High temperatures and inverted metamorphism in the schist of Sierra de Salinas,California

New field and thermobarometric work in the Californian Salinian block clarifies current and pre-Tertiary relationships between the schist of Sierra de Salinas and Cretaceous arc-related granitic rocks. The contact is variably preserved as a brittle fault and high-temperature mylonite zone, the Salinas shear zone, which represents the contact between North America and sediments accreted above the Farallon slab between ∼ 76 Ma and ∼ 70 Ma. Near granulite facies, prograde replacement of hornblende with clinopyroxene is associated with deformation of plutonic rocks at the base of the upper plate. In the lower plate, the schist of Sierra de Salinas, garnet–biotite thermometry indicates decreasing temperatures down-section from at least 714 °C to ∼ 575 °C over an exposed thickness of ∼ 2.5 km, consistent with petrologic evidence of an inverted metamorphic gradient. The measured temperatures are significantly higher than observed at shallow levels above subducting slabs or predicted by 2D computational models assuming low shear stresses. Previous workers have called upon shear heating to explain similar observations in the correlative Pelona schist, an unlikely scenario given the results of recent rock deformation experiments which predict that feldspar–quartz–mica aggregates are far too weak to withstand stresses of ∼ 70 MPa required by the shear heating hypothesis. As an alternative, we propose that high temperatures resulted from conductive heating while the leading edge of the schist traveled ∼ 150 km beneath the recently active Salinian continental arc during the initiation of shallow subduction. Weakening of the schist due to high temperatures helped facilitate the collapse of the Salinian arc as the schist was emplaced. Schist emplacement coincided with loss of lower, mafic portions of the arc, and therefore evolution of the Southern California crust towards a more felsic composition.     

Crustal structure beneath the Dabie orogenic belt from ambient noise tomography

The Qinling–Dabie–Sulu orogenic belt in east-central China is the largest high and ultrahigh pressure (HP and UHP) metamorphic zone in the world. The Dabie Mountains are the central segment of this orogenic belt between the North China and Yangtze cratons. This work studies the nature of the crustal structure beneath the Dabie orogenic belt to better understand the orogeny. To do that, we apply ambient noise tomography to the Dabie orogenic belt using ambient noise data from 40 stations of the China National Seismic Network (CNSN) between January 2008 and December 2009. We retrieve high signal noise ratio (SNR) Rayleigh waves by cross-correlating ambient noise data between most of the station pairs and then extract phase velocity dispersion measurements from those cross-correlations using a spectral method. Taking those dispersion measurements, we obtain high-resolution phase velocity maps at 8–35 second periods. By inverting Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps, we construct a high-resolution 3D shear velocity model of the crust in the Dabie orogenic belt.The resulting 3D model reveals interesting crustal features related to the orogeny. High shear wave velocities are imaged beneath the HP/UHP metaphoric zones at depths shallower than 9 km, suggesting that HP/UHP metaphoric rocks are primarily concentrated in the upper crust. Underlying the high velocity HP/UHP metamorphic zones, low shear velocities are observed in the middle crust, probably representing ductile shear zones and/or brittle fracture zones developed during the exhumation of the HP/UHP metamorphic rocks. Strong high velocities are present beneath the Northern Dabie complex unit in the middle crust, possibly related to cooling and crystallization of intrusive igneous rocks in the middle crust resulting from the post-collisional lithosphere delamination and subsequent magmatism. A north-dipping Moho is revealed in the eastern Dabie with the deepest Moho appearing beneath the Northern Dabie complex unit, consistent with the model of Triassic northward subduction of the Yangtze Craton beneath the North China Craton.     

Anisotropy and Flow in Pacific Subduction Zone Back-arcs

—We have obtained constraints on the strength and orientation of anisotropy in the mantle beneath the Tonga, southern Kuril, Japan, and Izu-Bonin subduction zones using shear-wave splitting in S phases from local earthquakes and in teleseismic core phases such as SKS. The observed splitting in all four subduction zones is consistent with a model in which the lower transition zone (520–660 km) and lower mantle are isotropic, and in which significant anisotropy occurs in the back-arc upper mantle. The upper transition zone (410–520 km) beneath the southern Kurils appears to contain weak anisotropy. The observed fast directions indicate that the geometry of back-arc strain in the upper mantle varies systematically across the western Pacific rim. Beneath Izu-Bonin and Tonga, fast directions are aligned with the azimuth of subducting Pacific plate motion and are parallel or sub-parallel to overriding plate extension. However, fast directions beneath the Japan Sea, western Honshu, and Sakhalin Island are highly oblique to subducting plate motion and parallel to present or past overriding plate shearing. Models of back-arc mantle flow that are driven by viscous coupling to local plate motions can reproduce the splitting observed in Tonga and Izu-Bonin, but further three-dimensional flow modeling is required to ascertain whether viscous plate coupling can explain the splitting observed in the southern Kurils and Japan. The fast directions in the southern Kurils and Japan may require strain in the back-arc mantle that is driven by regional or global patterns of mantle flow.     

高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩形成的热模拟

地壳物质重熔形成高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩需要在中地壳深度20多百万年前达到650℃以上的温度，但如何解释冷的印度板块向欧亚大陆俯冲时会产生这样的高温是一个难题，单一因素的解释往往不能解释全部地质观测事实．本文通过有限单元法定量化计算，提出多种因素的综合作用的假说，认为较合理的估计包括逆掩断层的幕式活动和间歇、摩擦剪切生热、高放射性元素含量和低热导率岩石的存在、高抬升剥蚀速度等因素．这些因素的组合才造成高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩既能成带，但又只是断续的出现．     

Thermal effects of thrust faulting

Calculations based on simple models of overthrust sheets in crystalline basement rocks show that significant thermal effects may result from their movements. If rates are sufficiently high (e.g. plate tectonic rates), the thrust sheets sufficiently thick (5, 10 and 15 km are modelled here), the distances moved sufficiently large, and for reasonable values of the coefficient of friction along the thrust plane overthrusting can cause metamorphic mineral zonations and heat flow anomalies observable in the field. Regions where large-scale overthrusting has occurred should be characterized by a decrease with depth of grade of metamorphic mineral assemblages and anomalously low heat flow. The theoretical effects are presented as a series of maximum temperature vs. depth and heat flow vs. time plots.     

A subduction channel model for exhumation of oceanic-type high-pressure to ultrahigh-pressure eclogite-facies metamorphic rocks in SW Tianshan,China

High-pressure (HP) and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites exposed in collisional orogens are widely regarded to record the history of crustal rocks that were subducted to mantle depths and exhumed back to the surface. Insight into subduction and exhumation processes plays an important role in understanding the nature and evolution of subduction zones, geodynamics and plate tectonics. In contrast to continental-type HP to UHP metamorphic rocks that are dominated by felsic lithology, oceanic-type HP to UHP metamorphic rocks are dominated by mafic eclogites and thus have greater density, and their exhumation needs to overcome large barriers and may involve complicated tectonic processes. The exhumation of HP to UHP rocks is mainly influenced by the internal buoyancy, however, the external tectonic forces (such as channel flow) also act as effective exhumation drivers; in addition, effects of tectonic settings (such as slab rollback and breakoff) should take into account. The HP-UHP metamorphic terrane in Southwestern Tianshan, which mainly comprises of metasediments with interlayered metamafic lenses and blocks, represents a typical accretionary mélange associated with deep subduction of oceanic crust. However, the exhumation mechanisms of these once deeply buried HP-UHP rocks are still under discussion. Based on the field occurrences, petrographic features, peak metamorphic P-T conditions and ages of the eclogites/blueschists and their metasedimentary country rocks, a “sediment-type subduction channel” model is advocated in this study to appraise/decipher the formation and evolution of Southwestern Tianshan HP-UHP metamorphic belt. Poly-cyclic metamorphic eclogites record the multistage burial-exhumation cycling manipulated by convective flow in a channel-like interface between the plates, giving robust evidence for the presence of a subduction channel. In addition, this study summarizes some remaining geotectonic problems and research perspectives concerning the Southwestern Tianshan HP-UHP metamorphic belt.     

P−T conditions during emplacement of the Bay of Islands ophiolite complex

A high-temperature contact is described between the basal pargasite-bearing spinel-lherzolites of the Bay of Islands ophiolite complex and underlying garnet-granulite facies metagabbros of its dynamothermal aureole. Three distinct high-temperature hydrous assemblages occur in the basal mylonites of the peridotite, and spinel- and garnet-bearing corona textures indicative of increase in pressure under constant or increasing temperature conditions are described for the first time from the uppermost part of the aureole. On the basis of garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometry and garnet-forming reactions in metabasic rocks, P?T conditions of 7–11 kbar, 750–850°C are estimated for rocks on both sides of the contact. Steep inverted gradients in both temperature and pressure of equilibration occur in the aureole, which most likely represents a thinned, overturned and metamorphosed section through an ophiolite sequence. It is proposed that the aureole formed in a low-angle shear zone cutting the oceanic crust and upper mantle.Age data shows that the Bay of Islands Complex was 30–40 Ma old and therefore relatively cold at the time of formation of the aureole. Prolonged (> 1 Ma) shear heating must therefore have occurred at high shear stresses and movement rates (≥ 1 kbar, 10 cm/yr) to produce the high contact temperatures. The displacement surface probably initiated as a discrete fault, evolving into a viscous shear zone with time. Downward movement of the locus of shearing into weaker lithologies and finally thrusting of the ophiolite-aureole complex over cold sediments accounts for the preservation of steep metamorphic gradients in the aureole.The observed pressures at the ophiolite-aureole contact are 3–7 kbar in excess of the expected load pressure from the present thickness of the ophiolite. The cause of the pressure excess was removed before formation of lower-grade parts of the aureole. Possible explanations are tectonic thinning of the ophiolite during displacement or more likely emplacement of nappes on top of the ophiolite before formation of the aureole. A model involving detachment of the ophiolite slice from below a subduction zone can account for the high pressures, rapid uplift and erosion during displacement, and the coincidence of K-Ar ages of amphiboles from the aureole and the sheeted dyke complex of the ophiolite.     

Three-dimensional Mapping of Magma Source and Transport Regions from Seismic Data: The Mantle Wedge beneath Northeastern Japan

—We investigate the distribution of partial melt in island arc using the seismic velocity structure of the mantle wedge beneath northeastern Japan. The comparison of the seismic tomography with laboratory velocity data on a partially-molten mantle rock yields estimates of melting zones in three dimensions. We employ experimental data on the degree of partial melt in hydrous peridotite to give constraints on the melt fraction and temperature. Melting and magma-rich zones derived from the velocity structure coincide with observed low Q zones. The results of the three-dimensional mapping indicate that the source of magma in island arc is diapir-like melting patches localized within the low velocity zones of the mantle wedge. Extensive volcanic activity along the volcanic front is due to the presence of vast magma-rich zones just beneath the Moho. Those melting zones in the uppermost mantle may, in turn, cause melting of lower crustal materials and produce felsic magma. Melt appears to stay at and beneath the Moho, where crystallization fractionation may proceed. Melt exists at greater depths in the back-arc region, which may correlate with across-arc variations of chemical compositions of the volcanic rocks observed in northeastern Japan. We suggest that magma migration in the ductile lower crust may cause low-frequency microearthquakes, and magma penetration into the brittle upper crust may produce mid-crustal S-wave reflectors.     

Petrology and phase equilibrium of newly found eclogites from Kekesu Valley in eastern part of southwest Tianshan HP-UHP metamorphic belt, China, and its tectonic significance

Eclogites and omphacite-bearing blueschists have been newly found in the eastern segment of the southwest Tianshan orogenic belt,Xinjiang,northwest China.After detailed petrological study,three samples including one fresh eclogite TK003,one blueschist sample TK026-8 and one retrograded eclogite TK027,were selected for phase equilibrium modeling under NC(K)MnFMASHO(N2O-CaO-K2O-MnO-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O-O)system,by thermocalc 3.33 software.Composition analyses of garnets in these three samples show typical growth zoning with Xpy and Xgrs increasing,Xspss decreasing from core to rim.Pseudosection modeling of the garnet zonation reflects that the eclogites and blueschist experienced a similar P-T evolution trajectory,with a near iso-baric heating in the early stage,and reached eclogite facies metamorphic field with peak P-T regime of 480–515°C,2.00–2.30 GPa.Subsequently the rocks experienced an early iso-thermal decompression retrograde stage with P-T conditions of 515–519°C,1.78–1.93 GPa.Variations of mineralogy and modes of these rocks are probably due to different retrograde paths as a consequence of different bulk-rock composition,as well as a variation in fluid activity during exhumation.P-T calculation and a peak geothermal gradient of 6–7°C/km indicate HP rocks in the Kekesu Valley experienced cold subducted eclogite facies metamorphism.Thus a huge oceanic subduction eclogite facies metamorphic belt in southwest Tianshan has been recognized,extending from the Kekesu Valley in the east to the Muzhaerte Valley in the west for nearly200 km.However,UHP evidence has not been found in the Kekesu terrane,perhaps because the slab in east part of southwest Tianshan did not subduct into such a great depth.     

Alleghanian orogenic-float on the Martic thrust during dextal transpression, central Appalachian Piedmont

During the Late Paleozoic Alleghanian orogeny, the mid-Atlantic Piedmont experienced transpressional deformation dominated by dextral strke-slip shear zones. The dextral displacement on these shear zones greatly influenced the geographic distribution of lithotectonic units. Transpressional deformation is evident in the Piedmont with the cogenetic development of domes and en-echelon antiforms between many of the shear zones. In the core of the Pennsylvania reentrant, major Alleghanian structures include the dextral Pleasant Grove shear zone and Tucquan-Mine Ridge antiform. Recent field mapping coupled with detailed metamorphic and deformation fabric studies have revealed that a major thrust, the Martic thrust, was also active during this time. Shear bands were identified during petrofabric analysis of the hanging wall rocks to the Martic thrust. The direction of displacement on these shear bands was parallel to the orogen, a direction contrary to earlier studies. Metamorphic mineral assemblages and ceased reaction textures, associated with ductile shear fabrics in the hangingwall rocks, are consistent with lower greenshist facies deformation. This low grade metamorphism, which is generally confined to sheared rocks, overprints the regional upper greenshist- to lower amphibolite-facies assemblages. Structural and magnetic modeling of the hangingwall block has revealed a complex geometry. A model of orogen parallel structural escape, or orogenic float, related to late Paleozoic dextral transpression is employed to explain the late reactivation on this important central Appalachian structure.     

Evidence for upper cretaceous transform fault metamorphism in West Cyprus

Metamorphic rocks of low-pressure/medium-temperature facies occur in West Cyprus as blocks and slivers with mafic and ultramafic screens in high-angle, serpentinite-filled fault zones. A satisfactory explanation for the origin of the metamorphic rocks has previously remained a subject of controversy. The evidence presented here, based on a study of their bulk chemistry, mineralogy and⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology, indicates they were produced by greenschist to amphibolite facies dynamothermal metamorphism of alkalic and tholeiitic mafic rocks and associated sediments at between 83 and 90 m.y. Their field relations show similarities with present-day oceanic fracture zones suggesting that metamorphism occurred within strike-slip faults, some of which were probably extensions of the Arakapas transform. We propose that hot crust generated at an oceanic spreading centre provided the heat for metamorphism when juxtaposed against older, cooler rocks during ridge-ridge transform movements. In addition, shear heating may have been facilitated by the strike-slip faulting and contributed to the total heat available. These interpretations are compatible with many aspects of the broader regional geology of Cyprus, provide new constraints on the early evolution of the Troodos Complex and form the basis of a model for transform fault metamorphism.     

剪切产热不稳定性及其在研究深源地震发生机理上的应用

本文运用稳定性分析的方法,研究在粘弹性介质(Maxwell体)中剪切产热不稳定性的发生条件,并讨论其对于深源地震发生机理的应用.结果表明,在板块向下俯冲的过程中,由粘滞损耗产热将会发生剪切不稳定性,这为解释深源地震发生提供了一个基础.     

剪切产热不稳定性及其在研究深源地震发生机理上的应用

本文运用稳定性分析的方法,研究在粘弹性介质（Maxwell体）中剪切产热不稳定性的发生条件,并讨论其对于深源地震发生机理的应用.结果表明,在板块向下俯冲的过程中,由粘滞损耗产热将会发生剪切不稳定性,这为解释深源地震发生提供了一个基础.     

Kinematic analysis of ultrahigh-pressure–high-pressure metamorphic rocks in the Chaglinka–Kulet area of the Kokchetav Massif, Kazakhstan

Abstract The central part of the Kokchetav Massif is exposed in the Chaglinka–Kulet area, northern Kazakhstan. The ultrahigh-pressure–high-pressure (UHP–HP) metamorphic belt in this area is composed of four subhorizontal lithological units (Unit I–IV) metamorphosed under different pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions. The coesite- and diamond-bearing Unit II, which consists mainly of whiteschist and eclogite blocks, is tectonically sandwiched between the amphibolite-dominant Unit I on the bottom and the orthogneiss-dominant Unit III on the top. Total combined thickness of these units is less than 2 km. The rocks of the UHP–HP metamorphic belt are affected by at least four deformational events post-dating peak metamorphism: (i) The earliest penetrative deformation is characterized by non-coaxial ductile flow in a NW–SE direction. The shear sense indicators in oriented samples from Unit I provide consistent top-to-the-northwest motions and those from Unit III provide top-to-the-southeast, south or south-west motions; (ii) Upright folds with subhorizontal enveloping surface refold earlier foliations including shear-indicators throughout the metamorphic belt; (iii) The third stage of deformation is denoted by large-scale bending around a subvertical axis; and (iv) Late localized fault (or shear) zones cut all earlier structures. The fault zones have subvertical shear planes and their displacements are essentially strike-slip in manner. The subhorizontal structure and opposite shear directions between Unit I and Unit III during the earlier deformation stage suggest north-westward extrusion of UHP Unit II.     

Metamorphism, partial preservation, and exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure belts

The Dabie-Sulu belt of east-central China, the Kokchetav Complex of northern Kazakhstan, the Maksyutov Complex of the South Urals, the Dora Maira Massif of the Western Alps, and the Western Gneiss Region of southwestern Norway lie astride intracontinental suture zones. All represent collisional mountain belts. Adjoining Eurasian regions exhibit little or no evidence of a coeval calc-alkaline arc. Each metamorphic complex contains mineralogic and textural relics of the presence or former existence of coesite ± diamond. Other ultrahigh-P, moderate-T metamorphic phases, including K-rich clinopyroxene, Mg-rich garnet, ellenbergerite, lawsonite, Al-rutile, glaucophane, high-Si phengite, and associations such as coesite + dolomite, magnesite + diopside, and talc + kyanite, diopside, jadeite, or phengite also testify to pressures approaching or exceeding 2.8 GPa. Each of the five well-studied Eurasian ultrahigh-pressure complexes consists chiefly of old, cool continental crust. Deep-seated recrystallization took place during the Phanerozoic. Subduction zones constitute the only known plate-tectonic environment where such high-P, low-T conditions exist. A model involving underflow of a salient of continental crust imbedded in oceanic crust-capped lithosphere explains the ultrahigh- pressure metamorphism. Partly exhumed ultrahigh-pressure terranes consist of relatively thin sheets 7 ± 5 km thick. During early stages of plate descent, hydration of relatively anhydrous units occurs, and volatiles are expelled from hydrous rocks. If present, aqueous fluids markedly catalyze reactions. Experimental studies on MORB bulk compositions demonstrate that, for common subduction-zone P–T trajectories, amphibole (the major hydrous phase in metabasaltic rocks) dehydrates at less than ~ 2.0 GPa; accordingly, mafic blueschists and amphibolites expel H₂O at great depth and, except for some coarse-grained, dry metagabbros, tend to recrystallize to eclogite. Serpentinized mantle beneath the oceanic crust devolatilizes at comparable pressures. In contrast, phengite and biotite remain stable to pressures exceeding 3.5 GPa in associated quartzofeldspathic rocks. So, under ultrahigh-pressure conditions, the micaceous lithologies that dominate the continental crust fail to evolve significant H₂O, and may transform incompletely to eclogitic assemblages. Although hydrous rocks expel volatiles during compaction and shallow burial, very deep underflow of partly hydrated oceanic crust + mantle generates most of the volatile flux along and above a subduction zone prior to continental collision. As large masses of sialic crust enter the convergent plate junction, fluid evolution at deep levels severely diminishes, and both convergence and dehydration terminate. After cessation of ultrahigh-pressure recrystallization, tectonic slices of sialic massifs return to shallow depths along the subduction channel, propelled by buoyancy; collisional sheets that retain ultrahigh-pressure effects lose heat efficiently across both upper (extensional, normal fault) and lower (subduction, reverse fault) tectonic contacts. These sheets ascend to midcrustal levels rapidly at average exhumation rates of 2–12 mm/year. Surviving ultrahigh-pressure relics occur as micro-inclusions encased in dense, strong, impermeable, unreactive mineralogic hosts, and are shielded during return towards conditions characteristic of midcrustal levels. Rehydration attending decompression is incomplete; its limited extent reflects the coarse grain size and relative impermeability of the rocks undergoing retrogression, as well as declining temperature and lack of aqueous fluids.     

Petrologic model of the crust and upper mantle of the Japanese Island arcs

Mafic and ultramafic xenoliths, in the Holocene calc-alkali andesite of Ichinomegata(1) crater in Oga peninsula and those in the Plio-Pleistocene alkali-olivine basalts of Oki-Dōgo island in the Japan Sea, have been studied in detail. Based on geothermometry and geobarometry, and relative abundance of the rock types of the xenoliths, petrologic models of the crust and upper mantle beneath these two areas were constructed. The crust and upper mantle beneath Ichinomegata crater are characterized by hydrous and relatively low temperature conditions. On the other hand, the crust and upper mantle beneath Oki-Dōgo island are characterized by nearly anhydrous and high temperature conditions, and presence of thick lavers of peridotite and pvroxenite cumulates in the uppermost mantle. The crust and upper mantle of the western part of the Northeast Honshū Arc can be considered as similar to those beneath Ichinomegata crater, because of the common occurrence of similar mafic xenoliths from many andesite volcanoes in this area. The crust and upper mantle of the northern part of the Southwest Honshū Arc, in the same way, can be regarded as similar to those beneath Oki-Dōgo island. Differences in amount of hydrous minerals of deep-seated rocks between the two areas can be interpreted as due to the presence of migrating water derived from the subducting Pacific plate in the Northeast Honshū Arc. Difference in slope of the geotherm may be due to the difference in temperature of the partial melt zones beneath these two areas. Bulk chemical compositions of the lower crustal materials of the Japanese island arcs, 85 mafic inclusions from 15 volcanoes, are listed, and it is concluded that they are cumulates or metamorphosed cumulates in the lower crust.     

马尼拉海沟俯冲带热结构的模拟研究

俯冲带热结构的数值模拟研究是对地表观测研究的重要补充,也是验证地球动力学模型的重要方法.本文沿马尼拉海沟俯冲带东火山链(EVC)和西火山链(WVC)各取一条剖面,依据地质、地球物理条件,进行了有限元热模拟计算.计算过程中,分析了摩擦和剪切热对俯冲带热结构的影响,模拟了EVC和WVC两条测线下俯冲带的热结构,并结合岩石学实验结果预测了俯冲板块发生脱水和部分熔融的位置.模拟结果表明,在100 km深度处,考虑摩擦和剪切热时,俯冲板块表面的温度约为865 ℃;而不考虑摩擦和剪切时,俯冲板块表面的温度仅为770 ℃,二者温差可达95 ℃.在相同深度处,考虑摩擦和剪切热时,在EVC和WVC测线下俯冲板块表面的温度分别为865 ℃和895 ℃,俯冲洋壳底部温度分别为560 ℃和605 ℃.俯冲板块表面少量矿物开始脱水的深度小于50 km,但大量脱水和部分熔融主要发生在深度100 km左右,这与地表观测的火山活动位置一致.     

Geometry and kinematics of extension in Alpine Corsica

The geometry of the most recent deformation in Alpine Corsica is discussed in terms of reactivation of thrusts as normal faults and crustal extension, following crustal thickening in late Cretaceous and Eocene time. A cross section interpreted in terms of obduction in previous works is shown here to be a result of ductile and brittle extension in late Oligocene and Early Miocene time. This new interpretation is based on field observations of the brittle and ductile structures and their relations to the metamorphic history in the Tenda-col de Teghime and Centuri regions, as well as additional observations in other parts of Alpine Corsica. The following geological features are observed: (1) The recent deformation was partly achieved during a top-to-the-east ductile shear close to the brittle-ductile transition and was later superimposed by brittle shear indicating a transition in time from ductile to brittle regime. (2) Extensional brittle structures in the Early Miocene Saint Florent limestone and sense of tilt are compatible with the eastward sense of shear observed in the ductile rocks. (3) The movement along major “thrust” contacts is associated with retrograde metamorphism which overprinted the early high-P-low-T paragenesis at less severe P-T conditions. They also bring tectonic units with contrasted metamorphic evolutions into close contacts. (4) There is a regional correlation between retromorphosis and recent deformation since the high-P-low-T paragenesis are better preserved in southern of Alpine Corsica where the recent deformation is less pervasive. (5) Highly non-coaxial deformation is localized along east-dipping shear zones close to brittle normal faults which bounds tilted Miocene basins; in between the geometry is more symmetric and the finite strain therefore more coaxial. (6) Late extensional brittle structures are observed at many sites in the metamorphic rocks. In the present paper we discussed these first-order observations and describe the geometry of crustal extension in Alpine Corsica. We analyze the progressive formation of a crustal-scale tilted block in Cap Corse and propose that the normal faults are localized by asymmetric boudinage of the crust. The asymmetry of this crustal-scale boudinage is controlled by the position of early thrust planes.     

Comparison and interpretation of graphitization in contact and regional metamorphic rocks

Abstract X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of carbonaceous materials were carried out in conjunction with petrological studies for selected metamorphic rocks in order to compare the structural state of carbonaceous materials between contact and regional metamorphic rocks. The most extensive study was done for the Daimonji contact aureole in the eastern part of Kyoto city, Japan. The Daimonji contact aureole can be divided into three mineral zones using mineral parageneses of pelitic rocks: chlorite, biotite and cordierite zones. The cordierite zone can be further subdivided into lower- and higher-grade subzones. Petrological considerations allow the two isograd reactions that define the lower- and higher-grade cordierite subzones to be determined and suggest these reactions occurred at 510–560°C and 560–590°C per 2.0-2.3 kbar, respectively. A combination of the petrological studies and the XRD data of carbonaceous materials suggest that fully ordered graphite (FG; defined by d(002) ≤ 3.360 Å following the convention used by many workers), appears around 560–590°C in the Daimonji contact aureole. This data and refinement of geothermometer for published data confirmed that the FG appears at 400–500°C in regional metamorphic rocks, but at higher than 530°C in contact aureoles. One possible explanation for such a temperature difference is the duration of heating. However, the width at half height (WH) of the graphite peak attains a similar value of 0.30° at around 500°C both in contact and regional metamorphic rocks, suggesting that WH value is a more reliable indicator of metamorphic grade than the change of d(002) value. Furthermore, the depressed d(002) data of graphite was observed locally in the higher grade part (≥ 500°C) of the Ryoke regional metamorphic belt, where granitic intrusions exist within a few km distance. These facts indicate that the duration of heating is not an important factor controlling the change of d(002) value. It is possible that interlayered impurities, such as chlorine, which was derived from igneous intrusions, may be an important factor in suppressing the reduction in d(002) at temperatures greater than 500°C.