Protracted thrusting followed by late rapid cooling of the Greater Himalayan Sequence,Annapurna Himalaya,Central Nepal: Insights from titanite petrochronology

The Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) has commonly been treated as a large coherently deforming high‐grade tectonic package, exhumed primarily by simultaneous thrust‐ and normal‐sense shearing on its bounding structures and erosion along its frontal exposure. A new paradigm, developed over the past decade, suggests that the GHS is not a single high‐grade lithotectonic unit, but consists of in‐sequence thrust sheets. In this study, we examine this concept in central Nepal by integrating temperature–time (T–t) paths, based on coupled Zr‐in‐titanite thermometry and U–Pb geochronology for upper GHS calcsilicates, with traditional thermobarometry, textural relationships and field mapping. Peak Zr‐in‐titanite temperatures are 760–850°C at 10–13 kbar, and U–Pb ages of titanite range from c. 30 to c. 15 Ma. Sector zoning of Zr and distribution of U–Pb ages within titanite suggest that diffusion rates of Zr and Pb are slower than experimentally determined rates, and these systems remain unaffected into the lower granulite facies. Two types of T–t paths occur across the Chame Shear Zone (CSZ). Between c. 25 and 17–16 Ma, hangingwall rocks cool at rates of 1–10°C/Ma, while footwall rocks heat at rates of 1–10°C/Ma. Over the same interval, temperatures increase structurally upwards through the hangingwall, but by 17–16 Ma temperatures converge. In contrast, temperatures decrease upwards in footwall rocks at all times. While the footwall is interpreted as an intact, structurally upright section, the thermometric inversion within the hangingwall suggests thrusting of hotter rocks over colder from c. 25 to c. 17–16 Ma. Retrograde hydration that is restricted to the hangingwall, and a lithological repetition of orthogneiss are consistent with thrust‐sense shear on the CSZ. The CSZ is structurally higher than previously identified intra‐GHS thrusts in central Nepal, and thrusting duration was 3–6 Ma longer than proposed for other intra‐GHS thrusts in this region. Cooling rates for both the hangingwall and footwall of the CSZ are comparable to or faster than rates for other intra‐GHS thrust sheets in Nepal. The overlap in high‐T titanite U–Pb ages and previously published muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages imply cooling rates for the hangingwall of ≥200°C/Ma after thrusting. Causes of rapid cooling include passive exhumation driven by a combination of duplexing in the Lesser Himalayan Sequence, and juxtaposition of cooler rocks on top of the GHS by the STDS. Normal‐sense displacement does not appear to affect T–t paths for rocks immediately below the STDS prior to 17–16 Ma.     

U‐Pb Geochronological and Thermochronological Time–Temperature Constraints of 40Ar/39Ar Hornblende Reference Material HB3gr

Hornblende from the Lone Grove Pluton, Llano Uplift, Texas, has served as an irradiation reference material in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies for decades. In order to evaluate the apparent age bias that currently exists between the U‐Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar systems, zircon and titanite were dated by isotope dilution‐thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID‐TIMS) from the same rock from which the hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar reference material HB3gr is derived. Zircon U‐Pb data indicate initial crystallisation at 1090.10 ± 0.16 Ma (2s), a date that is 1.7% older than the accepted K‐Ar date (1072 ± 14 Ma, 2s) for HB3gr; an offset that exceeds the typical 0.5–1% bias between the two systems, though remaining within uncertainty due to the large uncertainties in the ⁴⁰K decay constant. Zircon data are presented using both EARTHTIME tracers ET535 and ET2535 and are statistically indistinguishable. Single grain titanite analyses range between 1082 ± 0.75 and 1086 ± 0.81 Ma (2s) and are interpreted to record the subsequent cooling following crystallisation at rates between 30 and 50 °C Ma^?1. This is supported by the observation that hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates corrected for decay constant bias are resolvably younger than the zircon U‐Pb date and in good agreement with titanite U‐Pb dates, permitting the conclusion that both titanite U‐Pb and hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar systems provide a record of cooling.     

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.     

Petrogenetic relations among titanium‐rich minerals in an anatectic high‐P mafic granulite

The petrogenetic relations among Ti‐rich minerals in high‐grade metabasites is illuminated here through a detailed petrological investigation of an anatectic garnet–clinopyroxene granulite from the Grenville Province, Ontario, Canada containing rutile, titanite and ilmenite in distinct microtextural settings. Garnet porphyroblasts exhibit zoned Ti concentrations (up to 0.15 wt% TiO₂ in their cores), as well as a variety of rutile inclusion types, including clusters of small, variably elongate grains and thin (≤1 μm) oriented needles. Calcite inclusions in garnet, commonly observed surrounding garnet cores containing quartz and clinozoisite, indicate the presence of evolving C–O–H fluids during garnet growth and suggest that the rutile clusters may have formed from subsequent Ti diffusion and rutile precipitation within existing fluid inclusions. Titanite forms large subhedral crystals and typically occurs where the primary garnet–clinopyroxene assemblage is in contact with leucosome containing megacrystic hornblende, silvialitic scapolite and calcic plagioclase. Many titanite crystals exhibit marginal subgrains that correspond with sharp changes in their major and trace element composition, likely related to a dissolution–precipitation or recrystallization process following primary crystallization. Clinopyroxene–ilmenite symplectite coronas surround titanite in most locations, likely forming from reaction with the hornblende‐plagioclase matrix (±fluids/melt). Integration of multi‐equilibria thermobarometry and Zr thermometry in rutile and titanite with phase equilibrium modelling allows definition of a clockwise P–T path evolving to peak pressures of ~1.5 GPa at ~750°C during garnet and rutile growth, followed by peak temperature conditions of ~1.2 GPa and ~820–880°C associated with melt‐present titanite growth, and finally cooling and decompression to regional amphibolite facies conditions (~1.0 GPa and ~750°C) associated with the formation of clinopyroxene–ilmenite symplectites surrounding titanite. P–T pseudosections calculated for the pristine (leucosome‐ and titanite ‐free) metabasite bulk composition reproduce much of the prograde phase relations, but predict rutile as the stable Ti‐rich mineral at the peak thermal conditions associated with melt‐present titanite growth. The P–M(CaO) and T–M(CaO) models show that bulk CaO concentrations have a significant effect on the stability ranges of titanite and rutile. Increased bulk CaO tends to stabilize titanite to higher pressure and temperature at the expense of rutile, with a ≥15% increase in CaO producing the observed titanite‐bearing assemblage at high‐P granulite facies conditions. Thus, the model results are consistent with the textural observations, which suggest that titanite stability is associated with a chemical exchange between the host metabasite and a Ca‐rich melt.     

Behaviour of geochronometers and timing of metamorphic reactions during deformation at lower crustal conditions: phase equilibrium modelling and U–Pb dating of zircon,monazite, rutile and titanite from the Kalak Nappe Complex,northern Norway

This study investigates the behaviour of the geochronometers zircon, monazite, rutile and titanite in polyphase lower crustal rocks of the Kalak Nappe Complex, northern Norway. A pressure–temperature–time–deformation path is constructed by combining microstructural observations with P–T conditions derived from phase equilibrium modelling and U–Pb dating. The following tectonometamorphic evolution is deduced: A subvertical S1 fabric formed at ~730–775 °C and ~6.3–9.8 kbar, above the wet solidus in the sillimanite and kyanite stability fields. The event is dated at 702 ± 5 Ma by high‐U zircon in a leucosome. Monazite grains that grew in the S1 fabric show surprisingly little variation in chemical composition compared to a large spread in (concordant) U–Pb dates from c. 800 to 600 Ma. This age spread could either represent protracted growth of monazite during high‐grade metamorphism, or represent partially reset ages due to high‐T diffusion. Both cases imply that elevated temperatures of >600 °C persisted for over c. 200 Ma, indicating relatively static conditions at lower crustal levels for most of the Neoproterozoic. The S1 fabric was overprinted by a subhorizontal S2 fabric, which formed at ~600–660 °C and ~10–12 kbar. Rutile that originally grew during the S1‐forming event lost its Zr‐in‐rutile and U–Pb signatures during the S2‐forming event. It records Zr‐in‐rutile temperatures of 550–660 °C and Caledonian ages of 440–420 Ma. Titanite grew at the expense of rutile at slightly lower temperatures of ~550 °C during ongoing S2 deformation; U–Pb ages of c. 440–430 Ma date its crystallization, giving a minimum estimate for the age of Caledonian metamorphism and the duration of Caledonian shearing. This study shows that (i) monazite can have a large spread in U–Pb dates despite a homogeneous composition; (ii) rutile may lose its Zr‐in‐rutile and U–Pb signature during an amphibolite facies overprint; and (iii) titanite may record crystallization ages during retrograde shearing. Therefore, in order to correctly interpret U–Pb ages from different geochronometers in a polyphase deformation and reaction history, they are ideally combined with microstructural observations and phase equilibrium modelling to derive a complete P–T–t–d path.     

Slow cooling versus episodic fluid injections: Deciphering the Caledonian orogeny in Vestvågøy,Lofoten islands,Norway

The determination of the thermal (temperature–time) histories of high‐P metamorphic terranes has been commonly based on the concepts of slow cooling and closure temperatures. In this paper, we find that this approach cannot reconcile a geochronological data set obtained from the amphibolite‐facies allochthonous Leknes Group of the Lofoten islands, Norway, which reveals an extremely complex thermal history. Using detailed results from several different geochronometers such as ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar, Rb–Sr and U–Pb, we show that a model invoking multiple, short‐lived thermal pulses related to hot‐fluid infiltration channelized by shear zones can reconcile this complicated data set. This model suggests that hot fluids infiltrated throughout basement shear zones and affected the overlying cold allochthon, partially resetting U/Pb rutile and titanite ages, crystallizing new zircon and produced identical ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb/Sr ages in muscovite, biotite and amphibole in various rocks throughout the region. This paper shows the enormous potential of coupling laser Ar‐spot data with thermal modelling to identify and constrain the duration of short‐lived events. An optimal P–T–t history has been derived by modelling the age data from a previously dated large muscovite crystal (Hames & Andresen, 1996, Geology, 24 :1005) and using Zr‐in‐rutile thermometry which is consistent with all geochronological data and geological constraints from the basement zones and allochthon cover. This tectonothermal model history suggests that there have been three episodic hot‐fluid and ⁴⁰Ar‐free infiltration events, resulting in the total resetting of Ar ages during the Scandian (425 Ma) for 1 Ma at 650°C and two reheating events at 415 Ma for 400 ka at 650°C and at 365 Ma for 50 ka at 600°C, which are modelled as thermal spikes above an ambient temperature of 300°C. Independent confirmation of these parameters was provided by Pb‐diffusion modelling in rutile and titanite. The model suggests that the amphibolite facies rocks of the Leknes Group probably remained cold before being exhumed for at least 60 Ma (425–365 Ma) and successfully explains the presence of different minerals that crystallized or were totally/partially reset in the allochthon and in the basement. The migration of hot fluids for short periods of times within conduits extending through the basement and allochthon rock units is likely associated with episodic seismic activity during the Caledonian orogeny.     

Natural Titanite Reference Materials for In Situ U‐Pb and Sm‐Nd Isotopic Measurements by LA‐(MC)‐ICP‐MS

Titanite is a common accessory mineral that preferentially incorporates considerable amounts of U and light rare earth elements in its structure, making it a versatile mineral for in situ U‐Pb dating and Sm‐Nd isotopic measurement. Here, we present in situ U‐Pb ages and Sm‐Nd isotope measurement results for four well‐known titanite reference materials (Khan, BLR‐1, OLT1 and MKED1) and eight titanite crystals that could be considered potential reference material candidates (Ontario, YQ‐82, T3, T4, TLS‐36, NW‐IOA, Pakistan and C253), with ages ranging from ~ 20 Ma to ~ 1840 Ma. Results indicate that BLR‐1, OLT1, Ontario, MKED1 and T3 titanite have relatively homogeneous Sm‐Nd isotopes and low common Pb and thus can serve as primary reference materials for U‐Pb and Sm‐Nd microanalysis. YQ‐82 and T4 titanite can be used as secondary reference materials for in situ U‐Pb analysis because of their low common Pb. However, internal structures and mineral inclusions in YQ‐82 will require careful selection of suitable target domains. Pakistan titanite is almost concordant with an age of 21 Ma and can be used as a reference material when dating Cenozoic titanite samples.     

A Potential (U‐Th)/He Zircon Reference Material from Penglai Zircon Megacrysts

In this study (U‐Th)/He dating of the Penglai zircons, which occur as abundant megacrysts in Neogene alkaline basalts in northern Hainan Province, south‐eastern China, was undertaken. A weighted mean age of 4.06 ± 0.35 Ma (2s) with a mean square weighted deviation (MSWD) of 1.79 was obtained from eighteen fragments of four zircon megacrysts using single‐crystal laser fusion He determinations and the U‐Th isotope dilution (ID) method. The (U‐Th)/He ages are consistent, homogeneous and systematically slightly younger than the preferred ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 4.4 ± 0.1 Ma (95% confidence interval) determined by ID‐TIMS and subsequently published U‐Pb results. The U‐Pb isotopic system in zircon has a high closure temperature of ~ 900 °C, and the preferred U‐Pb age may record both the time since eruption and the zircon residence time in the magma chamber. In contrast, the closure temperature of the zircon (U‐Th)/He system is ~ 190 °C and the zircon megacrysts were brought quickly to the surface by the host basaltic magma. Thus, the (U‐Th)/He age represents the timing of the eruption. Based on the unlimited quantity, large grain size, mostly weak broad zoning, rapid cooling and homogenous (U‐Th)/He ages, we consider the Penglai zircons suitable for use as a reference material in (U‐Th)/He isotope geochronology.     

Microsampling Lu–Hf geochronology on mm‐sized garnet in eclogites constrains early garnet growth and timing of tectonometamorphism in the North Qilian orogenic belt

This study presents Lu–Hf geochronology of zoned garnet in high‐P eclogites from the North Qilian orogenic belt. Selected samples have ~mm‐sized garnet grains that have been sampled with a micro‐drill and analysed for dating. The Lu–Hf dates of bulk garnet separates, micro‐drilled garnet cores and the remnant, rim‐enriched garnet were determined by two‐point isochrons, with cores being consistently older than the bulk‐ and rim‐enriched garnet. The bulk garnet separates of each sample define identical garnet–whole rock isochron date of c. 457 Ma. Consistent U–Pb zircon dates of 455 ± 8 Ma were obtained from the eclogite. The Lu–Hf dates of the drilled cores and rim‐rich separates suggest a minimum garnet growth interval of 468.9 ± 2.4 and 452.1 ± 1.6 Ma. Major and Lu element profiles in the majority of garnet grains show well‐preserved Rayleigh‐style fractionated bell‐shaped Mn and Lu zoning profiles, and increasing Mg from core to rim. Pseudosection modelling indicates that garnet grew along a P–T path from ~470–525°C and ~2.4–2.6 GPa. The exceptional high‐Mn garnet core in one sample indicates an early growth during epidote–blueschist facies metamorphism at <460°C and <0.8 GPa. Therefore, the Lu–Hf dates of drilled cores record the early prograde garnet growth, whereas the Lu–Hf dates of rim‐rich fractions provide a maximum age for the end of garnet growth. The microsampling approach applied in this study can be broadly used in garnet‐bearing rocks, even those without extremely large garnet crystals, in an attempt to retrieve the early metamorphic timing recorded in older garnet cores. Given a proper selection of the drill bit size and a detailed crystal size distribution analysis, the cores of the mm‐sized garnet in most metamorphic rocks can be dated to yield critical constraints on the early timing of metamorphism. This study provides new crucial constraints on the timing of the initial subduction (before c. 469 Ma) and the ultimate closure (earlier than c. 452 Ma) of the fossil Qilian oceanic basin.     

Ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism in the Tuguiwula area,Khondalite Belt,North China Craton

In this study, sapphirine‐bearing granulites and sapphirine‐absent garnet–sillimanite gneisses from the Tuguiwula area in the eastern segment of the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton (NCC) are interpreted to show a P–T evolution involving cooling at pressures of 8–9 kbar from >960°C to the solidus (~820°C) and late subsolidus decompression. This interpretation is based on the sequence of mineral appearance and thermodynamic modelling of phase equilibria. Sapphirine is observed to coexist with spinel within the peak assemblages. This observation conflicts with the traditional view that spinel generally appears prior to sapphirine and thus indicates pre‐T_max compression. For ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT) metapelites at Tuguiwula, a clockwise P–T path may be more likely, which would be consistent with the clockwise P–T evolution of the extensive “normal” granulites (T_max <900°C) and UHT granulites at other localities in the eastern segment of the Khondalite Belt. At Tuguiwula, for UHT metapelites with low bulk‐rock Mg/(Mg+Fe^T), the oxidation state/Fe³⁺ content is interpreted to be a significant factor in controlling the mineral assemblages. We find that these compositions tend to contain sapphirine under oxidized conditions but spinel (without sapphirine) under reduced conditions. This difference may account for the simultaneous presence of both sapphirine‐bearing UHT granulites and sapphirine‐absent garnet–sillimanite UHT gneisses at Tuguiwula. LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb dating of metamorphic zircon in the UHT metapelites yields mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of c. 1.92 Ga (two samples), which are interpreted to record the timing of cooling of the UHT rocks to the solidus. The UHT metamorphism is interpreted to have been generated by mantle upwelling and emplacement of mafic magmas within a post‐orogenic setting.     

Pseudosection modelling and garnet Lu–Hf geochronology of HP amphibole schists constrain the closure of an ocean basin between the northern and southern Lhasa blocks,central Tibet

The P–T–t path of high‐P metamorphic rocks in subduction zones may reveal valuable information regarding the tectonic processes along convergent plate boundaries. Herein, we present a detailed petrological, pseudosection modelling and radiometric dating study of several amphibole schists of oceanic affinity from the Lhasa Block, Tibet. The amphibole schists experienced an overall clockwise P–T path that was marked by post‐P_max heating–decompression and subsequent isothermal decompression following the attainment of peak high‐P and low‐T conditions (~490°C and 1.6 GPa). Pseudosection modelling shows that the amphibole schists underwent water‐unsaturated conditions during prograde metamorphism, and the stability field of the assemblage extends to lower temperatures and higher pressures within the water‐unsaturated condition relative to water‐saturated model along the prograde path. The high‐P amphibole schists were highly reduced during retrograde metamorphism. Precise evaluation of the ferric iron conditions determined from the different compositions of epidote inclusions in garnet and matrix epidote is crucial for a true P–T estimate by garnet isopleth thermobarometry. Lu–Hf isotope analyses on garnet size separates from a garnet‐bearing amphibole schist yield four two‐point garnet–whole‐rock isochron ages from 228.2 ± 1.2 Ma to 224.3 ± 1.2 Ma. These Lu–Hf dates are interpreted to constrain the period of garnet growth and approximate the timing of prograde metamorphism because of the low peak metamorphic temperature of the rock and the well‐preserved Mn/Lu growth zoning in garnet. The majority of zircon U–Pb dates provide no constraints on the timing of metamorphism; however, two concordant U–Pb dates of 222.4 ± 3.9 Ma and 223.3 ± 4.2 Ma were obtained from narrow and uncommon metamorphic rims. Coexistence of zircon and sphene in the samples implies that the metamorphic zircon growth was likely assisted by retrogression of rutile to sphene during exhumation. The near coincident radiometric dates of zircon U–Pb and garnet Lu–Hf indicate rapid burial and exhumation of the amphibole schists, suggesting a closure time of c. 224–223 Ma for the fossil ocean basin between the northern and southern Lhasa blocks.     

Mud Tank Zircon: Long‐Term Evaluation of a Reference Material for U‐Pb Dating,Hf‐Isotope Analysis and Trace Element Analysis

Zircon megacrysts from the Mud Tank carbonatite, Australia, are being used in many laboratories as a reference material for LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb dating and trace element measurement, and LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS determination of Hf isotopes. We summarise a database of > 10000 analyses of Mud Tank zircon (MTZ), collected from 2000 to 2018 during its use as a secondary reference material for simultaneous U‐Pb and trace element analysis, and for Hf‐isotope analysis. Trace element mass fractions are highest in dark red‐brown stones and lowest in colourless and gem‐quality ones. Individual unzoned grains can be chemically homogeneous, while significant variations in trace element mass fraction are associated with oscillatory zoning. Chondrite‐normalised trace element patterns are essentially parallel over large mass fraction ranges. A Concordia age of 731.0 ± 0.2 Ma (2s, n = 2272) is taken as the age of crystallisation. Some grains show lower concordant to mildly discordant ages, probably reflecting minor Pb loss associated with cooling and the Alice Springs Orogeny (450–300 Ma). Our weighted mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf is 0.282523 ± 10 (2s, n = 9350); the uncertainties on this ratio reflect some heterogeneity, mainly between grains. A few analyses suggest that colourless grains have generally lower ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf. MTZ is a useful secondary reference material for U‐Pb and Hf‐isotope analysis, but individual grains need to be carefully selected using CL imaging and tested for homogeneity, and ideally should be standardised by solution analysis.     

GHR1 Zircon – A New Eocene Natural Reference Material for Microbeam U‐Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotopic Analysis of Zircon

We present multitechnique U‐Pb geochronology and Hf isotopic data from zircon separated from rapakivi biotite granite within the Eocene Golden Horn batholith in Washington, USA. A weighted mean of twenty‐five Th‐corrected ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U zircon dates produced at two independent laboratories using chemical abrasion‐isotope dilution‐thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (CA‐ID‐TIMS) is 48.106 ± 0.023 Ma (2s analytical including tracer uncertainties, MSWD = 1.53) and is our recommended date for GHR1 zircon. Microbeam ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U dates from laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) laboratories are reproducible and in agreement with the CA‐ID‐TIMS date to within < 1.5%. Solution multi‐collector ICP‐MS (MC‐ICP‐MS) measurements of Hf isotopes from chemically purified aliquots of GHR1 yield a mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf of 0.283050 ± 17 (2s, n = 10), corresponding to a εHf₀ of +9.3. Hafnium isotopic measurements from two LA‐ICP‐MS laboratories are in agreement with the solution MC‐ICP‐MS value. The reproducibility of ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U and ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios from GHR1 zircon across a variety of measurement techniques demonstrates their homogeneity in most grains. Additionally, the effectively limitless reserves of GHR1 material from an accessible exposure suggest that GHR1 can provide a useful reference material for U‐Pb geochronology of Cenozoic zircon and Hf isotopic measurements of zircon with radiogenic ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf.     

High‐T and low‐P metamorphism in the Xilingol Complex of central Inner Mongolia,China: An indicator of extension in a previous orogeny

The Xilingol Complex comprises biotite gneisses and amphibolite interlayers with extensive migmatization. Four representative samples were documented and found to record either two or three metamorphic stages. Phase modelling using thermocalc suggests that the observed assemblages represent the final stages that underwent cooling from temperature peaks, and are consistent with a fluid‐absent solidus in P–T pseudosections. Their P–T conditions are further constrained to be 5–6 kbar/680–725°C and 4–5 kbar/650–680°C for two garnet‐bearing gneiss samples, 4–5 kbar/660–730°C for a cordierite‐bearing gneiss sample, and 4–5 kbar/680–710°C for an amphibolite sample based on mineral composition isopleths, involving measured Mg content in biotite, anorthite in plagioclase, grossular and pyrope in garnet and Ti content in amphibole. The peak temperature conditions recovered are 760–790°C or >760°C at 5–6 kbar based on the composition isopleths of plagioclase, biotite, garnet and especially the comparison of melt contents between the calculated and observed. A pre‐peak heating process with slight decompression can be suggested for some samples on the basis of the core–rim increase in the plagioclase anorthite, and the stability of ilmenite. Zircon U–Pb dating using the LA‐ICP‐MS method provides systemic constraints on the metamorphic ages of the Xilingol Complex to be 348–305 Ma, interpreted to represent the post‐peak cooling stages. Moreover, metagabbroic dykes that intruded into the Xilingol Complex yield 317 ± 3 Ma from magmatic zircon, and are considered to have played a significant role for heat advection triggering the high‐T and low‐P metamorphism. Thus, the clockwise P–T paths involving pre‐peak heating, peak and post‐peak cooling recovered for the Xilingol Complex are consistent with an extensional setting in the Carboniferous that developed on a previous orogen in response to addition of mantle‐derived materials probably together with upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle.     

Metamorphic petrology of a high‐T/low‐P granulite terrane (Damara belt,Namibia) – Constraints from pseudosection modelling and high‐precision Lu–Hf garnet‐whole rock dating

Migmatites comprise a minor volume of the high‐grade part of the Damara orogen of Namibia that is dominated by granite complexes and intercalated metasedimentary units. Migmatites of the Southern Central Zone of the Damara orogen consist of melanosomes with garnet+cordierite+biotite+K‐feldspar, and leucosomes, which are sometimes garnet‐ and cordierite‐bearing. Field evidence, petrographic observations, and pseudosection modelling suggest that, in contrast to other areas where intrusion of granitic magmas is more important, in situ partial melting of metasedimentary units was the main migmatite generation processes. Pseudosection modelling and thermobarometric calculations consistently indicate that the peak‐metamorphic grade throughout the area is in the granulite facies (~5 kbar at ~800°C). Cordierite coronas around garnet suggest some decompression from peak‐metamorphic conditions and rare andalusite records late, near‐isobaric cooling to <650°C at low pressures of ~3 kbar. The inferred clockwise P–T path is consistent with minor crustal thickening through continent–continent collision followed by limited post‐collisional exhumation and suggests that the granulite facies terrane of the Southern Central Zone of the Damara orogen formed initially in a metamorphic field gradient of ~35–40°C/km at medium pressures. New high‐precision Lu–Hf garnet‐whole rock dates are 530 ± 13 Ma, 522.0 ± 0.8 Ma, 520.8 ± 3.6 Ma, and 500.3 ± 4.3 Ma for the migmatites that record temperatures of ~800°C. This indicates that high‐grade metamorphism lasted for c. 20–30 Ma, which is compatible with previous estimates using Sm–Nd garnet‐whole rock systematics. In previous studies on Damara orogen migmatites where both Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf chronometers have been applied, the dates (c. 520–510 Ma) agree within their small uncertainties (0.6–0.8% for Sm–Nd and 0.1–0.2% for Lu–Hf). This implies rapid cooling after high‐grade conditions and, by implication, rapid exhumation at that time. The cause of the high geothermal gradient inferred from the metamorphic conditions is unknown but likely requires some extra heat that was probably added by intrusion of magmas from the lithospheric mantle, i.e., syenites that have been recently re‐dated at c. 545 Ma. Some granites derived from the lower crust at c. 545 Ma are the outcome rather than the cause of high‐T metamorphism. In addition, high contents of heat‐producing elements K, Th, and U may have raised peak temperatures by 150–200°C at the base of the crust, resulting in the widespread melting of fertile crustal rocks. The continuous gradation from centimetre‐scale leucosomes to decametre‐scale leucogranite sheets within the high‐grade metamorphic zone suggests that leucosome lenses coalesced to form larger bodies of anatectic leucogranites, thereby documenting a link between high‐grade regional metamorphism and Pan‐African magmatism. In view of the close association of the studied high‐T migmatites with hundreds of synmetamorphic high‐T granites that invaded the terrane as metre‐ to decametre‐wide sills and dykes, we postulate that crystallization of felsic lower crustal magma is, at least partly, responsible for heat supply. Late‐stage isobaric cooling of these granites may explain the occurrence of andalusite in some samples.     

U–Pb isotopic constraints on diachronous metamorphism in the northern Monashee complex, southern Canadian Cordillera

U–Pb isotopic data from the northern Monashee complex, one of the deepest structural exposures in the southern Canadian Cordillera, indicate that the age of metamorphism varies according to structural position in a 6 km thick section. This metamorphism resulted in an unusual sequence in which rocks with the lowest-grade mineral assemblage (kyanite–sillimanite–staurolite–muscovite) are underlain and overlain by higher-grade rocks. Xenotime and monazite U–Pb dates vary progressively from 64 Ma in the structurally highest rocks to 49 Ma in the deepest rocks. Discordant U–Pb ages from Proterozoic and Cretaceous monazite and titanite are used to interpret the thermal significance of the early Tertiary dates. The discordant analyses define linear arrays with lower intercepts that broadly overlap with early Tertiary, and the amount of discordance varies with structural level; it is least in the deeper rocks and greatest in higher rocks. Electron microprobe work showed that the monazite discordance in the deeper rocks resulted from Tertiary mineral overgrowth and recrystallization rather than Pb diffusion. We use previous studies of Pb diffusion and the fact that Proterozoic monazite and titanite suffered only negligible to moderate amounts of diffusive Pb loss to contend that elevated temperatures (c. 600–650 °C are inferred from pelitic mineral assemblages) existed in the deeper rocks for a short duration, perhaps a few million years. The downwards younging 64–49 Ma U–Pb dates are interpreted as closely reflecting xenotime and monazite growth ages rather than cooling ages or substantially reset ages based on the lack of Pb diffusion in monazite and the previously obtained ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data which suggest that rapid cooling occurred immediately after the U–Pb dates. In addition, growth ages are interpreted as thermal peak ages based on U–Pb dates from coeval kyanite-bearing leucosomes, the consistent nature of the U–Pb dates throughout the study area, and petrographic relationships which suggest that monazite grew before or during development of the syn-metamorphic foliation. These interpretations lead us to conclude that metamorphism was diachronous according to structural level, with higher rocks attaining peak temperatures and cooling rapidly while deeper rocks were heating towards a thermal peak that was attained a few million years later. This thermal scenario requires that higher rocks cannot have been the heat source for the deeper metamorphism, as was previously proposed.     

Duration of high-pressure metamorphism and cooling during the intraplate Petermann Orogeny

The Ediacaran–Cambrian Petermann Orogeny, central Australia, is an exceptional example of intraplate orogenesis. It involved sub-eclogite facies metamorphism and extreme basin inversion during the exhumation of Musgrave Province basement from beneath the formerly contiguous Centralian Superbasin. Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb geochronology of zircon, titanite and rutile, along with Ti-in-zircon thermometry from meta-igneous samples, have been used to determine the timing and duration of high-pressure metamorphism and subsequent cooling associated with this orogenic event. Peak metamorphic temperatures of 720–760 °C were attained at 544 ± 7 Ma (U–Pb zircon). Subsequent cooling to 600–660 °C by ~ 521 Ma occurred at a rate of ~ 2.6–7.0 °C Myr^− 1, as recorded by the closure of Pb diffusion in titanite. Further cooling to 585–560 °C by 498–472 Ma occurred at a rate of 0.9–4.8 °C Myr^− 1, as recorded by Pb closure in rutile. The duration of tectonism was long-lived (> 40 Myr) across the central and western parts of the orogenic system, and deformation occurred in a comparatively warm and weak portion of crust, characterised by regional thermal gradients of 17–26 °C km^− 1. This proposed duration of tectonism is much longer than that permitted by a shear heating mechanism, which requires an exceptionally short duration of tectonism, and additionally, an overall cold lithosphere characterised by geothermal gradients of ~ 9 °C km^− 1.     

Ultrafast, > 50 Hz LA‐ICP‐MS Spot Analysis Applied to U–Pb Dating of Zircon and other U‐Bearing Minerals

LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb detrital zircon studies typically analyse 50–200 grains per sample, with the consequent risk that minor but geologically important age components (e.g., the youngest detrital zircon population) are not detected, and higher abundance age components are misrepresented, rendering quantitative comparisons between samples impossible. This study undertook rapid U–Pb LA‐ICP‐MS analyses (8 s per 18–47 μm diameter spot including baseline and ablation) of zircon, apatite, rutile and titanite using an aerosol rapid introduction system (ARIS). As the ARIS resolves individual single pulses at fast sampling rates, spot analyses require a high repetition rate (> 50 Hz) so the signal does not return to baseline and mass sweep times (> 80 ms) that span several laser pulses (i.e., major undersampling of the signal). All rapid U–Pb spot analyses employed 250–300 pulses, repetition rates of 53–65 Hz (total ablation times of 4.1–5.7 s) and low fluence (1.75–2.5 J cm^?2), resulting in pit depths of ca. 15 μm. Zircon, apatite, rutile and titanite reference material data yield an accuracy and precision (2s) of < 1% for pre‐Cenozoic reference materials and < 2% for younger reference materials. We present a detrital zircon data set from a Neoproterozoic tillite where > 1000 grains were analysed in < 3 h with a precision and accuracy comparable to conventional LA‐ICP‐MS analytical protocols, demonstrating the rapid acquisition of huge detrital data sets.     

SA01 – A Proposed Zircon Reference Material for Microbeam U‐Pb Age and Hf‐O Isotopic Determination

A new natural zircon reference material SA01 is introduced for U‐Pb geochronology as well as O and Hf isotope geochemistry by microbeam techniques. The zircon megacryst is homogeneous with respect to U‐Pb, O and Hf isotopes based on a large number of measurements by laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (CA‐ID‐TIMS) U‐Pb isotopic analyses produced a mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 535.08 ± 0.32 Ma (2s, n = 10). Results of SIMS and LA‐ICP‐MS analyses on individual shards are consistent with the TIMS ages within uncertainty. The δ¹⁸O value determined by laser fluorination is 6.16 ± 0.26‰ (2s, n = 14), and the mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratio determined by solution MC‐ICP‐MS is 0.282293 ± 0.000007 (2s, n = 30), which are in good agreement with the statistical mean of microbeam analyses. The megacryst is characterised by significant localised variations in Th/U ratio (0.328–4.269) and Li isotopic ratio (?5.5 to +7.9‰); the latter makes it unsuitable as a lithium isotope reference material.     

Crustal response to continental collisions between the Tibet, Indian, South China and North China Blocks: geochronological constraints from the Songpan-Garzê Orogenic Belt, western China

We report SHRIMP U–Th–Pb monazite, conventional U–Pb titanite, Sm–Nd garnet and Rb–Sr muscovite and biotite ages for metamorphic rocks from the Danba Domal Metamorphic Terrane in the eastern Songpan‐Garzê Orogenic Belt (eastern Tibet Plateau). These ages are used to determine the timing of polyphase metamorphic events and the subsequent cooling history. The oldest U–Th–Pb monazite and Sm–Nd garnet ages constrain an early Barrovian metamorphism (M1) in the interval c. 204–190 Ma, coincident with extensive Indosinian granitic magmatism throughout the Songpan‐Garzê Orogenic Belt. A second, higher‐grade sillimanite‐grade metamorphic event (M2), recorded only in the northern part of the Danba terrane, was dated at c. 168–158 Ma by a combination of U–Th–Pb monazite and titanite and Sm–Nd garnet ages. It is suggested that M1 was a thermal event that affected the entire orogenic belt while M2 may represent a local thermal perturbation. Rb–Sr muscovite ages range from c. 138–100 Ma, whereas Rb–Sr biotite ages cluster at c. 34–24 Ma. These ages document regional cooling at rates of c. 2–3 °C Myr^?1 following the M1 peak for most of the terrane. However, those parts of the terrane affected by the higher‐temperature M2 event (e.g. the migmatite zone) experienced initially more rapid (c. 8 °C Myr^?1) cooling after peak M2 before joining the regional slow cooling path defined by the rest of the terrane at c. 138 Ma. Regional slow cooling between c. 138 and c. 30 Ma is thought to be the result of post‐tectonic isostatic uplift after extensive crustal thickening caused by collision of the South and North China Blocks. The clustering of biotite Rb–Sr ages marks the onset of rapid uplift across the entire terrane commencing at c. 30–20 Ma. This cooling history is shared with many other regions of the Tibet Plateau, suggesting that uplift of the Tibet Plateau (including the Songpan‐Garzê Orogenic Belt) occurred predominantly in the last c. 30 Myr as a response to the continuing northwards collision of India with Eurasia.