The geological significance of 40Ar/39Ar and Rb–Sr white mica ages from Syros and Sifnos,Greece: a record of continuous (re)crystallization during exhumation?

The Attic‐Cycladic crystalline belt in the central Aegean region records a complex structural and metamorphic evolution that documents Cenozoic subduction zone processes and exhumation. A prerequisite to develop an improved tectono‐metamorphic understanding of this area is dating of distinct P–T–D stages. To evaluate the geological significance of phengite ages of variably overprinted rocks, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr analyses were undertaken on transitional blueschist–greenschist and greenschist facies samples from the islands of Syros and Sifnos. White mica geochronology indicates a large age variability (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar: 41–27 Ma; Rb–Sr: 34–20 Ma). Petrologically similar samples have either experienced greenschist facies overprinting at different times or variations in ages record variable degrees of greenschist facies retrogression and incomplete resetting of isotopic systematics. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr data for metamorphic rocks from both islands record only minor, localized evidence for Miocene ages (c. 21 Ma) that are well documented elsewhere in the Cyclades and interpreted to result from retrogression of high‐pressure mineral assemblages during lower pressure metamorphism. Field and textural evidence suggests that heterogeneous overprinting may be due to a lack of permeability and/or limited availability of fluids in some bulk compositions and that retrogression was more or less parallel to lithological layering and/or foliation as a result of, possibly deformation‐enhanced, channelized fluid ingress. Published and new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr data for both islands indicate apparent age variations that can be broadly linked to mineral assemblages documenting transitional blueschist‐to‐greenschist‐ and/or greenschist facies metamorphism. The data do not record the timing of peak HP metamorphism, but may accurately record continuous (partial) resetting of isotopic systematics and/or (re)crystallization of white mica during exhumation and greenschist facies retrogression. The form of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar phengite age spectra are complex with the lowest temperature steps yielding Middle to Late Miocene ages. The youngest Rb–Sr ages suggest maximum ages of 20.6 ± 0.8 Ma (Syros) and 22.5 ± 0.6 Ma (Sifnos) for the timing of greenschist facies overprinting. The results of this study further accentuate the challenges of interpreting isotopic data for white mica from polymetamorphic terranes, particularly when mixing of populations and/or incomplete resetting of isotopic systematics occurs during exhumation. These data capture the full range of isotopic age variations in retrogressed HP rocks documented in previous isotopic studies, and can be interpreted in terms of the geodynamic evolution of the Aegean.     

40Ar/39Ar and oxygen isotope studies of polymetamorphism from Tinos Island, Cycladic blueschist belt, Greece

Abstract Petrological, oxygen isotope and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies were used to constrain the Tertiary metamorphic evolution of the lower tectonic unit of the Cyclades on Tinos. Polyphase high-pressure metamorphism reached pressures in excess of 15 kbar, based on measurements of the Si content in potassic white mica. Temperatures of 450–500° C at the thermal peak of high-pressure metamorphism were estimated from critical metamorphic assemblages, the validity of which is confirmed by a quartz–magnetite oxygen isotope temperature of 470° C. Some ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar spectra of white mica give plateau ages of 44–40 Ma that are considered to represent dynamic recrystallization under peak or slightly post-peak high-pressure metamorphic conditions. Early stages in the prograde high-pressure evolution may be documented by older apparent ages in the high-temperature steps of some spectra. Eclogite to epidote blueschist facies mineralogies were partially or totally replaced by retrograde greenschist facies assemblages during exhumation. Oxygen isotope thermometry of four quartz–magnetite pairs from greenschist samples gives temperatures of 440–470° C which cannot be distinguished from those deduced for the high-pressure event. The exhumation and overprint is documented by decreasing ages of 32–28 Ma in some greenschists and late-stage blueschist rocks, and ages of 30–20 Ma in the lower temperature steps of the Ar release patterns of blueschist micas. Almost flat parts of Ar–Ar release spectra of some greenschist micas gave ages of 23–21 Ma which are assumed to represent incomplete resetting caused by a renewed prograde phase of greenschist metamorphism. Oxygen isotope compositions of blueschist and greenschist facies minerals show no evidence for the infiltration of a δ¹⁸O-enriched fluid. Rather, the compositions indicate that fluid to rock ratios were very low, the isotopic compositions being primarily controlled by those of the protolith rocks. We assume that the fundamental control catalysing the transformation of blueschists into greenschists and the associated resetting of their isotopic systems was the selective infiltration of metamorphic fluid. A quartz–magnetite sample from a contact metamorphic skarn, taken near the Miocene monzogranite of Tinos, gave an oxygen isotope temperature of 555° C and calculated water composition of 9.1%. The value of δ¹⁸O obtained from this water is consistent with a primary magmatic fluid, but is lower than that of fluids associated with the greenschist overprint, which indicates that the latter event cannot be directly related to the monozogranite intrusion.     

Geochronological challenges posed by continuously developing tectonometamorphic systems: insights from Rb–Sr mica ages from the Cycladic Blueschist Belt,Syros (Greece)

Is metamorphism and its causative tectonics best viewed as a series of punctuated events or as a continuum? This question is addressed through examination of the timing of exhumation of the Cycladic Blueschist Belt (CBB). The cause of scatter beyond analytical error in Rb–Sr geochronology was investigated using a suite of 39 phengite samples. Rb–Sr ages have been measured on phengite microsamples drilled from specific microstructures in thin sections of calcschists and metabasites from the CBB on Syros. The majority are from samples that have well‐preserved blueschist facies mineral assemblages with limited greenschist facies overprint. The peak metamorphic temperatures involved are below the closure temperature for white mica so that crystallization ages are expected to be preserved. This is supported by the coexistence of different ages in microstructures of different relative age; in one sample phengite from the dominant extensional blueschist facies fabric preserves an age of 35 Ma while post‐tectonic mica, millimetres away, has an age of 26 Ma. The results suggest that micro‐sampling techniques linked to detailed microstructural analysis are critical to understanding the timing and duration of deformation in tectonometamorphic systems. North of the Serpentinite Belt in northern Syros, phengite Rb–Sr ages are generally between 53 and 46 Ma, comparable to previous dates from this area. South of the Serpentinite Belt phengite in blueschist facies assemblages associated with extensional fabrics linked to exhumation have ages that range from 42 Ma down to c. 30 Ma indicating that extensional deformation while still under blueschist facies conditions continued until 30 Ma. No age measurements on samples with unambiguous evidence of deformation under greenschist facies conditions were made; two rocks with greenschist facies assemblages gave phengite ages that overlap with the younger blueschist samples, suggesting blueschist facies phengite is preserved in these rocks. Two samples yielded ages below 27 Ma; one is from a post‐tectonic microstructure, the other from a greenschist in which the fabric developed during earlier blueschist facies conditions. These ages are consistent with previous evidence of greenschist facies conditions from c. 25 Ma onwards. The data are consistent with a model of deformation that is continuous on a regional scale.     

The 40Ar/39Ar and Rb–Sr chronology of the Precambrian Aksu blueschists in western China

Three metapelite samples from the Aksu blueschist terrane, Xinjiang, China, were dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method on separated phengite grains, obtaining plateau ages in the range of 741−757 Ma. In contrast, the measured Rb and Sr isotope data for the three samples yielded isochron ages ranging from 630 Ma to 900 Ma, suggesting large heterogeneity in the blueschist protolith and suppression of diffusional exchange owing to the low-temperature metamorphic conditions. Because the protolith of Aksu blueschist is composed of oceanic materials that formed ⁴⁰Ar-free phengite during HP and UHP metamorphism and the apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateaus ages in this study are similar to previous K–Ar and Rb–Sr ages, the existence of excess argon in these rocks is considered to be insignificant. As a result, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages in this study (ca. 750 Ma) likely represent the approximate time for peak metamorphism, given the low peak metamorphic temperatures for the Aksu blueschist terrane (300−400 °C). This strongly implies that modern style, cold subduction tectonics operated along the margin of the Aksu terrane no later than 750 Ma, in Neoproterozoic time.     

Differential Evolution of High-Pressure and Ultrahigh-Pressure Metapelites from Habutengsu,Chinese Western Tianshan: Phase Equilibria Modelling and 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology

Metapelite is one of the predominant rock types in the high-pressure–ultrahigh-pressure(HP–UHP) metamorphic belt of western Tianshan, NW China; however, the spatial and temporal variations of this belt during metamorphism are poorly understood. In this study, we present comparative petrological studies and 40Ar/39 Ar geochronology of HP and UHP pelitic schist exposed along the Habutengsu valley. The schist mainly comprises quartz, white mica, garnet, albite and bluish amphibole. In the Mn O–Na2O–Ca O–K2O–Fe O–Mg O–Al2O3–Si O2–H2O(Mn NCKFMASH) system, P–T pseudosections were constructed using THERMOCALC 333 for two representative pelitic schists. The results demonstrate that there was a break in the peak metamorphic pressures in the Habutengsu area. The northern schist has experienced UHP metamorphism, consistent with the presence of coesite in the same section, while the southern one formed at lower pressures that stabilized the quartz. This result supports the previous finding of a metamorphic gradient through the HP–UHP metamorphic belt of the Chinese western Tianshan by the authors. Additionally, phengite in the northern schist was modelled as having a Si content of 3.55–3.70(a.p.f.u.) at the peak stage, a value much higher than that of oriented matrix phengite(Si content 3.32–3.38 a.p.f.u.). This indicates that the phengite flakes in the UHP schist were subjected to recrystallization during exhumation, which is consistent with the presence of phengite aggregates surrounding garnet porphyroblast. The 40Ar/39 Ar age spectra of white mica(dominantly phengite) from the two schists exhibit similar plateau ages of ca. 315 Ma, which is interpreted as the timing of a tectonometamorphic event that occurred during the exhumation of the HP–UHP metamorphic belt of the Chinese western Tianshan.     

Alice Springs age shear zones from the southeastern Reynolds Range,central Australia

The southeast Reynolds Range, central Australia, is cut by steep northwest‐trending shear zones that are up to hundreds of metres wide and several kilometres long. Amphibolite‐facies shear zones cut metapelites, while greenschist‐facies shear zones cut metagranites. Rb–Sr and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data suggest that both sets of shear zones formed in the 400–300 Ma Alice Springs Orogeny, with the sheared granites yielding well‐constrained ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages of ca 334 Ma. These data imply that the shear zones represent a distinct tectonic episode in this terrain, and were not formed during cooling from the ca 1.6 Ga regional metamorphism. A general correlation between regional metamorphic grade and the grade of Alice Springs structures implies a similar distribution of heat sources for the two events. This may be most consistent with both phases of metamorphism being caused by the burial of anomalously radiogenic heat‐producing granites. The sheared rocks commonly have undergone metasomatism implying that the shear zones were conduits of fluid flow during Alice Springs times.     

The timing of eclogite facies metamorphism and migmatization in the Orlica–Śnieżnik complex, Bohemian Massif: constraints from a multimethod geochronological study

The Orlica–?nie?nik complex (OSC) is a key geological element of the eastern Variscides and mainly consists of amphibolite facies orthogneisses and metasedimentary rocks. Sporadic occurrences of eclogites and granulites record high‐pressure (HP) to ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic conditions. A multimethod geochronological approach (⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar, Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, U–Pb) has been used to gain further insights into the polymetamorphic evolution of eclogites and associated country rocks. Special attention was given to the unresolved significance of a 370‐ to 360 Ma age group that was repeatedly described in previous studies. Efforts to verify the accuracy of c. 370 Ma K–Ar phengite and biotite dates reported for an eclogite and associated country‐rock gneiss from the location Nowa Wie? suggest that these dates are meaningless, due to contamination with extraneous Ar. Extraneous Ar is also considered to be responsible for a significantly older ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar phengite date of c. 455 Ma for an eclogite from the location Wojtowka. Attempts to further substantiate the importance of 370–360 Ma zircon dates as an indicator for a melt‐forming high‐temperature (HT) episode did not provide evidence in support of anatectic processes at this time. Instead, SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of leucosomes and leucocratic veins within both orthogneisses and (U)HP granulites revealed two age populations (490–450 and 345–330 Ma respectively) that correspond to protolith ages of the magmatic precursors and late Variscan anatexis. The results of this study further underline the importance of Late Carboniferous metamorphic processes for the evolution of the OSC that comprise the waning stages of HP metamorphism and lower pressure HT overprinting with partial melting. Eclogites and their country rocks provided no chronometric evidence for an UHP and ultrahigh‐temperature episode at 387–360 Ma, as recently suggested for granulites from the OSC, based on Lu–Hf garnet ages ( Anczkiewicz et al., 2007 ).     

Formation and exhumation of blueschists and eclogites from NE Oman: new perspectives from Rb–Sr and 40Ar/39Ar dating

Seven eclogite facies samples from lithologically different units which structurally underlie the Semail ophiolite were dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr methods. Despite extensive efforts, phengite dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method yielded saddle, hump or irregularly shaped spectra with uninterpretable isochrons. The total gas ages for the phengite ranged from 136 to 85 Ma. Clinopyroxene–phengite, epidote–phengite and whole‐rock–phengite Rb–Sr isochrons for the same samples yielded ages of 78 ± 2 Ma. We therefore conclude that the eclogite facies rocks cooled through 500 °C at c. 78 ± 2 Ma, and that the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates can only constrain maximum ages due to the occurrence of excess Ar inhomogeneously distributed in different sites. Our new results lead us to conclude that high‐pressure metamorphism of the Oman margin took place in the Late Cretaceous, contemporaneous with ophiolite emplacement. Previously published structural and petrological data lead us to suggest that this metamorphism resulted from intracontinental subduction and crustal thickening along a NE‐dipping zone. Choking of this subduction zone followed by ductile thinning of a crustal mass wedged between deeply subducted continental material and overthrust shelf and slope units facilitated the exhumation of the eclogite facies rocks from depths of c. 50 km to 10–15 km within c. 10 Ma, and led to their juxtaposition against overlying lower grade rocks. Final exhumation of all high‐pressure rocks was driven primarily by erosion and assisted by normal faulting in the upper plate.     

Exhumation of the Schistes Lustrés complex: in situ laser probe 40Ar/39Ar constraints and implications for the Western Alps

The Schistes Lustrés (SL) suture zone occupies a key position in the Alpine chain between the high‐pressure (HP) Brianconnais domain and the ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) Dora Maira massif, and reached subduction depths ranging from c. 40–65 km (Cottian Alps). In order to constrain the timing of HP metamorphism and subsequent exhumation, several phengite generations were differentiated, on the basis of habit, texture, paragenesis and chemistry, as belonging to the first or second exhumation episode, respectively, D2 or D3, or to earlier stages of the tectono‐metamorphic evolution. Ten carefully selected samples showing D2, D3 (D2 + D3), or earlier (mostly peak temperature) phengite population(s) were subjected to laser probe ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis. The data support the results of the petrostructural study with two distinct age groups (crystallization ages) for D2 and D3 phengite, at 51–45 and 38–35 Ma, respectively. The data also reveal a coherent age cluster, at 62–55 Ma, for peak temperature phengite associated with chloritoid which were preserved in low strain domains. The age of the D3 event in the SL complex appears very similar to ages recently obtained for greenschist facies deformation on the border of most internal crystalline massifs. Exhumation rates of the order of 1–2 mm yr^?1 are obtained for the SL complex, which are compatible with velocities documented for accretionary wedge settings. Similarly, cooling velocities are only moderate (c.5 °C Myr^?1), which is at variance with recent estimates in the nearby UHP massifs.     

Excess and Radiogenic Argon in High-Pressure Mylonites of the Tan-Lu Fault Zone, Eastern China

Bulk separates of porphyroclastic phengite, neoformed phengite and their mixtures from the Tan-Lu HP mylonites overprinted on the Sulu UHP rocks were analyzed with the 40Ar/39Ar step heating method. Two samples of the neoformed phengite from ultramylonite give 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 209.9±1.8 Ma and 214.3±1.8 Ma, which are interpreted as representing cooling times of the TanLu sinistral faulting, and provide geochronological evidence for the syn-orogenic faulting of the Tan-Lu fault zone. The results show that the phengite formed during the retrograde eclogite-facies mylonitization was not contaminated with excess argon and can be used for dating the deformation. Argon closure in previous K-bearing minerals with excess argon under a retrograde HP dry condition is considered to be the reason for lack of excess argon incorporation in the neoformed phengite. Five porphyroclastic phengite samples yield 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages ranging from 666±12 Ma to 307.1±3.3 Ma, which are interpreted as being contaminated with excess argon. Two mixture samples with plateau ages of 239.4±2.1 Ma and 239.3±2.0 Ma show upward-convex age spectra caused by the mixture of older porphyroclastic phengite with excess argon incorporation and younger neoformed phengite without excess argon incorporation. It is demonstrated that excess argon introduced from the previous UHP metamorphism is still preserved in the pre-existing phengite after the Tan-Lu eclogite-facies mylonitization. The intense deformation under HT and HP conditions cannot erase excess argon in the previous phengite totally due to restricted fluid activities. These porphyroclastic phengite previously contaminated with excess argon cannot be used for dating the later HP deformation. This indicates that deformation under a HP dry condition does not play an important role in removing previous 40Are in phengite.     

Geochronological constraints on the timing of granitoid magmatism, metamorphism and post-metamorphic cooling in the Hercynian crustal cross-section of Calabria

Exposed cross‐sections of the continental crust are a unique geological situation for crustal evolution studies, providing the possibility of deciphering the time relationships between magmatic and metamorphic events at all levels of the crust. In the cross‐section of southern and northern Calabria, U–Pb, Rb–Sr and K–Ar mineral ages of granulite facies metapelitic migmatites, peraluminous granites and amphibolite facies upper crustal gneisses provide constraints on the late‐Hercynian peak metamorphism and granitoid magmatism as well as on the post‐metamorphic cooling. Monazite from upper crustal amphibolite facies paragneisses from southern Calabria yields similar U–Pb ages (295–293±4 Ma) to those of granulite facies metamorphism in the lower crust and of intrusions of calcalkaline and metaluminous granitoids in the middle crust (300±10 Ma). Monazite and xenotime from peraluminous granites in the middle to upper crust of the same crustal section provide slightly older intrusion ages of 303–302±0.6 Ma. Zircon from a mafic to intermediate sill in the lower crust yields a lower concordia intercept age of 290±2 Ma, which may be interpreted as the minimum age for metamorphism or intrusion. U–Pb monazite ages from granulite facies migmatites and peraluminous granites of the lower and middle crust from northern Calabria (Sila) also point to a near‐synchronism of peak metamorphism and intrusion at 304–300±0.4 Ma. At the end of the granulite facies metamorphism, the lower crustal rocks were uplifted into mid‐crustal levels (10–15 km) followed by nearly isobaric slow cooling (c. 3 °C Ma^?1) as indicated by muscovite and biotite K–Ar and Rb–Sr data between 210±4 and 123±1 Ma. The thermal history is therefore similar to that of the lower crust of southern Calabria. In combination with previous petrological studies addressing metamorphic textures and P–T conditions of rocks from all crustal levels, the new geochronological results are used to suggest that the thermal evolution and heat distribution in the Calabrian crust were mainly controlled by advective heat input through magmatic intrusions into all crustal levels during the late‐Hercynian orogeny.     

White mica K–Ar geochronology of Sanbagawa eclogites from Southwest Japan: implications for deformation-controlled K–Ar closure temperature

White mica (phengite and paragonite) K–Ar ages of eclogite-facies Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks (15 eclogitic rocks and eight associated pelitic schists) from four different localities yielded ages of 84–89 Ma (Seba, central Shikoku), 78–80 Ma (Nishi-Iratsu, central Shikoku), 123 and 136 Ma (Gongen, central Shikoku), and 82–88 Ma (Kotsu/Bizan, eastern Shikoku). With the exception of a quartz-rich kyanite-bearing eclogite from Gongen, white mica ages overlap with the previously known range of phengite K–Ar ages of pelitic schists of the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt and can be distinguished from those of the Shimanto metamorphic belt. The similarity of K–Ar ages between the eclogites and surrounding pelitic schists supports a geological setting wherein the eclogites experienced intense ductile deformation with pelitic schists during exhumation. In contrast, phengite extracted from the Gongen eclogite, which is less overprinted by a ductile shear deformation during exhumation, yielded significantly older ages. Given that the Gongen eclogite is enclosed by the Higashi-Akaishi meta-peridotite body, these K–Ar ages are attributed to excess ⁴⁰Ar gained during an interaction between the eclogite and host meta-peridotite with mantle-derived noble gas (very high ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio) at eclogite-facies depth. Fluid exchange between deep-subducted sediments and mantle material might have enhanced the gain of mantle-derived extreme ⁴⁰Ar in the meta-sediment. Although dynamic recrystallization of white mica can reset the Ar isotope system, limited-argon-depletion due to lesser degrees of ductile shear deformation of the Gongen eclogite might have prevented complete release of the trapped excess argon from phengites. This observation supports a model of deformation-controlled K–Ar closure temperature.     

A Tertiary age for Alpine high-pressure metamorphism in the Gran Paradiso massif, Western Alps: a Rb–Sr microsampling study

The timing of high‐pressure (HP) metamorphism in the internal basement massifs of the Western Alps has been contentious. In the Gran Paradiso massif silvery micaschists, thought to have developed from granitic precursors, contain assemblages indicative of pressures in excess of 18 kbar at 500–550 °C. This paper presents unique geochronological data for the paragenesis of the silvery micaschist HP assemblage. Rb–Sr microsampling of an apatite–phengite pair thought to have remained closed to Rb–Sr exchange since the HP paragenesis formed has yielded an age of 43.0 ± 0.5 Ma. Greenschist retrogression occurred after 36.3 ± 0.4 Ma, probably in the interval 36–34 Ma. The localised disturbance of the Rb–Sr system in phengite, apatite and allanite during retrogression means that only in situ microsampling could obtain meaningful ages from these rocks. The new data indicating a Tertiary age for HP metamorphism in the Gran Paradiso massif agree with recent data for other internal basement massifs in the Western Alps. A model fitting the Gran Paradiso massif into the Western Alpine framework is presented.     

P–T–time (phengite Ar closure) history of spatially close-outcropping HP and UHP oceanic eclogites (southwestern Tianshan): implication for a potential deep juxtaposing process during exhumation?

ABSTRACT

The Chinese southwestern Tianshan HP–UHP/LT metamorphic complex possesses well-preserved mafic layers, tectonic slices/blocks, boudins/lens of different sizes, and lithology embedded within dominant metavolcanoclastics. A recent study on the ultra-high pressure (UHP) eclogite revealed a short timescale of exhumation (≤10 Ma, ~315 ± 5 Ma). However, controversies still exist on some key questions: (1) the reasonable interpretation of spatially close-outcropped high pressure (HP) and UHP slices with respect to regional geodynamics, and (2) if the previous regional scatter Ar–Ar ages proved the existence of internally coherent sub-belts or troubled by dating on samples with notable ⁴⁰Ar retention. This study focusses on detailed P–T–time (phengite Ar closure) recovery of samples from a HP eclogite lens and its host rock, the UHP thick-layered eclogite. Based on data from bulk–rock, microprobe analysis, and muscovite Ar–Ar chronological dating, we link phengite growth to potential garnet growth stages via thermodynamic modelling. Facilitated by the P–T–Ar retention% graph, we collect all the regional muscovite Ar–Ar data together with results in this study for evaluating the significance of regional muscovite Ar–Ar ages and set back to geodynamics. According to modelling results, the HP lens eclogite reached peak metamorphism at ~550°C, 2.50 GPa with an Ar–Ar muscovite plateau age of 316.9 ± 1.0 Ma that could date the mass phengite growth event during prograde metamorphism. In contrast, the UHP layered eclogite experienced UHP peak burial at ~510°C, 2.95 GPa, and then to HP peak metamorphism at ~560°C, 2.60 GPa with ~311.6 ± 0.7 Ma plateau age that may constrain the cooling age during early exhumation. Noteworthy, both of them share a quite similar early exhumation path despite bearing contrasting prograde metamorphic experiences. With considering updated regional exhumation pattern, this might imply the existence of a potential deep juxtaposing (capture) process between HP slices and exhumating UHP complex, at about 45–60 km depth along subduction plate interface.     

A cold Early Palaeozoic subduction zone in the North Qilian Mountains, NW China: petrological and U-Pb geochronological constraints

The north Qilian high‐pressure (HP)/low‐temperature (LT) metamorphic belt is composed mainly of blueschists, eclogites and greenschist facies rocks. It formed within an Early Palaeozoic accretionary wedge associated with the subduction of the oceanic crust and is considered to be one of the best preserved HP/LT metamorphic belts in China. Here we report new lawsonite‐bearing eclogites and eclogitic rocks enclosed within epidote blueschists in the North Qilian Mountains. Five samples contain unaltered lawsonite coexisting with omphacite and phengite as inclusions in garnet, indicating eclogite facies garnet growth and lawsonite pseudomorphs were observed in garnet from an additional 11 eclogites and eclogitic rocks. Peak pressure conditions estimated from lawsonite omphacite‐phengite‐garnet assemblages were 2.1–2.4 GPa at temperatures of 420–510 °C, in or near the stability field of lawsonite eclogite, and implying formation under an apparent geothermal gradient of 6–8 °C km^?1, consistent with metamorphism in a cold subduction zone. SHRIMP U‐Pb dating of zircon from two lawsonite‐bearing eclogitic metabasites yields ages of 489 ± 7 Ma and 477 ± 16 Ma, respectively. CL images and mineral inclusions in zircon grains indicate that these ages reflect an eclogite facies metamorphism. An age of 502 ± 16 Ma is recorded in igneous cores of zircon grains from one lawsonite pseudomorph‐bearing eclogite, which is in agreement with the formation age of Early Ordovician for some ophiolite sequences in the North Qilian Mountains, and may be associated with a period of oceanic crust formation. The petrological and chronological data demonstrate the existence of a cold Early Palaeozoic subduction zone in the North Qilian Mountains.     

Metamorphic evolution of the Sesia-Lanzo Zone,Western Alps: time constraints from multi-system geochronology

 The Sesia-Lanzo Zone is a polymetamorphic unit containing Hercynian granulite relics overprinted by eclogite and greenschist facies metamorphism and deformation during the Alpine orogeny. Different parts of the unit record different stages on the P-T-deformation evolution, allowing multi-system isotopic studies to unravel the precise timing of the metamorphic history. New Rb–Sr white mica and U–Pb sphene data constrain the age of eclogite facies metamorphism and deformation to 60–70 Ma. This substantially alters the common view of early- to mid-Cretaceous eclogite facies metamorphism in this unit. The new results are more consistent with the established geotectonic framework for the Alpine orogeny, since they do not require a prolonged period of depressed geothermal gradient at a time when the region was in extension. It is also more concordant with recent studies of other units that demonstrate post-Cretaceous high-pressure metamorphism. Step-heated ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar analysis of phengites yields good plateaux giving ages older than the corresponding Rb–Sr age. Such anomalously high ages indicate the presence of radiogenic argon-rich fluids in the grain boundary network under the fluid/pressure conditions acting during this high-pressure metamorphic event. The U–Pb sphene ages are variable in polymetamorphic rocks, and show inheritance of older Pb or sphene crystals into the high-pressure event. Two monometamorphic assemblages yield concordant ages at 66±1 Ma, reflecting crystallisation of the eclogite facies assemblage. The Gneiss Minuti Complex (GMC) lies structurally below the Eclogitic Micaschists, and its pervasive greenschist facies fabric yields tightly clustered Rb–Sr white mica ages at 38–39 Ma. This greenschist event did not affect the majority of the EMC. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages of micas formed at this time were very disturbed, whereas micas surviving from an earlier higher pressure assemblage had their ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar system reset. The greenschist event did not strongly affect U–Pb systematics in Hercynian age sphenes, suggesting that the GMC did not uniformly suffer an eclogite facies metamorphism during the Alpine cycle, but was juxtaposed against the EMC later in the orogeny. This model still requires that the locus of deformation and metamorphism (and possibly fluid flux) moved outboard with time, leaving the Sesia-Lanzo basement as a shear-bounded unreactive block within the orogenic wedge. Received: 12 October 1995/Accepted:25 June 1996     

Late Cretaceous blueschist facies metamorphism in southern Thrace (Turkey) and its geodynamic implications

A blueschist facies tectonic sliver, 9 km long and 1 km wide, crops out within the Miocene clastic rocks bounded by the strands of the North Anatolian Fault zone in southern Thrace, NW Turkey. Two types of blueschist facies rock assemblages occur in the sliver: (i) A serpentinite body with numerous dykes of incipient blueschist facies metadiabase (ii) a well‐foliated and thoroughly recrystallized rock assemblage consisting of blueschist, marble and metachert. Both are partially enveloped by an Upper Eocene wildflysch, which includes olistoliths of serpentinite–metadiabase, Upper Cretaceous and Palaeogene pelagic limestone, Upper Eocene reefal limestone, radiolarian chert, quartzite and minor greenschist. Field relations in combination with the bore core data suggest that the tectonic sliver forms a positive flower structure within the Miocene clastic rocks in a transpressional strike–slip setting, and represents an uplifted part of the pre‐Eocene basement. The blueschists are represented by lawsonite–glaucophane‐bearing assemblages equilibrated at 270–310 °C and ～0.8 GPa. The metadiabase dykes in the serpentinite, on the other hand, are represented by pumpellyite–glaucophane–lawsonite‐assemblages that most probably equilibrated below 290 °C and at 0.75 GPa. One metadiabase olistolith in the Upper Eocene flysch sequence contains the mineral assemblage epidote + pumpellyite + glaucophane, recording P–T conditions of 290–350 °C and 0.65–0.78 GPa, indicative of slightly lower depths and different thermal setting. Timing of the blueschist facies metamorphism is constrained to c. 86 Ma (Coniacian/Santonian) by Rb–Sr phengite–whole rock and incremental ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar phengite dating on blueschists. The activity of the strike–slip fault post‐dates the blueschist facies metamorphism and exhumation, and is only responsible for the present outcrop pattern and post‐Miocene exhumation (～2 km). The high‐P/T metamorphic rocks of southern Thrace and the Biga Peninsula are located to the southeast of the Circum Rhodope Belt and indicate Late Cretaceous subduction and accretion under the northern continent, i.e. the Rhodope Massif, enveloped by the Circum Rhodope Belt. The Late Cretaceous is therefore a time of continued accretionary growth of this continental domain.     

Kar and RbSr whole-rock ages reset during pan african event in the sinai peninsula (Ataqa Area)

A low pressure metamorphic Pan African terrain, composed mainly of schists and hornfels, ranging from high greenschist to low amphibolite facies, is exposed west of Dahab, southeastern Sinai, located between the metamorphic Kid Complex and the Feirani Volcanics.The studied metamorphic unit was dated using RbSr and KAr methods. A RbSr whole-rock isochron (based on seven samples) yields an age of 602 ± 11 Ma with an initial (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) ratio of 0.7041 ± 4. The RbSr age is assumed to be the age of a metamorphic phase (600 ± 10 Ma) well known in the area. On the other hand, KAr whole-rock ages (based on nine samples) show different values ranging from 590 to 526 Ma. These low KAr ages are due to the resetting of the KAr system by a thermal event, before 530 Ma affecting the Ar behaviour without disturbing the RbSr system. The Ar escape took place mainly from K-bearing feldspars, which were not affected by later textural, crystallographic or mineralogic variations.     

Late Palaeozoic 40Ar/39Ar ages of the HP-LT metamorphic rocks from the Kekesu Valley,Chinese southwestern Tianshan: new constraints on exhumation tectonics

abstract

Although numerous ages have been obtained for the Chinese southwestern Tianshan high pressure/ultrahigh pressure-low temperature (HP/UHP-LT) metamorphic belt in the past two decades, its exhumation history is still controversial. The poor age constraint was related to the appealing low metamorphic temperatures and excess Ar commonly present under HP/UHP conditions. This study aims to provide new age constraints on the orogen’s exhumation by obtaining ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mica ages using the conventional step-heating technique, with emphasis on the avoidance of excess Ar contamination. From a cross section along the Kekesu Valley, four samples, three from the HP-LT metamorphic belt (TK050, TK051, and TK081) and one from the southern margin of the low pressure metamorphic belt (TK097), were selected for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Phengites from garnet glaucophane schist TK050 and the surrounding rock garnet phengite schist TK051 yield comparable plateau ages of 321.4 ± 1.6 and 318.6 ± 1.6 Ma, respectively, while epidote mica schist TK081 gives a younger plateau age of 293.3 ± 1.5 Ma. Considering the chemical compositions of phengites, mineral assemblages, and microstructures in the thin slices, we suppose that the former represents the time the HP rocks retrograded from the peak stage (eclogite facies) to the (epidote)-blueschist facies, whereas the latter reflects greenschist facies overprinting. Biotite and muscovite from two-mica quartzite TK097 give similar plateau ages of 253.0 ± 1.3 and 247.1 ± 1.2 Ma, interpreted to date movement on the post collisional transcrustal South Nalati ductile shear zone. By combining our new ages with published data, a two-stage exhumation model is suggested for the Chinese southwestern Tianshan HP/UHP-LT metamorphic belt: initial fast exhumation to a depth of about 30–35 km by ~320 Ma was followed by relatively slow (~1 mm year^–1) uplift to ~10 km by ~293 Ma.     

An Eocene/Oligocene blueschist‐/greenschist facies P–T loop from the Cycladic Blueschist Unit on Naxos Island,Greece: Deformation‐related re‐equilibration vs. thermal relaxation

Geothermobarometric and geochronological work indicates a complete Eocene/early Oligocene blueschist/greenschist facies metamorphic cycle of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit on Naxos Island in the Aegean Sea region. Using the average pressure–temperature (P–T) method of thermocalc coupled with detailed textural work, we separate an early blueschist facies event at 576 ± 16 to 619 ± 32°C and 15.5 ± 0.5 to 16.3 ± 0.9 kbar from a subsequent greenschist facies overprint at 384 ± 30°C and 3.8 ± 1.1 kbar. Multi‐mineral Rb–Sr isochron dating yields crystallization ages for near peak‐pressure blueschist facies assemblages between 40.5 ± 1.0 and 38.3 ± 0.5 Ma. The greenschist facies overprint commonly did not result in complete resetting of age signatures. Maximum ages for the end of greenschist facies reworking, obtained from disequilibrium patterns, cluster near c. 32 Ma, with one sample showing rejuvenation at c. 27 Ma. We conclude that the high‐P rocks from south Naxos were exhumed to upper mid‐crustal levels in the late Eocene and early Oligocene at rates of 7.4 ± 4.6 km/Ma, completing a full blueschist‐/greenschist facies metamorphic cycle soon after subduction within c. 8 Ma. The greenschist facies overprint of the blueschist facies rocks from south Naxos resulted from rapid exhumation and associated deformation/fluid‐controlled metamorphic re‐equilibration, and is unrelated to the strong high‐T metamorphism associated with the Miocene formation of the Naxos migmatite dome. It follows that the Miocene thermal overprint had no impact on rock textures or Sr isotopic signatures, and that the rocks of south Naxos underwent three metamorphic events, one more than hitherto envisaged.