Metamorphic History of a High-Grade Blueschist Exotic Block from the Franciscan Complex, California

A high-grade blueschist tectonic block from the Franciscan Complexof the northeast Diablo Range shows evidence of three episodesof retrograde blueschist facies metamorphism ± deformationdeveloped under progressively declining P-T conditions. Thefirst retrograde metamorphism involved formation of an outerrind of actinolite + chlorite + rutile ± phengite, andthe growth of coarse-grained chlorite + pumpellyite within theblock. During the second event the rind and outer edge of theblueschist were folded, sheared and fractured, and primary glaucophanewithin the blueschist was replaced by albite, medium-grainedchlorite, and glaucophane-crossite. The third retrograde metamorphismwas marked by the pseudomorphic replacement of rind actinoliteby aragonite and quartz. Aragonite also crystallized extensivelywithin th block, accompanied by lawsonite, chlorite, jadeiticpyroxene, and crossite; this last mineral assemblage is identicalto that of the surrounding Franciscan metasedimentary rocks.Features characteristic of the first and second retrograde metamorphicevents are readily observed in other high-grade tectonic blocksof the Franciscan Complex and the correlative Otter Point Formationof Oregon. In contrast, evidence of a third retrograde metamorphism,matching that of presently associated Franciscan and Otter Pointrocks, has been found in some but not all blocks examined sofar. The high P/T conditions of prograde metamorphism and the availablemetamorphic age determinations suggest that the tectonic blocksoriginally formed in a pre-Franciscan subduction zone setting.Fragments of blueschist and eclogite from this metamorphic terrainwere tectonically incorporated in a serpentinite diapir, andthey developed alteration rinds through interaction with theenclosing ultramafic rock. The available data suggest that theexamined exotic block and at least some others were transferredto the Franciscan as detritus from a body of serpentinite thatreached the earth's surface. Such blocks were then resubductedand metamorphosed along with their presently associated sedimentarysequences.     

Petrology of metabasites from the Terekta Complex as a constituent of ancient accretionary prism of Gorny Altai

The blueschist/greenshist Terekta Complex is the only blueschist locality known in the Russian Altai. The Terekta metabasites contain Na and Na–Ca amphibole, actinolite, phengite, epidote, albite, quartz, calcite, magnetite (or hematite). Depending on the amphibole composition, these rocks were subdivided into blueschist, transitional blueschist/greenschist and greenschist. Both blueschists and transitional blueschist/greenschists (glaucophane-bearing and winchite–actinolite schists) have compositions similar to alkaline basalts of oceanic islands, whereas the greenschists correspond to ocean-floor tholeiitic basalts, or MORB. Available geothermobarometry yielded the following estimates of metamorphic conditions: T=350–400 °C and P=6–8 kbar. The different mineral assemblages of the metabasites are believed to be a result of their different lithologies. The presence of matabasalts with ocean island basalt and MORB affinity, as well as the occurrence of layered metachert, marble, metagraywacke, and plates of serpentinized dunites, pyroxenites indicate that the complex was very likely a subduction-accretionary complex. The complex contains rocks of accretionary wedge, and fragments of oceanic crust which are regarded to be a remnant of an Early Paleozoic subduction zone in the Russian Altai.     

Blueschist metamorphism during accretion in the Lachlan Orogen, south-eastern Australia

Low‐T, intermediate to high‐P assemblages indicative of the prehnite–pumpellyite, greenschist and blueschist facies are preserved in mélange zones and slivers of oceanic crust within two major fault zones of the turbidite‐dominated Lachlan Orogen. In one of these fault zones (Governor Fault Zone), blueschists occur as Franciscan‐like blocks in a serpentinite/talc matrix that is interleaved with phyllites and slates, and structurally overlain by a fault slice or duplex of predominantly pillow basalt, chert, and turbidite. The blueschist metavolcanics are interpreted to have formed at < 450 °C and at a depth of approximately 21–27 km. The presence of blue amphibole in the blocks, rinds and matrix indicate that the metavolcanics were emplaced in the matrix prior to blueschist metamorphism. Blocks and matrix were partially exhumed, interleaved with tectonic slices of phyllite and slate, and subsequently folded at about 10–12 km depth, inferred from b_o values of the dominant mica fabric in the phyllites and slates. Metamorphic P–T is highest in the structurally lowest slice (mélange zone) and lowest in the overlying ophiolitic fault slice, suggestive of an accretionary burial metamorphic pattern formed by underplating of the mélange. In the other fault zone (Heathcote Fault Zone), blueschists transitional to greenschist facies are interpreted to have formed at < 450 °C and at a depth of approximately 15–21 km. They occur as blocks in serpentinite/talc‐matrix mélange and are also associated with fault slices of oceanic crust. Textural and mineralogical evidence suggests that the protoliths for the blueschists in both fault zones were boninitic pillow lavas. The metamorphic facies and patterns, and the structural and lithological associations, can be interpreted in terms of disruption of oceanic crust and overlying sediments during subduction, and formation of serpentinite‐matrix mélange overprinted by blueschist metamorphism either prior to or during underplating of the mélange and duplex formation. The presence of blueschist metavolcanics indicate that these processes occurred at considerable depth. These interpretations have implications for the evolution of large‐scale fault zones in noncollisional, convergent oceanic settings.     

Current mercury ore formation on Mendeleyev

The Maksyutov metamorphic complex is the first locality where coesite pseudomorphs in garnet were described. The importance of this discovery was not understood until ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism was independently recognized in the Dora Maira Massif of the western Alps and the Western Gneiss Region of Norway. The coesite pseudomorphs are significant because they suggest that the lower unit of the Maksyutov complex probably underwent UHP metamorphism at depths greater than 80 km in a paleosubduction zone.

The Maksyutov complex, situated in the southern Ural Mountains of Russia, forms an elongate N-S belt along the boundary between the European and Russian plates. The complex contains two superimposed tectonic unitsa lower eclogite-bearing schist unit that underwent high-pressure (HP) to UHP metamorphism and an upper meta-ophiolite unit subjected to blueschist/greenschist-facies metamorphism. The lower unit lithologies range from quartzofeldspathic, to graphite-rich, to mafic-ultramafic compositions. Mineral assemblages of the metamorphosed mafic rocks include: (1) coesite (as pseudomorphs) + garnet + omphacite + rutile + zoisite; (2) jadeite + quartz (coesite) + garnet + kyanite ± paragonite; (3) garnet + omphacite + barroisite + rutile; and (4) garnet + glaucophane + lawsonite. The upper unit is characterized by sheets of serpentinite that contain lawsonite-bearing metarodingite and rare calcium-rich eclogite. A metamorphosed melange containing blocks of ultramafic, eclogite, and quartz-jadeite rocks is situated between the two units.

The UHP metamorphic event that affected the lower unit is characterized by recumbent folding and shear zones. Subsequent large-scale, left-lateral strike-slip movements deformed both tectonic units. These deep-crustal metamorphic structures are oriented at high angles relative to the younger, N-S-trending Main Uralian thrust and the left-lateral strike-slip movement that displaced the Maksyutov block.     

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

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

Iranshahr blueschist: subduction of the inner Makran oceanic crust

The Makran accretionary prism in SE Iran and SW Pakistan is one of the most extensive subduction accretions on Earth. It is characterized by intense folding, thrust faulting and dislocation of the Cenozoic units that consist of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. Rock units forming the northern Makran ophiolites are amalgamated as a mélange. Metamorphic rocks, including greenschist, amphibolite and blueschist, resulted from metamorphism of mafic rocks and serpentinites. In spite of the geodynamic significance of blueschist in this area, it has been rarely studied. Peak metamorphic phases of the northern Makran mafic blueschist in the Iranshahr area are glaucophane, phengite, quartz±omphacite+epidote. Post peak minerals are chlorite, albite and calcic amphibole. Blueschist facies metasedimentary rocks contain garnet, phengite, albite and epidote in the matrix and as inclusions in glaucophane. The calculated P–T pseudosection for a representative metabasic glaucophane schist yields peak pressure and temperature of 11.5–15 kbar at 400–510 °C. These rocks experienced retrograde metamorphism from blueschist to greenschist facies (350–450 °C and 7–8 kbar) during exhumation. A back arc basin was formed due to northward subduction of Neotethys under Eurasia (Lut block). Exhumation of the high‐pressure metamorphic rocks in northern Makran occurred contemporarily with subduction. Several reverse faults played an important role in exhumation of the ophiolitic and HP‐LT rocks. The presence of serpentinite shows the possible role of a serpentinite diapir for exhumation of the blueschist. A tectonic model is proposed here for metamorphism and exhumation of oceanic crust and accretionary sedimentary rocks of the Makran area. Vast accretion of subducted materials caused southward migration of the shore.     

The origin and significance of metamorphosed tectonic blocks in mélanges: evidence from Sulawesi, Indonesia

Metamorphosed tectonic blocks (or ‘knockers’) are widespread but volumetrically minor constituents of many circum-Pacific mélange belts, Due to the common lack of an exposed in situ provenance and to the seemingly chaotic field disposition of most block-bearing mélanges, their origin and uplift history are problematic and controversial. On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi a block-bearing mélange is overlain by an ophiolite nappe, the base of which is characterized by a metamorphic sole sequence. Petrological, geochemical and geochronological data indicate a direct genetic relationship between high-grade tectonic blocks in the mélange and amphibolites in the metamorphic sole. Amphibolite precursors to lower temperature blueschist assemblages are virtually ubiquitous in the tectonic blocks and subdivisions based on the nature of the overprinting relationships can be systematically correlated with block distribution patterns orientated subparallel to the strike of the mélange belt. It is suggested here that the high-grade tectonic blocks originated in a thin, thermally zoned metamorphic sheet welded to the oceanic hangingwall plate at the inception of subduction. Break-up of this sequence at depth, by tectonic erosion, led to dispersal of fragments into a newly developed serpentinite mélange wedge. Blocks experienced abrupt changes in P-T-X conditions due to a combination of hydration in the new fluid-rich environment, gradual cooling of the hangingwall over time and continuing underflow dragging sheared blocks deeper into the subduction zone, prior to upflow. Blocks plucked from the hangingwall at different depths and at different times evidently experienced uplift in different flow channels, resulting in block concentrations, with P-T-t paths characteristic of their source and flow trajectory, at systematically greater distances from the subduction zone hangingwall. The elucidation of the origin and significance of tectonic blocks in Sulawesi has important implications not only for the tectonometamorphic evolution of similar inclusions in other mélange belts, but also for models of the inception and early stages of subduction.     

Triassic blueschists and eclogites from northwest Turkey: vestiges of the Paleo-Tethyan subduction

Triassic eclogite and blueschist facies rocks occur as a thrust sheet, 25-km long and over 2-km thick, in an Eocene fold-and-thrust belt in northwest Turkey along the zmir–Ankara suture. The thrust sheet consists mainly of metabasites with minor marble, phyllite and metachert, and rare lenses of serpentinite. The common blueschist facies mineral assemblage in the metabasites is sodic amphibole+epidote+albite+chlorite+phengite±garnet. Sodic amphibole commonly shows replacement by barroisite, and there is continuous petrographic transition from blueschist–metabasites to barroisite-bearing epidote–amphibolites. Eclogite with the mineral assemblage of garnet+sodic pyroxene+sodic–calcic amphibole+epidote is found only in one locality. P–T conditions of the epidote–blueschist facies metamorphism are estimated as 450±50 °C and 11±2 kbar. The blueschist formation was followed by a decrease in pressure and increase in temperature, leading to the development of barroisite-bearing epidote–amphibolites. Phengite, sodic amphibole and barroisite Ar/Ar ages from three metabasic rocks range between 215 and 205 Ma, and indicate Late Triassic high-pressure metamorphism. The Triassic blueschists in northwest Turkey constitute part of a much larger allochthonous tectonic unit of Triassic mafic volcanic rocks. They probably represent the upper layers of a Triassic oceanic plateau, which was accreted to the Laurasian margin during the latest Triassic. The close spatial association of the Triassic and Cretaceous blueschists along the zmir–Ankara suture suggests that the suture represents a long-lived plate boundary of Late Palaeozoic to early Tertiary age.     

Blueschists of the Amassia-Stepanavan Suture Zone (Armenia): linking Tethys subduction history from E-Turkey to W-Iran

The Amassia–Stepanavan blueschist-ophiolite complex of the Lesser Caucasus in NW Armenia is part of an Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic belt, which presents similar metamorphic features as other suture zones from Turkey to Iran. The blueschists include calcschists, metaconglomerates, quartzites, gneisses and metabasites, suggesting a tectonic mélange within an accretionary prism. This blueschist mélange is tectonically overlain by a low-metamorphic grade ophiolite sequence composed of serpentinites, gabbro-norite pods, plagiogranites, basalts and radiolarites. The metabasites include high-P assemblages (glaucophane–aegirine–clinozoisite–phengite), which indicate maximal burial pressure of ∼1.2 GPa at ∼550°C. Most blueschists show evidence of greenschist retrogression (chlorite—epidote, actinolite), but locally epidote-amphibolite conditions were attained (garnet—epidote, Ca/Na amphibole) at a pressure of ∼0.6 GPa and a temperature of ∼500°C. This LP–MT retrogression is coeval with exhumation and nappe-stacking of lower grade units over higher grade ones. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar phengite ages obtained on the high-P assemblages range between 95 and 90 Ma, while ages obtained for epidote-amphibolite retrogression assemblages range within 73.5–71 Ma. These two metamorphic phases are significant of (1) HP metamorphism during a phase of subduction in the Cenomanian–Turonian times followed by (2) exhumation in the greenschist to epidote-amphibolite facies conditions during the Upper Campanian/Maastrichtian due to the onset of continental subduction of the South Armenian block below Eurasia.     

SOME TRENDS IN THE STUDY OF CARBONATE SEDIMENTS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

A stratigraphically coherent blueschist terrane near Aksu in northwestern China is unconformably overlain by unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks of Sinian age (～600 to 800 Ma). The pre-Sinian metamorphic rocks, termed the Aksu Group, were derived from shales, sandstones, basaltic volcanic rocks, and minor cherty sediments. They have undergone multi-stage deformation and transitional blueschist/greenschist-facies metamorphism, and consist of strongly foliated chlorite-stilpnomelane-graphite schist, stilpnomelane-phengite psammitic schist, greenschist, blueschist, and minor quartzite, metachert, and meta-ironstone. Metamorphic minerals of basaltic blueschists include crossitic amphibole, epidote, chlorite, albite, quartz, and actinolite. Mineral parageneses and compositions of sodic amphibole suggest blueschist facies recrystallization at about 4 to 6 kbar and 300 to 400° C. Many thin diabasic dikes cut the Aksu Group; they are characterized by high alkali, TiO₂, and P₂O₅ contents and possess geochemical characteristics of within-plate basalts; some of these diabasic rocks contain sodic clinopyroxene and amphibole as primary phases and have minor pumpellyite, albite, epidote, chlorite, and calcite as the prehnite/pumpellyite-facies metamorphic assemblage. This prehnite/pumpellyite-facies overprint did not affect the host rocks of the blueschist-facies lithologies.

K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages of phengite and whole rocks from pelitic schists are ～690 to 728 Ma, and a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of crossite from the blueschist is 754 Ma. The basal conglomerate of the overlying Sinian to Eocambrian sedimentary succession contains clasts of both the blueschist and cross-cutting dike rocks, clearly demonstrating that conditions required for blueschist-facies metamorphism were attained and ceased at least 700 Ma. The northward-increasing metamorphic grade of the small blueschist terrane may reflect northward subduction of an accretionary complex beyond the northern edge of the Tarim craton. Abundant subparallel diabasic dikes indicate a subsequent period of Pre-Sinian rifting and diabasic intrusion along the northern margin of Tarim; a Sinian siliciclastic and carbonate sequence was deposited unconformably atop the Aksu Group and associated diabase dikes.     

Glaucophane-bearing assemblage overprinted by greenschist-facies metamorphism in the Variscan Kaczawa complex, Sudetes, Poland

An Early Palaeozoic (Ordovician ?) metamudstone sequence near Wojcieszow, Kaczawa Mts, Western Sudetes, Poland, contains numerous metabasite sills, up to 50 m thick. These subvolcanic rocks are of within-plate alkali basalt type. Primary igneous phases in the metabasites, clinopyroxene (salite) and kaersutite, are veined and partly replaced by complex metamorphic mineral assemblages. Particularly, the kaersutite is corroded and rimmed by zoned sodic, sodic–calcic and calcic amphiboles. The matrix is composed of actinolite, pycnochlorite, albite (An ≤ 0.5%), epidote (Ps 27–33), titanite, calcite, opaques and, occasionally, biotite, phengite and stilpnomelane. The sodic amphiboles are glaucophane to crossite in composition with Na^B from 1.9 to 1.6. They are rimmed successively by sodic–calcic and calcic amphiboles with compositions ranging from magnesioferri-winchite to actinolite. No compositions between Na^B= 0.92 and Na^B= 1.56 have been ascertained. The textures may be interpreted as representing a greenschist facies overprint on an earlier blueschist (or blueschist–greenschist transitional) assemblage. The presence of glaucophane and no traces of a jadeitic pyroxene + quartz association indicate pressures between 6 and 12 kbar during the high-pressure episode. Temperature is difficult to assess in this metamorphic event. The replacement of glaucophane by actinolite + chlorite + albite, with associated epidote, allows restriction of the upper pressure limit of the greenschist recrystallization to <8 kbar, between 350 and 450°C. The mineral assemblage representing the greenschist episode suggests the P–T conditions of the high-pressure part of the chlorite or lower biotite zone. The latest metamorphic recrystallization, under the greenschist facies, may have taken place in the Viséan.     

Metamorphic evolution of lawsonite eclogites from the southern Motagua fault zone,Guatemala: insights from phase equilibria and Raman spectroscopy

Lawsonite eclogite (metabasalt and metadolerite) and associated metasedimentary rocks in a serpentinite mélange from an area just south of the Motagua fault zone (SMFZ), Guatemala, represent excellent natural records of the forearc slab–mantle interface. Pseudosection modelling of pristine lawsonite eclogite reproduces the observed predominant mineral assemblages, and garnet compositional isopleths intersect within the phase fields, yielding a prograde P–T path that evolves from 20 kbar, 470 °C (M1) to 25 kbar, 520 °C (M2). The dominant penetrative foliation within the eclogite blocks is defined by minerals developed during the prograde evolution, and the associated deformation, therefore, took place during subduction. Thermometry using Raman spectra of carbonaceous material in metasedimentary rocks associated with the SMFZ eclogites gives estimates of peak‐T of ～520 °C. Barometry using Raman spectroscopy shows unfractured quartz inclusions in garnet rims retain overpressures of up to ～10 kbar, implying these inclusions were trapped at conditions just below the quartz/coesite transition, in agreement with the results of phase equilibrium analysis. Additional growth of Ca‐rich garnet indicates initial isothermal decompression to 20 kbar (M3) followed by hydration and substantial cooling to the lawsonite–blueschist facies (M4). Further decompression of the hydrated eclogite blocks to the pumpellyite–actinolite facies (3–5 kbar, 230–250 °C) is associated with dehydration and veining (M5). The presence of eclogite as m‐ to 10 m‐sized blocks in a serpentinite matrix, lack of widespread deformation developed during exhumation and derived prograde P–T path associated with substantial dehydration of metabasites within the antigorite stability field suggest that the SMFZ eclogites represent the uppermost part of the forearc slab crust sampled by an ascending serpentinite diapir in an active, moderate‐T subduction zone.     

中国的蓝片岩

<正> 蓝片岩作为板块构造的岩石学证据,近十多年来,随着对其成因解释的日趋明朗,已成为当前地学研究中的一个重要课题。 1983年9月,美国地质学会在华盛顿贝林哈姆和西雅图举行国际性蓝片岩和有关榴辉岩研究讨论会。会议期间除了讨论当前对遭受蓝片岩变质作用的造山带的认识现状之外,还从七个专题方面分别讨论:蓝片岩的相变实验,蓝片岩地体的温度压力测定,重结晶作用与构造的关系,高压变质作用后的减压、侵位和推覆构造模式,蓝片岩岩石及矿物年龄随时间演化的关系等问题。     

Evolution of a tourmaline-bearing lawsonite eclogite from the Elekdağ area (Central Pontides,N Turkey): evidence for infiltration of slab-derived B-rich fluids during exhumation

An undated high-pressure low-temperature tectonic mélange in the Elekda area (central Pontides, N Turkey) comprises blocks of MORB-derived lawsonite eclogite within a sheared serpentinite matrix. In their outer shells, some of the eclogite blocks contain large (up to 6 cm) tourmaline crystals. Prograde inclusions in poikiloblastic garnet from a well-preserved eclogite block are lawsonite, epidote/clinozoisite, omphacite, rutile, glaucophane, chlorite, Ba-bearing phengite, minor actinolite, winchite and quartz. In addition, glaucophane, lawsonite and rutile occur as inclusions in omphacite. These inclusion assemblages document the transition from a garnet-lawsonite-epidote-bearing blueschist to a lawsonite eclogite with the peak assemblage garnet + omphacite I + lawsonite + rutile. Peak metamorphic conditions are not well-constrained but are estimated approximately 400–430°C and >1.35 GPa, based on Fe–Mg exchange between garnet and omphacite and the coexistence of lawsonite + omphacite + rutile. During exhumation of the eclogite–serpentinite mélange in the hanging wall of a subduction system, infiltration of B-rich aqueous fluids into the rims of eclogite blocks caused retrogressive formation of abundant chlorite, titanite and albite, followed by growth of tourmaline at the expense of chlorite. At the same time, omphacite I (X_Jd=0.24–0.44) became unstable and partially replaced by omphacite II characterized by higher X_Jd (0.35–0.48), suggesting a relatively low silica activity in the infiltrating fluid. Apart from Fe-rich rims developed at the contact to chlorite, tourmaline crystals are nearly homogeneous. Their compositions correspond to Na-rich dravite, perhaps with a small amount of excess (tetrahedral) boron (~5.90 Si and 3.10 B cations per 31 anions). ¹¹ B values range from –2.2 to +1.7. The infiltrating fluids were most probably derived from subducting altered oceanic crust and sediments.     

K-rich fluid metasomatism at high-pressure metamorphic conditions: Lawsonite decomposition in rodingitized ultramafite of the Maksyutovo Complex, Southern Urals (Russia)

Fine grained rodingite‐like rocks containing epidote, clinozoisite, garnet, chlorite, phengite and titanite occur within antigorite serpentinite boudins from the high‐pressure metamorphic Maksyutovo Complex in the Southern Urals. Pseudomorphs after lawsonite, resorption of garnet by chlorite and phengite and stoichiometry suggest the reaction lawsonite + garnet + K‐bearing fluid → clinozoisite + chlorite + phengite, and define a relic assemblage of lawsonite + garnet + chlorite + titanite ± epidote as well as a later post‐lawsonite assemblage of clinozoisite + phengite + chlorite + titanite. The reaction lawsonite + titanite → clinozoisite + rutile + pyrophyllite + H₂O delimits the maximum stability of former lawsonite + titanite to pressures >13 kbar. P–T conditions of 18–21 kbar/520–540 °C result, if the average chlorite, Mg‐rich garnet rim and average epidote compositions are used as equilibrium compositions of the former lawsonite assemblage. These estimates indicate a similar depth of formation but lower temperatures to those recorded in nearby eclogites. The metamorphic conditions of the lawsonite assemblage are considerably higher than previously suggested and, together with published structural data, support a model in which a normal fault within the Maksyutovo complex acted as the major transport plane of eclogite exhumation. The maximum Si content of phengite and minimum Fe content in clinozoisite constrain the metamorphic conditions of the later pseudomorph assemblage to be >4.5 kbar and <440 °C. Rb–Sr isotopic dating of the pseudomorph assemblage results in a formation age of 339 ± 6 and 338 ± 5 Ma, respectively. These results support the recent exhumation models for this complex.     

Early Cretaceous exhumation of high‐pressure metamorphic rocks of the Sistan Suture Zone,eastern Iran

The Sistan Suture Zone (SSZ) of eastern Iran is part of the Neo‐Tethyan orogenic system and formed by convergence of the Central Iranian and Afghan microcontinents. Ar Ar ages of ca. 125 Ma have been obtained from white micas and amphibole from variably overprinted high‐pressure metabasites within the Ratuk Complex of the SSZ. The metabasites, which occur as fault‐bounded lenses within a subduction mélange, document peak‐metamorphic conditions in eclogite or blueschist facies followed by near‐isothermal decompression resulting in an epidote–amphibolite‐facies overprint. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step heating experiments were performed on a phengite + paragonite mixture from an eclogite, phengites from two amphibolites, and paragonite from a blueschist; ‘best‐fit’ ages from these micas are, respectively, 122.8 ± 2.2, 124 ± 13, 116 ± 19 and 139 ± 19 Ma (2σ error). Barroisite from an amphibolite yielded an age of 124 ± 10 Ma. The ages are interpreted as cooling ages that record the post‐epidote–amphibolite stage in the exhumation of the rocks. Our results imply that both the high‐pressure metamorphism and the epidote–amphibolite‐facies overprint occurred prior to 125 Ma. Subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the eastern margin of the Sistan Ocean had therefore begun by Barremian (Early Cretaceous) times. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forearc serpentinite mélange from the Hongseong suture, South Korea

The signature of a prolonged subduction–accretion history from Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic is preserved within the dismembered serpentinite mélanges within the Hongseong suture. Here we present major and trace element data from the mafic fragments/blocks within the Baekdong serpentinite mélange revealing their arc-like tholeiite affinity within a suprasubduction zone tectonic setting. Chromian spinel compositions from the Baekdong hydrated mantle peridotite (serpentinite) are characterized by high Cr# (0.53–0.67) and Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio, medium Mg# (0.42–0.55), and Al₂O₃ contents (17–25 wt.%) indicating a forearc tectonic environment for the hydrated mantle peridotite. The estimated melting degree (> 17.6%) and FeO/MgO of the parental melt (0.9–1.3) are consistent with that of forearc magmas. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb ages from a high-grade mafic rock and an anorthosite from the study area give protolith ages of ~ 310 Ma and ~ 228 Ma, respectively. Zircons from an associated orthogneiss block within the mélange yield a Neoproterozoic crystallization age of ~ 748 Ma. These results, together with the recent SHRIMP zircon ages from other dismembered serpentinite mélanges within the Wolhyeonri complex, suggest that Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic subduction and subsequent collision events led to the exhumation of the hydrated forearc mantle peridotites from a metasomatized mantle wedge. The Hongseong region preserves important clues to a long-lived subduction system related to global events associated with the final amalgamation of the Pangaea supercontinent.     

内蒙古北部苏尼特左旗蓝片岩岩石学和年代学研究

在苏尼特左旗以南地区的中古生代造山带的混杂岩带内发现了以岩块形式出现的蓝片岩,其矿物组合为斜长石+阳起石+蓝闪石+绿帘石+榍石。蓝片岩化学成分说明由基性火山岩变质而成。矿物化学分析表明,蓝片岩中角闪石可分为钙质、钙钠质和钠质3类。钙质闪石均为阳起石,钙钠质闪石为蓝透闪石和冻蓝闪石,钠质闪石为蓝闪石和青铝闪石及少量镁钠闪石。利用Na(M₄)和Al^Ⅳ的含量推测本区钙质、钙钠质和钠质3类闪石的压力从0.3～0.7Gpa,表明蓝片岩相变质作用的压力约为0.7GPa。用化学反应限定蓝片岩的形成温度为200～375℃左右。⁴⁰Ar³⁹Ar同位素年代学测定蓝闪石的等时线年龄为383±13Ma(1δ)。这些结果进一步证实沿贺根山—苏尼特左旗南是一条中古生代的缝合线,其俯冲—碰撞的标志即为混杂岩带以及其中的蓝片岩。     

The youngest blueschist belt in SW Japan: implication for the exhumation of the Cretaceous Sanbagawa high-P/T metamorphic belt

The tectonic evolution of the Northern Shimanto belt, central Shikoku, Japan, was examined based on petrological and geochronological studies in the Oboke area, where mafic schists of the Kawaguchi Formation contain sodic amphibole (magnesioriebeckite). The peak P–T conditions of metamorphism are estimated as 4–4.5 kbar (15–17 km depth), and 240–270 °C based on available phase equilibria and sodic amphibole compositions. These metamorphic conditions are transitional between blueschist, greenschist and pumpellyite–actinolite facies. Phengite K–Ar ages of 64.8 ± 1.4 and 64.4 ± 1.4 Ma were determined for the mafic schists, and 65.0 ± 1.4, 61.4 ± 1.3 and 63.6 ± 1.4 Ma for the pelitic schists. The metamorphic temperatures in the Oboke area are below the closure temperature of the K–Ar phengite system, so the K–Ar ages date the metamorphic peak in the Northern Shimanto belt. In the broad sense of the definition of blueschist facies, the highest‐grade part of the Northern Shimanto belt belongs to the blueschist facies. Our study and those of others identify the following constraints on the possible mechanism that led to the exhumation of the overlying Sanbagawa belt: (i) the Sanbagawa belt is a thin tectonic slice with a structural thickness of 3–4 km; (ii) within the belt, metamorphic conditions varied from 5 to 25 kbar, and 300 to 800 °C, with the grade of metamorphism decreasing symmetrically upward and downward from a structurally intermediate position; and (iii) the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks were exhumed from ～60 km depth and emplaced onto the Northern Shimanto metamorphic rocks at 15–17 km depth and 240–270 °C. Integration of these results with those of previous geological studies for the Sanbagawa belt suggests that the most probable exhumation mechanism is wedge extrusion.     

Sedimentary serpentinite and chaotic units of the lower Great Valley Group forearc basin deposits,California: updates on distribution and characteristics

ABSTRACT

Sedimentary serpentinite and related siliciclastic-matrix mélanges in the latest Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous lower Great Valley Group (GVG) forearc basin strata of the California Coast Ranges reach thicknesses of over 1 km and include high-pressure (HP) metamorphic blocks. These units crop out over an area at least 300 km long by 50 km wide. The serpentinite also contains locally abundant blocks of antigorite mylonite. Antigorite mylonite and HP metamorphic blocks were exhumed from depth prior to deposition in the unmetamorphosed GVG, but the antigorite mylonite may be mistaken for metamorphosed serpentinite matrix in localities with limited exposure. These olistostrome horizons can be distinguished from intact slabs of serpentinized peridotite associated with the Coast Range Ophiolite (CRO) or serpentinite mélanges of the Franciscan subduction complex (FC) on the basis of internal sedimentary textures (absent in CRO), mixing/interbedding with unmetamorphosed siliciclastic matrix and blocks (differs from CRO and FC), and preserved basal sedimentary contacts over volcanic rocks of the CRO or shale, sandstone, and conglomerate of the GVG (differs from CRO and FC). Even in the relatively well-characterized Palaeo trench–forearc region of the California Coast Ranges the GVG deposits are difficult to distinguish from similar units in the FC and CRO. In typical orogenic belts that exhibit greater post-subduction disruption, distinguishing forearc basin olistostrome deposits, subduction complex, and opholite mantle sections is much more difficult. Forearc basin olistostromal deposits have probably been misidentified as one of the other trench–forearc lithologic associations. Such errors may lead to erroneous interpretations of the nature of large-scale material and fluid pathways in trench–forearc systems, as well as misinterpretations of tectonic processes associated with HP metamorphism and exhumation of the resultant rocks.