Stable isotopic evidence for fluid infiltration during contact metamorphism in a multiply-metamorphosed terrane: the Reynolds Range, Arunta Block, central Australia

The Lander Rock Beds form the local basement of the Reynolds Range in the Arunta Inlier of central Australia. These dominantly quartzose and pelitic lithologies underwent low-grade ( c.   400  °C) regional metamorphism prior to contact metamorphism ( c.   2.5  kbar) around S-type megacrystic granitoids at 1820–1800  Ma. The Lander Rock Beds are overlain by metasediments of the Reynolds Range Group, which were subsequently intruded by granitoids at c. 1780  Ma. Regional metamorphism at 1590–1580  Ma produced grades varying from greenschist (400  °C at 4–5  kbar) to granulite (750–800  °C at 4–5  kbar) from north-west to south-east along the length of the Reynolds Range. Oxygen isotope ratios of the Lander Rock Beds were reset from 13.4±0.8 to as low as 6.7 adjacent to the contacts of the larger plutons, and to 10.3±1.1 around the smaller plutons. Biotite in all the major rock types found in the aureoles has δD values between −52 and −69, probably reflecting resetting by a cooling igneous+metamorphic fluid near the plutons. Sapphirine-bearing and other Mg- and Al-rich rock types have low δ¹⁸O values (4.0±0.7). The precursors to these rocks were probably low-temperature ( c. 200  °C) diagenetic–hydrothermal deposits of Mg-rich chlorite, analogous to those in Proterozoic stratiform precious metal and uranium deposits that form by the infiltration of basin brines or seawater. As in the overlying Reynolds Range Group, regional metamorphism involved little fluid–rock interaction and isotopic resetting.     

Fluid flow paths and mechanisms of fluid infiltration in carbonates during contact metamorphism: the Beinn an Dubhaich aureole, Skye

A textural study of marbles from the Beinn an Dubhaich granite contact aureole, Skye, has shown that mass transport by diffusion was probably negligible during the metamorphic event, and that the bulk of the carbonates reacted as a consequence of silica metasomatism, permitting the use of calcsilicates as a tracer for fluid infiltration pathways. Fracture-controlled infiltration was predominant in undeformed marbles, whereas pervasive infiltration occurred during synmetamorphic ductile deformation. Some calcite marbles contain disseminated unoriented calcsilicate minerals that are associated with neither fractures nor a ductile deformation fabric, consistent with an origin via infiltration of fluid along an interconnected grain-edge porosity. The inference of limited pervasive infiltration of undeformed carbonates is consistent with predictions based on experimentally determined fluid–solid dihedral angles.     

Evolution of fluid pressure and fracture propagation during contact metamorphism

Abstract Rock fracture enhances permeability and provides pathways through which fluids migrate. During contact metamorphism, fluids contained in isolated pores and fractures expand in response to temperature increases caused by the dissipation of heat from magmas. Heat transport calculations and thermomechanical properties of water-rich fluids demonstrate (1) that thermal energy is a viable mechanism to produce and maintain pore fluid pressure (P_f) in a contact metamorphic aureole; (2) that the magnitude of P_f generated is sufficient to propagate fractures during the prograde thermal history (cause hydrofracture) and enhance permeability; and (3) that P_f-driven fracture propagation is episodic with time-scales ranging from years to thousands of years. Because P_f dissipation is orders of magnitude faster than P, _f buildup, P_f oscillations and cyclical behaviour are generated as thermal heating continues. The P_f cycle amplitude depends on the initial fracture length, geometry and the rock's resistance to failure whereas the frequency of fracture depends on the rate of heating. Consequently, oscillation frequency also varies spatially with distance from the heat source. Time series of fluid pressures caused by this process suggest that cyclical fracture events are restricted to an early time period of the prograde thermal event near the intrusive contact. In the far field, however, individual fracture events have a lower frequency but continue to occur over a longer time interval. Numerous fracture cycles are possible within a single thermal event. This provides a provisional explanation for multiple generations of veins observed in outcrop. P _f cycling and oscillations may explain several petrological features. If pore fluids are trapped at various positions along a pressure cycle, the large amplitude of P_f variations for small fractures may account for different pressures recorded by fluid inclusions analysed from a single sample. P_f oscillations, during a single thermal episode, also drive chemical reactions which can produce complex mineral textures and assemblages for discontinuous reactions and/or zoning patterns for continuous reactions. These can mimic polymetamorphic or disequilibrium features. Temporal aspects of fracture propagation and permeability enhancement also constrain the likely timing of fluid flow and fluid-mineral interactions. These data suggest that fluid flow and fluid-mineral reactions are likely to be restricted to an early period in the prograde thermal history, characterized by high P_f coincident with relatively high temperatures, fracture propagation and consequent increases in permeability. This early prograde hydration event is followed by diffusional peak metamorphic reactions. This relationship is evident in the complex mineralogical textures common in some metamorphosed rocks.     

Fluid infiltration and volume change during mid-crustal mylonitization of Proterozoic granite, King Island, Tasmania

The development of 10–30  m wide mylonite zones at mid-crustal depths in late Proterozoic granitoids on King Island, Tasmania, was associated with pervasive infiltration of low δ¹⁸O-fluids (+5 to +7) on the scale of the shear zones. Syndeformational fluid–rock interaction produced substantial differences in mineral composition and bulk rock chemistry among several adjacent shear zones which are hosted by the same granite. In a shear zone at Cape Wickham with a normal slip component, changes in whole-rock chemistry between granite and mylonites indicate a gain of Ca, and losses of K and Na during deformation, which was nearly isovolumetric. Notable losses of K, Rb and Si occurred during partial retrograde alteration of mylonites near the western margin of this shear zone. The alteration suggests a component of up-temperature fluid flow. In contrast, 3  km to the south east, in a strike-slip shear zone at Disappointment Bay, complete albitization of plagioclase was associated with Na-gain and Ca-loss. Deformation also involved losses of Mg and Fe. Up to 60% volume gain occurred during the formation of closely spaced mesoscopic to microscopic quartz veins during mylonitization. The substantial silica-gain in this, as well as in two mylonite zones further south east, is interpreted to have been associated with upward flow of aqueous fluids along these shear zones. On the basis of a gradient reaction model, minimum time-integrated fluid-fluxes of 10⁶  m³/m² are estimated for the Disappointment Bay (West) Shear Zone.     

Fluid infiltration and regional metamorphism of the Waits River Formation, north-east Vermont, USA

Abstract The Siluro-Devonian Waits River Formation of north-east Vermont was deformed, intruded by plutons and regionally metamorphosed during the Devonian Acadian Orogeny. Five metamorphic zones were mapped based on the mineralogy of carbonate rocks. From low to high grade, these are: (1) ankerite-albite, (2) ankerite-oligoclase, (3) biotite, (4) amphibole and (5) diopside zones. Pressure was near 4.5kbar and temperature varied from c. 450° C in the ankerite-albite zone to c. 525° C in the diopside zone. Fluid composition for all metamorphic zones was estimated from mineral equilibria. Average calculated χ_co2[= CO₂/(CO₂+ H₂O)] of fluid in equilibrium with the marls increases with increasing grade from 0.05 in the ankerite-oligoclase zone, to 0.25 in the biotite zone and to 0.44 in the amphibole zone. In the diopside zone, χ_CO2 decreases to 0.06. Model prograde metamorphic reactions were derived from measured modes, mineral chemistry, and whole-rock chemistry. Prograde reactions involved decarbonation with an evolved volatile mixture of χ_CO2 > 0.50. The χ_CO2 of fluid in equilibrium with rocks from all zones, however, was generally <0.40. This difference attests to the infiltration of a reactive H₂O-rich fluid during metamorphism. Metamorphosed carbonate rocks from the formation suggests that both heat flow and pervasive infiltration of a reactive H₂O-rich fluid drove mineral reactions during metamorphism. Average time-integrated volume fluxes (cm³ fluid/cm² rock), calculated from the standard equation for coupled fluid flow and reaction in porous media, are (1) ankerite-oligoclase zone: c. 1 × 10⁴; (2) biotite zone: c. 3 × 10⁴; (3) amphibole zone: c. 10 × 10⁴; and diopside zone: c. 60 × 10⁴. The increase in calculated flux with increasing grade is at least in part the result of internal production of volatiles from prograde reactions in pelitic schists and metacarbonate rocks within the Waits River Formation. The mapped pattern of time-integrated fluxes indicates that the Strafford-Willoughby Arch and the numerous igneous intrusions in the field area focused fluid flow during metamorphism. Many rock specimens in the diopside zone experienced extreme alkali depletion and also record low χ_CO2. Metamorphic fluids in equilibrium with diopside zone rocks may therefore represent a mixture of acid, H₂O-rich fluids given off by the crystallizing magmas, and CO₂-H₂O fluids produced by devolatilization reactions in the host marls. Higher fluxes and different fluid compositions recorded near the plutons suggest that pluton-driven hydrothermal cells were local highs in the larger regional metamorphic hydrothermal system.     

Effects of fluid production on fluid flow during regional and contact metamorphism

Numerical and analytical models of fluid flow that account for fluid production during prograde regional and contact metamorphism show that expulsion of metamorphic fluids dominates the convective flux when crustal permeabilities are less than 0.1–100 μD, depending primarily on the rate of fluid production. When this is the case, fluid circulation is limited or prevented, fluid pressures are elevated above hydrostatic values, and flow throughout most of the model is up and away from the region of maximum fluid production. Fluid circulation is predicted to occur where permeability is high, in dry rocks, or after rates of fluid production decrease as peak temperatures are reached. Large changes in the pattern of flow and influx of externally derived fluids may thus occur in metamorphic terranes when dehydration wanes or ceases and cooling begins. Inclusion of an impermeable horizon in the models further inhibits fluid circulation. Earlier, shallow hydrothermal models and interpretations based on the Rayleigh number may be inappropriate for characterizing fluid flow during prograde metamorphism at depth because they do not account for fluid production.     

Pathways and distances of fluid flow during low-grade metamorphism: evidence from pyrite deposits of the Cameros Basin, Spain

New geochemical and sulphur isotopic data are presented for a number of pyrite deposits from the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Cameros Basin, Spain. The deposits were formed at, or close to, the peak of metamorphism and are always related to sandstone units in the mainly metapelite sequence. Iron remained immobile and conservative, pyrite iron being derived by sulphidation of chlorite in the host metapelites. Reduced sulphur, however, was supplied from two external sources: thermochemical reduction of sulphate and release of S during metamorphism of sedimentary sulphides. These sources provided isotopically heavy and light S, respectively, with variation in pyrite isotopic composition between different deposits resulting from differences in their relative importance at each site. During metamorphism, the sandstone units acted as aquifers, carrying the sulphidic pore waters to locations where permeability provided by syn-depositional fractures on a scale of 0.5–5  m allowed its interaction with the metapelites. Transport distances for sulphide during metamorphism were of the order of hundreds of metres.     

Conditions of contact metamorphism, Papoose Flat Pluton, eastern California, USA: implications for cooling and strain histories

Abstract Petrological study of highly strained carbonate and pelitic rocks within the contact aureole surrounding the western part of the Papoose Flat pluton yields thermal profiles (plots of metamorphic temperature versus distance) across the aureole that show temperature gradients which are relatively flat and narrow (<100m). The gradients occur close to the contact and indicate a slight decrease in temperature from 500–550°C at the pluton/wall rock contact to 450–500°C at the outer margin of the aureole. One thermal profile across low-strain metasedimentary rocks located in the southern part of the aureole shows that thermal effects from emplacement extend no further than 600 m from the contact. Coexistence of andalusite and cordierite in pelitic rocks of the aureole constrain pressures to <4 kbar. Thermal modelling using an analytical solution of the conductive heat flow equation for a rectangular-shaped pluton reproduces the observed thermal maxima and profile shape. Conductive rather than convective cooling also is supported by isotopic and field evidence for limited fluid flow along the strongly deformed margin of the pluton. Simple thermal models coupled with observed high-temperature deformation features and a measured 90% attenuation of stratigraphic units in the plastically deformed western part of the pluton's aureole indicate that strain rates may have been of the order of 10^-12s^-1. Evidence for episodic heating, such as two distinct generations of andalusite growth in pelites from the aureole, alternatively may indicate a longer heating event and, therefore, slower strain rates. Thermal models also indicate that parts of the pluton still may have been above the solidus during deformation of the pluton margin and aureole.     

The role of the fluid phase during regional metamorphism and deformation

Evidence from rock microstructures, mass transfer and isotopic exchange indicates that substantial quantities of aqueous fluids are involved in low- and medium-grade regional metamorphism. Similar conclusions are drawn from many retrograde environments, whereas high-grade metamorphic fluids may be melt dominated. The mobile fluids play essential roles in metamorphic reactions, mass transport and deformation processes. These processes are linked by the mechanical consequences of metamorphic fluid pressures (P_f) generally being greater than or equal to the minimum principal compressive stress. Under such conditions metamorphic porosity comprises grain boundary tubules and bubbles together with continuously generated (and healed) microfractures. Deformation results in significant interconnected porosity and hence enhanced permeability. Lithologically and structurally controlled permeability variations may cause effective fluid channelling.
Simple Rayleigh-Darcy modelling of a uniformly permeable, crustal slab shows that convective instability of metamorphic fluid is expected at the permeabilities suggested for the high P_f metamorphic conditions. Complex, large-scale convective cells operating in overpressured, but capped systems may provide a satisfactory explanation for the large fluid/rock ratios and extensive mass transport demonstrated for many low- and medium-grade metamorphic environments. Such large-scale fluid circulation may have important consequences for heat transfer in and the thermal evolution of metamorphic belts.     

Geochemical self-organization of olivine-grade contact metamorphosed chert nodules in dolomite marble, Kilchrist, Skye

Chert nodules in dolostones in the aureole of the Tertiary Beinn an Dubhaich granite, Skye, have developed  mm-scale concentric monomineralic bands of alternating calcite and olivine during breakdown of a diopside core by the reaction 3 Dol+Di=4 Cal+2Fo+2 CO₂. A simple textural progression from thin (<1 cm) homogeneous olivine-calcite rims close to the olivine-in isograd, to total replacement of the diopside core by a ≤10 cm thick well-banded rim close to the carbonate-granite contact demonstrates the developmental stages of the patterning. Correlation of olivine grain size with band spacing, and a greater olivine grain size in banded compared with homogeneous rims support pattern development by post-nucleation geochemical self-organization.     

Short‐duration contact metamorphism of calcareous sedimentary rocks by Neoproterozoic Franklin gabbro sills and dykes on Victoria Island,Canada

This contribution addresses contact metamorphism and fluid flow in calcareous rocks of the Neoproterozoic Shaler Supergroup on Victoria Island, Arctic Canada. These processes occurred due to intrusion of gabbroic sills and dykes at c. 720 Ma during the Franklin magmatic event, which was associated with the break‐up of Rodinia. The intrusive sheets (sills and dykes) are a few metres to ～50 m thick. Metasedimentary rocks were examined in three locations with very good exposures of vertical dykes feeding horizontal sills, the Northern Feeder Dyke (NFD) complex, the Southern Feeder Dyke (SFD) complex and the Uhuk Massif. In the NFD and SFD complexes, protoliths were limestones and dolostones with minor silicates, and at the Uhuk Massif, the protoliths were silty dolostones. At the time of magma emplacement, these locations were at depths of 1–4 km. The widths of contact aureoles are only several decametres wide, commensurate with thicknesses of the dykes and sills. Splays of tremolite mark incipient metamorphism. Highest grade rocks in the NFD and SFD complexes contain the prograde assemblage diopside + phlogopite whereas at Uhuk they contain the assemblage vesuvianite + garnet + diopside. The assemblages are successfully modelled with T–X(CO₂)^fluid pseudosections that suggest achievement of CO₂‐rich fluid compositions due to early decarbonation reactions, followed by influx of aqueous fluids after peak metamorphism. Rapid heating of host rocks and short near‐peak temperature intervals are demonstrated by the prevalent morphology of diopside as radial splays of acicular crystals that appear to pseudomorph tremolite and by incomplete recrystallization of calcite in marbles. Calcsilicates in the roof of one sill at Uhuk experienced metasomatic influx of Fe that is evidenced by nearly pure andradite rims on grossular garnet. Vesuvianite, which overgrew the grossular portions of garnet, also contains ferric iron. Vesuvianite was partially consumed during retrograde growth of serpentine and andradite. The occurrence of serpentine in high‐grade portions of aureoles is consistent with eventual levelling‐off of temperatures between 350 and 400 °C, an inference that is supported by modelled conductive heat transfer from the cooling magma sheets. Focused fluid flow near intrusion‐wall rock contacts is demonstrated by narrow zones of anomalously low δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of carbonate minerals. Although the up to 5‰ decrease of both δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values from sedimentary values is much smaller than is typical for calcsilicate aureoles around large plutons, it is greater than what could have been achieved by decarbonation alone. The decrease in δ¹³C is attributed to fluid‐mediated exchange with organic low‐¹³C carbon that is dispersed through the unmetamorphosed rocks and the decrease in δ¹⁸O is attributed to fluid‐mediated isotopic exchange with the gabbroic intrusive sheets. This study shows that when gabbroic sills and dykes intrude a sedimentary basin, (i) contact aureoles are likely to be narrow, only on the scale of several decametres; (ii) short high‐temperature regimes prevent achievement of equilibrium metamorphic textures; and (iii) T–X(CO₂)^fluid paths in calcareous contact aureoles are likely to be complex, reflecting a transition from prograde decarbonation reactions to influx of aqueous fluids during cooling.     

Fluid flow and Al transport during quartz-kyanite vein formation, Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland

Quartz‐kyanite veins, adjacent alteration selvages and surrounding ‘precursor’ wall rocks in the Dalradian Saxa Vord Pelite of Unst in the Shetland Islands (Scotland) were investigated to constrain the geochemical alteration and mobility of Al associated with channelized metamorphic fluid infiltration during the Caledonian Orogeny. Thirty‐eight samples of veins, selvages and precursors were collected, examined using the petrographic microscope and electron microprobe, and geochemically analysed. With increasing grade, typical precursor mineral assemblages include, but are not limited to, chlorite+chloritoid, chlorite+chloritoid+kyanite, chlorite+chloritoid+staurolite and garnet+staurolite+kyanite+chloritoid. These assemblages coexist with quartz, white mica (muscovite, paragonite, margarite), and Fe‐Ti oxides. The mineral assemblage of the selvages does not change noticeably with metamorphic grade, and consists of chloritoid, kyanite, chlorite, quartz, white mica and Fe‐Ti oxides. Pseudosections for selvage and precursor bulk compositions indicate that the observed mineral assemblages were stable at regional metamorphic conditions of 550–600 °C and 0.8–1.1 GPa. A mass balance analysis was performed to assess the nature and magnitude of geochemical alteration that produced the selvages adjacent to the veins. On average, selvages lost about −26% mass relative to precursors. Mass losses of Na, K, Ca, Rb, Sr, Cs, Ba and volatiles were −30 to −60% and resulted from the destruction of white mica. Si was depleted from most selvages and transported locally to adjacent veins; average selvage Si losses were about −50%. Y and rare earth elements were added due to the growth of monazite in cracks cutting apatite. The mass balance analysis also suggests some addition of Ti occurred, consistent with the presence of rutile and hematite‐ilmenite solid solutions in veins. No major losses of Al from selvages were observed, but Al was added in some cases. Consequently, the Al needed to precipitate vein kyanite was not derived locally from the selvages. Veins more than an order of magnitude thicker than those typically observed in the field would be necessary to accommodate the Na and K lost from the selvages during alteration. Therefore, regional transport of Na and K out of the local rock system is inferred. In addition, to account for the observed abundances of kyanite in the veins, large fluid‐rock ratios (10²–10³ m³_fluid m⁻³_rock) and time‐integrated fluid fluxes in excess of ∼10⁴ m³_fluid m⁻²_rock are required owing to the small concentrations of Al in aqueous fluids. It is concluded that the quartz‐kyanite veins and their selvages were produced by regional‐scale advective mass transfer by means of focused fluid flow along a thrust fault zone. The results of this study provide field evidence for considerable Al mass transport at greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions, possibly as a result of elevated concentrations of Al in metamorphic fluids due to alkali‐Al silicate complexing at high pressures.     

Contrasting responses of Rb–Sr systematics to regional and contact metamorphism, Laramie Mountains, Wyoming, USA

Archean supracrustal sequences of pelitic, quartzitic, calcareous and mafic compositions in the central Laramie Mountains, Wyoming, have been affected by two metamorphic events: a 1.78 Ga amphibolite-grade regional metamorphism, and a 1.43 Ga contact metamorphism resulting from the intrusion of the Laramie Anorthosite Complex (LAC). Rb–Sr whole-rock isotopic data from both outside and within the LAC contact aureole define a linear array that lies along a 1.78 Ga isochron. This date has been independently established as the time of amphibolite facies regional metamorphism associated with collision of the Archean Wyoming province and the Proterozoic Colorado province along the Cheyenne belt. The Rb–Sr isotopic data require that Sr was redistributed during regional metamorphism on a scale of at least tens of metres. Although within the 2 km-wide aureole of LAC the pelitic rocks were thermally metamorphosed at temperatures greater than 800 °C, none of the whole-rock Rb–Sr data from samples within the LAC aureole show evidence of resetting at 1.43 Ga. It is interpreted that the regional metamorphism involved fluid transport which facilitated Sr isotopic resetting, whereas the contact metamorphism occurred in a relatively dry environment in which isotopic mobility was restricted to centimetre-scale or less. Rb–Sr data for biotite, feldspar and whole rock from a regional metamorphosed pelitic schist give an isochron age of 1450±40 Ma, which is interpreted as a cooling age resulting from crustal uplift. Rb–Sr data for biotite, quartz+feldspar and whole rock from a pelitic schist affected by contact metamorphism give an isochron age of 1420±43 Ma, the time of isotopic re-equilibration in response either to crustal uplift or to both contact metamorphism and crustal uplift. This study demonstrates that although the response of isotopic systems to metamorphism is complex, isotopic data provide insight into metamorphic processes that is difficult to obtain by other means.     

Polymetamorphic history of a relict Permian hornfels from the central Gran Paradiso Massif (Western Alps,Italy): a microstructural and thermodynamic modelling study

A petrological and thermobarometric study of the Lago Teleccio hornfelses was undertaken to reconstruct the polymetamorphic evolution and constrain the P–T conditions of Permian contact metamorphism. The Lago Teleccio metasedimentary rocks record a Variscan regional metamorphism characterized by amphibolite facies mineral assemblages including quartz, plagioclase, K‐feldspar (Kfs 1), biotite, garnet (Grt 1) and staurolite; this was followed by a late‐Variscan mylonitization event. Metamorphism of the Variscan metamorphic rocks at the contact with a Permian granitic intrusion produced static recrystallization and/or new growth of quartz, garnet (Grt 2), plagioclase, K‐feldspar (Kfs 2), cordierite, green spinel, biotite and prismatic sillimanite (Contact 1). This thermal event, which occurred at a peak pressure of 0.23–0.35 GPa, temperature of 670–700 °C and a_H2O of 0.75–1, was followed either during post‐contact metamorphism cooling or, more likely, during the early‐Alpine metamorphism by the breakdown of cordierite into an anhydrous kyanite + orthopyroxene + quartz assemblage. The poorly developed early‐Alpine eclogite facies metamorphism (Alpine 1) was characterized by relatively anhydrous mineral associations and low strain, which locally produced coronitic and pseudomorphous microstructures in metasedimentary rocks, with scanty formation of jadeite, zoisite and a new high‐pressure garnet (Grt 3). Greenschist facies retrogression (Alpine 2) was characterized by the local development of a chlorite‐ and muscovite‐bearing mineral association, suggestive of aqueous fluid incursion. In the hornfelses, the limited extent of metamorphic overprinting is suggested by the fine grain size of the Alpine mineral associations, which formed at the expense of the Permian contact metamorphic associations, and was favoured by the anhydrous mineralogy of the hornfelses.     

Alpine metamorphism of pelitic schists in the Nufenen Pass area, Lepontine Alps

Abstract The effects of Tertiary Alpine metamorphism on pelitic Mesozoic cover rocks have been studied along a cross-section in the central Lepontine Alps in the Nufenen Pass area, Switzerland. Greenschist facies to amphibolite facies conditions are indicated by the formation of the index minerals chloritoid, garnet, staurolite and kyanite in pelitic rocks. Regional metamorphism reached maximum conditions during the interkinematic period between a main Alpine penetrative (D2) and a late Alpine (D3) crenulation type deformation phase or synchronous with the late Alpine deformation. Based on AFM phase relationships four different metamorphic zones can be distinguished: (1) chloritoid zone; (2) staurolite + chlorite zone; (3) staurolite + biotite zone; and, (4) kyanite zone. The isograds that separate these zones can be modelled by univariant reactions in the KFMASH system. The conditions of metamorphism calculated from geological ther-mobarometers for the maximum post-D2 por-phyroblast stage are from North to South: 500° C at 5-6 kbar and 600° C at 7-8 kbar. Detailed thermobarometry of garnet por-phyroblasts with complex textures suggests that maximum temperature was reached later than maximum pressure. Early garnet growth occurred along a prograde P-T-path, post-D2 rims grew with increasing temperature but decreasing pressure, and finally post-D3 garnet formed along a retrograde P-T-path. It may be concluded from the calculated pressure and temperature difference over a short distance (3 km) across the mapped area that the isogradic surfaces of the post-D2 metamorphism are steeply oriented. The data also suggest that isobaric and isothermal surfaces are parallel. Much of the observed metamorphic pattern can be explained as the result of a significant post-D2 differential uplift of the hot Pennine area relative to the Helvetic area along a tectonic contact zone. The closely spaced isograds (isotherms) in the North may then be interpreted as a thermal effect owing to the emplacement of the hot Pennine rocks against the Got-thard massif with its cover. Whereas, in the Pennine metasediments, post-D2 porphyroblast formation can be related to the decompression path which was steep enough for dehydration reactions to proceed. It is also remarkable that late kyanite porphyroblasts probably formed with decreasing pressure. The interpretation given here for the Nufenen Pass area may also apply to the Luk-manier Pass area where similar metamorphic patterns have been reported by Fox (1975). The formation of the ‘Northern Steep Belt’;, as denned by Milnes (1974b), and the associated late Alpine fold zones may, therefore, have significantly modified the metamorphic pattern of the Helvetic-Penninic contact zone.     

Fluid flow patterns and infiltration isograds in melilite marbles from the Bufa del Diente contact metamorphic aureole, north-east Mexico

In the inner aureole of the Bufa del Diente alkali syenite (north-east Mexico), thin calcareous argillite bands horizontally embedded in impure marbles acted as contact-metamorphic aquifers for hypersaline brines of magmatic origin. Thick-bedded marbles were largely impervious. From 180 m up to the intrusion contact, argillites were completely decarbonated, resulting in melilite + wollastonite + phlogopite + perovskite-bearing parageneses. In marbles, this assemblage is confined to a narrow 7-12-m-wide infiltration zone adjacent to the contact. Up to this distance, calcite + wollastonite + diopside + alkali feldspar + titanite was stable, indicating that the fluid evolution in these marbles was internally buffered. Brine infiltration from the metaargillite aquifer into the marbles occurred perpendicular to the marble-metaargillite boundaries and was confined to a zone 4-6 cm wide above the boundaries. This is documented by the three reactions Cc + Di = Mel + CO₂, (1) Cc + Kfs + Di + H₂O = Phl + Wo + CO₂, (2) Cc + Ttn = Prv + Wo + CO₂, (3) Melilites (Ak_32-45Gh_13-32Sm_32-40 to Ak_52-72Gh_0-1Sm_28-48) occur as rims around diopsides and become continuously thicker towards the metaargillite beds. Fluid inclusion observations suggest that the infiltrating brine was hypersaline (NaCl + KCl_cq～ 65 wt%) and that the reactions took place at the water-rich side of the H₂O-CO₂-salts immiscibility field at about 600d? C (2, 3) and 660 to 680d? C (1) at P～ 1200 bar and X_co2～ 0.02. Mass balance calculations show that the amount of brine infiltrated from the aquifer into the marble was very low and decreased continuously with increasing distance from the boundary. The maximum width of brine infiltration was about 6 cm. This confirms that brine flow was largely parallel to the aquifer, not perpendicular to it. The CO₂ produced by the decarbonation reactions probably escaped as an immiscible low-density H₂O-CO₂ fluid of X_co2≤ 0.5 into overlying marble via grain-edge flow. The metaargillite-marble boundary acted as a semipermeable membrane 6 cm in thickness keeping back the brine in the aquifer and losing the in-situ produced low-density CO₂-rich fluid.     

Pb and Sr systematics of ultrapotassic and basaltic rocks from the central Sierra Nevada,California

This study presents Sr and Pb isotopic ratios and Rb, Sr, U, Th, and Pb concentrations of an ultrapotassic basaltic suite and related rocks from the central Sierra Nevada, California. The ultrapotassic suite yields a narrow range of Sr and Pb isotopic compositions (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70597–0.70653; ²⁰⁶Pb/ ²⁰⁴Pb=18.862–19.018; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=15.640–15.686; ²⁰⁸Pb/ ²⁰⁴Pb=38.833–38.950). Associated basalts containing ultramafic nodules have less radiogenic Sr (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶=0.70430–0.70521) and generally higher Rb/Sr ratios than the ultrapotassic suite. Leucitites from Deep Springs Valley, California, contain high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (71141–0.71240) and low ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (17.169–17.234) ratios, reflecting contamination by crustal granulite.The isotopic relationships support an origin of the ultrapotassic basaltic suite by partial melting of an enriched upper mantle source. Dehydration of a gently inclined oceanic slab beneath the Sierra Nevada may have provided Ba, K, Rb, Sr, and H₂O, which migrated into the overlying upper mantle lithosphere. The end of subduction 10 m.y. ago allowed increased asthenospheric heat flow into the upper mantle lithosphere. The increased heat flow enhanced fluid movement in the upper mantle and contributed towards isotopic homogenization of the upper mantle source areas. Continued heating of the enriched upper mantle caused partial melting and subsequent eruption of the ultrapotassic lavas.     

Progressive metamorphism of pelitic rocks from protolith to granulite facies, Dutchess County, New York, USA: constraints on the timing of fluid infiltration during regional metamorphism

A complete Barrovian sequence ranging from unmetamorphosed shales to sillimanite–K-feldspar zone metapelitic gneisses crops out in a region extending from the Hudson River in south-eastern New York state, USA, to the high-grade core of the Taconic range in western Connecticut. NNE-trending subparallel biotite, garnet, staurolite, kyanite, sillimanite and sillimanite–K-feldspar isograds have been identified, although the assignment of Barrovian zones in the high-grade rocks is complicated by the appearance of fibrolitic sillimanite at the kyanite isograd. Thermobarometric results and reaction textures are used to characterize the metamorphic history of the sequence. Pressure–temperature estimates indicate maximum metamorphic conditions of 475 °C, c. 3–4 kbar in the garnet zone to >720 °C, c. 5–6 kbar in the highest grade rocks exposed. Some samples in the kyanite zone record anomalous (low) peak conditions because garnet composition has been modified by fluid-assisted reactions. There is abundant petrographic and mineral chemical information indicating that the sequence (with the possible exception of the granulite facies zone) was infiltrated by a water-rich fluid after garnet growth was nearly completed. The truncation of fluid inclusion trails in garnet by rim growth or recrystallization, however, indicates that metamorphic reactions involving garnet continued subsequent to initial infiltration. The presence of these textures in some zones of a well-constrained Barrovian sequence allows determination of the timing of fluid infiltration relative to the P–T paths. Thermobarometric results obtained using garnet compositions at the boundary between fluid–inclusion-rich and inclusion-free regions of the garnet are interpreted to represent peak metamorphic conditions, whereas rim compositions record slightly lower pressures and temperatures. Assuming that garnet grew during a single metamorphic event, infiltration must have occurred at or slightly after the peak of metamorphism, i.e. 4–5 kbar and a temperature of c. 525–550 °C for staurolite and kyanite zone rocks.     

Fluid migration and vein formation during deformation and greenschist facies metamorphism at Ormiston Gorge, central Australia

During the Alice Springs Orogeny, deformation at Ormiston Gorge, central Australia, occurred under lower- to middle-greenschist facies conditions. Dolomites of the Bitter Springs Formation and quartzites. metagreywackes, and metapelites of the Heavitree Quartzite contain abundant early-, syn-, and post-tectonic veins. However, though vein densities locally approach 15%, the distribution of veins and the oxygen isotope geochemistry of wallrocks and veins suggest that fluid movement was on a local scale. The Heavitree Quartzite contains quartz veins that, even along the main thrust plane, have similar δ¹⁸O values (13.5–16.9%o) to those of their wallrocks (13.6–16.9%o), with Δ¹⁸O(vein-wallrock) values of -0.6 to 0.4%o. In contrast, the Bitter Springs Formation contains predominantly dolomite veins that have δ¹⁸O values of 23.4 to 27.7%o. These differences are observed even at the boundary between the Heavitree and Bitter Springs rocks, implying that significant fluid exchange between these rocks has not occurred, or that fluid flow was channelled through areas outside those sampled for this study. By contrast with the Heavitree Quartzite, δ¹⁸O values of wallrocks in individual samples of the Bitter Springs Formation are significantly higher (23.3–29.1%o) than those of the veins, with δ¹⁸O(vein-wallrock) values up to -4%o (average of -2.1%o). These systematic differences in δ¹⁸O values most likely result from oxygen isotope fractionation caused by fluid immiscibility or disequilibrium dissolution. Smaller differences in δ¹³C values between some dolomite veins and wallrocks [δ¹³C(vein-wallrock) up to -1.9%o, average of -0.5%o] are also explained by these processes. This study indicates that large volumes of veins may be produced by repeated fracturing and fluid migration within particular rock units, without involving large volumes of externally derived fluids.     

Growth of myrmekite coronas by contact metamorphism of granitic mylonites in the aureole of Cima di Vila, Eastern Alps, Italy

In the contact aureole of the Oligocene granodiorite of Cima di Vila, granitic pegmatites of Variscan age were strongly deformed during eo‐Alpine regional metamorphism, with local development of ultramylonites. In the ultramylonite matrix, consisting of quartz, plagioclase, muscovite and biotite, microstructures show grain growth of quartz within quartz ribbons, and development of decussate arrangements of mica. These features indicate that dynamic recrystallization related to mylonite development was followed by extensive static growth during contact metamorphism. K‐feldspar porphyroclasts up to 1.5 cm are mantled by myrmekite that forms a continuous corona with thickness of about 1 mm. In both XZ and YZ sections, myrmekite tubules are undeformed, and symmetrically distributed in the corona, and oligoclase‐andesine hosts have random crystallographic orientation. Myrmekite development has been modelled from the P–T–t evolution of the ultramylonites, assuming that the development of the ultramylonites occurred during eo‐Alpine metamorphism at c. 450 °C, 7.5 kbar, followed by contact metamorphism at c. 530 °C, 2.75 kbar. Phase diagram pseudosections calculated from the measured bulk composition of granitic pegmatite protolith indicate that the equilibrium assemblage changes from Qtz–Phe–Ab ± Zo ± Cpx ± Kfs during the ultramylonite stage to Qtz–Pl(An_30–40)–Ms–Kfs–Bt(Ann₅₅) during the contact metamorphic stage. The thermodynamic prediction of increasing plagioclase mode and anorthite content, change of white mica composition and growth of biotite, occurring during the end of the heating path, are in agreement with the observed microstructures and analysed phase compositions of ultramylonites. Along with microstructural evidence, this supports the model that K‐feldspar replacement by myrmekite took place under static conditions, and was coeval with the static growth accompanying contact metamorphism. Myrmekite associated with muscovite can develop under prograde (up‐temperature) conditions in granites involved in polymetamorphism.