Phase equilibrium modelling of the amphibolite facies metamorphism in the Yelapa-Chimo Metamorphic Complex,Mexico

The Yelapa-Chimo Metamorphic Complex forms part of the Jalisco Block in western Mexico and exposes a wide range of Early Cretaceous metamorphic rocks;such as paragneiss,orthogneiss,amphibolites,and migmatites.However,the pressure-temperature(P-T)conditions of metamorphism and partial melting remain poorly studied in the region.To elucidate metamorphic P-T conditions,phase equilibrium modelling was applied to two sillimanite-garnet paragneisses,one amphibole-orthogneiss,and one amphibolite.Sillimanite-garnet paragneisses exhibit a lepidoblastic texture with a biotite+sillimanite+kyanite+garnet+quartz+plagioclase+K-feldspar mineral assemblage.Amphibole-orthogneiss and amphibolite display a nematoblastic texture with an amphibole+(1)plagioclase+quartz+(1)titanite assemblage and an amphibole+(2)plagioclase+(2)titanite+ilmenite retrograde mineral assemblage.Pseudosections calculated for the two sillimanite-garnet paragneiss samples show P-T peak conditions at~6-7.5 kbar and~725-740℃.The results for amphibole-orthogneiss and the amphibolite yield P-T peak conditions at~8.5-10 kbar and~690-710℃.The mode models imply that metasedimentary and metaigneous units can produce up to~20 vol%and~10 vol%of melt,respectively.Modelling within a closed system during isobaric heating suggests that melt compositions of metasedimentary and metaigneous units are likely to have direct implications for the petrogenesis of the Puerto Vallarta Batholith.Our new data indicate that the Yelapa-Chimo Metamorphic Complex evolved through a metamorphic gradient between~23-33℃km^-1and the metamorphic rocks formed at depths between~22 km and~30 km with a burial rate of~2.0 km Ma^-1.Finally,the P-T data for both metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks provide new constraints on an accretionary framework,which is responsible for generating metamorphism and partial melting in the YelapaChimo Metamorphic Complex during the Early Cretaceous.     

U-Pb monazite ages in amphibolite- to granulite-facies orthogneiss reflect hydrous mineral breakdown reactions: Sveconorwegian Province of SW Norway

In the Rogaland–Vest Agder terrain of the Sveconorwegian Province of SW Norway, two main Sveconorwegian metamorphic phases are reported: a phase of regional metamorphism linked to orogenic thickening (M1) and a phase of low-pressure thermal metamorphism associated with the intrusion of the 931 ± 2 Ma anorthosite-charnockite Rogaland igneous complex (M2). Phase M1 reached granulite facies to the west of the terrane and M2 culminated locally at 800–850 °C with the formation of dry osumilite-bearing mineral associations. Monazite and titanite U-Pb geochronology was conducted on 17 amphibolite- to granulite-facies orthogneiss samples, mainly from a suite of 1050 ⁺²/₋₈ Ma calc-alkaline augen gneisses, the Feda suite. In these rocks, prograde negatively discordant monazite crystallized during breakdown of allanite and titanite in upper amphibolite facies at 1012–1006 Ma. In the Feda suite and other charnockitic gneisses, concordant to slightly discordant monazite at 1024–997 Ma probably reflects breakdown of biotite during granulite-facies M1 metamorphism. A spread of monazite ages down to 970 Ma in biotite ± hornblende samples possibly corresponds to the waning stage of this first event. In the Feda suite, a well defined monazite growth episode at 930–925 Ma in the amphibolite-facies domain corresponds to major clinopyroxene formation at the expense of hornblende during M2. Growth or resetting of monazite was extremely limited during this phase in the granulite-facies domain, up to the direct vicinity of the anorthosite complex. The M2 event was shortly followed by cooling through ca. 610 °C as indicated by tightly grouped U-Pb ages of accessory titanite and titanite relict inclusions at 918 ± 2 Ma over the entire region. A last generation of U-poor monazite formed during regional cooling below 610 °C, in hornblende-rich samples at 912–904 Ma. This study suggests: (1) that monazite formed during the prograde path of high-grade metamorphism may be preserved; (2) that monazite ages reflect primary or secondary growth of monazite linked to metamorphic reactions involving redistribution of REEs and Th, and/or fluid mobilisation; (3) that the U-Pb system in monazite is not affected by thermal events up to 800–850 °C, provided that conditions were dry during metamorphism. Received: 9 January 1997 / Accepted: 15 April 1998     

中国大陆科学钻探主孔0～4500米变质岩石锆石中保存的超高压矿物包体

中国大陆科学钻探主孔0-4500米的岩心主要由榴辉岩、斜长角闪岩、副片麻岩、正片麻岩以及少量的超基性岩所组成。岩相学研究结果表明,榴辉岩的围岩普遍经历了强烈角闪岩相退变质作用的改造,峰期超高压变质的矿物组合已完全被后期退变质过程中角闪岩相矿物组合所替代。采用激光拉曼技术,配备电子探针和阴极发光测试,发现主孔224件岩心中有121件(包括榴辉岩、斜长角闪岩、副片麻岩和正片麻岩)样品的锆石中普遍隐藏以柯石英为代表的超高压矿物包体,且不同岩石类型锆石中所保存的超高压矿物包体组合存在明显差异。(含多硅白云母)金红石石英榴辉岩锆石中保存的典型超高压包体矿物组合为柯石英 石榴石、柯石英 石榴石 绿辉石 金红石和柯石英 多硅白云母 磷灰石。黑云绿帘斜长角闪岩锆石中保存的超高压矿物组合为柯石英 石榴石 绿辉石、柯石英 石榴石 多硅白云母和柯石英 绿辉石 金红石,与榴辉岩所保存的超高压矿物组合十分相似,表明该类斜长角闪岩是由超高压榴辉岩在构造折返过程中退变质而成。在副片麻岩类岩石,如石榴绿帘黑云二长片麻岩锆石中,代表性的超高压包体矿物组合为柯石英 多硅白云母和柯石英 石榴石等;而在石榴黑云角闪钠长片麻岩锆石中,则保存柯石英 硬玉 石榴石 磷灰石、柯石英 硬玉 多硅白云母 磷灰石和柯石英 石榴石 磷灰石等超高压矿物包体。在正片麻岩锆石中,标志性的超高压矿物包体为柯石英、柯石英 多硅白云母、柯石英 蓝晶石 磷灰石和柯石英 蓝晶石 榍石等。此外,在南苏鲁东海至临沭一带的地表露头以及一系列卫星孔岩心的锆石中,也普遍发现以柯石英为代表的标志性超高压矿物包体,表明在南苏鲁地区由榴辉岩及其围岩的原岩所组成的巨量陆壳物质(方圆>5000km2,厚度超过4.5km)曾整体发生深俯冲,并经历了超高压变质作用。该项研究对于重塑苏鲁-大别超高压变质带俯冲-折返的动力学模式有着重要的科学意义。     

Large-scale fluid infiltration, metasomatism and re-equilibration of Archaean basement granulites during Palaeoproterozoic thrust belt construction, Ungava Orogen, Canada

Abstract The metamorphic history of the Archaean Superior Province crystalline basement in the Palaeoproterozoic Ungava Orogen attests to the importance of structural and geohydrological controls on a retrograde amphibolite-granulite transition. Two distinct metamorphic suites, separated in age by nearly one billion years, are recognized in extensively exposed tonalitic to dioritic metaplutonic gneisses. The older suite comprises c. 2.7-Ga granulite facies assemblages (orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-hornblende-plagioclase-ilmenite ± biotite ± quartz) that record moderate pressures (±5 kbar) and high temperatures (±800° C). A younger, c. 1.8-Ga suite resulted from amphibolitization of the granulites and is characterized by regionally extensive amphibolite facies mineral zones that broadly parallel the basal décollement of the overlying Proterozoic Cape Smith Thrust Belt. Deformation/mineral growth relationships in the amphibolitized basement indicate that extensive hydration and re-equilibration of the Archaean granulites occurred during thrust belt deformation. The transition from granulite facies to amphibolite facies assemblages is characterized by the growth of garnet-hornblende-quartz ° Cummingtonite coronas between plagioclase and orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene, as well as titanite coronas on ilmenite. Multi-equilibrium thermobarometry on the coronitic assemblages documents re-equilibration of the granulitic gneiss to 7.7 kbar at 644° C in the south and 9.8 kbar at 700° C in the north. The variably deformed, amphibolite facies domain sandwiched between the coronitic garnet zone and the basal décollement is marked by significant metasomatic changes in major element concentrations within tonalite. These changes are compatible with equilibrium flow of an aqueous-chloride fluid down a temperature gradient. The source of fluids for basement hydration/metasomatism is interpreted to be dehydrating clastic rocks in the overlying thrust belt, with fluid flow probably focused along the basal décollement.     

Constraining cooling histories: rutile and titanite chronology and diffusion modelling in NW Bhutan

U–Pb analyses of rutile and titanite commonly yield ages that constrain the timing of cooling rather than the timing of their crystallization. Rutile which grew at or close to peak temperature conditions in a mafic granulite, intermediate granulite and mafic amphibolite within juxtaposed litho/tectonostratigraphic units in the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) of NW Bhutan yield LA–MC–ICP–MS U–Pb lower intercept cooling ages of 10.1 ± 0.4, 10.8 ± 0.1 and 10.0 ± 0.3 Ma, respectively. Numerical finite‐difference diffusion models constrained by previously published temperature–time and Pb diffusion data suggest that these ages are best explained by rapid cooling from peak temperature conditions of ～800 °C at 14 Ma in the granulite‐bearing unit and ～650 °C at 12 Ma in the amphibolite‐bearing unit. The good fit between the model and analysed ages confirms the relatively high retention of Pb in rutile suggested by the experimental data. Titanite that grew during an exhumation‐related amphibolite facies overprint on an eclogite facies mineral assemblage from the neighbouring Jomolhari Massif yields a U–Pb lower intercept cooling age of 14.6 ± 1.2 Ma. Diffusion modelling suggests that this age is too old to be consistent with the temperature–time paths inferred for the rutile‐bearing samples. Instead, the titanite age suggests cooling from ～650 °C at an earlier time of 17–15 Ma, implying that the high‐grade rocks in the Jomolhari Massif experienced a different cooling history from the rest of the GHS in NW Bhutan. Together these data show that high‐grade rocks from three apparently different structural levels of the GHS in NW Bhutan experienced rapid cooling at >40 °C Ma^?1 at varying times. The highest grade granulite facies rocks were exhumed from deeper structural levels that are not exposed, not preserved, or not yet recognized west of eastern Nepal. A progressive along‐strike change in tectonic regime, metamorphic history and/or exhumation mechanism across the orogen is implied by these thermochronologic data.     

Timing of high-grade metamorphism: Early Palaeozoic U–Pb formation ages of titanite indicate long-standing high-T conditions at the western margin of Gondwana (Argentina, 26–29°S)

Abstract Concordant U–Pb ages of c. 530–510 Ma and c. 470–420 Ma on titanite from calcsilicate, orthogneiss and amphibolite rocks constrain the age of high‐T metamorphism in the Early Palaeozoic mobile belt at the western margin of Proterozoic Gondwana (Argentina, 26–29°S). The U–Pb ages document the time of titanite formation at high‐T conditions according to the stable mineral paragenesis and occurrence of titanite in the metamorphic fabric. The presence of migmatite at all sample sites indicates temperatures were > c. 650 °C. Titanite formed at similar metamorphic conditions at different times on the regional and on the outcrop scale. The titanite crystals preserved their U–Pb isotopic signatures and chemical composition under ongoing upper amphibolite to granulite facies temperatures. Different thermal peaks or deformations are only detected by the different U–Pb ages and not by changes in the mineral paragenesis or metamorphic fabric of the samples. The range of U–Pb ages, e.g. in the Ordovician and Silurian (c. 470, 460, 440, 430, 420 Ma), is interpreted as the effect polyphase deformation with deformation‐enhanced recrystallization of titanite and/or different thermal peaks during a long‐standing, geographically fixed, high‐T regime in the mid‐crust of a continental magmatic arc. A clear correlation of the different ages with distinct tectonic events, e.g. collision of terranes, is not possible based on the present knowledge of the region.     

Timing and conditions of poly-phase metamorphism within the Twelve Mile Bay shear zone: implications for the evolution of mid-crustal decollement zones and western Grenville tectonics

The Twelve Mile Bay assemblage (TMBa) forms the high-strain interior of the Twelve Mile Bay shear zone (TMBsz), a major ductile decollement zone within the western Canadian Grenville orogen. Metasupracrustal gneiss within the TMBa preserves evidence for an early granulite facies (?10–11 kbar and ?840°C) metamorphism overprinted by amphibolite facies (?5–7 kbar and ?650°C) assemblages that define the high-strain shear zone fabric. U–Pb zircon ages for TMBa samples were determined by LA-ICP-MS. A low-strain amphibolite pod with partially preserved granulite facies assemblage and textures yielded an anchored discordia intercept of 1157 ± 11 Ma and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb weighted average of 1146 ± 10 Ma. Three higher strain samples with recrystallized amphibolite facies assemblages all yield younger ages, with ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb weighted averages of 1125 ± 16, 1110 ± 8, and 1095 ± 17 Ma. Phase equilibrium modelling shows that up to 40 vol.% anatectic melt could have been produced in TMBa pelitic rocks during peak metamorphic conditions, and thus, much of the package likely would have been substantially weakened during the early stages of TMBsz development. Strain apparently continued to accumulate within the TMBa until ca. 1100 Ma, concurrent with pegmatite dike emplacement and hydration along the base of the overlying interior Parry Sound domain (iPSD), perpetuating TMBsz activity during cooling and exhumation to shallower crustal levels. Similarities between the TMBa and the upper parts of the basal PSD (bPSD), in terms of timing and conditions of metamorphism and shearing, as well as structural position relative to the overlying iPSD allochthon, indicate that these units are likely correlative. The composite bPSD–TMBa system appears to have contemporaneously localized strain within the middle orogenic crust during early to middle stages of Grenvillian collision, providing a petrologically constrained mechanism for the long distance transport of mid-crustal nappes predicted in thermal-mechanical models of continental collision for this area.     

Formation and preservation of fresh lawsonite: Geothermobarometry of the North Makran Blueschists,southeast Iran

A low‐grade metamorphic “Coloured Mélange” in North Makran (SE Iran) contains lenses and a large klippe of low temperature, lawsonite‐bearing blueschists formed during the Cretaceous closure of the Tethys Ocean. The largest blueschist outcrop is a >1,000 m thick coherent unit with metagabbros overlain by interlayered metabasalts and metavolcanoclastic rocks. Blueschist metamorphism is only incipient in coarse‐grained rocks, whereas finer grained, foliated samples show thorough metamorphic recrystallization. The low‐variance blueschist peak assemblage is glaucophane, lawsonite, titanite, jadeite±phengitic mica. Investigated phase diagram sections of three blueschists with different protoliths yield peak conditions of ~300–380°C at 9–14 kbar. Magnesio‐hornblende and rutile cores indicate early amphibolite facies metamorphism at >460°C and 2–4 kbar. Later conditions at slightly higher pressures of 6–9 kbar at 350–450°C are recorded by barroisite, omphacite and rutile assemblages before entering into the blueschist facies and finally following a retrograde path through the pumpellyite–actinolite facies across the lawsonite stability field. Assuming that metamorphic pressure is lithostatic pressure, the corresponding counterclockwise P–T path is explained by burial along a warm geothermal gradient (~15°C/km) in a young subduction system, followed by exhumation along a cold gradient (~8°C/km); a specific setting that allows preservation of fresh undecomposed lawsonite in glaucophane‐bearing rocks.     

Deep in the Heart of Dixie: Pre-Alleghanian Eclogite and HP Granulite Metamorphism in the Carolina Terrane, South Carolina, USA

The central part of the Carolina terrane in western South Carolina comprises a 30 to 40 km wide zone of high grade gneisses that are distinct from greenschist facies metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina slate belt (to the SE) and amphibolite facies metavolcanic and metaplutonic rocks of the Charlotte belt (to the NW). This region, termed the Silverstreet domain, is characterized by penetratively deformed felsic gneisses, granitic gneisses, and amphibolites. Mineral assemblages and textures suggest that these rocks formed under high‐pressure metamorphic conditions, ranging from eclogite facies through high‐P granulite to upper amphibolite facies. Mafic rocks occur as amphibolite dykes, as metre‐scale blocks of coarse‐grained garnet‐clinopyroxene amphibolite in felsic gneiss, and as residual boulders in deeply weathered felsic gneiss. Inferred omphacite has been replaced by a vermicular symplectite of sodic plagioclase in diopside, consistent with decompression at moderate to high temperatures and a change from eclogite to granulite facies conditions. All samples have been partially or wholly retrograded to amphibolite assemblages. We infer the following P‐T‐t history: (1) eclogite facies P‐T conditions at ≥ 1.4 GPa, 650–730 °C (2) high‐P granulite facies P‐T conditions at 1.2–1.5 GPa, 700–800 °C (3) retrograde amphibolite facies P‐T conditions at 0.9–1.2 GPa and 720–660 °C. This metamorphic evolution must predate intrusion of the 415 Ma Newberry granite and must postdate formation of the Charlotte belt and Slate belt arcs (620 to 550 Ma). Comparison with other medium temperature eclogites and high pressure granulites suggests that these assemblages are most likely to form during collisional orogenesis. Eclogite and high‐P granulite facies metamorphism in the Silverstreet domain may coincide with a ≈570–535 Ma event documented in the western Charlotte belt or to a late Ordovician‐early Silurian event. The occurrence of these high‐P assemblages within the Carolina terrane implies that, prior to this event, the western Carolina terrane (Charlotte belt) and the eastern Carolina terrane (Carolina Slate belt) formed separate terranes. The collisional event represented by these high‐pressure assemblages implies amalgamation of these formerly separate terranes into a single composite terrane prior to its accretion to Laurentia.     

Metamorphic Evolution of Charnockites and Felsic Gneisses from the Schirmacher Region,East Antarctica

The structural and petrographic studies of the metamorphic rocks of the Schirmacher region, East Antarctica, indicate polyphase metamorphism, dominantly of an early granulite and later amphibolite facies metamorphism. In order to understand the metamorphic evolution of the region, the temperature and pressure of metamorphism has been estimated for felsic gneisses and charnockites using conventional models of geothermometry and geobarometry. The studies showed that, the early granulite facies metamorphism and charnockitization took place around 827±29°C at 7.3±0.3 kbar, while the later amphibolite facies metamorphism and granitization took place around 654±27°C at 5.4±0.4 kbar. The pressure and temperature recorded in these rocks suggest that metamorphism was initiated at 20 to 27 km depth, with a geothermal gradient of around 32°C/km. The P-T conditions reflect isobaric cooling path, with a gentle dP/dT slope (∼10±1 bar/°C). The isobaric cooling path owes its origin to the underplating of crust by mantle derived magmas.     

Early Mesozoic retrograded eclogite and mafic granulite from the Badu Complex of the Cathaysia Block,South China: Petrology and tectonic implications

The high-grade metamorphic terrane in the Badu region along the northeastern Cathaysia Block in South China preserves retrograded eclogites and mafic granulites. Here we present the petrology, mineral phase equilibria and P-T conditions based on pseudosection computations, as well as zircon U-Pb ages of these rocks. Mineral textures and reaction relationships suggest four metamorphic stages for the retrograded eclogite as follows: (1) eclogite facies stage (M1), (2) clinopyroxene retrograde stage (M2), (3) amphibole retrograde stage (M3), and (4) chlorite retrograde stage (M4). For the mafic granulite, three stages are identified as: (1) plagioclase-absent stage (M1), (2) granulite facies stage (M2) and (3) amphibolite facies stage (M3). Metamorphic evolution of both of the rock types follows clockwise P-T path. Conventional geothermometers and geobarometers in combination with phase equilibria modelling yield metamorphic P-T conditions for each metamorphic stage for the eclogite as 500–560 °C, 23–24 kbar (M1), 640–660 °C, 14–16 kbar (M2), 730–750 °C, and 11–13 kbar (M3). The chlorite retrograde stage (M4) is inferred to have occurred at lower amphibolite to greenschist facies conditions. Phase equilibria modelling of the mafic granulite shows P-T conditions for each metamorphic stage as 600–720 °C, > 13 kbar (M1) and 860–890 °C, 5–6 kbar (M2) and M3 at amphibolite facies conditions. LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb dating and trace element analysis show that the high pressure metamorphism occurred at 245–251 Ma. Protolith age of the mafic granulite is 997 Ma, similar to that of the mafic to ultramafic rocks widely distributed in the Cathaysia Block and also along the Jiangnan belt. Subduction of ancient oceanic lithospheric materials (or crustal thickening) during Mesozoic and formation of eclogites suggest that the Cathaysia Block was perhaps in the Tethyan oceanic domain at this time. The granulite formation might have been aided by Mesozoic mafic magma underplating associated with lithospheric delamination, heating and retrogression of the eclogite accompanied by rapid uplift.     

沂水青龙峪超镁铁质岩石和基性麻粒岩的锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年

本文主要对沂水青龙峪出露的超镁铁质岩石和基性麻粒岩进行了锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年研究。超镁铁质岩石以捕掳体形式存在于沂水杂岩中,不发育鬣刺结构,氧化物组成具有超镁铁质科马提岩的高MgO、富CaO、低SiO2、TiO2、K2O和Na2O含量特征;矿物组合以单斜辉石+橄榄石±斜方辉石+铬铁矿为主;变质矿物以角闪石+蛇纹石化为特征;该岩石以稀土元素总含量(∑REE)低、LREE/HREE=3.35～4.40及Ce和Eu负异常为特征。微量元素组成以Ba、Nb、Zr负异常和Nd、Sm正异常为特征。根据锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年法对该超镁铁质岩石中捕获的早期岩浆结晶锆石和新生的变质锆石进行的研究,年龄值分别为2657～2702Ma和2551～2585Ma,表明该超镁铁质岩石形成年龄为2585～2657Ma。基性麻粒岩的氧化物组成特征表明其属高Mg的洋岛拉斑玄武岩,麻粒岩相——高角闪岩相变质作用与新太古代的深熔和岩浆侵入作用有关,矿物组合以紫苏辉石+单斜辉石±角闪石+斜长石±石榴子石为特征;晚期蚀变作用与辉长岩墙、辉绿岩脉及石英闪长岩买的侵入有关,矿物组合以滑石化+绢云母化+绿泥石化为特征;稀土元素组成以轻重稀土元素无分异和无Eu异常为特征;微量元素组成以Nb、Zr、P、Ti负异常和Sr、K正异常为特征;锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年结果表明麻粒岩相——角闪岩相变质作用年龄为2498.4±7.6Ma,导致麻粒岩相——角闪岩相变质的深熔和岩浆结晶年龄为2551±24Ma,晚期蚀变作用的年龄分别为2231～2235Ma和1850±19Ma。     

Constraints on the thermal evolution of continental lithosphere from U-Pb accessory mineral thermochronometry of lower crustal xenoliths,southern Africa

U-Pb isotopic thermochronometry of rutile, apatite and titanite from kimberlite-borne lower crustal granulite xenoliths has been used to constrain the thermal evolution of Archean cratonic and Proterozoic off-craton continental lithosphere beneath southern Africa. The relatively low closure temperature of the U-Pb rutile thermochronometer (~400-450 °C) allows its use as a particularly sensitive recorder of the establishment of "cratonic" lithospheric geotherms, as well as subsequent thermal perturbations to the lithosphere. Contrasting lower crustal thermal histories are revealed between intracratonic and craton margin regions. Discordant Proterozoic (1.8 to 1.0 Ga) rutile ages in Archean (2.9 to 2.7 Ga) granulites from within the craton are indicative of isotopic resetting by marginal orogenic thermal perturbations influencing the deep crust of the cratonic nucleus. In Proterozoic (1.1 to 1.0 Ga) granulite xenoliths from the craton-bounding orogenic belts, rutiles define discordia arrays with Neoproterozoic (0.8 to 0.6 Ga) upper intercepts and lower intercepts equivalent to Mesozoic exhumation upon kimberlite entrainment. In combination with coexisting titanite and apatite dates, these results are interpreted as a record of postorogenic cooling at an integrated rate of approximately 1 °C/Ma, and subsequent variable Pb loss in the apatite and rutile systems during a Mesozoic thermal perturbation to the deep lithosphere. Closure of the rutile thermochronometer signals temperatures of 𙠂 °C in the lower crust during attainment of cratonic lithospheric conductive geotherms, and such closure in the examined portions of the "off-craton" Proterozoic domains of southern Africa indicates that their lithospheric thermal profiles were essentially cratonic from the Neoproterozoic through to the Late Jurassic. These results suggest similar lithospheric thickness and potential for diamond stability beneath both Proterozoic and Archean domains of southern Africa. Subsequent partial resetting of U-Pb rutile and apatite systematics in the cratonic margin lower crust records a transient Mesozoic thermal modification of the lithosphere, and modeling of the diffusive Pb loss from lower crustal rutile constrains the temperature and duration of Mesozoic heating to 𙡦 °C for ₞ ka. This result indicates that the thermal perturbation is not simply a kimberlite-related magmatic phenomenon, but is rather a more protracted manifestation of lithospheric heating, likely related to mantle upwelling and rifting of Gondwana during the Late Jurassic to Cretaceous. The manifestation of this thermal pulse in the lower crust is spatially and temporally correlated with anomalously elevated and/or kinked Cretaceous mantle paleogeotherms, and evidence for metasomatic modification in cratonic mantle peridotite suites. It is argued that most of the geographic differences in lithospheric thermal structure inferred from mantle xenolith thermobarometry are likewise due to the heterogeneous propagation of this broad upper mantle thermal anomaly. The differential manifestation of heating between cratonic margin and cratonic interior indicates the importance of advective heat transport along pre-existing lithosphere-scale discontinuities. Within this model, kimberlite magmatism was a similarly complex, space- and time-dependent response to Late Mesozoic lithospheric thermal perturbation.     

The origin of zircon and the significance of U–Pb ages in high-grade metamorphic rocks: a case study from the Variscan orogenic root (Vosges Mountains, NE France)

U–Pb zircon dating is combined with petrology, Zr-in-rutile thermometry and mineral equilibria modelling to discuss zircon petrogenesis and the age of metamorphism in three units of the Variscan Vosges Mountains (NE France). The monotonous gneiss unit shows results at 700–500?Ma, but no Variscan ages. The varied gneiss unit preserves ages between 600 and 460?Ma and a Variscan group at 340–335?Ma. Zircon analyses from the felsic granulite unit define a continuous array of ages between 500 and 340?Ma. In varied gneiss samples, zoned garnet includes kyanite and rutile and is surrounded by matrix sillimanite and cordierite. In a pseudosection, it points to peak conditions of?~16 kbar/850?°C followed by isothermal decompression to 8–10 kbar/820–860?°C. In felsic granulite samples, the assemblage K-feldspar–garnet–kyanite–Zr-rich rutile is replaced by sillimanite and Zr-poor rutile. Modelling these assemblages supports minimum conditions of?~13 kbar/925?°C, and a subsequent P–T decrease to 6.5–8.5 kbar/800–820?°C. The internal structure and chemistry of zircons, and modelling of zircon dissolution/growth along the inferred P–T paths are used to discuss the significance of the U–Pb ages. In the monotonous unit, inherited zircon ages of 700–500?Ma point to sedimentation during the Late Cambrian, while medium-grade metamorphism did not allow the formation of Variscan zircon domains. In both the varied gneiss and felsic granulite units, zircons with a blurred oscillatory-zoned pattern could reflect solid-state recrystallization of older grains during HT metamorphism, whereas zircons with a dark cathodoluminescence pattern are thought to derive from crystallization of an anatectic melt during cooling at middle pressure conditions. The present work proposes that U–Pb zircon ages of ca. 340?Ma probably reflect the end of a widespread HT metamorphic event at middle crustal level.     

柴北缘欧龙布鲁克地块东段古元古代基性麻粒岩:岩石学、锆石U-Pb年代学和Lu-Hf同位素证据

在欧龙布鲁克地块东部地区的正片麻岩中识别出呈透镜状产出的基性麻粒岩,部分已转变为斜长角闪岩。其主要矿物组合为单斜辉石、斜方辉石、斜长石、角闪石等,为典型中低压麻粒岩相组合。锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年得到基性麻粒岩1928±9Ma的变质年龄,片麻岩围岩得到了1927±20Ma的变质年龄,以及2368±5Ma、2377±7Ma的岩浆结晶年龄。片麻岩锆石Hf同位素数据显示变质锆石及岩浆锆石均具有相似的Hf同位素成分,其二阶段模式年龄为2590~2830Ma,显示其可能源于太古代地壳物质的再造。欧龙布鲁克地块古元古代岩浆及变质演化历史与塔里木克拉通及华北克拉通很高的相似性,预示着在古元古代三者可能具有一定的亲缘性。     

Geochronological constraints on metamorphism, magmatism and exhumation of deep-crustal rocks of the Kramanituar Complex, with implications for the Paleoproterozoic evolution of the Archean western Churchill Province, Canada

U-Pb and Sm-Nd geochronology establishes an important Paleoproterozoic (~1.9 Ga) history for the Kramanituar Complex, located in the interior of the Archean western Churchill Province, and provides further insight into the Snowbird tectonic zone, a crustal-scale (>2000 km) feature whose role during Precambrian time remains controversial. The Kramanituar Complex is a window of deep-crustal rocks, dominated by a granulite-facies metagabbroic suite of ~1902 Ma age, with minor supracrustal rocks and charnockite. These yield peak equilibrium conditions of 12-15 kbar and 850-900 °C, which are bracketed between ~1910 Ma, the age of prograde metamorphic monazite in sillimanite- and kyanite-bearing paragneiss, and 1901 Ma, the cooling ages of titanite and rutile in gabbroic and paragneissic rocks. Although mineral assemblages reflecting peak metamorphic conditions are widespread, some rocks record near-isothermal decompression to ~8 kbar and 800 °C. The timing of uplift and exhumation is tightly bracketed between magmatic crystallization of gabbroic anorthosite under granulite-facies conditions at 1902 Ma and widespread rutile cooling ages of 1901 Ma. Time-averaged cooling rates of >100 °C/Ma are estimated for gabbroic anorthosite and leucogranite. Rocks surrounding the Kramanituar Complex are mainly amphibolite-facies Archean plutonic and supracrustal rocks. Those to the north were at deep-crustal conditions coeval with the complex, whereas those to the south appear to preserve a record of older, mainly Neoarchean tectonometamorphic assemblages and fabrics. The southern boundary of the complex is inferred to be a normal fault that accommodated tectonic unroofing of the Kramanituar Complex at ~1.9 Ga. This geochronological data set highlights the protracted history of a segment of the geophysically defined Snowbird tectonic zone, a structure along which latest significant magmatism and tectonometamorphism has been interpreted as either ~2600 or ~1800 Ma. Penetrative ~1900 Ma activity in the east-trending Chesterfield segment, as documented at the Kramanituar Complex, suggests that the complex may have represented a favorably oriented segment of a crustal-scale Archean fault that was reactivated during Paleoproterozoic time, possibly in response to collision between the Slave and Churchill cratons (Thelon Orogen) at ~1.97-1.9 Ga.     

Tracing metamorphism,exhumation and topographic evolution in orogenic belts by multiple thermochronology: a case study from the Nízke Tatry Mts., Western Carpathians

A combination of four thermochronometers [zircon fission track (ZFT), zircon (U–Th)/He (ZHe), apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U–Th–[Sm])/He (AHe) dating methods] applied to a valley to ridge transect is used to resolve the issues of metamorphic, exhumation and topographic evolution of the Nízke Tatry Mts. in the Western Carpathians. The ZFT ages of 132.1 ± 8.3, 155.1 ± 12.9, 146.8 ± 8.6 and 144.9 ± 11.0 Ma show that Variscan crystalline basement of the Nízke Tatry Mts. was heated to temperatures >210°C during the Mesozoic and experienced a low-grade Alpine metamorphic overprint. ZHe and AFT ages, clustering at ~55–40 and ~45–40 Ma, respectively, revealed a rapid Eocene cooling event, documenting erosional and/or tectonic exhumation related to the collapse of the Carpathian orogenic wedge. This is the first evidence that exhumation of crystalline cores in the Western Carpathians took place in the Eocene and not in the Cretaceous as traditionally believed. Bimodal AFT length distributions, Early Miocene AHe ages and thermal modelling results suggest that the samples were heated to temperatures of ~55–90°C during Oligocene–Miocene times. This thermal event may be related either to the Oligocene/Miocene sedimentary burial, or Miocene magmatic activity and increased heat flow. This finding supports the concept of thermal instability of the Carpathian crystalline bodies during the post-Eocene period.     

Olivine‐bearing symplectites in fractured garnet from eclogite,Moldanubian Zone (Bohemian Massif) – a short‐lived,granulite facies event

Recent petrological studies on high‐pressure (HP)–ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks in the Moldanubian Zone, mainly utilizing compositional zoning and solid phase inclusions in garnet from a variety of lithologies, have established a prograde history involving subduction and subsequent granulite facies metamorphism during the Variscan Orogeny. Two temporally separate metamorphic events are developed rather than a single P–T loop for the HP–UHP metamorphism and amphibolite–granulite facies overprint in the Moldanubian Zone. Here further evidence is presented that the granulite facies metamorphism occurred after the HP–UHP rocks had been exhumed to different levels of the middle or upper crust. A medium‐temperature eclogite that is part of a series of tectonic blocks and lenses within migmatites contains a well‐preserved eclogite facies assemblage with omphacite and prograde zoned garnet. Omphacite is partly replaced by a symplectite of diopside + plagioclase + amphibole. Garnet and omphacite equilibria and pseudosection calculations indicate that the HP metamorphism occurred at relatively low temperature conditions of ~600 °C at 2.0–2.2 GPa. The striking feature of the rocks is the presence of garnet porphyroblasts with veins filled by a granulite facies assemblage of olivine, spinel and Ca‐rich plagioclase. These minerals occur as a symplectite forming symmetric zones, a central zone rich in olivine that is separated from the host garnet by two marginal zones consisting of plagioclase with small amounts of spinel. Mineral textures in the veins show that they were first filled mostly by calcic amphibole, which was later transformed into granulite facies assemblages. The olivine‐spinel equilibria and pseudosection calculations indicate temperatures of ~850–900 °C at pressure below 0.7 GPa. The preservation of eclogite facies assemblages implies that the granulite facies overprint was a short‐lived process. The new results point to a geodynamic model where HP–UHP rocks are exhumed to amphibolite facies conditions with subsequent granulite facies heating by mantle‐derived magma in the middle and upper crust.     

Timing and tectonic setting of Grenvillian metamorphism—constraints from a transect along Georgian Bay,Ontario*

Systematic mapping of a transect along the well-exposed shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario, combined with the preliminary results of structural analysis, geochronology and metamorphic petrology, places some constraints on the geological setting of high-grade metamorphism in this part of the Central Gneiss Belt. Correlations within and between map units (gneiss associations) have allowed us to recognize five tectonic units that differ in various aspects of their lithology, metamorphic and plutonic history, and structural style. The lowest unit, which forms the footwall to a regional decollement, locally preserves relic pre-Grenvillian granulite facies assemblages reworked under amphibolite facies conditions during the Grenvillian orogeny. Tectonic units above the decollement apparently lack the early granulite facies metamorphism; out-of-sequence thrusting in the south produced a duplex-like structure. Two distinct stages of Grenvillian metamorphism are apparent. The earlier stage (c. 1160–1120 Ma) produced granulite facies assemblages in the Parry Sound domain and upper amphibolite facies assemblages in the Parry Island thrust sheet. The later stage (c. 1040–1020 Ma) involved widespread, dominantly upper amphibolite facies metamorphism within and beneath the duplex. Deformation and metamorphism recently reported from south and east of the Parry Sound domain at c. 1100–1040 Ma have not yet been documented along the Georgian Bay transect. The data suggest that early convergence was followed by a period of crustal thickening in the orogenic core south-east of the transect area, with further advance to the north-west during and after the waning stages of this deformation.     

High T/P evolution and metamorphic ages of the migmatitic basement of northern Sierras Pampeanas,Argentina: Characterization of a mid-crustal segment of the Famatinian belt

New petrologic, thermobarometric and U-Pb monazite geochronologic information allowed to resolve the metamorphic evolution of a high temperature mid-crustal segment of an ancient subduction-related orogen. The El Portezuelo Metamorphic-Igneous Complex, in the northern Sierras Pampeanas, is mainly composed of migmatites that evolved from amphibolite to granulite metamorphic facies, reaching thermal peak conditions of 670–820 °C and 4.5–5.3 kbar. The petrographic study combined with conventional and pseudosection thermobarometry led to deducing a short prograde metamorphic evolution within migmatite blocks. The garnet-absent migmatites represent amphibolite-facies rocks, whereas the cordierite-garnet-K-feldspar-sillimanite migmatites represent higher metamorphic grade rocks. U-Pb geochronology on monazite grains within leucosome record the time of migmatization between ≈477 and 470 Ma. Thus, the El Portezuelo Metamorphic-Igneous Complex is an example of exhumed Early Ordovician anatectic middle crust of the Famatinian mobile belt. Homogeneous exposure of similar paleo-depths throughout the Famatinian back-arc and isobaric cooling paths suggest slow exhumation and consequent longstanding crustal residence at high temperatures. High thermal gradients uniformly distributed in the Famatinian back-arc can be explained by shallow convection of a low-viscosity asthenosphere promoted by subducting-slab dehydration.