Establishing the P–T path for Alpine Schist, Southern Alps near Hokitika, New Zealand

Pressure–temperature pseudosections for ‘greyschist’ (metamorphosed greywacke and argillite) from the Alpine Schist (Haast Schist group) near Hokitika (Southern Alps, New Zealand) are used to gain new insights into its metamorphic history. The rocks were metamorphosed at relatively low‐grade conditions associated with the first appearance and initial growth of garnet in the stability field of albite. The measured and predicted garnet compositional zoning data are used to construct an overall P–T path by combining P–T path results from nearby rocks that have a range of MnO contents. The P–T path obtained is steep from ～380 °C/2.5 kbar up to ～490 °C/8.5 kbar, then recurves sharply with garnet growth continuing during early decompression to ～500 °C/6.5 kbar. Most garnet growth in the study area took place in the stability field of albite, with oligoclase appearing only during decompression, when the peristerite gap was entered. On appearance of oligoclase, there is a marked decrease in the CaO content of garnet. The preservation of mineral assemblages from near‐peak temperature conditions can be understood in terms of the P–T path subsequently becoming tangential to water content contours, during cooling with further decompression.     

Metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high-grade rocks from the central Mozambique Belt of Tanzania: crustal recycling of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material during the Pan-African orogeny

New data on the metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high‐grade rocks in the central Mozambique Belt (MB) of Tanzania show that this part of the orogen consists of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was structurally reworked during the Pan‐African event. The metamorphic rocks are characterized by a clockwise P–T path, followed by strong decompression, and the time of peak granulite facies metamorphism is similar to other granulite terranes in Tanzania. The predominant rock types are mafic to intermediate granulites, migmatites, granitoid orthogneisses and kyanite/sillimanite‐bearing metapelites. The meta‐granitoid rocks are of calc‐alkaline composition, range in age from late Archean to Neoproterozoic, and their protoliths were probably derived from magmatic arcs during collisional processes. Mafic to intermediate granulites consist of the mineral assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–quartz–biotite–amphibole ± K‐feldspar ± orthopyroxene ± oxides. Metapelites are composed of garnet‐biotite‐plagioclase ± K‐feldspar ± kyanite/sillimanite ± oxides. Estimated values for peak granulite facies metamorphism are 12–13 kbar and 750–800 °C. Pressures of 5–8 kbar and temperatures of 550–700 °C characterize subsequent retrogression to amphibolite facies conditions. Evidence for a clockwise P–T path is provided by late growth of sillimanite after kyanite in metapelites. Zircon ages indicate that most of the central part of the MB in Tanzania consists of reworked ancient crust as shown by Archean (c. 2970–2500 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (c. 2124–1837 Ma) protolith ages. Metamorphic zircon from metapelites and granitoid orthogneisses yielded ages of c. 640 Ma which are considered to date peak regional granulite facies metamorphism during the Pan‐African orogenic event. However, the available zircon ages for the entire MB in East Africa and Madagascar also document that peak metamorphic conditions were reached at different times in different places. Large parts of the MB in central Tanzania consist of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was reworked during the Pan‐African event and that may have been part of the Tanzania Craton and Usagaran domain farther to the west.     

Metamorphic history of eclogites and country rock gneisses in the Aktyuz area,Northern Tien‐Shan,Kyrgyzstan: a record from initiation of subduction through to oceanic closure by continent–continent collision

Eclogites and related high‐P metamorphic rocks occur in the Zaili Range of the Northern Kyrgyz Tien‐Shan (Tianshan) Mountains, which are located in the south‐western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Eclogites are preserved in the cores of garnet amphibolites and amphibolites that occur in the Aktyuz area as boudins and layers (up to 2000 m in length) within country rock gneisses. The textures and mineral chemistry of the Aktyuz eclogites, garnet amphibolites and country rock gneisses record three distinct metamorphic events (M1–M3). In the eclogites, the first MP–HT metamorphic event (M1) of amphibolite/epidote‐amphibolite facies conditions (560–650 °C, 4–10 kbar) is established from relict mineral assemblages of polyphase inclusions in the cores and mantles of garnet, i.e. Mg‐taramite + Fe‐staurolite + paragonite ± oligoclase (An_<16) ± hematite. The eclogites also record the second HP‐LT metamorphism (M2) with a prograde stage passing through epidote‐blueschist facies conditions (330–570 °C, 8–16 kbar) to peak metamorphism in the eclogite facies (550–660 °C, 21–23 kbar) and subsequent retrograde metamorphism to epidote‐amphibolite facies conditions (545–565 °C and 10–11 kbar) that defines a clockwise P–T path. thermocalc (average P–T mode) calculations and other geothermobarometers have been applied for the estimation of P–T conditions. M3 is inferred from the garnet amphibolites and country rock gneisses. Garnet amphibolites that underwent this pervasive HP–HT metamorphism after the eclogite facies equilibrium have a peak metamorphic assemblage of garnet and pargasite. The prograde and peak metamorphic conditions of the garnet amphibolites are estimated to be 600–640 °C; 11–12 kbar and 675–735 °C and 14–15 kbar, respectively. Inclusion phases in porphyroblastic plagioclase in the country rock gneisses suggest a prograde stage of the epidote‐amphibolite facies (477 °C and 10 kbar). The peak mineral assemblage of the country rock gneisses of garnet, plagioclase (An_11–16), phengite, biotite, quartz and rutile indicate 635–745 °C and 13–15 kbar. The P–T conditions estimated for the prograde, peak and retrograde stages in garnet amphibolite and country rock are similar, implying that the third metamorphic event in the garnet amphibolites was correlated with the metamorphism in the country rock gneisses. The eclogites also show evidence of the third metamorphic event with development of the prograde mineral assemblage pargasite, oligoclase and biotite after the retrograde epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism. The three metamorphic events occurred in distinct tectonic settings: (i) metamorphism along the hot hangingwall at the inception of subduction, (ii) subsequent subduction zone metamorphism of the oceanic plate and exhumation, and (iii) continent–continent collision and exhumation of the entire metamorphic sequences. These tectonic processes document the initial stage of closure of a palaeo‐ocean subduction to its completion by continent–continent collision.     

Rapid evolution from sediment to anatectic granulite in an Archean continental collision zone: the example of the Bandelierkop Formation metapelites,South Marginal Zone,Limpopo Belt,South Africa

The metamorphic history of the Southern Marginal Zone (SMZ) of the Limpopo Belt, South Africa, possibly provides insight into one of the oldest preserved continental collision zones. The SMZ consists of granitoid gneisses (the Baviaanskloof Gneiss) and subordinate, infolded metasedimentary, metamafic and meta‐ultramafic lithologies (the Bandelierkop Formation) and is regarded as the c. 2700 Ma granulite facies reworked equivalent of the Kaapvaal craton basement. The granulite facies metamorphism is proposed to have occurred in response to collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons. Previous studies have proposed a wide variety of P–T loops for the granulites, with considerable discrepancy in both the shapes of the retrograde paths and the magnitude of the peak P–T conditions. To date, the form of the prograde path and the timing of the onset of metamorphism remain unknown. This study has used a range of different metasedimentary rocks from a large migmatitic quarry outcrop to better constrain the metamorphic history and the timing of metamorphism in the SMZ. Detrital zircon ages reveal that the protoliths to the metasedimentary rocks were deposited subsequent to 2733 ± 13 Ma. Peak metamorphic conditions of 852.5 ± 7.5 °C and 11.1 ± 1.3 kbar were attained at 2713 ± 8 Ma. The clockwise P–T path is characterized by heating in the sillimanite field along a P–T trajectory which approximately parallels the kyanite to sillimanite transition, followed by near‐isothermal decompression at peak temperature and near‐isobaric cooling at ~6.0 kbar. These results support several important conclusions. First, the sedimentary rocks from the Bandelierkop Formation are not the equivalent of any of the greenstone belt sedimentary successions on the Kaapvaal craton, as has been previously proposed. Rather, they post‐date the formation of the Dominion and Witwatersrand successions on the Kaapvaal craton. From the age distribution of detrital zircon, they appear to have received significant input from various origins. Consequently, at c. 2730 Ma, the Baviaanskloof Gneiss most likely acted as basement onto which the sedimentary succession represented by the Bandelierkop Formation metapelites was deposited. Second, the rocks of the SMZ underwent rapid evolution from sediment to granulite facies anatexis, with a burial rate of ~0.17 cm yr^?1. Peak metamorphism was followed by an isothermal decompression to 787.5 ± 32.5 °C and 6.7 ± 0.5 kbar and isobaric cooling to amphibolite facies conditions, below 640 °C prior to 2680 ± 6 Ma. This age for the end of the high‐grade metamorphic event is marked by the intrusion of crosscutting, undeformed pegmatites that are within error the same age as the crosscutting Matok intrusion (2686 ± 7 Ma). Collectively, the burial rate of the sedimentary rocks, the shape of the P–T path, the burial of the rocks to in excess of 30 km depth and the post‐peak metamorphic rapid decompression argue strongly that the SMZ contains sediments deposited along an active margin during lateral convergence, and that the SMZ was metamorphosed as a consequence of continental collision along the northern margin of the Kaapvaal craton at c. 2700 Ma.     

High-pressure granulites in the Sanggan area, North China craton: metamorphic evolution, P–T paths and geotectonic significance

High‐pressure basic granulites are widely distributed as enclaves and sheet‐like blocks in the Huaian TTG gneiss terrane in the Sanggan area of the Central Zone of the North China craton. Four stages of the metamorphic history have been recognised in mineral assemblages based on inclusion, exsolution and reaction textures integrated with garnet zonation patterns as revealed by compositional maps and compositional profiles. The P–T conditions for each metamorphic stage were obtained using thermodynamically and experimentally calibrated geothermobarometers. The low‐Ca core of growth‐zoned garnet, along with inclusion minerals, defines a prograde assemblage (M1) of garnet + clinopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz, yielding 700 °C and 10 kbar. The peak of metamorphism at about 750–870 °C and 11–14.5 kbar (M2) is defined by high‐Ca domains in garnet interiors and inclusion minerals of clinopyroxene, plagioclase and quartz. Kelyphites or coronas of orthopyroxene + plagioclase ± magnetite around garnet porphyroblasts indicate garnet breakdown reactions (M3) at conditions around 770–830 °C and 8.5–10.5 kbar. Garnet exsolution lamellae in clinopyroxene and kelyphites of amphibole + plagioclase around garnet formed during the cooling process at about 500–650 °C and 5.5–8 kbar (M4). These results help define a sequential P–T path containing prograde, near‐isothermal decompression (ITD) and near‐isobaric cooling (IBC) stages. The clockwise hybrid ITD and IBC P–T paths of the HP granulites in the Sanggan area imply a model of thickening followed by extension in a collisional environment. Furthermore, the relatively high‐pressures (6–14.5 kbar) of the four metamorphic stages and the geometry of the P–T paths suggest that the HP granulites, together with their host Huaian TTG gneisses, represent the lower plate in a crust thickened during collision. The corresponding upper‐plate might be the tectonically overlying Khondalite series, which was subjected to medium‐ to low‐pressure (MP/LP: 7–4 kbar) granulite facies metamorphism with a clockwise P–T path including an ITD segment. Both the HP and the MP/LP granulite facies events occurred contemporaneously at c. 1.90–1.85 Ga in a collisional environment created by the assembly process of the North China craton.     

Integrated pressure–temperature–time constraints for the Tso Morari dome (Northwest India): implications for the burial and exhumation path of UHP units in the western Himalaya

Northward subduction of the leading edge of the Indian continental margin to depths greater than 100 km during the early Eocene resulted in high‐pressure (HP) quartz‐eclogite to ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) coesite–eclogite metamorphism at Tso Morari, Ladakh Himalaya, India. Integrated pressure–temperature–time determinations within petrographically well‐constrained settings for zircon‐ and/or monazite‐bearing assemblages in mafic eclogite boudins and host aluminous gneisses at Tso Morari uniquely document segments of both the prograde burial and retrograde exhumation path for HP/UHP units in this portion of the western Himalaya. Poikiloblastic cores and inclusion‐poor rims of compositionally zoned garnet in mafic eclogite were utilized with entrapped inclusions and matrix minerals for thermobarometric calculations and isochemical phase diagram construction, the latter thermodynamic modelling performed with and without the consideration of cation fractionation into garnet during prograde metamorphism. Analysis of the garnet cores document (M1) conditions of 21.5 ± 1.5 kbar and 535 ± 15 °C during early garnet growth and re‐equilibration. Sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb analysis of zircon inclusions in garnet cores yields a maximum age determination of 58.0 ± 2.2 Ma for M1. Peak HP/UHP (M2) conditions are constrained at 25.5–27.5 kbar and 630–645 °C using the assemblage garnet rim–omphacite–rutile–phengite–lawsonite–talc–quartz (coesite), with mineral compositional data and regional considerations consistent with the upper P–T bracket. A SHRIMP U–Pb age determination of 50.8 ± 1.4 Ma for HP/UHP metamorphism is given by M2 zircons analysed in the eclogitic matrix and that are encased in the garnet rim. Two garnet‐bearing assemblages from the Puga gneiss (host to the mafic eclogites) were utilized to constrain the subsequent decompression path. A non‐fractionated isochemical phase diagram for the assemblage phengite–garnet–biotite–plagioclase–quartz–melt documents a restricted (M3) P–T stability field centred on 12.5 ± 0.5 kbar and 690 ± 25 °C. A second non‐fractionated isochemical phase diagram calculated for the lower pressure assemblage garnet–cordierite–sillimanite–biotite–plagioclase–quartz–melt (M4) documents a narrow P–T stability field ranging between 7–8.4 kbar and 705–755 °C, which is consistent with independent multiequilibria P–T determinations. Th–Pb SHRIMP dating of monazite cores surrounded by allanite rims is interpreted to constrain the timing of the M4 equilibration to 45.3 ± 1.1 Ma. Coherently linking metamorphic conditions with petrographically constrained ages at Tso Morari provides an integrated context within which previously published petrological or geochronological results can be evaluated. The new composite path is similar to those published for the Kaghan UHP locality in northern Pakistan, although the calculated 12‐mm a^?1 rate of post‐pressure peak decompression at Tso Morari would appear less extreme.     

Petrology and P–T path of the Fuping mafic granulites: implications for tectonic evolution of the central zone of the North China craton

The Fuping Complex and the adjoining Wutai and Hengshan Complexes are located in the central zone of the North China craton. The dominant rock types in the Fuping Complex are high‐grade tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioritic (TTG) gneisses, with minor amounts of mafic granulites, syntectonic granitic rocks and supracrustal rocks. The petrological evidence from the mafic granulites indicates three stages of metamorphic evolution. The M₁ stage is represented by garnet porphyroblasts and matrix plagioclase, quartz, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and hornblende. Orthopyroxene+plagioclase symplectites and clinopyroxene+plagioclase±orthopyroxene coronas formed in response to decompression during M₂ following the peak metamorphism at M₁. Hornblende+plagioclase symplectites formed as a result of further isobaric cooling and retrograde metamorphism during M₃. The P–T estimates using TWQ thermobarometry are: 900–950 °C and 8.0–8.5 kbar for the peak assemblage (M₁), based on the core compositions of garnet, matrix pyroxene and plagioclase; 700–800 °C and 6.0–7.0 kbar for the pyroxene+plagioclase symplectites or coronas (M₂); and 550–650 °C and 5.3–6.3 kbar for the hornblende+plagioclase symplectites (M₃), based on garnet rim and corresponding symplectic mineral compositions. These P–T estimates define a clockwise P–T path involving near‐isothermal decompression for the Fuping Complex, similar to the P–T path estimated for the metapelitic gneisses. The inferred P–T path suggests that the Fuping Complex underwent initial crustal thickening, subsequent exhumation, and finally cooling and retrogression. This tectonothermal path is similar to P–T paths inferred for the Wutai and Hengshan Complexes and other tectonic units in the central zone of the North China craton, but different from anti‐clockwise P–T paths estimated for the basement rocks in the eastern and western zones of the craton. Based on lithological, structural, metamorphic and geochronological data, the eastern and western zones of the craton are considered to represent two different Archean to Paleoproterozoic continental blocks that amalgamated along the central zone at the end of Paleoproterozoic. The P–T paths of the Fuping Complex and other tectonic units in the central zone record the collision between the eastern and western zones that led to the final assembly of the North China craton at c. 1800 Ma.     

Near-isothermal decompression within a clockwise P–T evolution recorded in migmatitic mafic granulites from Clavering Ø, NE Greenland: implications for the evolution of the Caledonides

The high grade rocks (metapelites and metabasites) of Clavering Ø represent the easternmost exposures of granulites in the Palaeozoic Caledonian Orogen of East Greenland. Mafic granulites which occur as sheet‐like bodies and lenses within metapelitic migmatites and orthogneiss complexes have experienced migmatisation and mineral equilibria which define a clockwise P–T path incorporating a near‐isothermal decompression segment. Textures demonstrate the existence of early garnet‐clinopyroxene‐melt assemblages which equilibrated at >8–11 kbar and 850–915 °C. Subsequently, decompression melting led to formation of orthopyroxene‐plagioclase‐melt assemblages at conditions below >8–11 kbar. Continued syn‐deformational decompression is indicated by a combination of both static and syn‐deformational recrystallization textures which generated finer grained orthopyroxene‐plagioclase assemblages. P–T constraints indicate these assemblages equilibrated at c. 5.0–6.5 kbar at 850–915 °C. These data are consistent with the rocks undergoing a stage of rapid tectonic‐induced exhumation involving some 3.0–4.5 kbar (c.10–12 km) uplift as part of a clockwise P–T path in a collisional setting.     

P–T evolution of glaucophane–omphacite bearing HP–LT rocks in the western Tianshan Orogen, NW China:new evidence for 'Alpine-type' tectonics

The late Palaeozoic western Tianshan high‐pressure /low‐temperature belt extends for about 200 km along the south‐central Tianshan suture zone and is composed mainly of blueschist, eclogite and epidote amphibolite/greenschist facies rocks. P–T conditions of mafic garnet omphacite and garnet–omphacite blueschist, which are interlayered with eclogite, were investigated in order to establish an exhumation path for these high‐pressure rocks. Maximum pressure conditions are represented by the assemblage garnet–omphacite–paragonite–phengite–glaucophane–quartz–rutile. Estimated maximum pressures range between 18 and 21 kbar at temperatures between 490 and 570 °C. Decompression caused the destabilization of omphacite, garnet and glaucophane to albite, Ca‐amphibole and chlorite. The post‐eclogite facies metamorphic conditions between 9 and 14 kbar at 480–570 °C suggest an almost isothermal decompression from eclogite to epidote–amphibolite facies conditions. Prograde growth zoning and mineral inclusions in garnet as well as post‐eclogite facies conditions are evidence for a clockwise P–T path. Analysis of phase diagrams constrains the P–T path to more or less isothermal cooling which is well corroborated by the results of geothermobarometry and mineral textures. This implies that the high‐pressure rocks from the western Tianshan Orogen formed in a tectonic regime similar to ‘Alpine‐type’ tectonics. This contradicts previous models which favour ‘Franciscan‐type’ tectonics for the southern Tianshan high‐pressure rocks.     

Preservation of evidence for prograde metamorphism in ultrahigh-temperature, high-pressure kyanite-bearing granulites, South Harris, Scotland

Mineralogical and mineral chemical evidence for prograde metamorphism is rarely preserved in rocks that have reached ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT) conditions (>900 °C) because high diffusion and reaction rates erase evidence for earlier assemblages. The UHT, high‐pressure (HP) metasedimentary rocks of the Leverburgh belt of South Harris, Scotland, are unusual in that evidence for the prograde history is preserved, despite having reached temperatures of ～955 °C or more. Two lithologies from the belt are investigated here and quantitatively modelled in the system NaO–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O: a garnet‐kyanite‐K‐feldspar‐quartz gneiss (X_Mg = 37, A/AFM = 0.41), and an orthopyroxene‐garnet‐kyanite‐K‐feldspar quartzite (X_Mg = 89 A/AFM = 0.68). The garnet‐kyanite gneiss contains garnet porphyroblasts that grew on the prograde path, and captured inclusion assemblages of biotite, sillimanite, plagioclase and quartz (<790 °C, <9.5 kbar). These porphyroblasts preserve spectacular calcium zonation features with an early growth pattern overgrown by high‐Ca rims formed during high‐P metamorphism in the kyanite stability field. In contrast, Fe‐Mg zonation in the same garnet porphyroblasts reflects retrograde re‐equilibration, as a result of the relatively faster diffusivity of these ions. Peak P–T are constrained by the occurrence of coexisting orthopyroxene and aluminosilicate in the quartzite. Orthopyroxene porphyroblasts [y(opx) = 0.17–0.22] contain sillimanite inclusions, indicative of maximum conditions of 955 ± 45 °C at 10.0 ± 1.5 kbar. Subsequently, orthopyroxene, kyanite, K‐feldspar and quartz developed in equilibrated textures, constraining the maximum pressure conditions to 12.5 ± 0.8 kbar at 905 ± 25 °C. P–T–X modelling reveals that the mineral assemblage orthopyroxene‐kyanite‐quartz is compositionally restricted to rocks of X_Mg > 84, consistent with its very rare occurrence in nature. The preservation of unusual high P–T mineral assemblages and chemical disequilibrium features in these UHT HP rocks is attributed to a rapid tectonometamorphic cycle involving arc subduction and terminating in exhumation.     

Quartz and orthopyroxene exsolution lamellae in clinopyroxene and the metamorphic P–T path of Belomorian eclogites

The Shirokaya Salma eclogite‐bearing complex is located in the Archean–Palaeoproterozoic Belomorian Province (Russia). Its eclogites and eclogitic rocks show multiple clinopyroxene breakdown textures, characterized by quartz–amphibole, orthopyroxene and plagioclase lamellae. Representative samples, a fresh eclogite, two partly retrograded eclogites, and a strongly retrograded eclogitic rock, were collected for this study. Two distinct mineral assemblages—(1) omphacite+garnet+quartz+rutile±amphibole and (2) clinopyroxene+garnet+amphibole+plagioclase+quartz+rutile+ilmenite±orthopyroxene—are described. Based on phase equilibria modelling, these assemblages correspond to the eclogite and granulite facies metamorphism that occurred at 16–18 kbar, 750–800°C and 11–15 kbar, 820–850°C, respectively. The quartz–amphibole lamellae in clinopyroxene formed during retrogression with water ingress, but do not imply UHP metamorphism. The superfine orthopyroxene lamellae developed due to breakdown of an antecedent clinopyroxene (omphacite) during retrogression that was triggered by decompression from the peak of metamorphism, while the coarser orthopyroxene grains and rods formed afterwards. The P–T path reconstructed for the Shirokaya Salma eclogites is comparable to that of the adjacent 1.9 Ga Uzkaya Salma eclogite (Belomorian Province), and those of several other Palaeoproterozoic high‐grade metamorphic terranes worldwide, facts allowing us to debate the exact timing of eclogite facies metamorphism in the Belomorian Province.     

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

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

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001314

As one of the areas where typical late Archean crust is exposed in the Eastern Block of the North China Craton, the northern Laioning Complex consists principally of tonalitic-trondhjemitic-granodioritic (TTG) gneisses, massive granitoids and supracrustal rocks. The supracrustal rocks, named the Qingyuan Group, consist of interbedded amphibolite, hornblende granulite, biotite granulite and BIF. Petrological evidence indicates that the amphibolites experienced the early prograde (M1), peak (M2) and post-peak (M3) metamorphism. The early prograde assemblage (M1) is preserved as mineral inclusions, represented by actinotite + hornblende + plagioclase + epidote + quartz + sphene, within garnet porphyroblasts. The peak assemblage (M2) is indicated by garnet + clinopyroxene + hornblende + plagioclase + quartz + ilmenite, which occur as major mineral phases in the rock. The post-peak assemblage (M3) is characterized by the garnet + quartz symplectite. The P–T pseudosections in the NCFMASHTO system constructed by using THERMOCALC define the P–T conditions of M1, M2 and M3 at 490–550 °C/<4.5 kbar, 780–810 °C/7.65–8.40 kbar and 630–670 °C/8.15–9.40 kbar, respectively. As a result, an anticlockwise P–T path involving isobaric cooling is inferred for the metamorphic evolution of the amphibolites. Such a P–T path suggests that the late Archean metamorphism of the northern Liaoning Complex was related to the intrusion and underplating of mantle-derived magmas. The underplating of voluminous mantle-derived magmas leading to metamorphism with an anticlockwise P–T path involving isobaric cooling may have occurred in continental magmatic arc regions, above hot spots driven by mantle plumes, or in continental rift environments. A mantle plume model is favored because this model can reasonably interpret many other geological features of late Archean basement rocks from the northern Liaoning Complex in the Eastern Block of the North China Craton as well as their anticlockwise P–T paths involving isobaric cooling.     

Ordovician eclogites from the Chinese Beishan: implications for the tectonic evolution of the southern Altaids

Numerous lenses of eclogite occur in a belt of augen orthogneisses in the Gubaoquan area in the southern Beishan orogen, an eastern extension of the Tianshan orogen. With detailed petrological data and phase relations, modelled in the system NCFMASHTO with thermocalc , a quantitative P–T path was estimated and defined a clockwise P–T path that showed a near isothermal decompression from eclogite facies (>15.5 kbar, 700–800 °C, omphacite + garnet) to high‐pressure granulite facies (12–14 kbar, 700–750 °C, clinopyroxene + sodic plagioclase symplectitic intergrowths around omphacite), low‐pressure granulite facies (8–9.5 kbar, ～700 °C, orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + plagioclase symplectites and coronas surrounding garnet) and amphibolite facies (5–7 kbar, 600–700 °C, hornblende + plagioclase symplectites). The major and trace elements and Sm–Nd isotopic data suggest that most of the Beishan eclogite samples had a protolith of oceanic crust with geochemical characteristics of an enriched or normal mid‐ocean ridge basalt. The U–Pb dating of the Beishan eclogites indicates an Ordovician age of c. 467 Ma for the eclogite facies metamorphism. An ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar age of c. 430 Ma for biotite from the augen gneiss corresponds to the time of retrograde metamorphism. The combined data from geological setting, bulk composition, clockwise P–T path and geochronology support a model in which the Beishan eclogites started as oceanic crust in the Palaeoasian Ocean, which was subducted to eclogite depths in the Ordovician and exhumed in the Silurian. The eclogite‐bearing gneiss belt marks the position of a high‐pressure Ordovician suture zone, and the calculated clockwise P–T path defines the progression from subduction to exhumation.     

Metamorphic patterns and SHRIMP zircon ages of medium‐to‐high grade rocks from the Tongbai orogen,central China: implications for multiple accretion/collision processes prior to terminal continental collision

The Qinling‐Tongbai‐Dabie‐Sulu orogenic belt comprises a Palaeozoic accretion‐dominated system in the north and a Mesozoic collision‐dominated system in the south. A combined petrological and geochronological study of the medium‐to‐high grade metamorphic rocks from the diverse Palaeozoic tectonic units in the Tongbai orogen was undertaken to help elucidate the origins of Triassic ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism and collision dynamics between the Sino‐Korean and Yangtze cratons. Peak metamorphic conditions are 570–610 °C and 9.3–11.2 kbar for the lower unit of the Kuanping Group, 630–650 °C and 6.6–8.9 kbar for the upper unit of the Kuanping Group, 550–600 °C and 6.3–7.7 kbar for the Erlangping Group, 770–830 °C and 6.9–8.5 kbar for the Qinling Group and 660–720 °C and 9.1–11.5 kbar for the Guishan complex. Reaction textures and garnet compositions indicate clockwise P–T paths for the amphibolite facies rocks of the Kuanping Group and Guishan complex, and an anticlockwise P–T path for the granulite facies rocks of the Qinling Group. Sensitive high‐resolution ion microprobe U–Pb zircon dating on metamorphic rocks and deformed granite/pegmatites revealed two major Palaeozoic tectonometamorphic events. (i) During the Silurian‐Devonian (c. 440–400 Ma), the Qinling continental arc and Erlangping intra‐oceanic arc collided with the Sino‐Korean craton. The emplacement of the Huanggang diorite complex resulted in an inverted thermal gradient in the underlying Kuanping Group and subsequent thermal relaxation during the exhumation. Meanwhile, the oceanic subduction beneath the Qinling continental arc produced magmatic underplating and intrusion, leading to granulite facies metamorphism followed by a near‐isobaric cooling path. (ii) During the Carboniferous (c. 340–310 Ma), the northward subduction of the Palaeo‐Tethyan ocean generated a medium P/T Guishan complex in the hangingwall and a high P/T Xiongdian eclogite belt in the footwall. The Guishan complex and Xiongdian eclogite belt are therefore considered to be paired metamorphic belts. Subsequent separation of the paired belts is inferred to be related to the juxtaposition of the Carboniferous eclogites with the Triassic HP metamorphic complex during continental subduction and exhumation.     

Gedrite–garnet–sillimanite-bearing granulites from Amessmessa area, south In Ouzzal, Hoggar, Algeria

Some granulites from the Amessmessa area (south In Ouzzal unit, Hoggar) contain the peak assemblage gedrite+garnet+sillimanite+quartz that was used to estimate the P–T conditions of metamorphism. The rocks developed symplectites and corona textures by the breakdown of the primary paragenesis to orthopyroxene, cordierite and spinel. The successive parageneses formed in separate microdomains according to a clockwise P–T path. Geothermometry, geobarometry and phase diagram calculations indicate that the textures formed by decompression and cooling from 7–9 kbar and 850–900°C to 3.5–4.5 kbar and 700–800°C. This P–T evolution is consistent with low to medium a_H2O, between 0.4 and 0.7, and is similar to the metamorphic conditions deduced in Al–Mg granulites from the north of In Ouzzal.     

Two‐stage Variscan metamorphism in the Canigou massif: Evidence for crustal thickening in the Pyrenees

The Variscan metamorphism in the Pyrenees is dominantly of the low‐pressure–high‐temperature (LP‐HT) type. The relics of an earlier, Barrovian‐type metamorphism that could be related to orogenic crustal thickening are unclear and insufficiently constrained. A microstructural and petrological study of micaschists underlying an Ordovician augen orthogneiss in the core of the Canigou massif (Eastern Pyrenees, France) reveals the presence of two syntectonic metamorphic stages characterized by the crystallization of staurolite (M1) and andalusite (M2), respectively. Garnet is stable during the two metamorphic stages with a period of resorption between M1 and M2. The metamorphic assemblages M1 and M2 record similar peak temperatures of 580°C at different pressure conditions of 5.5 and 3 kbar, respectively. Using chemical zoning of garnet and calculated P–T pseudosections, a prograde P–T path is constrained with a peak pressure at ~6.5 kbar and 550°C. This P–T path, syntectonic with respect to the first foliation S1, corresponds to a cold gradient (of ~9°C/km), suggestive of crustal thickening. Resorption of garnet between M1 and M2 can be interpreted either in terms of a simple clockwise P–T path or a polymetamorphic two‐stage evolution. We argue in favour of the latter, where the medium‐pressure (Barrovian) metamorphism is followed by a period of significant erosion and crustal thinning leading to decompression and cooling. Subsequent advection of heat, probably from the mantle, leads to a new increase in temperature, coeval with the development of the main regional fabric S2. LA‐ICP‐MS U–Th–Pb dating of monazite yields a well‐defined date at c. 300 Ma. Petrological evidence indicates that monazite crystallization took place close to the M1 peak pressure conditions. However, the similarity between this age and that of the extensive magmatic event well documented in the eastern Pyrenees suggests that it probably corresponds to the age of monazite recrystallization during the M2 LP‐HT event.     

Proterozoic metamorphism and uplift history of the north-central Laramie Mountains, Wyoming, USA

The Laramie Mountains of south-eastern Wyoming contain two metamorphic domains that are separated by the 1.76 Ga. Laramie Peak shear zone (LPSZ). South of the LPSZ lies the Palmer Canyon block, where apatite U–Pb ages are c. 1745 Ma and the rocks have undergone Proterozoic kyanite-grade Barrovian metamorphism. In contrast, in the Laramie Peak block, north of the shear zone, the U–Pb apatite ages are 2.4–2.1 Ga, the granitic rocks are unmetamorphosed and supracrustal rocks record only low-T amphibolite facies metamorphism that is Archean in age. Peak mineral assemblages in the Palmer Canyon block include (a) quartz–biotite–plagioclase–garnet–staurolite–kyanite in the pelitic schists; (b) quartz–biotite–plagioclase–low-Ca amphiboles–kyanite in Mg–Al-rich schists, and locally (c) hornblende–plagioclase–garnet in amphibolites. All rock types show abundant textural evidence of decompression and retrograde re-equilibration. Notable among the texturally late minerals are cordierite and sapphirine, which occur in coronas around kyanite in Mg–Al-rich schists. Thermobarometry from texturally early and late assemblages for samples from different areas within the Palmer Canyon block define decompression from >7 kbar to <3 kbar. The high-pressure regional metamorphism is interpreted to be a response to thrusting associated with the Medicine Bow orogeny at c. 1.78–1.76 Ga. At this time, the north-central Laramie Range was tectonically thickened by as much as 12 km. This crustal thickening extended for more than 60 km north of the Cheyenne belt in southern Wyoming. Late in the orogenic cycle, rocks of the Palmer Canyon block were uplifted and unroofed as the result of transpression along the Laramie Peak shear zone to produce the widespread decompression textures. The Proterozoic tectonic history of the central Laramie Range is similar to exhumation that accompanied late-orogenic oblique convergence in many Phanerozoic orogenic belts.     

Metamorphism of high‐P metagreywacke from the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis: phase equilibria and P–T path

High‐pressure (HP) metagreywacke from the Namche Barwa Complex, Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS), consists of garnet, biotite, plagioclase, quartz, rutile and ilmenite with or without K‐feldspar, sillimanite, cordierite, spinel and orthopyroxene. Two types of metagreywacke are recognized: medium‐temperature (MT) and high‐temperature (HT) types. Garnet in the MT metagreywacke shows significant growth zoning and contains lower MgO than the weakly zoned garnet in the HT metagreywacke. Petrographic observations and phase equilibria modelling for four representative samples indicate that both types of metagreywacke experienced clockwise P–T paths subdivided into three stages: stage I is the pre‐peak prograde to pressure peak (P_max) stage characterized by progressive increase in P–T conditions. The P_max conditions are estimated using the garnet composition with maximum CaO, being 12.5–13.5 kbar and 685–725 °C for the MT metagreywacke, and 15–16 kbar and 825–835 °C for the HT one. Stage II is the post‐P_max decompression with heating or near‐isothermal to T_max stage and the T_max conditions, constrained using the garnet compositions with maximum MgO, are 11 kbar and 760 °C for the MT metagreywacke, and ~12 kbar and 830–845 °C for the HT one. The modelled mineral assemblages at T_max are garnet + biotite + K‐feldspar + rutile + plagioclase ± ilmenite in the presence of melt for both types of metagreywacke, consistent with the petrographic observations. Stage III is the post‐T_max retrograde metamorphism, characterized by decompression and cooling. The modelling suggests that the melts with high Na/K ratios (1.7–5.2) have been produced during stages I and II, which could be responsible for the formation of sodium‐rich leucogranites. This study and previous results indicate that the Higher Himalayan Crystallines in the EHS consist of MT–HP and HT–HP metamorphic units separated by a speculated tectonic contact. Petrological and structural discontinuities within the EHS cannot be easily interpreted with ‘tectonic aneurysm’ model.     

Anatectic record and contrasting P–T paths of aluminous gneisses from the central Grenville Province

Anatectic aluminous gneisses, some derived from sedimentary rocks of broadly pelitic composition and others from hydrothermally altered felsic volcanic rocks, are exposed in the mid‐P and high‐P segments of the hinterland in the central Grenville Province. These gneisses consist dominantly of garnet, biotite, K‐feldspar, plagioclase and quartz, with sillimanite or kyanite, and display microstructural evidence of anatexis by fluid‐absent reactions consuming muscovite and/or biotite. Melt‐related microstructures, such as inter‐granular films and/or interstitial quartz or feldspar enclosing relict phases, are most abundant in the metasedimentary samples. Despite anatexis at granulite facies conditions, the hydrothermally altered rocks preserve earlier features attributed to the circulation of hydrothermal fluids, such as sillimanite seams, dismembered quartz veins and garnet‐rich aluminous nodules in a K‐feldspar‐dominated matrix. Microstructural and mineral chemical data, integrated with P–T pseudosections calculated with thermocalc for the metasedimentary rocks, permit qualitative constraints on the P–T paths. Data from a high‐P kyanite‐bearing sample are consistent with a steep prograde P–T path up to ~14.5 kbar and 860–900 °C, followed by decompression with minor cooling to the solidus at ~11 kbar and 870 °C. This pressure‐dominated P–T path is similar to those inferred in other parts of the high‐P segment in the central Grenville Province. In contrast, the P–T path predicted from a mid‐P sillimanite‐bearing paragneiss has a strong temperature gradient with P–T of ~9.5 kbar and 850 °C at the thermal peak, and a retrograde portion down to ~8 kbar and 820 °C. In a broad sense, these two contrasting P–T patterns are consistent with predictions of thermo‐mechanical modelling of large hot orogens in which P–T paths with strong pressure gradients exhume deeper rocks in the orogenic flanks, whereas P–T paths with strong temperature gradients in the orogenic core reflect protracted lateral transport of ductile crust beneath a plateau.