http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000218

Fluid infiltration into retrograde granulites of the Southern Marginal Zone(Limpopo high grade terrain)is exemplified by hydration reactions.shear zone hosted metasomatism,and lode gold mineralisation.Hydration reactions include the breakdown of cordierite and orthopyroxene to gedrite kyanite,and anthophyllite,respectively.Metamorphic petrology,fluid inclusions,and field data indicate that a low H_2O-activity carbon-saturated CO_2-rich and a saline aqueous fluid infiltrated the Southern Marginal Zone during exhumation.The formation of anthophyllite after orthopyroxene eslablished a regional retrograde anthophyllite-in isograd and occurred at P-T conditions of- 6 kbar and 610 C,which fixes the minimum mole fraction of II.0 in the CO_2-rich fluid phase at- 0.1.The maximum H_2O mole fraction is hxed by the lower temperature limit(~800℃) for partial melting at ~0.3.C-O-H fluid calculations show that the CO_2-rich fluid had an oxygen fugacity that was 0.6 log10 units higher than that of the fayalite-magnetitequartz buffer and that the CO_2/(CO_2+CH_4) mole ratio of this fluid was 1.The presence of dominantly relatively low density CO_2-rich fluid inclusions in the hydrated granulites indicates that the fluid pressure was less than the lithostatic pressure.This can be explained by strike slip faulting and/or an increase of the rock permeability caused by hydration reactions.     

Very high-density carbonic fluid inclusions in sapphirine-bearing granulites from Tonagh Island in the Archean Napier Complex, East Antarctica: implications for CO2 infiltration during ultrahigh-temperature (T>1,100 °C) metamorphism

The ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism of the Napier Complex is characterized by the presence of dry mineral assemblages, the stability of which requires anhydrous conditions. Typically, the presence of the index mineral orthopyroxene in more than one lithology indicates that H₂O activities were substantially low. In this study, we investigate a suite of UHT rocks comprising quartzo-feldspathic garnet gneiss, sapphirine granulite, garnet-orthopyroxene gneiss, and magnetite-quartz gneiss from Tonagh Island. High Al contents in orthopyroxene from sapphirine granulite, the presence of an equilibrium sapphirine-quartz assemblage, mesoperthite in quartzo-feldspathic garnet gneiss, and an inverted pigeonite-augite assemblage in magnetite-quartz gneiss indicate that the peak temperature conditions were higher than 1,000 °C. Petrology, mineral phase equilibria, and pressure-temperature computations presented in this study indicate that the Tonagh Island granulites experienced maximum P-T conditions of up to 9 kbar and 1,100 °C, which are comparable with previous P-T estimates for Tonagh and East Tonagh Islands. The textures and mineral reactions preserved by these UHT rocks are consistent with an isobaric cooling (IBC) history probably following an counterclockwise P-T path. We document the occurrence of very high-density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions in the UHT rocks from Tonagh Island and characterize their nature, composition, and density from systematic petrographic and microthermometric studies. Our study shows the common presence of carbonic fluid inclusions entrapped within sapphirine, quartz, garnet and orthopyroxene. Analysed fluid inclusions in sapphirine, and some in garnet and quartz, were trapped during mineral growth at UHT conditions as 'primary' inclusions. The melting temperatures of fluids in most cases lie in the range of -56.3 to -57.2 °C, close to the triple point for pure CO₂ (-56.6 °C). The only exceptions are fluid inclusions in magnetite-quartz gneiss, which show slight depression in their melting temperatures (-56.7 to -57.8 °C) suggesting traces of additional fluid species such as N₂ in the dominantly CO₂-rich fluid. Homogenization of pure CO₂ inclusions in the quartzo-feldspathic garnet gneiss, sapphirine granulite, and garnet-orthopyroxene gneiss occurs into the liquid phase at temperatures in the range of -34.9 to +4.2 °C. This translates into very high CO₂ densities in the range of 0.95-1.07 g/cm³. In the garnet-orthopyroxene gneiss, the composition and density of inclusions in the different minerals show systematic variation, with highest homogenization temperatures (lowest density) yielded by inclusions in garnet, as against inclusions with lowest homogenization (high density) in quartz. This could be a reflection of continued recrystallization of quartz with entrapment of late fluids along the IBC path. Very high-density CO₂ inclusions in sapphirine associated with quartz in the Tonagh Island rocks provide potential evidence for the involvement of CO₂-rich fluids during extreme crustal temperatures associated with UHT metamorphism. The estimated CO₂ isochores for sapphirine granulite intersect the counterclockwise P-T trajectory of Tonagh Island rocks at around 6-9 kbar at 1,100 °C, which corresponds to the peak metamorphic conditions of this terrane derived from mineral phase equilibria, and the stability field of sapphirine + quartz. Therefore, we infer that CO₂ was the dominant fluid species present during the peak metamorphism in Tonagh Island, and interpret that the fluid inclusions preserve traces of the synmetamorphic fluid from the UHT event. The stability of anhydrous minerals, such as orthopyroxene, in the study area might have been achieved by the lowering of H₂O activity through the influx of CO₂ at peak metamorphic conditions (>1,100 °C). Our microthermometric data support a counterclockwise P-T path for the Napier Complex.     

Fluid inclusions in Adirondack granulites: Implications for the retrograde P-T path

Investigation of fluid inclusions in granitic and cale-silicate gneisses from the Adirondack Mountains, New York, has revealed the presence of various types, including: (1) CO₂-rich, (2) mixed H₂O–CO₂±salt and (3) aqueous inclusions with no visible CO₂. Many, if not all, of these inclusions were trapped or modified after the peak of granulite facies metamorphism, as shown by textural relations or by the lack of agreement between the composition of the fluids found in some inclusions and the composition of the peak-metamorphic fluid as estimated from mineral equilibria. Many fluid inclusions record conditions attained during retrograde cooling and uplift, with minimum pressures and temperatures of 2 to 3 kbar and 200 to 300°C. The temperatures and pressures derived from the investigation of these inclusions constrain the retrograde P-T path, and the results indicate that a period of cooling with little or no decompression.     

Carbonic metamorphism of charnockites in the southwestern Indian Shield: A fluid inclusion study

Forming the southwestern segment of the Precambrian granulite facies terrain of the Indian shield, the Kerala region largely comprises charnockites, khondalites and migmatitic gneisses. Fluid inclusions in quartz from the charnockites show distinct distribution patterns consistent with three generations of inclusions. The early monophase type records entrapment of high-density CO₂-rich fluid (0.95–1.0 g cm⁻³). A subsequent monophase type with lower-density CO₂-rich fluid (0.65–0.75 g cm⁻³) coexists with CO₂H₂O inclusions having an average degree of filling of 0.2 (H₂O = 20%; CO₂ = 80%). Late aqueous biphase inclusions show coexistence with a second category of CO₂H₂O inclusions showing a degree of filling of 0.6 (H₂O = 60%; CO₂ = 40%). The CO₂-isochores for early carbonic inclusions yield a pressure range of 4.6–6.1 kbar at granulite facies temperatures of 650–800°C, depicting the entrapment of fluids present during or close to the peak metamorphic stage. A definite sequence of fluid evolution is traceable for the subsequent stages. Thus, the coexisting CO₂ and CO₂H₂O inclusions were entrapped at 510°C and 2.2 kbar, marking the waning of carbonic regime and the beginning of aqueous regime. At 330°C and 0.4 kbar, fluid unmixing occurred, leading to the simultaneous entrapment of mixed CO₂H₂O and H₂O inclusions along rehealed microfractures. The data presented indicate that the metamorphic fluids evolved from early high-density carbonic through mixed carbonic-aqueous to late aqueous types. The dry granulite mineral assemblage of charnockites is a result of metamorphic equilibration under water-deficient and high-P_CO2 conditions.     

Fluid inclusion characteristics of intrusion-related gold mineralization, Tombstone–Tungsten magmatic belt, Yukon Territory, Canada

Intrusion-hosted, low sulfide, sheeted vein systems are common within many plutons and stocks of the middle Cretaceous Tombstone-Tungsten magmatic belt, Yukon Territory, and host significant gold mineralization. Fluid inclusion characteristics of five such systems, namely Emerald Lake, Dublin Gulch, Scheelite Dome, Mike Lake, and MacTung, constrain the vein-forming fluid composition, formation temperatures and pressures, hydrothermal fluid processes, and potential fluid sources. The veins contain a wide range of fluid inclusion types. Ubiquitous type 1A and 1B inclusions are low salinity (1A: XNaCl<0.02; 1B: XNaCl<0.03), CO₂-rich (1A: XCO₂=0.18-1.00; 1B: XCO₂=0.02-0.33). Laser Raman studies indicate that type 1A and 1B inclusions commonly contain minor CH₄ (XCH₄<0.09) and N₂ (XN₂<0.12). Type 2 inclusions are H₂O-rich (XH₂O=0.94-0.99), of low to moderate salinity (XNaCl=0.01-0.06), and were common at Emerald Lake and Dublin Gulch, in addition to localized type 3A halite-bearing inclusions (XNaCl=0.12-0.16). Both inclusion types post-dated the CO₂-rich inclusions. Sheeted veins in the Mike Lake pluton contained coexisting type 1A and 3A and 3B (halite + sylvite) inclusions. Type 1A inclusions in all studied systems homogenized between 208 and 362 °C, type 1B ranged between 205 and 329 °C, and type 2 between 154 and 261 °C. Type 3A and 3B inclusions homogenized between 217 and 355 °C. A predominantly magmatic source for both CO₂-rich and saline H₂O-rich fluids is favored, with variations in trapping pressure (<1 kbar at Mike Lake, >1 kbar at Emerald Lake and Dublin Gulch, and >2 kbar at MacTung and Scheelite Dome) that potentially control fluid composition and evolution. A variety of fluid processes may have been responsible for gold precipitation including immiscibility and/or release of an evolving magmatic fluid.     

Melting, carbonic fluids and water recycling in the deep crust: an example from the Limpopo Belt, South Africa

The proposed retrograde orthoamphibole isograd in the Southern Marginal Zone of the Limpopo Belt separates hydrated, amphibolite grade metapelites from their granulite grade precursors and provides an intriguing geological dilemma. Widespread rehydration of metapelitic granulites under conditions of 660–600 °C and ≥0.6 GPa, and CO₂-dominated fluid-inclusion populations appear to suggest thorough flushing of the high-grade crust with an externally derived carbonic fluid. However, past studies of the carbon and oxygen isotope geochemistry of the hydrated rocks have not demonstrated the involvement of any voluminous out of equilibrium’ fluid in the evolution of the rocks. This contribution proposes a model wherein the hydrating fluids are derived from crystallizing anatectic leucosomes, generated by in situ fluid-absent biotite melting along the prograde path. Model equilibrium fluid compositions suggest that reaction between this melt-derived H₂O and biogenic graphite produced CO₂-rich fluid compositions and potentially high fluid:rock ratios at the wet granite solidus. Declining temperature resulted in fluid compositions shifting to higher XH₂O, with the precipitation of graphite essentially at the sites of initial fluid generation, thereby preserving original (pre-metamorphic) isotopic heterogeneities. The hydration pattern of the Southern Marginal Zone appears to be a function of melt migration. In the hydrated zone, leucosomes generally approximate minimum melt compositions and in this zone H₂O was effectively recycled between the prograde and retrograde assemblages. In contrast, leucosomes in the granulite grade portion of the terrane have lost a K₂O- and H₂O-rich melt fraction, and although some hydration has occurred in this zone, orthopyroxene is generally preserved in metapelites. In a general context, in situ crystallization of graphitic partially melted source rocks has the potential to produce high fluid-rock ratios at temperatures close to the wet granite solidus. This single process holds the potential for widespread retrogression of formerly high-grade assemblages, at a variety of aH₂O values, without external fluid input.     

Retrograde fluids in the Archean Shawmere anorthosite, Kapuskasing Structural Zone, Ontario, Canada

The Archean Shawmere anorthosite lies within the granulite facies portion of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone (KSZ), Ontario, and is crosscut by numerous linear alteration veins containing calcite + quartz ± dolomite ± zoisite ± clinozoisite ± margarite ±paragonite ± chlorite. These veins roughly parallel the trend of the Ivanhoe Lake Cataclastic Zone. Equilibria involving clinozoisite + margarite + quartz ± calcite ± plagioclase show that the vein minerals were stable at T < 600 °C, XCO₂ < 0.4 at P ≈ 6 kbar. The stabilities of margarite and paragonite in equilibrium with quartz are also consistent with T < 600 °C and XCO₂ < 0.4 at 6 kbar. Additional assemblages consisting of calcite + clinochlore + quartz + talc + margarite indicate T < 500 °C with XCO₂ > 0.9. Thus, vein formation, while clearly retrograde, spanned a range of temperatures, and fluid compositions evolved from H₂O-rich to CO₂-rich. The calcite in the retrograde veins has δ¹⁸O values that range from 8.4 to 11.2‰ (average = +9.7 ± 0.9‰) and δ¹³C values that range from −3.9 to −1.6‰ (average = −3.1 ± 0.6‰). These values indicate that the fluids from which calcite precipitated underwent extensive exchange with the anorthosite and other crustal lithologies. The fluids may have been initially derived either from devolatilization of metamorphic rocks or crystallization of igneous rocks in the adjacent Abitibi subprovince. Vein quartz contains CO₂-rich fluid inclusions (final melting T = −57.0 to −58.7 °C) that range in size from 5 to 17 μm. Measured homogenization temperatures (T h) range from −44.0 to 14.5 °C, however for most inclusions (46 of S1), T h = −44.0 to −21.1 °C (ρCO₂ ≈ 1.13 to 1.05 g/cm³). At 400 to 600 °C, these densities correspond to pressures of 3.5 to 7 kbar, which is the best estimate of pressures of vein formation. It has been argued that some high density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions found in the KSZ were formed during peak metamorphism and thus document the presence of a CO₂-rich fluid during peak granulite facies metamorphism (Rudnick et al. 1984). The association of high density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions with clearly retrograde veins documents the formation of similar composition and density inclusions after the peak of metamorphism. Thus, the coincidence of entrapment pressures calculated from fluid inclusion density measurements with peak metamorphic pressures alone should not be considered strong evidence for peak metamorphic inclusion entrapment. All fluid inclusion results are consistent with an initially semi-isobaric retrograde P–T path. Received: 2 April 1996 / Accepted: 15 November 1996     

The origin of fluids and nature of fluid–rock interaction in mid-crustal auriferous mylonites of the Renco mine, southern Zimbabwe

Geothermometric constraints on auriferous shear zones of the Renco mine in the Northern Marginal Zone of the late-Archaean, granulite-facies Limpopo Belt in southern Zimbabwe indicate that deformation and associated mineralization occurred at temperatures of at least 600 °C up to more likely 700 °C. Mid- to upper-amphibolite facies conditions during mineralization correspond to the regional-scale retrogression of granulite facies wall rocks during the late-Archaean thrusting of high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Northern Marginal Zone onto low- to medium-grade granite-greenstone terrains of the Zimbabwe craton. Mineral assemblages indicate that the ore fluid was moderately oxidized with log f_O2 values between 10⁻¹⁷ and 10⁻¹⁸ bars with high H₂S activities of 0.25–0.75. Elements enriched in the shear zones include Au, S, Fe, Cu, Mo, Bi, Te, Ni, Co, and H₂O, Au and Cu being the most enriched. Geochemically, Au correlates with Cu but not with S, which, together with the fact that gold is only rarely intergrown or in direct contact with sulfides, possibly indicates a transport of gold as a chloride complex. The siting of gold along fractures or within implosion breccias suggests that gold was precipitated due to fluid immiscibility induced by catastrophic fluid pressure drops during seismic slip events. Fluid inclusions are predominantly CO₂ (±CH₄ ± N₂)-rich, but petrographic work indicates that fluid inclusions have undergone extensive post-entrapment modifications due to the pervasive recrystallization of mineral textures in the high-temperature shear zones. The mineralized shear zones are enriched in ¹⁸O compared to wall-rock enderbites, which is interpreted to represent an influx of externally derived fluids of probably metamorphic origin. Based on temporal and spatial relationships between mineralization, late-Archaean overthrusting of the Northern Marginal Zone onto the Zimbabwe craton, and coeval amphibolite-facies hydration of granulites, we suggest that the Renco mineralization formed in a mid-crustal environment from metamorphic fluids that were generated from dehydration of subcreted greenstone terrains of the Zimbabwe craton. Received: 27 October 1998 / Accepted: 13 August 1999     

Carbonate-silicate inclusions in garnet as evidence for a carbonate-bearing source for fluids in leucocratic granitoids associated with granulites of the Southern Marginal Zone,Limpopo Complex,South Africa

We present a study of carbonate-bearing polyphase inclusions in garnets from leucocratic granitoids intruding metapelitic granulites of the Southern Marginal Zone (SMZ) of the Neoarchean Limpopo high-grade complex, South Africa, during the post-peak stage (2710–2650 Ma; U-Pb ages for zircons and monazites). Ternary feldspar thermometry suggests that the granitoid magma cooled from temperatures 800–900 °C at a pressure of ca. 6.5 kbar. Abundant CO₂ fluid inclusions in quartz and T-X_CO2 phase equilibria modeling via PERPLE_X imply action of an essentially carbonic fluid in the granitoids. Cores of almandine-rich garnet grains from the granitoids contain polyphase carbonate-bearing inclusions with a distinct negative crystal shape. The major carbonate in the inclusions is a strongly zoned magnesite-siderite variety, whereas pyrophyllite is the predominant silicate phase. Raman spectra of unexposed inclusions revealed a presence of CO₂, as well as CH₄ and H₂O. The carbonate-bearing inclusions coexist with larger polyphase inclusions composed of biotite, quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, sillimanite, which are interpreted as relics of granitic melts. Modeling the mineral assemblage preserved within the carbonate-bearing inclusions shows that their present mineral and chemical compositions are a product of interaction of the trapped aqueous‑carbonic fluid with host garnet during cooling below 400 °C. Despite strong modifications, the inclusions bear evidence for initial saturation of the fluid with Mg‑carbonate. This is taken as an evidence for an origin of the fluids by devolatilization of the Mg-rich carbonate-bearing ultrabasic greenstone rocks of the Kaapvaal Craton that were buried under the SMZ. Being generated at temperatures between 650 and 700 °C, the fluid subsequently participated in anatexis and coexisted with the granite magma during exhumation and interaction of the SMZ granulites with cratonic rocks.     

Fluid evolution during metamorphism at increasing pressure: carbonic- and nitrogen-bearing fluid inclusions in granulites from Øksfjord,north Norwegian Caledonides

Three successive metamorphic stages M1, M2 and M3 have been distinguished in polymetamorphic granulite facies quartz-feldspathic gneisses from the Seiland Igneous Province, Caledonides of northern Norway. An early period of contact metamorphism (M1; 750–950°C, ca. 5 kbar) was followed by cooling, accompanied by strong shearing and recrystallization at intermediate-P granulite facies conditions (M2; 700–750°C, 5–6kbar). High-P granulite facies (M3; ca. 700°C, 7–8 kbar) is related to recrystallization in narrow ductile shear zones and secondary growth on M2 minerals. On the basis of composition, fluid inclusions in cordierite, quartz and garnet can be divided into three major types: (1) CO₂ inclusions; (2) mixed CO₂–N₂ inclusions; (3) N₂ inclusions. Fluid chronology and mineral assemblages suggest that the earliest inclusions consist of pure CO₂ and were trapped at the M1 contact metamorphic episode. A carbonic fluid was also present during the intermediate-P granulite facies M2 metamorphism. The CO₂-rich inclusions in M2 garnet can be divided into two generations, an early lower-density and a late higher-density, with isochores crosscutting the P-T box of M2 and M3, respectively. The nitrogen-rich fluids were introduced at a late stage in the fluid evolution during the high-P M3 event. The mixed CO₂–N₂ inclusions, with density characteristics compatible with M3 conditions, are probably produced from intersection between pre-existing pure CO₂ inclusions and N₂ fluids introduced during M3. The fluid inclusion data agree with the P-T evolution established from mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry.     

Fluid inclusions in high-pressure granulites of the Pan-African belt in Tanzania (Uluguru Mts): a record of prograde to retrograde fluid evolution

The high-pressure granulites of the Uluguru Mountains are part of the Pan-African belt of Tanzania, the metamorphic evolution of which is characterized by an anticlockwise P-T path. Mineral assemblages that represent distinct metamorphic stages are selected for fluid inclusion studies in order to deduce the fluid evolution in metapelites and pyroxene granulites from the prograde to the retrograde stage. Fluid inclusion data improve the petrologically derived P-T path and confirm the anticlockwise evolution. Fluid inclusions in quartz enclosed in garnet porphyroblasts in metapelites preserve prograde fluids of CO₂–N₂ composition and later-trapped pure CO₂. During isochoric heating at temperatures near the peak of metamorphism, deformation and recrystallization led to fluid homogenization yielding N₂-poor CO₂ composition in the metapelites. Near-peak CO₂–N₂ fluid inclusions in quartz of metapelites and CO₂ inclusions in garnet-pyroxene granulites are characterized by perfect negative crystal shape. Garnet formed in veins and as coronas around orthopyroxene represent the near-isochoric/isobaric cooling stage which is characterized by high-density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions. Up to 15 mol% N₂ in some primary CO₂ inclusions in corona garnet indicate small-scale fluid heterogeneity during the static garnet growth. The fact that high-density fluid inclusions are preserved, suggests a shallow dP/dT slope of the uplift path. Nevertheless, some fluid inclusions decrepitated or re-equilibrated and low-density CO₂ inclusions were trapped in the garnet-pyroxene granulite while N₂–CH₄ inclusions formed in the metapelites. Different fluid compositions in metapelite and metabasite argue for an internal control of the fluid composition by phase equilibria. In shear zones where the pyroxene granulite was transformed into scapolite-biotite schist, CO₂–N₂ and low-density N₂–CH₄ fluid inclusions indicate several stages of tectonic activity and suggest fluid influx from the nearby metapelites. High- and low-salinity aqueous inclusions observed beside CO₂ inclusions in garnet-pyroxene granulites, in vein quartz and shear zones could be of high-grade origin but are mainly re-equilibrated or re-trapped along healed microfractures during lower-grade stages. Received: 21 May 1997 / Accepted: 6 October 1997     

Fluid characteristics of retrogressed eclogites and mafic granulites from the Cambrian Gondwana suture zone in southern India

Eclogite-facies rocks and high-pressure granulites provide windows to the deeper parts of subduction zones and the root of mountain chains, carrying potential records of fluids associated with subduction-accretion-collision tectonics. Here, we report petrological and fluid inclusion data on retrogressed eclogite and high-pressure granulite samples from Sittampundi, Kanji Malai and Perundarai in southern India. These rocks occur within the trace of the Cambrian collisional suture which marks the final phase of amalgamation of the Gondwana supercontinent. The garnet–clinopyroxene assemblage in the eclogites preserves relict omphacite, whereas the high-pressure granulites are characterized by an assemblage of garnet and clinopyroxene in the absence of omphacite and with minor plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and quartz. Phase relations computed for the eclogite assemblage yield peak P–T conditions of 19 kbar and 1,010°C. The mafic granulites also preserve the memory of high to ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism followed by an isothermal decompression. Systematic fluid inclusion optical, microthermometric and laser Raman spectroscopic studies were conducted in garnet and plagioclase from the eclogite–high pressure granulite suite. The results suggest that the early fluids were a mixture of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂ probably derived from decarbonation and devolatilization reactions in a subduction setting during the prograde stage. The later generation inclusions, which constitute the dominant category in all the samples studied, are characterized by a near-pure CO₂ composition with moderate to high densities (up to 1.154 g/cm³). The highest density fluid inclusions recorded in this study occur within the mafic granulites from Sittampundi (0.968–1.154 g/cm³) and Kanji Malai (1.092–1.116 g/cm³). In some cases, carbonate minerals such as dolomite and calcite are associated with the CO₂-rich fluid inclusions. The composition and densities of the later generation fluids closely match with those of the CO₂-bearing fluid inclusions reported from ultrahigh-temperature granulites occurring proximal to the eclogite–high pressure granulite suite within this suture zone, and suggest a common tectonic link for the fluid regime. We evaluate the fluid characteristics associated with convergent plate margin processes and propose that the early aqueous fluids probably associated with the eclogites were consumed during the formation of the retrograde hydrous mineral assemblages, whereas the fluid regime of the high-pressure and ultrahigh-temperature granulites was mostly CO₂-dominated. The tectonic setting of the rocks along a collisional suture marking the trace along which crustal blocks were welded through subduction–collision process is in favor of a model involving the derivation of CO₂ from sub-lithospheric sources such as a carbonated tectosphere invaded by hot asthenosphere, or underplated mafic magmas.     

Evolution of the middle crust beneath the western Pannonian Basin: a xenolith study

Felsic to mafic granulite xenoliths from late Neogene basalt pyroclastics in four localities of the western Pannonian Basin (Beistein, Kapfenstein, Szigliget and Káptalantóti (Sabar-hegy) were studied to find out their metamorphic and fluid history. The characteristic mineral assemblage of the granulites consists of Pl + Opx + Qtz ± Cpx ± Bt ± Grt ± Kfs. Based on abundant magmatic relic microstructural domains occurring in these rocks, the potential precursors might have been predominantly felsic igneous or high to ultrahigh temperature rocks. Ternary feldspar thermometry provides a rough estimate of temperatures of about 920–1070 °C. The first fluid invasion event, which is linked with this early high to ultrahigh temperature stage is characterised by primary pure CO₂ inclusions in apatite and zircon. The densest primary CO₂ inclusions indicate 0.52–0.64 GPa pressure at the estimated temperature range of crystallization. According to mineral equilibria and geothermobarometry, the high to ultrahigh temperature rock cooled and crystallized to granulite of predominantly felsic composition at about 750–870 °C and 0.50–0.75 GPa in the middle crust, between 20 and 29 km depths. The second fluid invasion event is recorded by primary CO₂-rich fluid inclusions hosted in the granulitic mineral assemblage (plagioclase, quartz and orthopyroxene). In addition to CO₂, Raman spectroscopy revealed the presence of minor N₂, H₂S, CO and H₂O in these inclusions. Partial melting of biotite-bearing assemblages could be connected to the next fluid invasion shown by secondary CO₂-rich fluids recorded along with healed fractures in plagioclase, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene. This event could have happened at depths similar to the previous ones. The final step in the granulite evolution was the sampling in the middle crust and transportation to the surface in form of xenoliths by mafic melt. This event generated temperature increase and pressure decrease and thus, limited melting of the xenoliths. The youngest fluid inclusion generation, observed mostly in healed fractures of felsic minerals, could be associated with this event.     

Fluid evolution of rare-element and muscovite granitic pegmatites from central Galicia, NW Spain

Fluid inclusions have been studied in three pegmatite fields in Galicia, NW Iberian Peninsula. Based on microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy, eight fluid systems have been recognized. The first fluid may be considered to be a pegmatitic fluid which is represented by daughter mineral (silicates)-rich aqueous inclusions. These inclusions are primary and formed above 500 °C (dissolution of daughter minerals). During pegmatite crystallization, this fluid evolved to a low-density, volatile-rich aqueous fluid with low salinity (93% H₂O; 5% CO₂; 0.5% CH₄; 0.2% N₂; 1.3% NaCl) at minimum P–T conditions around 3 ± 0.5 kbar and 420 °C. This fluid is related to rare-metal mineralization. The volatile enrichment may be due to mixing of magmatic fluids and fluids equilibrated with the host rock. A drop in pressure from 3 ± 0.5 to 1 kbar at a temperature above 420 °C, which may be due to the transition from predominantly lithostatic to hydrostatic pressure, is recorded by two-phase, water-rich inclusions with a low-density vapour phase (CO₂, CH₄ and N₂). Another inclusion type is represented by two-phase, vapour-rich inclusions with a low-density vapour phase (CO₂, CH₄ and N₂), indicating a last stage of decreasing temperature (360 °C) and pressure (around 0.5 kbar), probably due to progressive exhumation. Finally, volatile (CO₂)-rich aqueous inclusions, aqueous inclusions (H₂O-NaCl) and mixed-salt aqueous inclusions with low Th, are secondary in charac- ter and represent independent episodes of hydrothermal fluid circulation below 310 °C and 0.5 kbar. Received: 14 October 1999 / Accepted: 5 October 1999     

Fluid inclusions in rocks from the amphibolite-facies gneiss to charnockite progression in southern Karnataka, India: direct evidence concerning the fluids of granulite metamorphism

Abstract Fluid inclusion studies of rocks from the late Archaean amphibolite-facies to granulite-facies transition zone of southern India provide support for the hypothesis that CO₂,-rich H₂O-poor fluids were a major factor in the origin of the high-grade terrain. Charnockites, closely associated leucogranites and quartzo-feldspathic veins contain vast numbers of large CO₂-rich inclusions in planar arrays in quartz and feldspar, whereas amphibole-bearing gray gneisses of essentially the same compositions as adjacent charnockites in mixed-facies quarries contain no large fluid inclusions. Inclusions in the northernmost incipient charnockites, as at Kabbal, Karnataka, occasionally contain about 25 mol. % of immiscible H₂O lining cavity walls, whereas inclusions from the charnockite massif terrane farther south do not have visibile H₂O Microthermometry of CO₂ inclusions shows that miscible CH₄ and N₂ must be small, probably less than 10mol.%combined. Densities of CO₂ increase steadily from north to south across the transitional terrane. Entrapment pressures calculated from the CO₂ equation of state range from 5 kbar in the north to 7.5 kbar in the south at the mineralogically inferred average metamorphic temperature of 750°C, in quantitative agreement with mineralogic geobarometry. This agreement leads to the inference that the fluid inclusions were trapped at or near peak metamorphic conditions. Calculations on the stability of the charnockite assemblage biotite-orthopyroxene-K-feldspar-quartz show that an associated fluid phase must have less than 0.35 H₂O activity at the inferred P and T conditions, which agrees with the petrographic observations. High TiO₂ content of biotite stabilizes it to lower H₂O activities, and the steady increase of biotite TiO₂ southward in the area suggests progressive decrease of aH₂O with increasing grade. Oxygen fugacities calculated from orthopyroxene-magnetite-quartz are considerably higher than the graphite CO₂-O₂ buffer, which explains the absence of graphite in the charnockites. The present study quantifies the nature of the vapours in the southern India granulite metamorphism. It remains to be determined whether CO₂-flushing of the crust can, by itself, create large terranes of largeion lithophile-depleted granulites, or whether removal of H₂O-bearing anatectic melts is essential.     

Texturally-early fluid inclusions in garnets: evidence of the prograde metamorphic path?

Well-formed, texturally-early fluid inclusions in garnets from the Archean Pikwitonei granulite domain, Manitoba, Canada, have been analyzed using microthermometric methods. The mean CO₂ homogenization temperature (to liquid) for inclusions in 12 of 13 samples from the Cauchon Lake-Nelson River area is +15.2° C (n=125, 2σ=8.2° C), corresponding to a CO₂ density of 0.82 g/cm³. Inclusions in the remaining sample have somewhat lower CO₂ homogenization temperatures (mean=+5.4° C, n=24). The studied inclusions contain an estimated 10 to 20 vol. percent H₂O, with minor amounts of other fluid species such as CH₄, N₂, and/or H₂S. The fluid inclusions were probably trapped during early garnet growth at relatively low pressures (≤5 kbar if at 750° C), and appear to have undergone only limited or possibly no subsequent re-equilibration. This interpretation is consistent with the “anti-clock-wise” P-T-t path (heating before loading) determined for the Pikwitonei region by other workers. For such a prograde path, inclusions entrapped early, at high temperatures but at relatively low pressures, would experience internal underpressures during most of the subsequent prograde and retrograde phases of metamorphism. The texturally-early fluid inclusions in garnets from the Pikwitonei region therefore cannot be used to provide direct information about the highest metamorphic temperature and pressure conditions (750° C and 7 kbar). However, the results obtained in this study suggest that texturally-early fluid inclusions in garnets may, in some cases, retain evidence of the prograde metamorphic path.     

Fluid inclusion evidence for an anticlockwise metamorphic P-T path in central Massachusetts

Acadian (Late Silurian to Early Devonian) metamorphism in the Central Maine Terrane (CMT) in central Massachusetts is characterized by an early low-P, high-T (Buchan-type) metamorphism followed by thickening at high temperature (>650d? C) and then by cooling to 100-200d? C below peak recorded temperatures before eventual unroofing. Mineralogical and textural evidence for this path includes sillimanite pseudomorphs after early andalusite, abundant cordierite in pelitic lithologies, replacement of low-P cordierite-bearing assemblages by high-P garnet-bearing assemblages, and recrystallization of mylonites associated with late shear zones to form lower-T and higher-P assemblages. Peak conditions in the highest grade rocks were 685-780d? C and 5-6 kbar; the cooling path passed through 550d? C at about 6.5 kbar. The well-constrained P-T path documented from geological and mineralogical evidence for the CMT offers an unusual opportunity to examine characteristics of fluid inclusions that have experienced a long-lived metamorphic event spanning a broad range of P-T conditions. Fluid inclusion data from the CMT document a range of fluid compositions (CO₂-rich, mixed CO₂-N₂-rich, N₂-rich and H₂O-rich) and densities during metamorphism. Densities of CO₂ fluid inclusions range from 0.20 to 1.03 g cm^-3. Medium-density CO₂ fluid inclusions are contained in quartz inclusions within garnets in partial melt leucosomes, and in quartz grains within migmatites. Fluid inclusions within the quartz inclusions indicate trapping conditions of 650-700d? C at pressures below 5 kbar. Other CO₂ fluid inclusions from matrix quartz yield isochores which pass through 700d? C and 5.2 kbar. The highest density inclusions associated with rocks containing the late high-P assemblages have isochores which pass below the estimated P-T conditions for recrystallization of the mylonite. Fluid inclusion evidence suggests an early low-P heating event, followed by thickening at high temperature, and then by nearly isobaric cooling to about 500d? C with later decompression. This interpretation is also consistent with previously published petrological models and supports an anticlockwise P-T path for the CMT of south-central Massachusetts.     

Origin of CO2-rich fluid inclusions in synorogenic veins from the Eastern Mount Isa Fold Belt, NW Queensland, and their implications for mineralization

Synorogenic veins from the Proterozoic Eastern Mount Isa Fold Belt contain three different types of fluid inclusions: CO₂-rich, aqueous two-phase and rare multiphase. Inclusions of CO₂ without a visible H₂O phase are particularly common. The close association of CO₂-rich inclusions with aqueous two-phase, and possibly multiphase inclusions suggests that phase separation of low- to -moderate salinity CO₂-rich hydrothermal fluids led to the selective entrapment of the CO₂. Microthermometric results indicate that CO₂-rich inclusions homogenize between –15.5 and +29.9 °C which corresponds to densities of 0.99 to 0.60 g.cm⁻³. The homogenization temperatures of the associated aqueous two-phase inclusions are 127–397 °C, with salinities of 0.5 to 18.1 wt.% NaCl equivalent. The rarely observed multiphase inclusions homogenize between 250 and 350 °C, and have salinities ranging from 34.6 to 41.5 wt.% NaCl equivalent. Evidence used to support the presence of fluid immiscibility in this study is mainly derived from observations of coexisting H₂O-rich and CO₂-rich inclusions in groups and along the same trail. In addition, these two presumably unmixed fluids are also found on adjacent fractures where monophase CO₂-rich inclusions are closely related to H₂O-rich inclusions. Similar CO₂-rich inclusions are widespread in mineral deposits in this region, which are simply metal-enriched synorogenic veins. Therefore, we argue that fluid immiscibility caused volatile species such as CO₂ and H₂S to be lost from liquid, thus triggering ore deposition by increasing the fluid pH and decreasing the availability of complexing ligands. Received: 28 April 1997 / Accepted: 4 January 1999     

Secondary Ca–Al silicates in plutonic rocks: implications for their cooling history

Secondary Ca-Al silicates are used to constrain the P-T-x conditions of the very early post-magmatic stage of the intermediate to basic Hercynian plutonic complexes of Charroux-Civray (NW Massif Central, France) and Fichtelgebirge (NE Bavaria, Germany). The secondary Ca-Al silicates hydrogarnet, prehnite, pumpellyite, epidote and laumontite form lenses within unaltered or only slightly chloritized biotite. Hydrogarnet as the first occurring Ca-Al silicate phase crystallizes at temperatures above 340 °C. The common paragenesis prehnite + pumpellyite post-dates hydrogarnet and indicates rather narrow ranges of temperature (200-280 °C) and pressure (2-3 kbar). Laumontite is formed at the end of Ca-Al silicate crystallization (180-260 °C, 1-3 kbar), mostly in small fractures in association with prehnite and adularia. The observed crystallization sequence of the Ca-Al silicates and their stabilities define a retrograde alteration path for the plutonic rocks. The Ca-Al silicate assemblage results from an early pervasive alteration of the plutonic rocks by low X_CO2 fluids during post-magmatic cooling. Subsolidus cooling starts at about 4 kbar at solidus temperatures as indicated by magmatic epidote stability, hornblende barometry and fluid inclusion data, and continues under slightly decreasing pressure (uplift) down to 2-3 kbar at 200-280 °C (prehnite-pumpellyite paragenesis). This shows that Ca-Al silicate assemblages may be a unique tool to constrain the P-T conditions of the subsolidus cooling of intermediate to basic plutonic bodies.     

Internal Differentiation of the Archean Continental Crust: Fluid-Controlled Partial Melting of Granulites and TTG-Amphibolite Associations in Central Finland

Fault bound blocks of granulite and enderbite occur within upperamphibolite-facies migmatitic tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioritic(TTG) gneisses of the Iisalmi block of Central Finland. Theseunits record reworking and partial melting of different levelsof the Archean crust during a major tectonothermal event at2·6–2·7 Ga. Anhydrous mineral assemblagesand tonalitic melts in the granulites formed as a result ofhydrous phase breakdown melting reactions involving amphiboleat peak metamorphic conditions of 8–11 kbar and 750–900°C.A nominally fluid-absent melting regime in the granulites issupported by the presence of carbonic fluid inclusions. Thegeochemical signature of light rare earth element (LREE)-depletedmafic granulites can be modelled by 10–30 wt % partialmelting of an amphibolite source rock leaving a garnet-bearingresidue. The degree of melting in intermediate granulites isinferred to be less than 10 wt % and was restricted by the availabilityof quartz. Pressure–temperature estimates for the TTGgneisses are significantly lower than for the granulites at660–770°C and 5–6 kbar. Based on the P–Tconditions, melting of the TTG gneisses is inferred to haveoccurred at the wet solidus in the presence of an H₂O-rich fluid.A hydrous mineralogy, abundant aqueous fluid inclusions andthe absence of carbonic inclusions in the gneisses are in accordancewith a water-fluxed melting regime. Low REE contents and strongpositive Eu anomalies in most leucosomes irrespective of thehost rock composition suggest that the leucosomes are not meltcompositions, but represent plagioclase–quartz assemblagesthat crystallized early from felsic melts. Furthermore, similarplagioclase compositions in leucosomes and adjacent mesosomesare not a ‘migmatite paradox’, as both record equilibrationwith the same melt phase percolating along grain boundaries. KEY WORDS: Archean continental crust; fluid inclusion; granulite; migmatite; partial melting