Ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism followed by two-stage decompression of garnet–orthopyroxene–sillimanite granulites from Ganguvarpatti,Madurai block,southern India

The Mg–Al granulites from Ganguvarpatti consist of orthopyroxene–sillimanite–garnet ± quartz as peak assemblage, with a few porphyroblasts of cordierite and sapphirine. These assemblages were strongly overprinted by late symplectites and coronas. Orthopyroxene inclusions in garnet and porphyroblast cores have the highest X _Mg (0.80) and Al₂O₃ content (10.7 wt%). The estimated near-peak metamorphic conditions (1,000±50°C and 11 kbar) using garnet–orthopyroxene geothermobarometry are consistent with those determined using a petrogenetic grid. The proposed multi-stage evolution process implies an initial decompression, deduced from multi-phase symplectites, followed by cooling during biotite formation. Further late decompression is explained from the orthopyroxene rims on biotite. This proposed P–T path thus suggests a unique and complex evolution history for the UHT granulites of southern India. Present results are comparable with similar adjacent terranes in the Gondwana supercontinent, but the lack of structural and geochronological data makes a link with any major metamorphic event uncertain.     

Ultrahigh-temperature mafic granulite in the Huai’an Complex,North China Craton: Evidence from phase equilibria modelling and amphibole thermometers

The Huai’an Complex in the north-western Trans-North China Orogen, North China Craton is recognized to have undergone high-pressure metamorphism with controversial ages. Two mafic granulite samples (17HT13 and 16HT22) from Huangtuyao of the Huai’an Complex are documented for metamorphism based on petrography, mineral chemistry, phase equilibria modelling and zircon dating. The rocks comprise garnet, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, amphibole, plagioclase and ilmenite. They show clockwise P-T paths involving the pre-T_max decompressional heating, the T_max and the post-T_max cooling stages. The pre-T_max decompressional heating is revealed by the core-rim/mantle anorthite-ascending zoning in coarse-grained plagioclase. The T_max stage is constrained to 8.5–10.5 kbar/980–1010 °C (17HT13) and 7.5–9.5 kbar/1000–1030 °C (16HT22) by the high Ti content of amphibole, and the anorthite content of coarse-grained plagioclase rims/mantles and fine-grained plagioclase cores. These temperatures are slightly higher than the results of amphibole thermometers (∼940–980 °C). The post-T_max cooling is defined by the later growth of amphibole and some conventional geothermobarometers. Because it is dominated by temperature with ilmenite present, the Ti content of amphibole is proposed as a reliable thermometer, and the Ti-rich amphibole with Ti > 0.28 p.f.u. or TiO₂ > 2.4–2.6 wt% is indicative of ultrahigh-temperature (>900 °C, UHT) conditions. The anorthite content of plagioclase is also significant in confining peak temperatures for UHT granulite but requires defining proper water content. Zircon dating for 17HT13 yields an upper intercept age of 1910 ± 35 Ma, representing the cooling of UHT granulite. We conclude that the Huai’an Complex may have at least locally undergone UHT metamorphism at ∼1.92–1.91 Ga after high-pressure granulite metamorphism at ∼1.95 Ga, similar to the Jining Complex. Therefore, the Huai’an and Jining Complexes share the same tectonic evolution involving ∼1.95 Ga crustal thickening, ∼1.92–1.91 Ga extension with regional or local UHT metamorphism, and subsequent cooling and uplifting.     

CL-imaging and ion microprobe dating of single zircons from a high-grade rock from the Central Zone,Limpopo Belt,South Africa: Evidence for a single metamorphic event at ∼2.0 Ga

The combination of ion microprobe dating and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of zircons from a high-grade rock from the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt were used to constrain the age of metamorphic events in the area. Zircon grains extracted from an orthopyroxene-gedrite-bearing granulite were prepared for single crystal CL-imaging and ion microprobe dating. The grains display complex zoning when using SEM-based CL-imaging. A common feature in most grains is the presence of a distinct core with a broken oscillatory zoned structure, which clearly appears to be the remnant of an original grain of igneous origin. This core is overgrown by an unzoned thin rim measuring about 10–30 μm in diameter, which is considered as new zircon growth during a single metamorphic event. Selected domains of the zircon grains were analysed for U, Pb and Th isotopic composition using a CAMECA IMS 1270 ion microprobe (Nordsim facility). Most of the grains define a near-concordant cluster with some evidence of Pb loss. The most concordant ages of the cores yielded a weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2689 ± 15 (2σ) Ma, interpreted as the age of the protolith of an igneous origin. The unzoned overgrowths of the zircon grains yielded a considerably younger weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of ∼2006.5 ± 8.0 Ma (2σ), and these data are interpreted to reflect closely the age of the ubiquitous high-grade metamorphic event in the Central Zone. This study shows clearly, based on both the internal structure of the zircons and the data obtained by ion microprobe dating, that only a single metamorphic event is recorded by the studied 2.69 Ga old rocks, and we found no evidence of an earlier metamorphic event at ∼2.5 Ga as postulated earlier by some workers.     

Mineral disequilibrium in the Merensky Reef,western Bushveld Complex,South Africa: new Sm–Nd isotopic evidence

The Sm–Nd isotopic data from the Merensky Reef and its immediate footwall suggest that orthopyroxene and plagioclase are in isotopic disequilibrium with one another, such that plagioclase is enriched in radiogenic Nd relative to a Bushveld-aged reference isochron passing through the pyroxene and whole-rock data. The whole rocks and orthopyroxenes give _Nd values at 2.06 Ga between –7.46 and –8.46, whereas the plagioclases have _Nd values of –1.13 to –3.37. Orthopyroxene was derived from a liquid affected by pre-emplacement crustal contamination, and settled by density-driven accumulation into a liquid–crystal mush dominated by plagioclase, derived from a relatively uncontaminated previous liquid. Isotopic constraints on the potential contaminant favour pre-emplacement contamination by late Archaean granitoids, and also require that orthopyroxene preceded plagioclase on the liquidus of the incoming magma. The presence of isotopic disequilibrium suggests that isotopic compositions of whole-rock samples in cumulus rocks must be interpreted with caution.     

Exact timing of granulite metamorphism in the Namche-Barwa,eastern Himalayan syntaxis: new constrains from SIMS U–Pb zircon age

Zircon grains separated from 2 granulites from the eastern Himalaya were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence imaging, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. These grains have a thin homogeneous rim and an oscillatory inner zone domain with or without a relict inherited core. Garnet, kyanite, and rutile inclusions were identified within only the rim domain of zircon grains, indicating that the rim had formed during peak granulite-facies metamorphism. U–Pb zircon data record three distinct age populations: 1,805 Ma (for the inherited core), ca. 500 Ma (oscillatory inner zone), as well as 24–25 Ma and ca. 18 Ma (for the metamorphic rim). These new precision ages suggest that the peak metamorphic age for the HP granulite is at ca. 24–25 Ma, and subsequent amphibolite-facies retrograde metamorphism occurred at ca. 18 Ma.     

Relationship between footwall composition,crustal contamination,and fluid–rock interaction in the Platreef,Bushveld Complex,South Africa

In the northern limb of the 2.06-Ga Bushveld Complex, the Platreef is a platinum group elements (PGE)-, Cu-, and Ni-mineralized zone of pyroxenite that developed at the intrusion margin. From north to south, the footwall rocks of the Platreef change from Archaean granite to dolomite, hornfels, and quartzite. Where the footwall is granite, the Sr-isotope system is more strongly perturbed than where the footwall is Sr-poor dolomite, in which samples show an approximate isochron relationship. The Nd-isotope system for samples of pyroxenite and hanging wall norite shows an approximate isochron relationship with an implied age of 2.17 ± 0.2 Ga and initial Nd-isotope ratio of 0.5095. Assuming an age of 2.06 Ga, the ɛNd values range from −6.2 to −9.6 (ave. −7.8, n = 17) and on average are slightly more negative than the Main Zone of the Bushveld. These data are consistent with local contamination of an already contaminated magma of Main Zone composition. The similarity in isotope composition between the Platreef pyroxenites and the hanging wall norites suggests a common origin. Where the country rock is dolomite, the Platreef has generally higher plagioclase and pyroxene δ ¹⁸O values, and this indicates assimilation of the immediate footwall. Throughout the Platreef, there is considerable petrographic evidence for sub-solidus interaction with fluids, and the Δ _{plagioclase–pyroxene} values range from −2 to +6, which indicates interaction at both high and low temperatures. Whole-rock and mineral δD values suggest that the Platreef interacted with both magmatic and meteoric water, and the lack of disturbance to the Sr-isotope system suggests that fluid–rock interaction took place soon after emplacement. Where the footwall is granite, less negative δD values suggest a greater involvement of meteoric water. Consistently higher values of Δ _{plagioclase–pyroxene} in the Platreef pyroxenites and hanging wall norites in contact with dolomite suggest prolonged interaction with CO₂-rich fluid derived from decarbonation of the footwall rocks. The overprint of post crystallization fluid–rock interaction is the probable cause of the previously documented lack of correlation between PGE and sulfide content on the small scale. The Platreef in contact with dolomite is the focus of the highest PGE grades, and this suggests that dolomite contamination played a role in PGE concentration and deposition, but the exact link remains obscure. It is a possibility that the CO₂ produced by decarbonation of assimilated dolomite enhanced the process of PGE scavenging by sulfide precipitation.     

K-feldspar–quartz and K-feldspar–plagioclase phase boundary interactions in garnet–orthopyroxene gneiss's from the Val Strona di Omegna, Ivrea–Verbano Zone, northern Italy

A detailed study based on textural observations combined with microanalysis [back scattered electron imaging (BSE) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA)] and microstructural data transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been made of K-feldspar micro-veins along quartz–plagioclase phase and plagioclase–plagioclase grain boundaries in granulite facies, orthopyroxene–garnet-bearing gneiss's (700–825 °C, 6–8 kbar) from the Val Strona di Omegna, Ivrea–Verbano Zone, northern Italy. The K-feldspar micro-veins are commonly associated with quartz and plagioclase and are not found in quartz absent regions of the thin section. This association appears to represent a localised reaction texture resulting from a common high grade dehydration reaction, namely: amphibole + quartz = orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + plagioclase + K-feldspar + H₂O, which occurred during the granulite facies metamorphism of these rocks. There are a number of lines of evidence for this. These include abundant Ti-rich biotite, which was apparently stable during granulite facies metamorphism, and total lack of amphibole, which apparently was not. Disorder between Al and Si in the K-feldspar indicates crystallisation at temperatures >500 °C. Myrmekite and albitic rim intergrowths in the K-feldspar along the K-feldspar–plagioclase interface could only have formed at temperatures >500–600 °C. Symplectic intergrowths of albite and Ca-rich plagioclase between these albitic rim intergrowths and plagioclase suggest a high temperature grain boundary reaction, which most likely occurred at the start of decompression in conjunction with a fluid phase. Relatively high dislocation densities (>2 × 10⁹ to 3 × 10⁹/cm²) in the K-feldspar suggest plastic deformation at temperatures >500 °C. We propose that this plastic deformation is linked with the extensional tectonic environment present during the mafic underplating event responsible for the granulite facies metamorphism in these rocks. Lastly, apparently active garnet grain rims associated with side inclusions of K-feldspar and quartz and an exterior K-feldspar micro-vein indicate equilibrium temperatures within 20–30 °C of the peak metamorphic temperatures estimated for the sample (770 °C). Contact between these K-feldspar micro-veins and Fe-Mg silicate minerals, such as garnet, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene or biotite along the interface, is observed to be very clean with no signs of melt textures or alteration to sheet silicates. This lends support to the idea that these micro-veins did not originate from a melt and, if fluid induced, that the water activity of these fluids must have been relatively low. All of these lines of evidence point to a high grade origin for the K-feldspar micro-veins and support the hypothesis that they formed during the granulite facies metamorphism of the metabasite layers in an extensional tectonic environment as the consequence of localised dehydration reactions involving the breakdown of amphibole in the presence of quartz to orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, K-feldspar and H₂O. It is proposed that the dehydration of the metabasite layers to an orthopyroxene–garnet-bearing gneiss over a 4-km traverse in the upper Val Strona during granulite facies metamorphism was a metasomatic event initiated by the presence of a high-grade, low H₂O activity fluid (most likely a NaCl–KCl supercritical brine), related to the magmatic underplating event responsible for the Mafic Formation; and that this dehydration event did not involve partial melting. Received: 15 February 2000 / Accepted: 26 June 2000     

Origins of cryptic variation in the Ediacaran–Fortunian rhyolitic ignimbrites of the Saldanha Bay Volcanic Complex,Western Cape,South Africa

The Saldanha eruption centre, on the West Coast of South Africa, consists of 542 Ma, intracaldera, S-type, rhyolite ignimbrites divided into the basal Saldanha Ignimbrite and the partly overlying Jacob’s Bay Ignimbrite. Depleted-mantle Nd model ages suggest magma sources younger than the Early Mesoproterozoic, and located within the Neoproterozoic Malmesbury Group and Swartland complex metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks that form the regional basement. The Sr isotope systematics suggest that the dominant source rocks were metavolcaniclastic rocks and metagreywackes, and that the magmas formed from separate batches extracted from the same heterogeneous source. No apparent magma mixing trends relate the Saldanha to the Jacob’s Bay Ignimbrites, or either of these to the magmas that formed the Plankiesbaai or Tsaarsbank Ignimbrites in the neighbouring Postberg eruption centre. The magmas were extracted from their source rocks carrying small but significant proportions of peritectic and restitic accessory minerals. Variations in the content of this entrained crystal cargo were responsible for most of the chemical variations in the magmas. Although we cannot construct a cogent crystal fractionation model to relate these groups of magmas, at least some crystal fractionation occurred, as an overlay on the primary signal due to peritectic assemblage entrainment (PAE). Thus, the causes of the cryptic chemical variation among the ignimbrite magmas of the Saldanha centre are variable, but dominated by the compositions of the parent melts and PAE. The preservation of clear, source-inherited chemical signatures, in individual samples, calls into question the common interpretation of silicic calderas as having been formed in large magma reservoirs, with magma compositions shaped by magma mingling, mixing, and fractional crystallization. The Saldanha rocks suggest a more intimate connection between source and erupted magma, and perhaps indicate that silicic magmas are too viscous to be significantly modified by magma-chamber processes.     

Al zoning in orthopyroxene in a sapphirine quartzite: evidence for >1120 °C UHT metamorphism in the Napier Complex, Antarctica, and implications for the entropy of sapphirine

A unique sapphirine + orthopyroxene + quartz granulite from Mt. Riiser-Larsen in the Tula Mountains of Enderby Land, East Antarctica, preserves two generations of coarse and texturally equilibrated orthopyroxene and sapphirine coexisting with quartz. Initial subhedral orthopyroxene porphyroblasts retain core compositions enriched in Al₂O₃ (12.2 ± 0.5 wt%) compared with their rims and finer orthopyroxene (9.6 ± 0.5 wt% Al₂O₃) that forms granoblastic textures with sapphirine. Sapphirine and quartz also form symplectites on and along cleavage planes within orthopyroxene. These compositional and textural features are consistent with the reaction [2MgAl₂SiO₆=Mg₂Al₄ SiO₁₀ + SiO₂] leading to the formation of sapphirine + quartz at the expense of aluminous orthopyroxene. Calculations in the MAS and FMAS systems and theoretical considerations involving the phases enstatite, sapphirine, sillimanite, quartz and cordierite indicate that the reaction above progresses from left to right with decreasing temperature in the orthopyroxene + sapphirine + quartz field, at pressures of ca. 8–10 kbar. The temperature difference required to account for the ca. 2.5–3 wt% decrease in Al₂O₃ in orthopyroxene is at least 60–80 °C, and implies peak temperatures for the initial assemblage of at least 1120 °C if the second granoblastic assemblage equilibrated at 1040 °C, the P–T conditions required by the sapphirine + quartz association and other P–T-sensitive assemblage indicators in the Napier Complex. It is not possible to distinguish whether the two assemblages are simply related by cooling and re-equilibration or reflect a polyphase evolution involving the superposition of a second UHT event on an earlier, even higher temperature, UHT metamorphism. Preliminary thermodynamic modelling of the reaction above incorporating the observed range in orthopyroxene Al₂O₃ zoning indicates that present estimates for the entropy of high-temperature sapphirine are potentially too high by 15–18% compared with sapphirine entropy estimates that are consistent with MAS system experiments. The Mt. Riiser-Larsen sapphirine–quartz rocks preserve the first definitive record of regional metamorphic temperatures in excess of 1120 °C in the Napier Complex, or indeed any UHT granulite terrain worldwide. Similarly high peak temperatures may be retrieved from detailed studies of sapphirine–quartz granulites from other regions, further expanding the thermal realm of crustal metamorphism, but progress will critically depend on the experimental acquisition of new entropy data for sapphirine. Received: 3 September 1998 / Accepted: 8 November 1999     

Episodic granitoid emplacement in the western Kaapvaal Craton: evidence from the Archæan Kraaipan granite-greenstone terrane,South Africa

Field, petrological, geochemical, isotopic and geophysical data have been assembled to determine the nature and extent of Archæan Kraaipan granite-greenstone rocks on the western edge of the Kaapvaal Craton, southern Africa.The Kraaipan greenstone belts, consisting of metamorphosed mafic volcanic rocks and interlayered metasediments (mainly banded iron formations, jaspilites and ferruginous cherts), occur poorly exposed beneath cover sequences comprising mainly Neoarchæan Ventersdorp Supergroup volcanic rocks and a blanket of Tertiary-Recent Kalahari sediments. A variety of granitoid rocks intruded the Kraaipan greenstones, which, on the basis of whole rock PbPb dating of banded iron formations, have yielded an age of 3410+61/-64 Ma. The earliest granitic rocks, which comprise tonalites and trondhjemitic gneisses, were dated using the single grain Pb evaporation technique on zircons, and yielded minimum ages ranging from 3162±8 to 3070±7 Ma in the study area. This, coupled with 3250-3030 Ma ages reported for gneisses in the Kimberley and other areas on the western edge of the Kaapvaal Craton, suggests a prolonged evolution for the basement gneisses which were also disturbed between 2940 and 2816 Ma ago, probably during episodes of migmatisation. Potassium-rich granitoids, also dated using the single grain Pb evaporation method, range in age from 2880±2 to 2846±22 Ma and extend from the Schweizer-Reneke area in the south to the Botswana border and beyond in the north. Geophysical evidence (aeromagnetic and Bouguer gravity data) suggest that the intrusions may be interconnected and might have been emplaced episodically across the study area. A close spatial relationship exists between these granodiorites and adamellites, and known Au mineralisation present in the Kraaipan-Madibe areas in the north and the Amalia area in the south. This suggests a possible genetic link which could be of significance in mineral exploration. Lastly, a late granitoid pluton, the Mosita Adamellite, yielded a Pb evaporation age of 2749±3 Ma and is the youngest intrusive body recorded in the Kraaipan granite-greenstone terrane. Its presence beneath Kalahari sand cover is defined by Bouguer gravity data. The Kraaipan granite-greenstone terrane, with a prominent north-south trend, appears to represent an Archæan crustal segment that may have accreted episodically on to the western edge of the Kaapvaal Craton. In a manner similar to the Murchison granite-greenstone terrane in the northeastern part of the craton, the region may also have constituted an important potential source of placer Au mineralisation found in the Witwatersrand Basin.     

Zircons,age, and geological setting of rhyodacite–porphyry from the Bagrusha Complex (South Urals)

Before our studies, it was considered that the Bagrusha rhyolite–porphyry complex (BC) including veins and thin dykes occurring in the Kusa region among deposits presumably of the Satka and Avzyan Formations of the Lower and Middle Riphean, respectively. Based on the U–Pb SHRIMP and IDTIMS studies of zircons from rhyodacite—porphyry, we established the age of the BC formation of T₀ = 1348.6 ± 3.2 Ma for the first time. The age obtained is inconsistent with the idea on the Paleozoic age of the BC and the geological situation shown on geological maps of the region. The age (T₀ = 1348.6 ± 3.2 Ma) of rhyodacite–porphyry from the BC provides evidence for acid volcanism controlled by the Mashak (Middle Riphean) magmatic event in the region, and deposits hosting volcanic rocks of the BC cannot be younger than the base of the Middle Riphean, i.e., the Mashak Formation, which was not previously distinguished by researchers in the western part of the Kusa and Bakal–Satka regions. At the same time, it is possible that deposits hosting dykes and veins of the granite–rhyolite formation may have a Bakal (Lower Riphean) age.     

Continuous zircon growth during long-lived granulite facies metamorphism: a microtextural,U–Pb,Lu–Hf and trace element study of Caledonian rocks from the Arctic

Microtextural, U–Pb, trace element and Lu–Hf analyses of zircons from gneisses dredged from the Chukchi Borderland indicate a long-lived, Cambrian–Ordovician, granulite facies metamorphism. These results reveal a complete prograde, peak and cooling history of zircon growth during anatexis. Early increasing temperatures caused modification and Pb-loss of Precambrian zircons by recrystallization and dissolution/re-precipitation of existing grains. Small variations in initial ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf results (0.282325–0.282042) and flat HREE patterns of these zircons indicate that they grew by dissolution/re-precipitation in the presence of garnet. Zircons subsequently crystallized from a partial melt during peak to post-peak metamorphism from 530 to 485 Ma. A broad range of initial ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios (0.282693–0.282050) and mineral inclusions within zircons suggest that this phase of growth incorporated Zr and Hf obtained from the breakdown of Zr-enriched phases. Microtextural evidence along with trace element and isotopic data suggests that final growth of metamorphic rims on zircon occurred during slow cooling and crystallization of residual partial melts during the early Ordovician (485–470 Ma). Younger, late Ordovician–Silurian (420–450 Ma) euhedral, oscillatory-zoned, trace element-enriched zircons crystallized within leucocratic veins that intrude the gneisses. Their age corresponds to granitoids dated from this same dredge. The intrusives and veins provide evidence that the Chukchi Borderland rifted from a position near Pearya and northwest Svalbard, which represent the northern continuation of the Caledonian orogen. Evidence for earlier Cambrian metamorphism has not been reported from this region. The age of granulite facies metamorphism reported here represents the earliest phase of deformation in the Arctic Caledonides.     

Experimental and petrological constraints on local-scale interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H2O-CO2-（K, Na）Cl fluids at middle-crustal conditions： Example from the Limpopo Complex, South Africa

Reaction textures and fluid inclusions in the～2.0 Ga pyroxene-bearing dehydration zones within the Sand River biotite-hornblende orthogneisses（Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex） suggest that the formation of these zones is a result of close interplay between dehydration process along ductile shear zones triggered by H₂O-CO₂-salt fluids at 750—800℃and 5.5—6.2 kbar.partial melting,and later exsolution of residual brine and H₂O-CO₂ fluids during melt crystallization at 650—700℃.These processes caused local variations of water and alkali activity in the fluids,resulting in various mineral assemblages within the dehydration zone.The petrological observations are substantiated by experiments on the interaction of the Sand River gneiss with the H₂O-CO-2-（K,Na）Cl fluids at 750 and 800℃and 5.5 kbar.It follows that the interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H₂O-CO₂-（K.Na）Cl fluids is accompanied by partial melting at 750—800℃.Orthopyroxene-bearing assemblages are characteristic for temperature 800℃and are stable in equilibrium with fluids with low salt concentrations,while salt-rich fluids produce clinopyroxene-bearing assemblages.These observations arc in good agreement with the petrological data on the dehydration zones within the Sand River orthoeneisses.     

Aeolianite and barrier dune construction spanning the last two glacial–interglacial cycles from the southern Cape coast,South Africa

The southern Cape region of South Africa has extensive coastal aeolianites and barrier dunes. Whilst previously reported, limited knowledge of their age has precluded an understanding of their relationship with the climatic and sea-level fluctuations that have taken place during the Late Quaternary. Sedimentological and geomorphological studies combined with an optical dating programme reveal aeolianite development and barrier dune construction spanning at least the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. Aeolianite deposition has occurred on the southern Cape coast at ca 67–80, 88–90, 104–128, 160–189 and >200 ka before the present. Using this and other published data coupled with a better understanding of Late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations and palaeocoastline configurations, it is concluded that these depositional phases appear to be controlled by interglacial and subsequent interstadial sea-level high stands. These marine transgressions and regressions allowed onshore carbonate-rich sediment movement and subsequent aeolian reworking to occur at similar points in the landscape on a number of occasions. The lack of carbonates in more recent dunes (Oxygen Isotope Stages 1/2 and 4/5) is attributed not to leaching but to changes to carbonate production in the sediment source area caused by increased terrigenous material and/or changes in the balance between the warm Agulhas and nutrient-rich Benguela ocean currents.     

Re–Os dating and sulfur isotope composition of molybdenite from tungsten deposits in western Namaqualand, South Africa: implications for ore genesis and the timing of metamorphism

Both stratiform/stratabound and granite-related models have been used to explain the genesis of W(Mo) deposits in the Okiep copper district in western Namaqualand, South Africa. Apparently, stratabound mineralization (Fe-rich wolframite with accessory molybdenite) occurs in foliation-parallel quartz veins in high-grade (∼750 °C, 5–6 kbar) metapelites of the Wolfram Formation, and less commonly in small bodies of silicified leucogranites and pegmatites. Six Re–Os ages for molybdenites from four deposits (Nababeep Tungsten Far West, Kliphoog, Narrap, Tweedam) range between 1000 ± 4 and 1026 ± 5 Ma. These molybdenites define a well-constrained ¹⁸⁷Re–¹⁸⁷Os isochron with an age of 1019 ± 6 Ma, which is interpreted as the age of W(Mo) mineralization. This age is significantly younger than Proterozoic protolith ages for supracrustal rocks and the emplacement ages for the main intrusive suites, but geologic evidence requires overlap with a period of high-grade metamorphism. We suggest that W(Mo) mineralization is genetically linked to intra-crustal magmatic processes at ∼1020 Ma, thereby precluding the ∼1060 Ma Concordia granite as the source for mineralizing fluids. A narrow range of positive δ³⁴S compositions (+3.6 to +4.5‰) for eight molybdenites from five W(Mo) mines is consistent with a SO₂-rich fluid and a granite-related genetic model. Post-peak metamorphic deformation and metamorphism of W(Mo) ores is most likely related to the retrograde stage of the Namaquan orogeny, which overlaps emplacement of late-orogenic, evolved granites and pegmatites, and the formation of W(Mo) deposits in western Namaqualand. Therefore, the effects of retrograde Namaquan metamorphism extend at least to ∼1020 Ma or, alternatively, these W(Mo) veins were affected by a poorly constrained later event (e.g. early Pan-African). Received: 12 September 1999 / Accepted: 20 April 2000     

Neoarchean high-pressure margarite–phengitic muscovite–chlorite corona mantled corundum in quartz-free high-Mg,Al phlogopite–chlorite schists from the Bundelkhand craton,north central India

In quartz-free Fe, Na-poor and high-Mg, Al schists from the Bundelkhand craton in north central India, corundum porphyroblasts in finely interleaved phlogopite–chlorite aggregates with rare clinozoisite are mantled by fine-grained (<3 μm) intergrowths of outer collars (>200 μm wide) of phengitic-muscovite and chlorite (phlogopite + corundum + H₂O → phengitic-muscovite + chlorite), and <100 μm wide inner collars of margarite–muscovite (corundum + clinozoisite + phengitic muscovite → margarite + muscovite + H₂O). Wide-beam electron probe microanalyses indicate Mg in the bi-layered corona increases from corundum outwards, with a complementary decrease in Al and K. Si and Ca increase and then decrease to matrix values. The sharp chemical gradients across the highly structured bi-layered corona are inferred to suggest that the corona-forming reactions were promoted by local grain-boundary-controlled thermodynamic instability as opposed to element transport by advective diffusion. The P–T convergence of KMASH reactions and NCKMASH pseudosection phase relations computed using micro-domain compositions indicate the chlorite–phengitic muscovite outer collar formed at 18–20 kbar and ca. 630°C. The NCKMASH margarite–muscovite inner collar yielded lower metamorphic P–T conditions of 11 ± 3 kbar, ca. 630°C. U–Th–Pb chemical dating of metamorphic monazite and LA-ICPMS U–Pb isotope dating of re-equilibrated zircon yield ca. 2.78 Ga ages, which are interpreted to date corona formation and Neoarchean high-P metamorphism in the Bundelkhand craton, hitherto unknown in the Indian Precambrian. (220)     

Relationships between magmatism,metamorphism and deformation in the Fraser Complex,Western Australia: Constraints from new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon isotopic data have been obtained for four samples collected from granitoids and paragneisses in the Fraser Complex, a large composite metagabbroic body cropping out in the Mesoproterozoic Albany‐Fraser Orogen of Western Australia. The data are combined with the results of field mapping and petrographic analysis to revise a model for the geological evolution of the Fraser Complex. Three main phases of deformation are recognised in the Fraser Complex (D_1–3) associated with two metamorphic events (M_1–2), which involve four distinguishable episodes of recrystallisation. The first metamorphic event recognised (M_1a/D₁) reached granulite facies and is characterised by peak T ≥800°C and P = 600–700 MPa. A syn‐M_1a/D₁ charnockite has a U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age of 1301 ± 6 Ma, which also provides an estimate for the age of intrusion of Fraser Complex gabbroic rocks. Disequilibrium textures comprising randomly oriented minerals (M_1b), consistent with approximately isobaric cooling, formed in various lithologies in the interval between D₁ and D₂. Post‐D₁, pre‐D₂ granites intruded at 1293 ± 8 Ma and were foliated during the D₂ event, which culminated in the burial of the Fraser Complex to depths equivalent to 800–1000 MPa. Following burial, pyroxene granulites on the western boundary of the complex were pervasively retrogressed to garnet amphibolite (M_2a). An igneous crystallisation age of 1288 ± 12 Ma from a syn‐M_2a aplite dyke suggests that retrogression may have occurred only a few millions of years after the peak of granulite facies metamorphism. Exhumation to depths of less than ～400 MPa occurred within ～20–30 million years of the M_2a pressure peak. Associated deformation (D₃) is characterised by the development of mylonite and transitional greenschist/amphibolite facies disequilibrium textures (M_2b).     

Sulfide-associated mineral assemblages in the Bushveld Complex, South Africa: platinum-group element enrichment by vapor refining by chloride–carbonate fluids

The petrology of base metal sulfides and associated accessory minerals in rocks away from economically significant ore zones such as the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex has previously received only scant attention, yet this information is critical in the evaluation of models for the formation of Bushveld-type platinum-group element (PGE) deposits. Trace sulfide minerals, primarily pyrite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite are generally less than 100 microns in size, and occur as disseminated interstitial individual grains, as polyphase assemblages, and less commonly as inclusions in pyroxene, plagioclase, and olivine. Pyrite after pyrrhotite is commonly associated with low temperature greenschist alteration haloes around sulfide grains. Pyrrhotite hosted by Cr- and Ti-poor magnetite (Fe₃O₄) occurs in several samples from the Marginal to Lower Critical Zones below the platiniferous Merensky Reef. These grains occur with calcite that is in textural equilibrium with the igneous silicate minerals, occur with Cl-rich apatite, and are interpreted as resulting from high temperature sulfur loss during degassing of interstitial liquid. A quantitative model demonstrates how many of the first-order features of the Bushveld ore metal distribution could have developed by vapor refining of the crystal pile by chloride–carbonate-rich fluids during which sulfur and sulfide are continuously recycled, with sulfur moving from the interior of the crystal pile to the top during vapor degassing.