Metamorphic P-T paths from calcic pelitic schists from the Strafford Dome, Vermont, USA

Metamorphism of the Gile Mountain Formation and Waits River Formation in the Strafford Dome and Townshend-Brownington Syncline in east-central Vermont records two nappe-style events, D1 and D2, followed by doming. D1 formed a muscovite + biotite ± ilmenite schistosity subparallel to compositional layering, SO, and was followed by heating to garnet grade. The temperature and pressure at the end of D1 are estimated to be c . 450 C and 6-8 kbar. D2 variably crenulated and folded S1 during a nearly isothermal pressure increase of 1-2 kbar, calculated from compositions of garnet, which have inclusions trails with progressive crenulation and rotation of the S1 fabric. Similar P-T paths are computed for most of the area, suggesting that the later schistosity developed during emplacement of a regional nappe 3-6 km thick. There is a general lack of D3 (dome-stage) microstructures.
Near the Strafford-Willoughby Arch, staurolite and kyanite overgrew S2 in pelites, and plagioclase with increasing X _An overgrew S2 in calcic pelites, reflecting post-D2 heating to a maximum of 550-600 C. Metamorphic pressures at the end of D2 are fairly constant on the west side of the dome, indicating minor dome-stage uplift. In contrast, pressures at the thermal peak of metamorphism decrease by more than 4 kbar east of the dome. The observed pattern of isotherms and isobars is mainly the result of post-metamorphic, differential uplift and unroofing.
Finally, a minor, retrograde metamorphism produced the assemblage albite + epidote + K-feldspar + muscovite + chlorite, with grade increasing east toward the Connecticut River.     

Metamorphism of metapelites: calculations of equilibrium assemblages and numerical simulations of the crystallization of garnet

Abstract This work uses a simplified model of equilibrium to predict the assemblage sequence and compositional zoning in garnet that should result from prograde metamorphism of common bulk compositions of pelitic rocks. An internally-consistent set of model thermodynamic data are derived for natural mineral compositions from natural assemblages. Equilibrium assemblages can be calculated for pelitic compositions with excess quartz and either muscovite or K-feldspar at any pressure and water pressure. The compositions and abundances of phases in equilibrium assemblages can be calculated where the elements Mg, Fe and Mn are exchanged among phases. The prograde metamorphic assemblage sequences and the effects of pressure on assemblages, predicted by the simulation method presented here, are similar enough to natural observations to suggest that the simulations can be used to analyse natural equilibrium and growth processes. The calculated phase diagrams at moderate and high crustal pressures explain the mineral assemblage sequence produced by prograde metamorphism in common pelitic compositions. Garnet appears by continuous reaction of biotite and chlorite as the garnet-biotite-chlorite divariant field migrates toward higher Mg/Fe ratios over the bulk composition. Staurolite appears in common bulk compositions when garnet and chlorite become incompatible. An aluminum silicate phase can appear when staurolite and chlorite react. Staurolite breaks down at an extremum point to produce garnet. Continuous reaction of biotite and sillimanite causes growth of abundant garnet. The reaction sequence involving garnet, staurolite and aluminum silicates is probably different at low pressure, but the main reason that staurolite and garnet are rare is the restricted compositional range over which their assemblages exist. Andalusite appears by the divariant reaction of chlorite and cordierite appears at low temperature in low pressure assemblages for common bulk compositions by the extremumpoint breakdown reaction of chlorite. Compositional zoning of garnet and the systematic variation of biotite composition in metamorphic sequences indicate that garnet is probably fractionated during growth. Fractionation of garnet causes garnet-consuming, univariant reactions to become multivariant. The metastable persistence of garnet should reduce the abundance and stability range of staurolite. Fractionation of even small quantities of garnet should deplete the equilibrating bulk composition of Mn, but have little effect otherwise. The simulations show that the prograde assemblage sequence in pelitic rocks can be complex in detail, with some assemblages lasting over temperature intervals of only a few degrees. The major prograde reactions that release water are the breakdown of chlorite to form garnet at low grade and the breakdown of muscovite at high grade. The volume of water released by formation of garnet at high grade is also important. These reactions have the capacity to buffer water pressure. The density of anhydrous pelitic rock increases markedly when chlorite breaks down and by the continuous reaction forming garnet at high grade. The heat content is controlled principally by heat capacity and continuous reactions. Discontinuous reactions have little thermal buffering capacity. Simulations of garnet fractionation show that commonly-observed garnet zoning profiles can be formed by garnet growth in the assemblage garnet-biotite-chlorite in common bulk compositions. A reversal of Fe-zoning in garnet can occur when garnet resumes growth above staurolite grade in the assemblage garnetbiotite-sillimanite. Discontinuities in zoning profiles can be caused only by disequilibrium. The disequilibrium can be due to either metastable persistence during a hiatus in growth or to growth by irreversible reaction. Because the appearance of garnet is controlled by a continuous rather than a discontinuous reaction, the appearance of garnet is very sensitive to bulk composition. The early development of garnet is also sensitive to the pressure and water pressure of metamorphism. As a consequence the first garnet isograd is of limited thermometric value. Metastable persistence of kyanite and manite at high grades could reduce the abundance of garnet and allow biotite to persist. Metastable persistence would also limit the of cordierite formation.     

Multi-textured garnets from a single growth event: an example from northern Norway

Abstract Textural relationships between porphyroblasts of biotite and garnet in metasediments in the Nordkinn Peninsula area of the Finnmarkian Caledonides of North Norway are apparently complex. There is evidence for two textural zones in both mineral phases and superficially the development of these appears to have overlapped, at least in part, in time and space. This apparently complex porphyroblast growth history can be considerably simplified if only one period of garnet growth occurred and if different inclusion fabrics developed where garnet replaced biotite porphyroblasts and where it overgrew the matrix foliation. The possibility that porphyroblasts with textural evidence for multiphase growth histories actually grew during a single crystallization event is of importance in the interpretation and elucidation of tectonometamorphic relationships.     

High-temperature 'clockwise'P-T paths and melting in the development of regional migmatites: an example from southern Brittany, France

The Southern Brittany Migmatite Belt (SBMB), which evolved through the metamorphic peak between c. 400 Ma and c. . 370 Ma ago, consists of a heterogeneous suite of high-grade gneisses and anatectic migmatites, both metatexites and diatexites. Rare garnet-cordierite gneiss layers record evidence of an early prograde P-T path. In these rocks, growth-zoned garnet cores and a sequence of included mineral assemblages in garnet, from core to rim, of Qtz + Ilm + Ky, Pl + Ky + St + Rt + Bt and Pl + Sil + St + Rt + Bt constrain a prograde evolution during which the reactions Ilm + Ky + Qtz→ Aim + Rt, Ms + Chl→ St + Bt + Qtz + V and St + Qtz→ Grt + Sil + V were crossed. Parts of this prograde evolution are preserved as inclusion assemblages in garnet in all other rock types. In all rock types, garnet has reverse zoned rims, and garnet replacement by cordierite and/or biotite and plagioclase suggests the following reactions have occurred: Grt + Sil + Qtz→ Crd → Hc ± Ilm, Bt + Sil + Qtz → Crd ± Hc → Ilm → Kfs + V and (Na + Ca + K + Ti) + Grt → Bt + Pl + Qtz. Microstructural analysis of reaction textures in conjunction with a petrogenetic grid has enabled the construction of a tightly constrained 'clockwise' P–T path for the SBMB. The high-temperature part of the path has a steep dT/dP slope characteristic of near isothermal decompression. It is proposed that the P-T path followed by the SBMB is the result of the inversion, by overthrusting, of a back-arc basin and that such a tectonic setting may be applicable to other high-temperature migmatite terranes. The near isothermal decompression is at least partly driven by the upward (diapiric) movement of the diatexite/anatectic granite core of the SBMB.     

Porphyroblast rotation during crenulation cleavage development: an example from the aureole of the Mooselookmeguntic pluton, Maine, USA

In the low‐pressure, high‐temperature metamorphic rocks of western Maine, USA, staurolite porphyroblasts grew at c. 400 Ma, very late during the regional orogenesis. These porphyroblasts, which preserve straight inclusion trails with small thin‐section‐scale variation in pitch, were subsequently involved in the strain and metamorphic aureole of the c. 370 Ma Mooselookmeguntic pluton. The aureole shows a progressive fabric intensity gradient from effectively zero emplacement‐related deformation at the outer edge of the aureole ～2900 m (map distance) from the pluton margin to the development of a pervasive emplacement‐related foliation adjacent to the pluton. The development of this pervasive foliation spanned all stages of crenulation cleavage development, which are preserved at different distances from the pluton. The spread of inclusion‐trail pitches in the staurolite porphyroblasts, as measured in two‐dimensional (2‐D) thin sections, increases nonlinearly from ～16° to 75° with increasing strain in the aureole. These data provide clear evidence for rotation of the staurolite porphyroblasts relative to one another and to the developing crenulation cleavage. The data spread is qualitatively modelled for both pure and simple shear, and both solutions match the data reasonably well. The spread of inclusion‐trail orientations (40–75°) in the moderately to highly strained rocks is similar to the spread reported in several previous studies. We consider it likely that the sample‐scale spread in these previous studies is also the result of porphyroblast rotation relative to one another. However, the average inclusion‐trail orientation for a single sample may, in at least some instances, reflect the original orientation of the overgrown foliation.     

Contact metamorphic P–T–t paths from Sm–Nd garnet ages, phase equilibria modelling and thermobarometry: Garnet Ledge, south-eastern Alaska, USA

Sm–Nd garnet‐whole rock geochronology, phase equilibria, and thermobarometry results from Garnet Ledge, south‐eastern Alaska, provide the first precisely constrained P–T–t path for garnet zone contact metamorphism. Garnet cores from two crystals and associated whole rocks yield a four point isochron age for initial garnet growth of 89.9 ± 3.6 Ma. Garnet rims and matrix minerals from the same samples yield a five point isochron age for final garnet growth of 89 ± 1 Ma. Six size fractions of zircon from the adjacent pluton yield a concordant U–Pb age of 91.6 ± 0.5 Ma. The garnet core and rim, and zircon ages are compatible with single‐stage garnet growth during and/or after pluton emplacement. All garnet core–whole rock and garnet rim‐matrix data from the two samples constrain garnet growth duration to ≤5.5 my. A garnet mid‐point and the associated matrix from one of the two garnet crystals yield an age of 90.0 ± 1.0 Ma. This mid‐point result is logically younger than the 90.7 ± 5.6 Ma core–whole rock age and older than the 88.4 ± 2.5 Ma rim‐matrix age for this sample. A MnNaCaKFMASH phase diagram (P–T pseudosection) and the garnet core composition are used to predict that cores of garnet crystals grew at 610 ± 20 °C and 5 ± 1 kbar. This exceeds the temperature of the garnet‐in reaction by c. 50 °C and is compatible with overstepping of the garnet growth reaction during contact metamorphism. Intersection of three reactions involving garnet‐biotite‐sillimanite‐plagioclase‐quartz calculated by THERMOCALC in average P–T mode, and exchange thermobarometry were used to estimate peak metamorphic conditions of 678 ± 58 °C at 6.1 ± 0.9 kbar and 685 ± 50 °C at 6.3 ± 1 kbar, respectively. Integration of pressure, temperature, and age estimates yields a pressure‐temperature‐time path compatible with near isobaric garnet growth over an interval of c. 70 °C and c. 2.3 my.     

Metamorphic P–T Paths from pelitic schists and greenstones from the south-west Tauern Window, Eastern Alps

Abstract Petrological data from intercalated pelitic schists and greenstones are used to construct a pressure–temperature path followed by the Upper Schieferhülle (USH) series during progressive metamorphism and uplift in the south-west Tauern Window, Italy. Pseudomorphs of Al–epidote + Fe-epidote + albite + oligoclase + chlorite after lawsonite and data on amphibole crystal chemistry indicate early metamorphism in the lawsonite-albite-chlorite subfacies of the blueschist facies at P ± 7–8 kbar. Geothermometry and geobarometry yield conditions of final equilibration of the matrix assemblage of 475±25°C, 5–6 kbar; calculations with plagioclase and phengite inclusions in garnet indicate early garnet growth at pressures of ∼ 7.5 kbar. Garnet zoning patterns are complex and reversals in zoning can be correlated between samples. Thermodynamic modelling of these zoning profiles implies garnet growth in response to four distinct phases of tectonic activity. Fluid inclusion data from coexisting immiscible H₂O–CO₂–NaCl fluids constrain the uplift path to have passed through temperatures of 380 + 30°C at 1.3 + 0.2 kbar.
There is no evidence for metamorphism of USH at pressures greater than ∼ 7.5 kbar in this area of the Tauern Window. This is in contrast to pressures of ± 10 kbar recorded in the Lower Schieferhülle only 2–3 km across strike. A history of differential uplift and thinning of the intervening section during metamorphism is necessary to reconcile the P–T data obtained from these adjacent tectonic units.     

C–O–H–N fluids in quartz segregations from a major ductile shear zone: the Berzosa fault, Spanish Central System

Abstract The Berzosa fault is a major ductile shear zone, the Berzosa Shear Zone (BSZ), which separates the ‘Ollo de Sapo’anticline from the inner higher-grade crystalline axis of the Iberian Hercynian Belt. This shear zone is the site of abundant early kinematic quartz (± Al-silicates) segregations, rich in fluid inclusions. Host rocks are medium-grade staurolite schists and sillimanite gneisses. Fluid inclusions in selected quartz segregations across the Berzosa shear zone have been studied by microthermometric methods as well as, in some instances, by Raman analysis. The recorded fluid inclusion history begins at the end of an intense secondary recrystallization period during late-peak metamorphic conditions and lasts until late in the uplift history of the zone. Three types of inclusions have been found, which in a time sequence are: CO₂± H₂O; H₂O+salt (B-type); and, N₂+CH₄. Three types of B inclusion may be distinguished in turn, depending on whether they were trapped during an earlier dynamic-recovery phase (B₁-type), formed later as intergranular trails (B₂-type), or were trapped apparently along with N₂+CH₄ in clusions from a heterogeneous fluid (B₃-type). Considerations from isochores confirm that CO₂± H₂O inclusions were trapped during late-peak and high-T retrograde metamorphic conditions (in the range 650–500°C and 5–2 kbar), whilst N₂+CH₄ inclusions, along with the B₃-type of inclusions, formed at low-pressures (<1 kbar) and temperatures (± 300°C). B₂-type inclusions were trapped chronologically between these two in a period in which strong inverse lateral thermal gradients developed in the zone. Inferred P-T paths for the area are convex to the T-axis.     

Petrology and geothermobarometry of granulite facies metapelites from the Hisøy-Torungen area, south Norway: new data on the Sveconorvegian P–T–t path of the Bamble sector

ABSTRACT The high-grade rocks (metapelite, quartzite, metagabbro) of the Hisøy-Torungen area represent the south-westernmost exposures of granulites in the Proterozoic Bamble sector, south Norway. The area is isoclinally folded and a metamorphic P–T–t path through four successive stages (M1-M4) is recognized. Petrological evidence for a prograde metamorphic event (M1) is obtained from relict staurolite + chlorite + albite, staurolite + hercynite + ilmenite, cordierite + sillimanite, fine-grained felsic material + quartz and hercynite + biotite ± sillimanite within metapelitic garnet. The phase relations are consistent with a pressure of 3.6 ± 0.5 kbar and temperatures up to 750–850°C. M1 is connected to the thermal effect of the gabbroic intrusions prior to the main (M2) Sveconorwegian granulite facies metamorphism. The main M2 granulite facies mineral assemblages (quartz+ plagioclase + K-feldspar + garnet + biotite ± sillimanite) are best preserved in the several-metre-wide Al-rich metapelites, which represent conditions of 5.9–9.1 kbar and 790–884°C. These P–T conditions are consistent with a temperature increase of 80–100°C relative to the adjacent amphibolite facies terranes. No accompanying pressure variations are recorded. Up to 1-mm-wide fine-grained felsic veinlets appear in several units and represent remnants of a former melt formed by the reaction: Bt + Sil + Qtz→Grt + lq. This dehydration reaction, together with the absence of large-scale migmatites in the area, suggests a very reduced water activity in the rocks and XH₂O = 0.25 in the C–O–H fluid system was calculated for a metapelitic unit. A low but variable water activity can best explain the presence or absence of fine-grained felsic material representing a former melt in the different granulitic metapelites. The strongly peraluminous composition of the felsic veinlets is due to the reaction: Grt +former melt ± Sil→Crd + Bt ± Qtz + H₂O, which has given poorly crystalline cordierite aggregates intergrown with well-crystalline biotite. The cordierite- and biotite-producing reaction constrains a steep first-stage retrograde (relative to M2) uplift path. Decimetre- to metre-wide, strongly banded metapelites (quartz + plagioclase + biotite + garnet ± sillimanite) inter-layered with quartzites are retrograded to (M3) amphibolite facies assemblages. A P–T estimate of 1.7–5.6 kbar, 516–581°C is obtained from geothermobarometry based on rim-rim analyses of garnet–biotite–plagioclase–sillimanite–quartz assemblages, and can be related to the isoclinal folding of the rocks. M4 greenschist facies conditions are most extensively developed in millimetre-wide chlorite-rich, calcite-bearing veins cutting the foliation.     

Constraining the P–T path of a MORB-type eclogite using pseudosections, garnet zoning and garnet-clinopyroxene thermometry: an example from the Bohemian Massif

A mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB)‐type eclogite from the Moldanubian domain in the Bohemian Massif retains evidence of its prograde path in the form of inclusions of hornblende, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, titanite, ilmenite and rutile preserved in zoned garnet. Prograde zoning involves a flat grossular core followed by a grossular spike and decrease at the rim, whereas Fe/(Fe + Mg) is also flat in the core and then decreases at the rim. In a pseudosection for H₂O‐saturated conditions, garnet with such a zoning grows along an isothermal burial path at c. 750 °C from 10 kbar in the assemblage plagioclase‐hornblende‐diopsidic clinopyroxene‐quartz, then in hornblende‐diopsidic clinopyroxene‐quartz, and ends its growth at 17–18 kbar. From this point, there is no pseudosection‐based information on further increase in pressure or temperature. Then, with garnet‐clinopyroxene thermometry, the focus is on the dependence on, and the uncertainties stemming from the unknown Fe³⁺ content in clinopyroxene. Assuming no Fe³⁺ in the clinopyroxene gives a serious and unwarranted upward bias to calculated temperatures. A Fe³⁺‐contributed uncertainty of ±40 °C combined with a calibration and other uncertainties gives a peak temperature of 760 ± 90 °C at 18 kbar, consistent with no further heating following burial to eclogite facies conditions. Further pseudosection modelling suggests that decompression to c. 12 kbar occurred essentially isothermally from the metamorphic peak under H₂O‐undersaturated conditions (c. 1.3 mol.% H₂O) that allowed the preservation of the majority of garnet with symplectitic as well as relict clinopyroxene. The modelling also shows that a MORB‐type eclogite decompressed to c. 8 kbar ends as an amphibolite if it is H₂O saturated, but if it is H₂O‐undersaturated it contains assemblages with orthopyroxene. Increasing H₂O undersaturation causes an earlier transition to SiO₂ undersaturation on decompression, leading to the appearance of spinel‐bearing assemblages. Granulite facies‐looking overprints of eclogites may develop at amphibolite facies conditions.     

Contact metamorphism in the Malashan dome, North Himalayan gneiss domes, southern Tibet: an example of shallow extensional tectonics in the Tethys Himalaya

Combined petrographic, structural and geochronological study of the Malashan dome, one of the North Himalayan gneiss domes, reveals that it is cored by a Miocene granite, the Malashan granite, that intruded into the Jurassic sedimentary rocks of Tethys Himalaya. Two other granites in the area are referred to as the Paiku and Cuobu granites. New zircon SHRIMP U-Pb and muscovite and biotite ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating show that the Paiku granite was emplaced during 22.2–16.2 Ma (average 19.3 ± 3.9 Ma) and cooled rapidly to 350–400 °C at around 15.9 Ma. Whole-rock granite chemistry suggests the original granitic magma may have formed by muscovite dehydration melting of a protolith chemically similar to the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence. Abundant calcareous metasedimentary rocks and minor garnet-staurolite-biotite-muscovite ± andalusite schists record contact metamorphism by three granites that intruded intermittently into the Jurassic sediments between 18.5 and 15.3 Ma. Two stages of widespread penetrative ductile deformation, D1 and D2, can be defined. Microstructural studies of metapelites combined with geothermobarometry and pseudosection analyses yield P – T conditions of 4.8 ± 0.8 kbar at 550 ± 50 °C during a non-deformational stage between D1 and D2, and 3.1–4.1 kbar at 530–575 °C during syn- to post-D2. The pressure estimates for the syn- to post-D2 growth of andalusite suggest relatively shallow (depth of ∼15.2 km) extensional ductile deformation that took place within a shear zone of the South Tibetan Detachment System. Close temporal association between intrusion of the Malashan granite and onset of D2 suggests extension may have been triggered by the intrusion of the Malashan granite.     

Trace element redistribution in high-temperature deformed gabbros from East Ligurian ophiolites (Northern Apennines, Italy): constraints on the origin of syndeformation fluids

Abstract Mg-gabbros from East Ligurian ophiolites (Northern Apennines, Italy) display a high-temperature/low-pressure recrystallization localized along ductile shear zones. In deformed gabbros, the igneous diopside is recrystallized into granoblastic aggregates of neoblastic diopside and minor red-brown amphibole. The latter displays a pargasitic composition, with high amounts of Al^IV Na(A) and Ti (± 1.8, 0.7 and 0.4 atoms per formula unit, respectively). Major element composition of neoblastic minerals highlight equilibration temperature conditions in the range 800–950° C. Red-brown Ti-pargasite also occurs as a minor interstitial constituent, presumably growing from a residual trapped liquid, in the differentiated lithologies (Fe-Ti-diorites) of the plutonic ophiolitic complex. By means of ion microprobe (SIMS technique), rare earth (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Er, Yb) and selected trace elements (Sr, Y, Cr, V, Sc, Zr, Ti) have been analysed in igneous and neoblastic diopside, as well as in Ti-pargasites. Ti-pargasites have also been analysed for F and Cl, and compared with the halogen composition of the amphiboles, mainly hornblendes to actinolites, which are related to the subsequent low-temperature brittle evolution. Neoblastic Ti-pargasite from deformed Mg-gabbros bears close compositional similarities with igneous Ti-pargasite from undeformed Fe-Ti-diorites, whereas it is geochemically distinct from the amphiboles post-dating the ductile event. In particular, Ti-pargasites have relatively high contents of F, REE, Y, Zr and Sr, which are not consistent with crystallization in the presence of seawater-derived hydrothermal fluids. High-grade recrystallization probably developed in the presence of volatile-rich igneous fluids, either trapped between the cumulus minerals or injected into the ductile shear zones from outside the local system. An alternative hypothesis comprises the absence of fluid phase and the development of ductile shear zones in Ti-pargasite-rich layers. The petrological features of deformed gabbros recovered from present-day slow-spreading ridges and fracture zones bear close similarities with the investigated ophiolitic metagabbros. In East Ligurian ophiolites, high-grade ductile shear zones have been related to the initial stages of the uplift of the gabbro-peridotite complex to the sea-floor.     

The generation of quartz-normative melts and corundum-bearing restites by crustal anatexis: petrogenetic modelling based on an example from the Lewisian of North-West Scotland

Abstract Rare layers of an aluminous, muscovite-rich rock from the Lewisian Complex at Stoer, North-West Scotland, display evidence which suggests that the rock has undergone local partial melting to form quartz-bearing veins and a corundum-bearing restite. The assemblages observed in these rocks match those predicted by modelling in the system KAlO₂-NaAlO₂-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (KNASH) where certain bulk compositions melt peritectically to give corundum-bearing restites and quartz-normative melts. Study of the model system shows that the observed parageneses could have formed from a range of bulk compositions with a variety of possible values of a H₂O which could have been internally or externally buffered. The KNASH petrogenetic grid, together with another in the system CaO-Na₂O-FeO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (CNFASH), allows the P–T path of the rocks to be delineated and an estimate to be made of the conditions at the peak of metamorphism as > 11 kbar and 900-925°C. This estimate is in agreement with P–T estimates using thermobarometric methods on adjacent lithologies: The activity of H₂O in the system throughout metamorphism is calculated to have been >0.3.     

Provenance and Magmatic-Metamorphic Evolution of a Variscan Island-Arc Complex: Constraints from U-Pb Dating, Petrology, and Geospeedometry of the Kyffhauser Crystalline Complex, Central Germany

The Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex, Central Germany, formspart of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, which is assumed torepresent the Variscan collision zone between the East Avalonianterrane and the Armorican terrane assemblage. High-precisionU–Pb zircon and monazite dating indicates that sedimentaryrocks of the Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex are youngerthan c. 470 Ma and were intruded by gabbros and diorites between345 ± 4 and 340 ± 1 Ma. These intrusions had magmatictemperatures between 850 and 900°C, and caused a contactmetamorphic overprint of the sediments at P–T conditionsof 690–750°C and 5–7 kbar, corresponding toan intrusion depth of 19–25 km. At 337 ± 1 Ma themagmatic–metamorphic suite was intruded by granites, syenitesand diorites at a shallow crustal level of some 7–11 km.This is inferred from a diorite, and conforms to P–T pathsobtained from the metasediments, indicating a nearly isothermaldecompression from 5–7 to 2–4 kbar at 690–750°C.Subsequently, the metamorphic–magmatic sequence underwentaccelerated cooling to below 400°C, as constrained by garnetgeospeedometry and a previously published K–Ar muscoviteage of 333 ± 7 Ma. With respect to P–T–D–tdata from surrounding units, rapid exhumation of the KCC canbe interpreted to result from NW-directed crustal shorteningduring the Viséan. KEY WORDS: contact metamorphism; U–Pb dating; hornblende; garnet; Mid-German Crystalline Rise; P–T pseudosection     

Interpreting prograde-growth histories of Al2SiO5 triple-point rocks using oxygen-isotope thermometry: an example from the Truchas Mountains, USA

Oxygen‐isotope compositions of kyanite, andalusite, prismatic sillimanite and fibrolite from the Proterozoic terrane in the Truchas Mountains, New Mexico differ from one another, suggesting that these minerals did not grow in equilibrium at the Al₂SiO₅ (AS) polymorph‐invariant point as previously suggested. Instead, oxygen‐isotope temperature estimates indicate that growth of kyanite, andalusite and prismatic sillimanite occurred at c. 575, 615 and 640 °C respectively. Temperature estimates reported in this paper are interpreted as those of growth for the different AS polymorphs, which are not necessarily the same as peak metamorphic temperatures for this terrane. Two distinct temperature estimates of c. 580 °C and c. 700 °C are calculated for most fibrolite samples, with two samples yielding clear evidence of quartz‐fibrolite oxygen‐isotope disequilibrium. These data indicate that locally, and potentially regionally, oxygen‐isotope disequilibrium between quartz and fibrolite may have resulted from rapid fibrolite nucleation. Pressures of mineral growth that were extrapolated from oxygen‐isotope thermometry results and calculated using petrological constraints suggest that kyanite and one generation of fibrolite grew during M1 at 5 kbar, and that andalusite, prismatic sillimanite and a second generation of fibrolite grew during M2 at 3.5 kbar. M1 and M2 therefore represent two distinct metamorphic events that occurred at different crustal levels. The ability of the AS polymorphs to retain δ¹⁸O values of crystallization make these minerals ideal to model prograde‐growth histories of mineral assemblages in metamorphic terranes and to understand more clearly the pressure–temperature histories of multiple metamorphic events.     

Evolution of the Lithospheric Mantle beneath the Marsabit Volcanic Field (Northern Kenya): Constraints from Textural, P-T and Geochemical Studies on Xenoliths

Xenoliths hosted by Quaternary basanites and alkali basaltsfrom Marsabit (northern Kenya) represent fragments of Proterozoiclithospheric mantle thinned and chemically modified during riftingin the Mesozoic (Anza Graben) and in the Tertiary–Quaternary(Kenya rift). Four types of peridotite xenoliths were investigatedto constrain the thermal and chemical evolution of the lithosphericmantle. Group I, III and IV peridotites provide evidence ofa cold, highly deformed and heterogeneous upper mantle. Textures,thermobarometry and trace element characteristics of mineralsindicate that low temperatures in the spinel stability field(750–800°C at <1·5 GPa) were attained bydecompression and cooling from initially high pressures andtemperatures in the garnet stability field (970–1080°Cat 2·3–2·9 GPa). Cooling, decompressionand penetrative deformation are consistent with lithosphericthinning, probably related to the development of the Mesozoicto Paleogene Anza Graben. Re-equilibrated and recrystallizedperidotite xenoliths (Group II) record heating (from 800°Cto 1100°C). Mineral trace element signatures indicate enrichmentby mafic silicate melts, parental to the Quaternary host basanitesand alkali basalts. Relationships between mineral textures,P–T conditions of equilibration, and geochemistry canbe explained by metasomatism and heating of the lithosphererelated to the formation of the Kenya rift, above a zone ofhot upwelling mantle. KEY WORDS: East African Rift System; Anza Graben; in situ LA-ICPMS; peridotite xenoliths; thermobarometry     

Discussion on the revision method of 1:50 000 regional geological survey achievement maps: Take the revision of 39 regional geological survey maps of Anhui Province as an example

Geological map is the core carrier of the display of basic geological work. However, the compilation standards for geological maps in different periods are not uniform, and there are also problems of adjacent sheets junction. Thus it is necessary to update these maps, which otherwise will bring considerable inconvenience for users. In order to solve these problems, unified stratigraphic classification, expression and marks were adopted during the process of systematically revising the 1:50 000 regional geological survey maps in Anhui Province. The revision principles were put forward as ‘respecting the original work, following the norms, not leaking information, unitary expressing, reading clearly and easily, revising beautifully and harmoniously’. The common problems in the process of revision were analyzed, and the revision process was created as ‘digitization →verification and problem processing→explanatory notes update’, which solved the problems of lacking detailed process guidance during the geological map revision. The geological map has been upgraded after revision, and the latest geological achievements have been integrated without mistakes and omissions, which makes these maps unitary and easy reading. The revised maps improved the service capacity of the “geological cloud” basic geological data sharing platform, and meet the needs of systematical managing, using and sharing of results data.     

1:5万比例尺区域地质调查系列成果图件修编方法探讨——以安徽省39幅区调成果图件修编为例

地质图是基础地质工作成果展示的核心载体,但不同时期完成的地质成果图件编制标准不统一,同时还存在相邻图幅接边等问题,难以及时更新升级,给使用者带来诸多不便。为此,安徽省采用了统一地层划分、图面表达及标注,对本省1:5万比例尺区域地质调查成果进行了数字化系统整理修编。提出了“尊重原著、遵循规范、不漏信息、表达统一、清晰易读、美观和谐”的修编原则,分析了修编过程中常见的问题,创建了“数字化→整理校验与问题处理→说明书更新”的修编流程,解决了地质图修编过程中缺少行业规范指导的难题。修编后的地质图得到了升级,集成了最新地质成果,消除了错漏,实现了规范统一且美观易读,提升了“地质云”基础地质数据共享平台的服务能力,满足了成果资料系统化管理、使用、共享的需求。     

钠长岩类地质地球化学特征及变质变形与铜矿的形成——以四川会理拉拉铜矿床为例

本文论述了拉拉铜矿区钠长岩类的地质地球化学特征及变质变形与铜矿的形成。伴随前寒纪的构造运动,拉拉地区经历了NWW向的剪切变形,使钠长岩产生碎裂-糜棱岩化作用,形成碎裂结构、碎斑结构,显微眼球构造、压力影、云母鱼等。这些结构构造的形成使岩石孔隙度增加,起到扩容作用。由沿近东西向主断裂侵位的辉绿辉长岩体提供的含矿流体及区域变质中产生的变质热液沿钠长岩的碎裂-糜棱构造充填交代,在其产生多种蚀变的同时,铜、钼、钴硫化物沉淀成矿,形成钠长岩型浸染状铜矿石或脉状-网脉状铜矿石。在金云母化较强地段,在变质作用下,形成片岩型铜矿石。因而总体上,拉拉铜矿属动力变质热液型铜矿床。