbelt formed at the palaeo‐Pacific margin of Gondwana. A narrow and discontinuous high‐ to ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) belt, consisting of mafic and ultramafic rocks (including garnet‐bearing types) within a metasedimentary sequence of gneisses and quartzites, is exposed at the Lanterman Range (northern Victoria Land). Garnet‐bearing ultramafic rocks evolved through at least six metamorphic stages. Stage 1 is defined by medium‐grained garnet + olivine + low‐Al orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene, whereas finer‐grained garnet + olivine + orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + amphibole constitutes the stage 2 assemblage. Stage 3 is defined by kelyphites of orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + spinel ± amphibole around garnet. Porphyroblasts of amphibole replacing garnet and clinopyroxene characterize stage 4. Retrograde stages 5 and 6 consist of tremolite + Mg‐chlorite ± serpentine ± talc. A high‐temperature (～950 °C), spinel‐bearing protolith (stage 0), is identified on the basis of orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + olivine + spinel + amphibole inclusions within stage 1 garnet. The P–T estimates for stage 1 are indicative of UHP conditions (3.2–3.3 GPa and 764–820 °C), whereas stage 2 is constrained between 726–788 °C and 2.6–2.9 GPa. Stage 3 records a decompression up to 1.1–1.3 GPa at 705–776 °C. Stages 4, 5 and 6 reflect uplift and cooling, the final estimates yielding values below 0.5 GPa at 300–400 °C. The retrograde P–T path is nearly isothermal from UHP conditions up to deep crustal levels, and becomes a cooling–unloading path from intermediate to shallow levels. The garnet‐bearing ultramafic rocks originated in the mantle wedge and were probably incorporated into the subduction zone with felsic and mafic rocks with which they shared the subsequent metamorphic and geodynamic evolution. The density and rheology of the subducted rocks are compatible with detachment of slices along the subduction channel and gravity‐driven exhumation.     

Mesozoic exhumation of the southern Cape, South Africa, quantified using apatite fission track thermochronology

Southern Africa's topography is distinctive. An inland plateau of low relief and high average elevation is separated from a coastal plane of high relief and low average elevation by a steeply dipping escarpment. The origin and evolution of this topography is poorly understood because, unlike high plateaus elsewhere, its development cannot be easily linked to present day compressional plate boundary processes. Understanding the development of this regional landscape since the break-up of Gondwana is a first order step towards resolving regional epeirogenesis. We present data that quantifies the timing and extent of exhumation across the southern Cape escarpment and coastal plane, using apatite fission track analysis (AFTA) of 25 outcrop samples and 31 samples from three deep boreholes (KW1/67, SA1/66, CR1/68). Outcrop fission track (AFT) ages are Cretaceous and are significantly younger than the stratigraphic ages of their host rocks, indicating that the samples have experienced elevated paleotemperatures. Mean track lengths vary from 11.86 to 14.23 μm. The lack of Cenozoic apatite ages suggests that major cooling was over by the end Cretaceous. The results for three boreholes, situated seaward (south) of the escarpment, indicate an episode of increased denudation in the mid-late Cretaceous (100–80 Ma). An earlier episode of increased denudation (140–120 Ma) is identified from a borehole north of the escarpment. Thermal modelling indicates a history involving 2.5–3.5 km of denudation in the mid-late Cretaceous (100–80 Ma) at a rate of 175 to 125 m/Ma. The AFT data suggest that less than 1 km of overburden has been eroded regionally since the late Cretaceous (< 80 Ma) at a rate of 10 to 15 m/Ma, but do not discount the possibility of minor (in relative amplitude) episodes of uplift and river incision through the Cenozoic. The reasons for rapid denudation in these early and mid-Cretaceous episodes are less clear, but may be related to epeirogenic uplift associated with an increase in mantle buoyancy as reflected in two punctuated episodes of alkaline intrusions (e.g. kimberlites) across southern Africa and contemporaneous formation of two large mafic igneous provinces (~ 130 and 90 Ma) flanking its continental margins. Because Cenozoic denudation rates are relatively minimal, epeirogenic uplift of southern Africa and its distinct topography cannot be primarily related to Cenozoic mantle processes, consistent with the lack of any significant igneous activity across this region during that time.     

Hercynian anatexis in the envelope of the Beni Bousera peridotites (Alboran Domain,Morocco): Implications for the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the deep crustal roots of the Mediterranean region

The metamorphic core of the Betic-Rif orogenic chain (Alboran Domain) is made up of lower crustal rocks forming the envelope of the Ronda (Spain) and Beni Bousera (Morocco) peridotites. The deepest sections of the crustal envelopes are made of migmatitic granulites associated with diffuse acidic magmatic products, making these exposure and ideal site to investigate the textural and petrological connection between crustal anatexis and granite magmatism in the contintental crust. However, still debated is the timing of intracrustal emplacement of the peridotite bodies, with models proposing either Alpine (early Miocene) or Hercynian ages, and still uncertain is the linkage between peridotite emplacement and crustal anatexis. In this study, by combining rock textures with whole-rock geochemistry, metamorphic thermobarometry, the U-Pb zircon geochronology and the analysis of the garnet and zircon REE chemistry, we document the P-T-t evolution of the granulite facies migmatites that form the immediate envelope of the Beni Bousera peridotites of the Rif belt. A main episode of Permo-Carboniferous (ca. 300–290 Ma) deep crustal anatexis, melt extraction and migration is documented that we link to the crustal emplacement of the Beni Bousera peridotites during collapse of the Hercynian orogen. Correlation at a regional scale suggests that the Beni-Bousera section can be tentatively correlated with the pre-Alpine (Permo-Carboniferous) basement units tectonically interleaved within the orogenic structure of the Alpine chain. The results of this study provide ultimate constraints to reconstruct the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Alboran Domain in the Western Mediterranean and impose re-assessment of the modes and rates through which Alpine orogenic construction and collapse occurred and operated in the region.     

Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Miocene Oued Dayr Formation (Ghomaride Complex,Internal Domain of the Maghrebian Rif Belt,Morocco)

This work deals with sedimentological, petrographic, and structural analyses of a middle Miocene late-orogenic sedimentary cycle, denoted Oued Dayr Formation, recognized in the Rifian sector of the Maghrebian Chain (Morocco). The analyzed Formation (75 m thick) starts with 15–20 m of light colored polymict conglomerates, with minor sandstone beds, lying on the Paleozoic basement and Mesozoic cover of the Ghomaride Nappe. Facies analysis indicates a fining-upward deposition in a marine environment characterized by increasing deepening, reflecting a subsidence rate that exceeds sedimentary supply. Petrographic analysis points out that sandstones are represented by litharenites originated by erosion of recycled orogen. The conglomerates pebbles and cobbles consist of Alpine low- to high-grade metamorphic rocks as metarenites, phyllites, mylonitic quartzites, micaschists, augen gneisses deriving from the exhumed deep metamorphic basement, the overlying metasedimentary of the Sebtide Nappes and of sedimentary rocks as sandstones, jaspes, limestones, and shales deriving from the Ghomaride Nappes and their sedimentary cover. Data reveal mixed provenance indicating that the Oued Dayr Formation was fed by the Internal Nappes stack of the Maghrebian Chain. Structural analysis shows that the Oued Dayr Formation accumulated in a Thrust-Top basin, during an early extension (D₀ phase), recorded by synsedimentary normal faults within middle Langhian deposits on the rear of the Internal Nappes stack. Subsequent ductile and brittle compressional (D₁, D₂, D₃) and extensional (D₄) deformation phases occurred during and/or after the stacking, exhumation, and early unroofing of Sebtide Complex coeval with the opening of the western Mediterranean back-arc basins since middle Miocene time.     

Deformation, high-pressure metamorphism and exhumation of ultramafic rocks in a deep subduction/collision setting (Cabo Ortegal, NW Spain)

New petrological and microstructural data from various metaperidotite 'boudins' within large ductile shear zones in the Cabo Ortegal allochthonous complex in NW Spain have important implications for the tectonic models of the area. The peridotites (mylonitic garnet harzburgite, Ti-clinohumite and magnesite–olivine orthopyroxenite) contain mineral assemblages that equilibrated at high- to ultra-high-pressure metamorphic conditions as well as microstructures of tectonic origin formed at temperatures well above 800  °C. Olivine and orthopyroxene fabrics resulted from flow at high temperature (>1000  °C) and solid-state non-coaxial plastic flow at intermediate temperature (800–900  °C). Flow caused dynamic recrystallization and formation of moderate to strong lattice preferred orientations under low to moderate differential stresses and strain rates characteristic of upper mantle and deep crustal deformation. The microstructures and textural relationships suggest that the mylonitic garnet harzburgite represents mantle fragments with lithospheric and asthenospheric imprints, whereas the olivine orthopyroxenite resulted from serpentinite burial to depths where it acquired a characteristic high/ultra-high-pressure metamorphic signature. Both types of ultramafites converged to a common site in a subduction zone that was later incorporated during continental collision to the NW Iberian Massif as exotic, allochthonous complexes that record structural and metamorphic evidence of the earliest phases of the Hercynian orogeny.