The effect of metamorphic fluid flow on the nucleation and growth of garnets from Troms, North Norway

A spatial association is observed between the size distribution of garnet porphyroblasts and the size distribution of quartz veins in greenschist facies metapelites from Troms, North Norway. The size distribution of quartz veins reflects the flow regime of metamorphic fluids. The hypothesis that the flow regime of metamorphic fluids is also responsible for the size distribution of garnet crystals was tested by ascribing empirical acceleration parameters to the nucleation and growth rates of garnet crystals.
In regions where fluid flow was interpreted as pervasive', acceleration parameters for nucleation were high, whereas in regions where fluid flow was interpreted as channelled', acceleration parameters for growth were high. Accelerated crystal growth is further implied from the chemical zoning and crystal morphologies of garnets collected near discrete veins.
This spatial association may imply that fluid flow can be instrumental in controlling garnet crystallization. Fluid flow could affect garnet crystallization kinetics by facilitating thermal advection and/or mass transfer. In the study area, rhodochrosite (MnCO₃) veins provide evidence for mass transfer of Mn by fluid flow. An influx of Mn would expand the stability field of garnet to lower temperatures. The resulting thermal overstep could accelerate nucleation and/or growth of garnets.
The corollary of this study is that size distributions and chemical zoning of garnets, or other porphyroblast phases, can be used to study metamorphic fluid flow.     

Porphyroblast nucleation, growth and dissolution in regional metamorphic rocks as a function of deformation partitioning during foliation development

Abstract In regional metamorphic rocks, the partitioning of deformation into progressive shearing and progressive shortening components results in strain and strain-rate gradients across the boundaries between the partitioned zones. These generate dislocation density gradients and hence chemical potential gradients that drive dissolution and solution transfer. Phyllosilicates and graphite are well adapted to accommodating progressive shearing without necessarily building up large dislocation density gradients within a grain, because of their uniquely layered crystal structure. However, most silicates and oxides cannot accommodate strain transitions within grains without associated dislocation density gradients, and hence are susceptible to dissolution and solution transfer. As a consequence, zones of progressive shearing become zones of dissolution of most minerals, and of concentration of phyllosilicates and graphite. Exceptions are mylonites, where strain-rates are commonly high enough for plastic deformation to dominate over diffusion rates and therefore over dissolution and solution transfer. Porphyroblastic minerals cannot nucleate and grow in zones of active progressive shearing, as they would be dissolved by the effects of shearing strain on their boundaries. However, they can nucleate and grow in zones of progressive shortening and this is aided by the propensity for microfracturing in these zones, which allows rapid access of fluids carrying the material presumed to be necessary for nucleation and growth. Zones of progessive shortening also have a number of characteristics that help to lower the activation energy barrier for nucleation, this includes a build up of stored strain-energy relative to zones of progressive shearing, in which dissolution is occuring. Porphyroblast growth is generally syndeformational, and previously accepted criteria for static growth are not valid when the role of deformation partitioning is taken into account. Porphyroblasts in a contact aureole do not grow statically either, as microfracturing, associated with emplacement, allows access of fluids in a fashion that is similar to microfracturing in zones of progressive shortening. The criteria used for porphyroblast timing can be readily accommodated in terms of deformation partitioning, reactivation of deforming foliations, and a general lack of rotation of porphyroblasts, with the spectacular exception of genuinely spiralling garnet porphyroblasts.     

Diffusion control of garnet growth,Harpswell Neck,Maine, USA

A detailed analysis of chemical zoning in two garnet crystals from Harpswell Neck, Maine, forms the basis of an interpretation of garnet nucleation and growth mechanisms. Garnet apparently nucleates initially on crenulations of mica and chlorite and quickly overgrows the entire crenulation, giving rise to complex two‐dimensional zoning patterns depending on the orientation of the thin section cut. Contours of Ca zoning cross those of Mn, Fe and Mg, indicating a lack of equilibrium among these major garnet constituents. Zoning of Fe, Mg and Mn is interpreted to reflect equilibrium with the rock matrix, whereas Ca zoning is interpreted to be controlled by diffusive transport between the matrix and the growing crystal. Image analysis reveals that the growth of garnet is more rapid along triple‐grain intersections than along double‐grain boundaries. Moreover, different minerals are replaced by garnet at different rates. The relative rate of replacement by garnet along double‐grain boundaries is ordered as muscovite > chlorite > plagioclase > quartz. Flux calculations reveal that replacement is limited by diffusion of Si along double‐grain boundaries to or from the local reaction site. It is concluded that multiple diffusive pathways control the bulk replacement of the rock matrix by garnet, with Si and Al transport being rate limiting in these samples.     

Heterogeneous growth of cordierite in low P/T Tsukuba metamorphic rocks from central Japan

This paper examines the spatial statistics of matrix minerals and complex patterned cordierite porphyroblasts in the low‐pressure, high‐temperature (low P/T) Tsukuba metamorphic rocks from central Japan, using a density correlation function. The cordierite‐producing reaction is sillimanite + biotite + quartz = K‐feldspar + cordierite + water. The density correlation function shows that quartz is distributed randomly. However, the density correlation functions of biotite, plagioclase and K‐feldspar show that their spatial distributions are clearly affected by the formation of cordierite porphyroblasts. These observations suggest that cordierite growth occurred through a selective growth mechanism: quartz adjacent to cordierite has a tendency to prevent the growth of cordierite, whereas other matrix minerals adjacent to cordierite have a tendency to enhance the growth of cordierite. The density correlation functions of complex patterned cordierite porphyroblasts show power‐law behaviour. A selective growth mechanism alone cannot explain the origin of the power‐law behaviour. Comparison of the morphology and fractal dimension of cordierite with two‐dimensional sections from a three‐dimensional diffusion‐limited aggregation (DLA) suggests that the formation of cordierite porphyroblasts can be modelled as a DLA process. DLA is the simple statistical model for the universal fractal pattern developed in a macroscopic diffusion field. Diffusion‐controlled growth interacting with a random field is essential to the formation of a DLA‐like pattern. The selective growth mechanism will provide a random noise for the growth of cordierite due to random distribution of quartz. Therefore, a selective growth mechanism coupled with diffusion‐controlled growth is proposed to explain the power‐law behaviour of the density correlation function of complex patterned cordierite. The results in this paper suggest that not only the growth kinetics but also the spatial distribution of matrix minerals affect the progress of the metamorphic reaction and pattern formation of metamorphic rocks.     

Shape, size, spatial distribution and composition of garnet crystals in highly deformed gneiss of the Otter Lake area, Québec, and a model for garnet crystallization

Garnet–biotite–(sillimanite) gneiss (～700 °C, 7 kbar) of the Otter Lake area in the Western Grenville Province (Canadian Shield) occurs as granitic gneiss (group 4) that forms a large part of the Otter Complex, and as widely distributed, more heterogenous metasedimentary gneiss (group 2). In one sample of group 4 gneiss (Qtz₂₅ Pl₃₄ Kfs₂₈ Bt₁₀ Grt_2.5 Sil₁) the true diameter (determined by serial grinding) of subhedral garnet crystals ranges from 0.2 to 3.0 mm, with a mode at 1.0 mm. Nearest‐neighbour measurements in this sample, and in surfaces of nine additional samples (all <5% garnet) confirm that garnet crystals are distributed mainly at random; slight clustering was detected in two samples. In one sample of group 4 gneiss, microprobe analyses on sections through crystal centres (obtained by serial slicing), reveal that small crystals and margins to large crystals contain more Fe and Mn and less Mg than the broad central regions of large crystals. Based on these and previous results, together with theoretical considerations, a crystallization model is proposed, in which, (i) garnet was produced by the continuous reaction, Ms + Bt + Qtz → Grt + Kfs + H₂O, (ii) nucleation occurred by the random selection of randomly distributed Ms–Bt–Qtz triple junctions, (iii) the rate of linear growth remained constant, and (iv) as temperature increased, the rate of nucleation first increased slowly, then remained nearly constant, and finally declined. Within‐population compositional homogenization was followed, on cooling, by local Fe–Mg–Mn exchange with biotite.     

A garnet population in Yellowknife schist, Canada

Abstract Data are presented on a garnet population in a specimen of garnet-biotite-plagioclase-quartz schist from the cordierite zone of an Archaean thermal dome in the Southern Slave Province of the Canadian Shield. Garnet crystals are bounded by planar dodecahedral faces and by trapezohedral faces which on the 10-μm scale are corrugated. Crystal distribution, as revealed by dissection of a small cubic volume of rock, is random. The size distribution is normal, with a mean diameter of 0.81 mm and a standard deviation of 0.32 mm. In the largest crystal of the population (mean radius 0.83 mm), [Mn] = 100 Mn/(Fe + Mg + Mn + Ca) decreases from 14.5 at the centre to 7.5 and then increases in the outer margin to 8.5; [Fe] increases continuously from 67 at the centre to 77 at the surface; [Mg] increases from 12.5 to 13.5 and then falls sharply to 11; [Ca] remains unchanged at 4.0 and then drops to 3.3. Progressively smaller crystals have progressively lower [Mn] and higher [Fe] concentrations at their centres, while all crystals have the same margin composition. Growth vectors extending from given concentration contours to crystal surfaces are of equal length regardless of the size of the crystal in which the vector is located. A garnet-forming model is presented in which reaction was initiated by a rise in temperature. Nucleation sites were randomly selected. The nucleation rate increased with time and then declined. Crystal faces advanced at a constant linear rate, which implies an increase in volume proportional to surface area. Initially, the composition of garnet deposited on crystal surfaces was determined by van Laar equations of equilibrium, which demanded the withdrawal of Mn and Fe from within chlorite crystals. This transfer reaction was then accompanied by an ion exchange reaction which moved Mn and Fe to garnet surfaces from biotite, in exchange for Mg. The exchange reaction provides an explanation for the high overall concentration of Mn and Fe in garnet and for the observed Mn and Mg reversals in the margins of crystals. The increase of garnet volume in the garnet population is found to be parabolic, i.e. Vαα⁵.     

Strontium isotope zoning in garnet: implications for metamorphic matrix equilibration,geochronology and phase equilibrium modelling

In principle, garnet growth rates may be calculated from ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr measurements in garnet subsamples and the surrounding rock matrix. Because of low Rb/Sr, garnet should passively record the matrix decay of ⁸⁷Rb to ⁸⁷Sr as a progressive increase in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from core to rim. This concept was tested by collecting Rb‐Sr data for five garnet grains from four major orogenic belts: eastern Vermont (c. 380 Ma), western New Hampshire (c. 320 Ma), southern Chile (c. 75 Ma) and northwestern Italy (c. 35 Ma). Both normal Sr isotope zoning (increasing ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from core to rim) and inverse Sr zoning (decreasing ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from core to rim) were observed. Garnet and matrix isotope data commonly yielded grossly inaccurate model ages. Incomplete Rb and Sr equilibration among matrix minerals is invoked to explain the deviations between theoretical v. measured zoning patterns and the age disparities. Initially, the reactive matrix is dominated by rapidly equilibrating Rb‐rich mica, which imparts high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values in garnet cores. Progressive participation of slower equilibrating Sr‐rich plagioclase buffers or even reduces ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, possibly leading to flat or decreasing ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from garnet cores to rims. Unusually high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in garnet in combination with bulk matrix compositions causes erroneously young apparent ages, so metamorphic ages, growth rates, and associated heating and loading rates are likely suspect. Although Rb‐Sr may be the most susceptible because of the profound disparities between mica and feldspar, zircon reactivity might influence the Lu‐Hf system by up to a few per cent. The Sm‐Nd system seems generally immune to these effects. Pseudosection analysis and conventional garnet geochronology, which presume complete matrix equilibration during metamorphism, may require modification to account for differences between whole‐rock v. reactive matrix compositions.     

Crystallization kinetics during regional metamorphism of porphyroblastic rocks

Numerical simulations of diffusion‐controlled nucleation and growth of garnet porphyroblasts in regionally metamorphosed rocks constrain interfacial energy and rates of nucleation and Al intergranular diffusion. The 13 rocks analysed in this study were collected from seven localities exhibiting a diverse range of crystallization conditions. Kinetic parameters governing nucleation and intergranular diffusion were adjusted iteratively to achieve fits between simulated and natural porphyroblastic textures. Model fits were assessed primarily from textural characteristics precisely measured by high‐resolution X‐ray computed tomography. Interfacial energy for heterogeneous nucleation ranges from 0.007 to 0.255 J m^?2 for the sample suite, assuming shape factors in the range 0.01–1.0. Nucleation rates change through space and time due to growth and impingement of Al depletion zones surrounding porphyroblasts. In some models, the overall rock‐wide nucleation rate rises steeply, achieves a steady state, and then falls rapidly as reactants are consumed; in others, the steady state is not achieved, but instead the rate simply peaks before falling. Maximum rock‐wide nucleation rates range from 10^?14.7 to 10^?10.7 nuclei cm^?3 s^?1, and maximum local rates range from 10^?13.7 to 10^?9.7 nuclei?cm^?3 s^?1 depending on Al supersaturation. Diffusive fluxes of Al are well constrained by the simulated textures, but rates of intergranular diffusion are subject to uncertainties in Al solubility and interconnected porosity. Best estimates of Al diffusivities at 600 °C span 10^?12.3 to 10^?10.5 m² s^?1 for the sample suite, a narrow range considering natural variability and the uncertainties in solubility and porosity. Eliminating some models suspected of higher uncertainty for these quantities yields diffusivities at 600 °C near 10^?11.0 m² s^?1, with dispersion of less than half an order of magnitude. These simulations, which are among the first attempted for regionally metamorphosed rocks, emphasize that: (i) nucleation rates vary markedly in time and space during crystallization; (ii) nucleation extends well beyond equilibrium conditions; (iii) Al diffusivity likely varies over only a narrow range across common metamorphic circumstances; and (iv) better determinations of both Al solubility and interconnected porosity are needed to constrain rates of Al intergranular diffusion more precisely.     

Geospeedometry of metamorphic rocks: examples in the Rantasalmi-Sulkava and Kiuruvesi areas, eastern Finland. Biotite–garnet diffusion couples

Compositional zoning in biotite–garnet pairs in metamorphic rocks from eastern Finland has been studied. The Mg profiles in the garnet side of biotite–garnet crystal pairs have been interpreted by means of Lasaga's theory (geospeedometry). However, the binary interdiffusion equations are first reformulated by starting from a ternary system and using the lattice fixed frame of reference. This frame of reference gives the fluxes directly by means of the numbers of diffusing ions, which helps to check the 1-dimensionality of the analysis assumed in Lasaga's theory. It is also shown that the recently argued effect of the third cation Ca is negligible in our samples. We were able to investigate satisfactory profiles in three samples from different areas. The values for the cooling rate are a few degrees per million years if the diffusion data obtained by Freer are adopted. The cooling rates are in agreement with recent estimates based on the K–Ar ages on biotite in the same areas.     

Chromium and manganese zoning in pelitic garnet and kyanite: Spiral,overprint, and oscillatory (?) zoning patterns and the role of growth rate

X‐ray composition maps and quantitative analyses for Mn, Ca and Cr have been made for six pelitic and calc‐pelitic garnet crystals and Al, Fe and Cr analyses maps have been made for two kyanite crystals, from lower and mid/upper amphibolite facies rocks from the Grenville Province of western Labrador, using an electron microprobe analyser and a laser ablation ICP‐MS. Garnet with spiral (‘snowball’) internal fabrics (S_i) has spiral zoning in major elements, implying that growth was concentrated in discrete regions of the crystal at any one time (spiral zoning). Cr zoning is parallel to S_i in low amphibolite facies garnet with both straight and spiral internal fabrics, indicating that the garnet overprinted a fabric defined by Cr‐rich (mica±chlorite±epidote) and Cr‐poor (quartz±plagioclase) layers during growth (overprint zoning) and that Cr was effectively immobile. In contrast, in mid/upper amphibolite facies garnet porphyroblasts lacking S_i, Cr zoning is concentric, implying that Cr diffusion occurred. Cr zoning in kyanite porphyroblasts appears superficially similar to oscillatory zoning, with up to three or four annuli of Cr enrichment and/or depletion present in a single grain. However, the variable width, continuity, Cr concentration and local bifurcation of individual annuli suggest that an origin by overprint zoning may be more likely. The results of this study explain previously observed nonsystematic Cr zoning in garnet and irregular partitioning of Cr between coexisting metamorphic mineral pairs. In addition, this study points to the important role of crystal growth rate in determining the presence or absence of inclusions and the type of zoning exhibited by both major and trace elements. During fast growth, inclusions are preferentially incorporated into the growing porphyroblast and slow diffusing elements such as Cr are effectively immobile, whereas during slow growth, inclusions are not generally included in the porphyroblast and Cr zoning is concentric.     

Variations in rates of nucleation and growth of biotite porphyroblasts

Differences in rates of nucleation and diffusion‐limited growth for biotite porphyroblasts in adjacent centimetre‐scale layers of a garnet‐biotite schist from the Picuris Mountains of New Mexico are revealed by variations in crystal size and abundance between two layers with strong compositional similarity. Relationships between fabrics recorded by inclusion patterns in biotite and garnet porphyroblasts are interpreted to reflect garnet growth following biotite growth, without substantial alteration of the biotite sizes. Sizes and locations of biotite crystals, obtained via high‐resolution X‐ray computed tomography, document that of the two adjacent layers, one has a larger mean crystal volume (9.5 × 10^?4v. 2.4 × 10^?4 cm³), fewer biotite crystals per unit volume (232 v. 576 crystals cm^?3), and a higher volume fraction of biotite (23%v. 14%). The two layers have similar mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry. Both layers show evidence for diffusional control of nucleation and growth. Pseudosection analysis suggests that the large‐biotite layer began to crystallize biotite at a temperature ～67 °C greater than the small‐biotite layer. Diffusion rates differed between layers, because of their different temperature ranges of crystallization, but this effect can be quantified. The bulk compositional difference between the layers, manifested in different modal amounts of biotite, has an effect on the biotite sizes that is also quantifiable and insufficient to account for the difference in biotite size. After these other possible causes of variation in crystal sizes have been eliminated, variability in nucleation and diffusion rates remain as the dominant factors responsible for the difference in porphyroblastic textures. Numerical simulations suggest that relative to the small‐biotite layer, the large‐biotite layer experienced elevated diffusion rates because of the higher crystallization temperature, as well as increased nucleation rates in order to achieve the observed size and number density of crystals. The simulations can replicate the observed textures only by invoking unreasonably large values for the thermal dependence of nucleation rates (activation energies), strongly suggesting that the observed textural differences arise from variations between layers in the abundance and energetics of potential nucleation sites.     

Determining the amount of overstepping required to nucleate garnet during Barrovian regional metamorphism,Connecticut Valley Synclinorium

The novel method of inclusion barometry coupled with the calculation of the required affinity for garnet nucleation is applied to three samples from the previously well‐characterized Connecticut Valley Synclinorium in central Vermont. Raman shifts for quartz inclusions record a range of maximum peak shifts of the quartz 464 cm^?1 peak from 2.4 to 3.0 cm^?1. Temperature of garnet nucleation was constrained by calculating mineral assemblage diagrams in the MnNCKFMASHT system and plotting the intersection of quartz inclusion in garnet barometry (QuiG, quartz‐in‐garnet) with Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry. Utilizing the intersection of Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry with QuiG barometry, garnet nucleation is inferred to have occurred within a P–T range of ~8.6–9.5 kbar and ~560–575°C. These P–T conditions for garnet nucleation are significantly higher than calculated equilibrium garnet‐in isograds for the three samples. Affinities for garnet nucleation were calculated as the difference between the free energy of a fictive garnet composition based on the matrix assemblage and the free energy of the nucleated garnet. The calculated nucleation affinity varied from 300 to 600 kJ/mol O for St–Ky grade samples. These results suggest that the assumption that metamorphism proceeds as a sequence of near‐equilibrium conditions cannot, in general, be made for regional metamorphic terranes. This body of work agrees with numerous recent studies showing that garnet‐producing reactions must be overstepped in order to for garnet to nucleate.     

Well-preserved garnet growth zoning in granulite from the Dabie Mountains, central China

Ultra-high pressure eclogites and granulites both occur in the Dabie Mountains, central China. A garnet porphyroblast from felsic granulite in the Dabie Mountains has been analysed for compositional zoning by electron microprobe. Two segments of the porphyroblast have opposite compositional variations. Segment I (from centre outward 9  mm to analytical point 18) has decreasing X_Sps and increasing X_Pyr, while Segment II (from analytical point 18, 1  mm outward to the rim) has increasing X_Sps and X_Alm and decreasing X_Pyr and X_Grs. The compositional zoning in segment I is considered as growth zoning and that in Segment II as diffusive retrograde zoning. Garnet growth zoning records a P–T  path prior to the peak granulite metamorphism. The minimum P – T  conditions are estimated to be 1.35  GPa and 850  °C for peak metamorphism, based on the highest Mg/(Fe+Mg) composition in the garnet (analytical point 18) and matrix hypersthene, biotite and plagioclase. A symplectitic corona surrounds the porphyroblast and appears to have formed at 0.6  GPa and 700  °C. The well-preserved growth zoning in garnet suggests a short residence time for the granulite at peak metamorphism and thus rapid tectonic uplift history. The P–T  path is consistent with that of ultra-high-pressure eclogite in the area. Tectonic movements during a collisional event could have brought both the granulite and the eclogite to their present positions.     

高压-超高压变质岩石中石榴石的环带和成因

在俯冲带变质过程中,石榴石是高压-超高压变质榴辉岩和片麻岩的常见变质矿物。由于石榴石具有难熔和流体中的低溶解能力的特点,通常可以很好地保存下来,并且能够保留复杂的化学成分环带,以及不同类型的矿物或流体包裹体,为解释石榴石寄主岩石经历的变质演化历史提供了重要信息。石榴子石的主微量元素成分受控于很多因素,如全岩成分、变质的温压条件、控制石榴子石形成的相关变质反应、与石榴子石共生的矿物种类和成分等。因此,在利用石榴石探讨超高压变质的演化历史时,对石榴石进行系统的主要元素、微量元素、氧同位素以及矿物包裹体分析,以及相互间的成因关系。同时,对石榴石中的锆石或独居石包裹体并进行原位U-Pb定年和微量元素分析,可以为变质石榴石的形成时代提供直接的时间制约。深入研究超高压变质岩中石榴石的生长阶段,不仅可以为含石榴石寄主岩石的变质过程提供岩石学和地球化学证据,而且对于理解石榴石的形成机制、生长规律及其变质化学动力学过程具有重要的科学意义。     

Duration of Eo-Alpine metamorphic events obtained from multicomponent diffusion modeling of garnet: a case study from the Eastern Alps

Rocks from the Micaschist–Marble Complex of the Wölz Tauern, which are part of the middle Austroalpine unit, contain large (up to 2 cm) garnet crystals that show clear evidence of multistage growth. Isotopic dating indicates that a Variscan (～270 Ma) garnet core was overgrown by new garnet formed during Eo-Alpine metamorphism at Cretaceous times. P-T paths for the Eo-Alpine metamorphism were obtained using the method of pseudosections (Powell and Holland in Metam Geol 16:309–343, 1998) and are consistent with earlier results from independent thermobarometry. Due to the large size of the garnets, growth zoning was preserved during amphibolite facies metamorphism at both Variscan and Alpine times. Full multicomponent diffusion modeling of compositional zoning at the interface of the Alpine and Pre-Alpine garnets in conjunction with the retrieved P-T paths allow average subduction/exhumation as well as heating/cooling rates to be retrieved. The modeling suggests that a minimum subduction/exhumation rate of ～4 cm/a and heating/cooling rates on the order of 100–260°C/Ma for a 60°C subduction angle are required to preserve the observed compositional zoning overall while modifying the zoning at the interface between two garnets to the extent observed. Such rapid rates of burial/exhumation are consistent with the results of direct GPS measurements of convergence rates at several orogenic belts as well as with inferred rates from modeling in the Alps and other areas. In combination, this indicates that such rapid rates are commonplace during metamorphism in collisional orogens and places important constraints on the rheological behavior of crustal blocks in such orogens.     

Misorientations of garnet aggregate within a vein: an example from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, Japan

In this study, the chemistry and microstructure of garnet aggregates within a metamorphic vein are investigated. Garnet‐bearing veins in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, Japan, occur subparallel to the foliation of a host mafic schist, but some cut the foliation at low angle. Backscattered electron image and compositional mapping using EPMA and crystallographic orientation maps from electron‐backscattered diffraction (EBSD) reveal that numerous small garnet (10–100 μm diameter) coalesce to form large porphyroblasts within the vein. Individual small garnet commonly exhibits xenomorphic shape at garnet/garnet grain boundaries, whereas it is idiomorphic at garnet/quartz boundaries. EBSD microstructural analysis of the garnet porphyroblasts reveals that misorientation angles of neighbour‐pair garnet grains within the vein have a random distribution. This contrasts with previous studies that found coalescence of garnet in mica schist leads to an increased frequency of low angle misorientation boundaries by misorientation‐driven rotation. As garnet nucleated with random orientation, the difference in misorientation between the two studies is due to the difference in the extent of grain rotation. A simple kinetic model that assumes grain rotation of garnet is rate‐limited by grain boundary diffusion creep of matrix quartz, shows that (i) the substantial rotation of a fine garnet grain could occur for the conditions of the Sanbagawa metamorphism, but (ii) the rotation rate drastically decreased as garnet grains formed large clusters during growth. Therefore, the random misorientation distribution of garnet porphyroblasts in the Sanbagawa vein is interpreted as follows: (i) garnet within the vein grew so fast that substantial grain rotation did not occur through porphyroblast formation, and thus (ii) random orientations at the nucleation stage were preserved. The extent of misorientation‐driven rotation indicated by deviation from random orientation distribution may be useful to constrain the growth rate of constituent grains of porphyroblast that formed by multiple nucleation and coalescence.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of multiple generations of monazite from the Wepawaug Schist,Connecticut, USA: implications for monazite stability in metamorphic rocks

 U-Pb isotope analyses, rare earth and trace element analyses, and petrographic observations are presented for monazites from the Wepawaug Schist in southern Connecticut, USA. Two samples of kyanite zone schist were collected less than a meter apart. Each sample contains a different variety of monazite with distinct morphology, chemistry, and Pb isotopic composition. One sample preserves a largely amphibolite facies mineralogy, including kyanite, staurolite, garnet, biotite, and chlorite, with little textural evidence of later shearing. Monazites from this sample are xenoblastic with about 1 wt% ThO₂, 0.3 wt% CaO, and a more LREE enriched pattern than monazites from the second sample. These xenoblastic monazites preserve textural evidence of a retrograde reaction to apatite which involves chlorite, indicating that these monazites became unstable during retrograde chloritization of biotite. These monazites give strongly discordant U-Pb ages which fit a chord with an upper intercept age of 411±18 Ma, interpreted as the minimum growth age of these xenoblastic monazites, perhaps during amphibolite facies metamorphism. The second sample contains S-C banding, evidence of dynamic recrystallization, and abundant retrograde chlorite. This sample contains idioblastic monazites with about 3 wt% ThO₂, 0.8 wt% CaO, and with less fractionated REE patterns. These monazites give close to concordant U-Pb ages with a mean ²⁰⁷Pb*/²⁰⁶Pb* age of 388 ± 2 Ma. This age is interpreted as probably representing the time of monazite growth during retrogression of the sample from an amphibolite to greenschist facies mineralogy. Received: 26 June 1995/Accepted: 25 May 1996     

Numerical simulation of diffusion‐controlled nucleation and growth of porphyroblasts

This article presents the conceptual basis for a new numerical model of diffusion‐controlled nucleation and growth of porphyroblasts, describes its implementation, and illustrates the range of crystallization behaviours encompassed by it. The model differs from previous efforts principally in its ability to track explicitly the evolution in time and space of the chemical affinity for reaction in the intergranular medium, which provides a more accurate characterization of nucleation suppression in the vicinity of pre‐existing crystals and of growth suppression due to competition for nutrients among neighbouring crystals. Critical new features of these numerical simulations include: maintenance of local equilibrium for fluid in contact with reactants or products; persistence of reactants until they are eliminated by dissolution due to reaction progress and local diffusive flux; nucleation rates that vary as the local reaction affinity evolves; complex initial distributions of reactants if desired; and the flexibility to encompass any porphyroblast‐forming reaction for which changes in free energy as a function of time and temperature are specified. Model results reveal that radial growth rates remain proportional to the square‐root of time in diffusion systems buffered by persistent reactants; they document the interchangeable effects of diffusivity, porosity, and solubility on material fluxes and thus growth rates; and they illustrate the offsetting textural effects of rates of diffusion, nucleation, and heating. The initial distribution of reactants is found to exert a first‐order effect on crystal size distributions, confirming their limited utility for diagnosing crystallization mechanisms. These numerical simulations yield novel and rigorous confirmation of the textural effects of nucleation‐site saturation and variation in interconnected porosity, and reproduce with high fidelity much of the textural and chemical information gathered from natural specimens.     

Origins of yttrium and rare earth element distributions in metamorphic garnet

Highly variable distributions of yttrium and rare earth elements (Y+REEs) are documented in pelitic garnet from the Picuris Mountains, New Mexico, and from Passo del Sole, Switzerland, and in mafic garnet from the Franciscan Complex, California. The wide variety of these Y+REE zoning patterns, and those described previously in other occurrences, imply diverse origins linked to differing degrees of mobility of these elements through the intergranular medium during garnet growth. In the Picuris Mountains, large, early‐nucleating crystals have radial profiles of Y+REE dominated by central peaks and annular maxima, in patterns that vary systematically with atomic number. Superimposed on these features are narrow spikes in HREEs and MREEs, located progressively rimward with decreasing atomic number. In contrast, profiles in small, late‐nucleating crystals contain only broad central maxima for all Y+REEs. In garnet from Passo del Sole, Y+REE zoning varies radically from sample to sample: in some rocks, crystals of all sizes display only central peaks for all Y+REEs; in others, profiles exhibit irregular fluctuations in Y+REE contents that match up with small‐scale patchy zoning in Y and Ca X‐ray maps. In the Franciscan Complex, Y+REE in garnet cores fluctuate unsystematically, but mantles and rims display concentric oscillatory zoning for both major elements and Y+REEs. Our interpretation of the complexity of Y+REE distributions in metamorphic garnet centres on the concept that these distributions vary primarily in response to the length scales over which these elements can equilibrate during garnet growth. Very short length scales of equilibration, due to low intergranular mobility, produce overprint zoning characterized by small‐scale irregularities. Higher but still restricted mobility yields diffusion‐controlled uptake, characterized by patterns of central peaks and annular maxima that vary with atomic number and are strongly influenced by T–t paths during garnet growth. Still greater mobility permits progressively greater, potentially rock‐wide, equilibration with major‐ and accessory‐phase assemblages, leading to mineralogical controls: an unchanging mineral assemblage during garnet growth produces bell‐shaped profiles resembling those produced by Rayleigh fractionation, whereas changes in major‐ and/or accessory‐phase assemblages produce profiles with distinct annuli and sharp discontinuities in concentration. The very high mobility associated with influxes of Y+REE‐bearing fluids can cause these element distributions to be dominated by factors external to the rock, yielding profiles characterized by abrupt shifts or oscillations that are not correlated to changes in mineral assemblages.     

Origin and mechanical significance of honeycomb garnet in high-pressure metasedimentary rocks from the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps

High-pressure schists (2–2.5 GPa) from the Eclogite Zone in the Tauern Window contain honeycomb garnet in which fine webs of garnet surround strain-free quartz ± carbonate grains. High-resolution X-ray computed tomography shows that the garnet webs form a cellular structure that coats all surfaces of the inclusions. Electron backscatter diffraction analysis shows that the garnet cells are crystallographically continuous with more massive garnet regions, and that the quartz ± carbonate inclusions have random orientations; in contrast, matrix quartz exhibits a prominent crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows few dislocations in either the garnet or the inclusion quartz. Most honeycomb garnet is chemically homogeneous, but some displays asymmetric core–rim zoning. Taken together, these observations are most consistent with formation of the garnet sheets via precipitation from a wetting fluid along quartz–quartz grain boundaries, or possibly via wholesale precipitation of garnet + quartz ± carbonate from a fluid. In either case, a silicate-rich aqueous fluid must have been present. The likelihood that a fully wetting fluid existed at high pressure has important implications for rheology during subduction of metasedimentary rocks: strain may be accommodated by grain rotation and sliding in an aqueous silicate slurry, rather than via dislocation creep mechanisms at high pressures. The absence of a CPO in early quartz may thus point to involvement of a pervasive grain-boundary fluid rather than requiring low differential stresses during subduction.