Alpine metamorphic evolution and cooling history of the Veporic basement in northern Hungary: new petrological and geochronological constraints

Petrological and geochronological investigations were carried out on metamorphic rocks of the Veporic unit (Inner Western Carpathians) in northern Hungary. K/Ar and Ar/Ar data on micas and amphibole show only Alpine ages (mostly in the range of 87-95 Ma) in this basement unit. Thermobarometric calculations yield lower amphibolite facies peak conditions (ca. 550냴 °C and 9ǃ kbar) for the Eoalpine metamorphic event. Complex evolution of gneissic rocks is reflected by the presence of discontinuously zoned garnets, the cores of which may represent relics of a pre-Alpine (presumably Variscan) thermal event. Zircon fission track (FT) data in the narrow range of 75-77.5 Ma indicate that this portion of the Veporic unit was emplaced to shallow crustal levels already during the Senonian time. The relative minor difference between zircon FT and K/Ar or Ar/Ar ages suggests very rapid cooling during the Late Cretaceous, most probably related to the extensional unroofing of the Veporic core complex. The obtained cooling ages do not support previous models of Tertiary uplift and exhumation of the Veporic unit along the Hurbanovo-Diósjeni Line.     

Influence of dissolution/reprecipitation reactions on metamorphic greenschist to amphibolite facies mica 40Ar/39Ar ages in the Longmen Shan (eastern Tibet)

Linking ages to metamorphic stages in rocks that have experienced low‐ to medium‐grade metamorphism can be particularly tricky due to the rarity of index minerals and the preservation of mineral or compositional relicts. The timing of metamorphism and the Mesozoic exhumation of the metasedimentary units and crystalline basement that form the internal part of the Longmen Shan (eastern Tibet, Sichuan, China), are, for these reasons, still largely unconstrained, but crucial for understanding the regional tectonic evolution of eastern Tibet. In situ core‐rim ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite and U–Th/Pb allanite data show that amphibolite facies conditions (~10–11 kbar, 530°C to 6–7 kbar, 580°C) were reached at 210–180 Ma and that biotite records crystallization, rather than cooling, ages. These conditions are mainly recorded in the metasedimentary cover. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages obtained from matrix muscovite that partially re‐equilibrated during the post peak‐P metamorphic history comprise a mixture of ages between that of early prograde muscovite relicts and the timing of late muscovite recrystallization at c. 140–120 Ma. This event marks a previously poorly documented greenschist facies metamorphic overprint. This latest stage is also recorded in the crystalline basement, and defines the timing of the greenschist overprint (7 ± 1 kbar, 370 ± 35°C). Numerical models of Ar diffusion show that the difference between ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite and muscovite ages cannot be explained by a slow and protracted cooling in an open system. The model and petrological results rather suggest that biotite and muscovite experienced different Ar retention and resetting histories. The Ar record in mica of the studied low‐ to medium‐grade rocks seems to be mainly controlled by dissolution–reprecipitation processes rather than by diffusive loss, and by different microstructural positions in the sample. Together, our data show that the metasedimentary cover was thickened and cooled independently from the basement prior to c. 140 Ma (with a relatively fast cooling at 4.5 ± 0.5°C/Ma between 185 and 140 Ma). Since the Lower Cretaceous, the metasedimentary cover and the crystalline basement experienced a coherent history during which both were partially exhumed. The Mesozoic history of the Eastern border of the Tibetan plateau is therefore complex and polyphase, and the basement was actively involved at least since the Early Cretaceous, changing our perspective on the contribution of the Cenozoic geology.     

Cretaceous evolution of a metamorphic core complex,the Veporic unit,Western Carpathians (Slovakia): P–T conditions and in situ40Ar/39Ar UV laser probe dating of metapelites

Alpine metamorphism, related to the development of a metamorphic core complex during Cretaceous orogenic events, has been recognized in the Veporic unit, Western Carpathians (Slovakia). Three metamorphic zones have been distinguished in the metapelites: 1, chloritoid + chlorite + garnet; 2, garnet + staurolite + chlorite; 3, staurolite + biotite + kyanite. The isograds separating the metamorphic zones have been modelled by discontinuous reactions in the system K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (KFMASH). The isograds are roughly parallel to the north‐east‐dipping foliation related to extensional updoming along low‐angle normal faults. Thermobarometric data document increasing P–T conditions from c. 500 °C and 7–8 kbar to c. 620 °C and 9–10 kbar, reflecting a coherent metamorphic field gradient from greenschist to middle amphibolite facies. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data obtained by high spatial resolution in situ ultraviolet (UV) laser ablation of white micas from the rock slabs constrain the timing of cooling and exhumation in the Late Cretaceous. Mean dates are between 77 and 72 Ma; however, individual white mica grains record a range of apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicating that cooling below the blocking temperature for argon diffusion was not instantaneous. The reconstructed metamorphic P–T–t path is ‘clockwise’, reflecting post‐burial decompression and cooling during a single Alpine orogenic cycle. The presented data suggest that the Veporic unit evolved as a metamorphic core complex during the Cretaceous growth of the Western Carpathian orogenic wedge. Metamorphism was related to collisional crustal shortening and stacking, following closure of the Meliata Ocean. Exhumation was accomplished by synorogenic (orogen‐parallel) extension and unroofing in an overall compressive regime.     

P–T–t evolution of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit in Western Anatolia/Turkey: Geodynamic implications for the Aegean region

Eclogite and blueschist facies rocks occurring as a tectonic unit between the underlying Menderes Massif (MM) and the overlying Afyon Zone/Lycian Nappes and the Bornova Flysch Zone in western Anatolia represent the eastward continuation of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit (CBU) in Turkey. This high-P unit is attributed to the closure of the Pindos Ocean and consists of (a) a Triassic to Upper Cretaceous coherent series derived from passive continental margin sediments and (b) the tectonically overlying Upper Cretaceous Selçuk mélange with eclogite blocks embedded in a pelitic epidote-blueschist matrix. The coherent series has experienced epidote-blueschist facies metamorphism (490 ± 25°C/11.5 ± 1.5 kbar; 38 km depth). ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar white mica and ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U monazite dating of quartz metaconglomerate from coherent series yielded middle Eocene ages of 44 ± 0.3 and 40.1 ± 3.1 Ma for epidote-blueschist facies metamorphism, respectively. The epidote-blueschist facies metamorphism of the matrix of the Selçuk mélange culminates at 520 ± 15°C/13 ± 1.5 kbar, 43 km depth, and is dated at 57.5 ± 0.3–54.5 ± 0.1 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar phengite). Eclogite facies metamorphism of the blocks (570 ± 30°C/18 ± 2 kbar, 60 km depth) is early Eocene and dated at 56.2 ± 1.5 Ma by ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U zircon. Eclogites experienced a nearly isothermal retrogression (490 ± 40°C/~6 to 7 kbar) during their incorporation into the Selçuk mélange. The retrograde overprints of the coherent series (410 ± 15°C/7 ± 1.5 kbar from Dilek Peninsula and 485 ± 33°C/~6 to 7 kbar from Selçuk–Tire area) and the Selçuk mélange (510 ± 15°C/6 ± 1 kbar) are dated at 35.8 ± 0.5–34.3 ± 0.1 Ma by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar white mica and 31.6 ± 6.6 Ma by ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U allanite dating methods, respectively. Regional geological constrains reveal that the contact between the MM and the CBU originally formed a lithosphere-scale transform fault zone. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar white mica age from the contact indicates that the CBU and the MM were tectonically juxtaposed under greenschist facies conditions during late Eocene, 35.1 ± 0.3 Ma.     

Thermal and mechanical behaviour of the orogenic middle crust during the syn‐ to late‐orogenic evolution of the Variscan root zone,Bohemian Massif

We combine structural observations, petrological data and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages for a stack of amphibolite facies metasedimentary units that rims high‐P (HP) granulite facies felsic bodies exposed in the southern Bohemian Massif. The partly migmatitic Varied and Monotonous units, and the underlying Kaplice unit, show a continuity of structures that are also observed in the adjacent Blanský les HP granulite body. They all exhibit an earlier NE?SW striking and steeply NW‐dipping foliation (S3), which is transposed into a moderately NW‐dipping foliation (S4). In both the Varied and Monotonous units, the S3 and S4 foliations are characterized by a Sil–Bt–Pl–Kfs–Qtz–Ilm±Grt assemblage, with occurrences of post‐D4 andalusite, cordierite and muscovite. In the Monotonous unit, minute inclusions of garnet, kyanite, sillimanite and biotite are additionally found in plagioclase from a probable leucosome parallel to S3. The Kaplice unit shows rare staurolite and kyanite relicts, a Sil–Ms–Bt–Pl–Qtz±Grt assemblage associated with S3, retrogressed garnet?staurolite aggregates during the development of S4, and post‐D4 andalusite, cordierite and secondary muscovite. Mineral equilibria modelling for representative samples indicates that the Varied unit records conditions higher than ~7 kbar at 725 °C during the transition from S3 to S4, followed by a P?T decrease from ~5.5 kbar/750 °C to ~4.5 kbar/700 °C. The Monotonous unit shows evidence of partial melting in the S3 fabric at P?T above ~8 kbar at 740–830 °C and a subsequent P?T decrease to 4.5–5 kbar/700 °C. The Kaplice unit preserves an initial medium‐P prograde path associated with the development of S3 reaching peak P?T of ~6.5 kbar/640 °C. The subsequent retrograde path records 4.5 kbar/660 °C during the development of S4. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar geochronology shows that amphibole and biotite ages cluster at c. 340 Ma close to the HP granulite, whereas adjacent metasedimentary rocks preserve c. 340 Ma amphibole ages, but biotite and muscovite ages range between c. 318 and c. 300 Ma. The P?T conditions associated with S3 imply an overturned section of the orogenic middle crust. The shared structural evolution indicates that all mid‐crustal units are involved in the large‐scale folding cored by HP granulites. The retrograde P–T paths associated with S4 are interpreted as a result of a ductile thinning of the orogenic crust at a mid‐crustal level. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages overlap with U–Pb zircon ages in and around the HP granulite bodies, suggesting a short duration for the ductile thinning event. The post‐ductile thinning late‐orogenic emplacement of the South Bohemian plutonic complex is responsible for a re‐heating of the stacked units, reopening of argon system in mica and a tilting of the S4 foliation to its present‐day orientation.     

Metamorphic stages in mountain belts during a Wilson cycle: A case study in the central Sanandaj–Sirjan zone (Zagros Mountains,Iran)

Polymetamorphic units are important constituents of continent–continent collisional orogens, and rift metamorphic assemblages are often overprinted by subsequent metamorphism during subduction and collision. This study reports the metamorphic conditions and evolution of the Dorud–Azna metamorphic units in the central part of the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone (SSZ), Iran. Here, new geothermobarometry results are integrated with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mineral and Th–U–Pb monazite and thorite ages to provide new insight of polyphase metamorphism in the two different basement units of the SSZ, the lower Galeh-Doz orthogneiss and higher Amphibolite-Metagabbro units. In the Amphibolite-Metagabbro unit, staurolite micaschist underwent a prograde P–T evolution from 640 ± 20 °C/6.2 ± 0.8 kbar in garnet cores (M1) to 680 ± 20 °C/7.2 ± 1.0 kbar in garnet rims (M2). Three Th–U–Pb monazite ages of 306 ± 5 Ma, 322 ± 28 Ma and 336 ± 39 Ma from the garnet-micaschists testify the Carboniferous age of M1 metamorphism. In the same unit, the metagabbro records P–T conditions of 4.0 ± 0.8 kbar and 580 ± 50 °C in the (magmatic) amphibole core (Late Carboniferous intrusion) to 7.5 ± 0.7 kbar and 700 ± 20 °C in the amphibole rim indicating a prograde P–T path during subsequent burial (M1). New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of white mica from the staurolite micaschist yielded a staircase pattern ranging from 36 ± 12 Ma to 170 ± 2 Ma. This implies polymetamorphism with a minimum Late Jurassic cooling age through the Ar retention temperature of ca. 425 ± 25 °C after M2 metamorphism and a Paleogene low-grade metamorphic overprint (M3), while ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar white mica dating of garnet micaschist yielded a plateau age of 137.84 ± 0.65 Ma. We therefore interpret the amphibolite-grade metamorphism M2 to have predated 170 Ma and is likely between 180 and 200 Ma. Furthermore, it is overprinted at about 36 Ma under retrogressive low-grade M3 metamorphism (at temperatures of ~350–240 °C) during final shortening and exhumation. In the underlying Galeh-Doz unit, the Panafrican granitic orthogneiss intruded at P–T conditions of 3.2 ± 4 kbar and 700 ± 20 °C, then it was metamorphosed and deformed at 600 ± 50 °C and 2.0 ± 0.8 kbar (metamorphic stage M1) prior to Late Carboniferous intrusion of mafic dikes. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of amphibole from the Galeh-Doz orthogneiss gave plateau-like steps between 260 and 270 Ma, representing the age of cooling through ca. 500 °C after the M1 metamorphic event. Interestingly, the results of this study demonstrate polyphase metamorphic histories in both the Galeh-Doz orthogneiss and Amphibolite-Metagabbro units at different P–T conditions and final thick-skinned Paleogene emplacement of these units over the underlying low-grade metamorphic June Complex. Our findings suggest that both units are affected by high-T/low-P Late Carboniferous orogenic metamorphism along with the bimodal magmatism, as result of rifting. We propose that the Early Jurassic amphibolite-grade M2 metamorphism of the SSZ is correlated with the initial subduction of the Neotethyan Ocean. Eventually, the investigated units reflect various stages of a Wilson cycle, from rifting to initiation of the subduction in final plate collision.     

Tectonic evolution of Proterozoic rocks in the Cimarron Mountains, northern New Mexico, USA

Abstract Portions of three Proterozoic tectonostratigraphic sequences are exposed in the Cimarron Mountains of New Mexico. The Cimarron River tectonic unit has affinities to a convergent margin plutonic/volcanic complex. Igneous hornblende from a quartz diorite stock records an emplacement pressure of 2–2.6 kbar. Rocks within this unit were subsequently deformed during a greenschist facies regional metamorphism at 4–5 kbar and 330 ± 50° C. The Tolby Meadow tectonic unit consists of quartzite and schist. Mineral assemblages are indicative of regional metamorphism at pressures near 4 kbar and temperatures of 520 ± 20° C. A low-angle ductile shear zone separates this succession from gneisses of the structurally underlying Eagle Nest tectonic unit. Gneissic granite yields hornblende pressures of 6–8 kbar. Pelitic gneiss records regional metamorphic conditions of 6–7 kbar and 705 ± 15° C, overprinted by retrogression at 4 kbar and 530 ± 10° C. Comparison of metamorphic and retrograde conditions indicates a P–T path dominated by decompression and cooling. The low-angle ductile shear zone represents an extensional structure which was active during metamorphism. This extension juxtaposed the Tolby Meadow and Eagle Nest units at 4 kbar and 520° C. Both units were later overprinted by folding and low-grade metamorphism, and then were emplaced against the Cimarron River tectonic unit by right-slip movement along the steeply dipping Fowler Pass shear zone. An argon isotope-correlation age obtained from igneous hornblende dates plutonism in the Cimarron River unit at 1678 Ma. Muscovite associated with the greenschist facies metamorphic overprint yields a ⁴⁰ Ar/³⁹ Ar plateau age of 1350 Ma. By contrast, rocks within the Tolby Meadow and Eagle Nest units yield significantly younger argon cooling ages. Hornblende isotope-correlation ages of 1394–1398 Ma are interpreted to date cooling during middle Proterozoic extension. Muscovite plateau ages of 1267–1257 Ma appear to date cooling from the low-grade metamorphic overprint. The latest ductile movement along the Fowler Pass shear zone post-dated these cooling ages. Argon released from muscovites of the Eagle Nest/Tolby Meadow composite unit, at low experimental temperatures, yields apparent ages of c. 1100 Ma. Similar ages are not obtained north-east of the Fowler Pass shear zone, suggesting movement more recently than 1100 Ma.     

Discrete ultrahigh-pressure domains in the Western Gneiss Region, Norway: implications for formation and exhumation

New eclogite localities and new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages within the Western Gneiss Region of Norway define three discrete ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) domains that are separated by distinctly lower pressure, eclogite facies rocks. The sizes of the UHP domains range from c. 2500 to 100 km²; if the UHP culminations are part of a continuous sheet at depth, the Western Gneiss Region UHP terrane has minimum dimensions of c. 165 × 50 × 5 km. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mica and K‐feldspar ages show that this outcrop pattern is the result of gentle regional‐scale folding younger than 380 Ma, and possibly 335 Ma. The UHP and intervening high‐pressure (HP) domains are composed of eclogite‐bearing orthogneiss basement overlain by eclogite‐bearing allochthons. The allochthons are dominated by garnet amphibolite and pelitic schist with minor quartzite, carbonate, calc‐silicate, peridotite, and eclogite. Sm/Nd core and rim ages of 992 and 894 Ma from a 15‐cm garnet indicate local preservation of Precambrian metamorphism within the allochthons. Metapelites within the allochthons indicate near‐isothermal decompression following (U)HP metamorphism: they record upper amphibolite facies recrystallization at 12–17 kbar and c. 750 °C during exhumation from mantle depths, followed by a low‐pressure sillimanite + cordierite overprint at c. 5 kbar and c. 750 °C. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar hornblende ages of 402 Ma document that this decompression from eclogite‐facies conditions at 410–405 Ma to mid‐crustal depths occurred in a few million years. The short timescale and consistently high temperatures imply adiabatic exhumation of a UHP body with minimum dimensions of 20–30 km. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite ages of 397–380 Ma show that this extreme heat advection was followed by rapid cooling (c. 30 °C Myr^?1), perhaps because of continued tectonic unroofing.     

Diachronous Palaeoproterozoic deformation and metamorphism in the Committee Bay belt,Rae Province,Nunavut: insights from 40Ar–39Ar cooling ages and thermal modelling

Regional‐scale ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data presented in this paper reveal significant across‐strike and along‐strike age differences in the Committee Bay belt (CBb), Rae Province, Nunavut, Canada, that complement variations in observed monazite ages. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende ages are c. 1795, 1775, and 1750 Ma in the western, eastern and central parts of the Prince Albert Group (PAG) domain respectively. The migmatite domain and Walker Lake intrusive complex are characterized by c. 1750–1730 ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende ages without significant along‐strike variation. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data provide important constraints on the cooling history and on thermal modelling that elucidates the controls on diachroneity and metamorphic patterns within the belt. In the western CBb, prograde monazite growth occurred 26 ± 10 Myr earlier in the migmatite domain (1864 ± 9 Ma; peak P–T = 5 kbar?700 °C) than in the PAG domain (1838 ± 5 Ma; peak P–T = 5 kbar?580 °C). Calculations indicate that this earlier monazite growth results from tectonic thickening of higher heat productivity Archean lithologies in the migmatite domain, which undergoes more rapid prograde heating than the less radiogenetic and lower grade rocks of the PAG domain. Granite generation via biotite dehydration melting at 800 °C and 20 km depth is predicted to occur c. 1835 Ma, in agreement with geochronological constraints. The tectonic burial of crustal domains with contrasting radiogenic properties also explains the general congruence of lower to upper amphibolite facies metamorphic zones generated during the two main orogenic cycles (i.e. M₂–D₁ and M₃–D₂). The modelled timing of prograde monazite growth in the migmatite domain suggests that D₂ tectonic thickening began at 1872 ± 9 Ma, some 8 ± 3 Myr before monzazite growth, coeval with the inferred time of collision of the Meta Incognita terrane with the southern Rae Province. Along‐strike diachroneity, reflected in 25 Myr younger monazite and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende ages in the eastern relative to the western PAG domain, cannot be accounted for by heat productivity contrasts along the belt. Instead the younger deformation and metamorphism in the eastern CBb was driven by its proximity to the eastern promontory of the Superior Province which collided with the Rae Province at c. 1820 Ma. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data presented here support the interpretation that the youngest monazite in the CBb crystallized at c. 1790 Ma in the central CBb when this part of the belt was downfolded into a gentle synformal structure while the western part of the belt cooled through ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende closure. The results of this study illustrate the important influence of contrasting rock properties on the thermal evolution of orogenic belts and on the temporal record of this evolution.     

High-grade metamorphism and hydrous melting of metapelites in the Pinos terrane (W Cuba): Evidence for crustal thickening and extension in the northern Caribbean collisional belt

The Pinos terrane (Isle of Pines, W Cuba) is a coherent metamorphic complex that probably represents a portion of the continental margin of the Yucatan Block during the Mesozoic. Within the framework of other metamorphic terranes in the Greater Antilles, the Pinos terrane is characterized by the occurrence of high‐grade kyanite‐, sillimanite‐ and andalusite‐bearing metapelites and migmatites. Assessment and modelling of phase relations in these high grade rocks indicate that they reached a peak temperature of c. 750 °C at 11–12 kbar, and then underwent strong decompression to c. 3 kbar at c. 600 °C. Decompression was contemporaneous with the main synmetamorphic deformation in the area (D2), and was accompanied by segregation of trondhjemitic partial melts formed by wet melting of metapelites. Metamorphism terminated in the Uppermost Cretaceous (68 ± 2 Ma; ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates on biotite and muscovite). The P–T–t‐deformation relations of the high‐grade rocks suggest that crustal thickening (during collision of this portion of the Yucatan margin with the Great Volcanic Arc of the Caribbean?) was followed by decompression interpreted to reflect exhumation by extension, possibly related to the initial development of the Yucatan Basin in the uppermost Cretaceous.     

Did the Turonian–Coniacian plume pulse trigger subduction initiation in the Northern Caribbean? Constraints from 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Moa-Baracoa metamorphic sole (eastern Cuba)

The Güira de Jauco metamorphic sole, below the Moa-Baracoa ophiolite (eastern Cuba), contains strongly deformed amphibolites formed at peak metamorphic conditions of 650–660°C, approximately 8.6 kbar (~30 km depth). The geochemistry, based on immobile elements of the amphibolites, suggests oceanic lithosphere protholiths with a variable subduction component in a supra-subduction zone environment. The geochemical similarity and tectonic relations among the amphibolites and the basic rocks from the overlying ophiolite suggest a similar origin and protholith. New hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages of 77–81 Ma obtained for the amphibolites agree with this hypothesis, and indicate formation and cooling/exhumation of the sole in Late Cretaceous times. The cooling ages, geochemical evidence for a back-arc setting of formation of the mafic protoliths, and regional geology of the region allow proposal of the inception of a new SW-dipping subduction zone in the back-arc region of the northern Caribbean arc during the Late Cretaceous (ca. 90–85 Ma). Subduction inception was almost synchronous with the main plume pulse of the Caribbean–Colombian Oceanic Plateau (92–88 Ma) and occurred around 15 million years before arc-continent collision (75 Ma–Eocene) at the northern leading edge of the Caribbean plate. This chronological framework suggests a plate reorganization process in the region triggered by the Caribbean–Colombian mantle plume.     

Setting of the Formation of Paleozoic Picrite Basalt Complexes in the West Siberian Plate Basement

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis showed a simultaneous (at about 490 Ma) formation of the Paleozoic picrite and basalt complexes of the West Siberian Plate basement. The petrochemistry, trace and REE geochemistry, and composition of clinopyroxene indicate the formation of the picrite of well no. 11 (Chkalov area) as a result of intraplate magmatism of the OIB type. Calculations based on the compositions of clinopyroxene allowed crystallization of minerals of porphyric picrite at 1215–1275°C and 4.5–8 kbar. In general, it has been found that the picrite basalt complexes considered were formed from enriched igneous plume systems under intraplate conditions near the active margin of the ancient ocean.

     

The dynamics of the suture between the Kohistan island arc and the Indian plate in the Himalaya of Pakistan

ABSTRACT The pressure-temperature and temperature-time paths derived for rocks in the Kohistan arc and adjacent Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif record the dynamics of the collision between the island arc and the Indian plate. Studies of P-T-t paths show that the Kohistan arc was thrust over the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif at least 25 Ma ago, but not more than 30–35 Ma ago. Rocks in the Kohistan arc followed decreasing pressure paths, with the early metamorphism beginning at high pressures (9.5 kbar) and later metamorphism occurring at 8.0 kbar. In contrast, rocks in the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif (Indian plate) experienced increasing pressure and temperature paths. Prior to thrusting, the massif was at low pressures (4.0 kbar) and low temperatures (450°c). Later, the pressure and temperature increased to 8 kbar and 580°c. The authors interpret the convergence (to approximately the same pressure and temperature) of the P-T paths in the two terranes as being the result of thrusting and thermal equilibration between the thrust sheets. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages of hornblendes and other geochronological data suggest that the time of peak metamorphism and hence the completion of thickening was approximately 30–35 Ma ago. Temperature-time paths show that after thrusting, during the period 25–10 Ma, the Kohistan arc and Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif were uplifted at similar rates (0.5 km Ma). However, in the past 10 Ma the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif has been uplifted more rapidly than the adjacent Kohistan arc. Rapid uplift has been accommodated by late faults along the edge of the massif.     

40Ar/39Ar and oxygen isotope studies of polymetamorphism from Tinos Island, Cycladic blueschist belt, Greece

Abstract Petrological, oxygen isotope and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies were used to constrain the Tertiary metamorphic evolution of the lower tectonic unit of the Cyclades on Tinos. Polyphase high-pressure metamorphism reached pressures in excess of 15 kbar, based on measurements of the Si content in potassic white mica. Temperatures of 450–500° C at the thermal peak of high-pressure metamorphism were estimated from critical metamorphic assemblages, the validity of which is confirmed by a quartz–magnetite oxygen isotope temperature of 470° C. Some ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar spectra of white mica give plateau ages of 44–40 Ma that are considered to represent dynamic recrystallization under peak or slightly post-peak high-pressure metamorphic conditions. Early stages in the prograde high-pressure evolution may be documented by older apparent ages in the high-temperature steps of some spectra. Eclogite to epidote blueschist facies mineralogies were partially or totally replaced by retrograde greenschist facies assemblages during exhumation. Oxygen isotope thermometry of four quartz–magnetite pairs from greenschist samples gives temperatures of 440–470° C which cannot be distinguished from those deduced for the high-pressure event. The exhumation and overprint is documented by decreasing ages of 32–28 Ma in some greenschists and late-stage blueschist rocks, and ages of 30–20 Ma in the lower temperature steps of the Ar release patterns of blueschist micas. Almost flat parts of Ar–Ar release spectra of some greenschist micas gave ages of 23–21 Ma which are assumed to represent incomplete resetting caused by a renewed prograde phase of greenschist metamorphism. Oxygen isotope compositions of blueschist and greenschist facies minerals show no evidence for the infiltration of a δ¹⁸O-enriched fluid. Rather, the compositions indicate that fluid to rock ratios were very low, the isotopic compositions being primarily controlled by those of the protolith rocks. We assume that the fundamental control catalysing the transformation of blueschists into greenschists and the associated resetting of their isotopic systems was the selective infiltration of metamorphic fluid. A quartz–magnetite sample from a contact metamorphic skarn, taken near the Miocene monzogranite of Tinos, gave an oxygen isotope temperature of 555° C and calculated water composition of 9.1%. The value of δ¹⁸O obtained from this water is consistent with a primary magmatic fluid, but is lower than that of fluids associated with the greenschist overprint, which indicates that the latter event cannot be directly related to the monozogranite intrusion.     

The Meso-Cenozoic thermo-tectonic evolution of the Eastern Pyrenees: an <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar fission track and (U–Th)/He thermochronological study of the Canigou and Mont-Louis massifs

Vertical displacements on the SW–NE Têt fault (Eastern Pyrenees Axial Zone, France), which separates the Variscan Canigou-Carança and Mont-Louis massifs, were constrained using a thermochronologic multi-method approach. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from the granitic Mont-Louis massif record its Variscan cooling history and reveal no ages younger than Early Cretaceous, while the Canigou-Carança gneiss massif records systematically younger ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. These younger ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages in the Canigou-Carança gneiss massif are the result of partial to total rejuvenation of argon isotopic systems related to a thermal flow coeval with the Cretaceous HT-BP metamorphism in the North Pyrenean Zone. Only the deepest rocks from the Canigou-Carança suffered this extensive Mid-Cretaceous thermal overprint probably due to differential burial around 4 km at that time. The post Mid-Cretaceous vertical displacements along the Têt fault are recorded by “low” temperature thermochronology using K-feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar, zircon and apatite fission track and (U–Th)/He datings. The Mont-Louis granite samples experienced a long period of protracted cooling reflecting a lack of thermo-tectonic activity in this area from Late Palaeozoic to Early Cenozoic, followed by cooling from 55–60 Ma to Late Eocene at a mean rate of 15–20°C/Ma in the final stage. This cooling stage corresponds to Têt fault reactivation with a reversed component, promoting exhumation of the Mont-Louis roof zone contemporaneously with the south-vergent Pyrenean thrusting. In the Canigou-Carança massif, the main cooling event occurred from 32 to 18 Ma at a maximum rate of 30°C/Ma during Early Oligocene followed by a more moderate rate of 3°C/Ma from Late Oligocene to Early Burdigalian, coeval with the normal reactivation of the Têt fault in brittle conditions that accommodated the final exhumation of the massif during the opening of the Gulf of Lion.     

40Ar/39Ar geochronology and P-T-t paths from the Cordillera Darwin metamorphic complex, Tierra del Fuego, Chile

Abstract ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data collected from hornblende, muscovite, biotite and K-feldspar constrain the P-T-t history of the Cordillera Darwin metamorphic complex, Tierra del Fuego, Chile. These data show two periods of rapid cooling, the first between c. 500 and c. 325° C at rates ≥25° C Ma^-1, and the second between c. 250 and c. 200°C. For high-T cooling, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are spatially disparate and depend on metamorphic grade: rocks that record deeper and hotter peak metamorphic conditions have younger ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages. Sillimanite- and kyanite-grade rocks in the south-central part of the complex cooled latest: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar Hbl = 73–77 Ma, Ms = 67–70 Ma, Bt = 68 Ma, and oldest Kfs = 65 Ma. Thermobarometry and P-T path studies of these rocks indicate that maximum burial of 26–30 km at 575–625° C may have been followed by as much as 10 km of exhumation with heating of 25–50° C. Staurolite-grade rocks have intermediate ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages: Hbl = 84–86 Ma, Ms = 71 Ma, Bt = 72–75 Ma, and oldest Kfs = 80 Ma. Thermobarometry on these rocks indicates maximum burial of 19–26 km at temperatures of 550–580° C. Garnet-grade rocks have the oldest ages: Ms = 72 Ma and oldest Kfs = 91 Ma; peak P-T conditions were 525–550° C and 5–7 kbar. Regional metamorphic temperatures for greenschist facies rocks south of the Beagle Channel did not exceed c. 300–325° C from 110 Ma to the present, although the rocks are only 2 km from kyanite-bearing rocks to the north. One-dimensional thermal models allow limits to be placed on exhumation rates. Assuming a stable geothermal gradient of 20–25° C km^-1, the maximum exhumation rate for the St-grade rocks is c. 2.5 mm yr^-1, whereas the minimum exhumation rate for the Ky + Sil-grade rocks is c. 1.0 mm yr^-1. Uniform exhumation rates cannot explain the disparity in cooling histories for rocks at different grades, and so early differential exhumation is inferred to have occurred. Petrological and geochronological comparisons with other metamorphic complexes suggest that single exhumation events typically remove less than c. 20 km of overburden. This behaviour can be explained in terms of a continental deformation model in which brittle extensional faults in the upper crust are rooted to shallowly dipping ductile shear zones or regions of homogeneous thinning at mid- to deep-crustal levels. The P-T-t data from Cordillera Darwin (1) are best explained by a ‘wedge extrusion’model, in which extensional exhumation in the southern rear of the complex was coeval with thrusting in the north along the margin of the complex and into the Magallanes sedimentary basin, (2) suggest that differential exhumation occurred initially, with St-grade rocks exhuming faster than Ky + Sil-grade rocks, and (3) show variations in cooling rate through time that correlate both with local deformation events and with changes in plate motions and interactions.     

The P-T-t-D evolution of the Mahabharat,east-central Nepal: The out-of-sequence development of the Himalaya

A garnet-bearing schist from the southernmost such exposure along the Himalaya in east central Nepal records prograde metamorphism at 32.4 ?± ?0.3 ?Ma. Phase equilibria modelling, combined with Ti-in-biotite and quartz c-axis thermometry, outline a tight-to-hairpin pressure-temperature (P-T) path extending from ~515 ?°C and 5.5 ?kbar to peak conditions at ~575 ?°C and 7 ?kbar followed by deformation during the retrograde phase at 480–515 ?°C and 6–7 ?kbar. The new geochronology data place an upper bound on the evolution of metamorphism and deformation in the frontal-most part of the Himalaya, which lasted until 17.5 ?Ma, as indicated by previously published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data. The P-T-time data from this part of the Himalaya, as well as that from more hinterland-ward portions of the orogen, outline a progressive, stepwise, commonly out-of-sequence evolution. Further data from along the orogen indicates that this evolution is not a local phenomenon, but instead characterizes the tectonics of this system as a whole.     

40Ar/39Ar record of late Pan–African exhumation of a granulite facies terrain, central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological data on hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar provide constraints on the cooling path experienced by a high-grade metamorphic complex from the Mühlig–Hofmannfjella and Filchnerfjella (6–8°E), central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, during the late Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic Pan–African orogeny. Hornblende ages yield c. 481 Ma, biotite ages range from c. 466 Ma to c. 435 Ma, whereas K-feldspar ages of the gneisses are c. 437 Ma. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data suggest initial cooling at a rate of ~10 °C/Myr between 481 and 465 Ma, followed by a lower cooling rate of ~6 °C/Myr during the subsequent c. 30 million years. The K-feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages place a lower time limit on the duration of the exhumation, by the time of thermal relaxation to a stable continental geotherm. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data reflecting cooling indicate tectonic exhumation related to orogenic collapse during a later phase of the Pan–African orogeny.     

Two–stage Cretaceous Exhumation of Hengshan Complex in Hunan Province,SE China: Constraints Arising from ~(40)Ar–~(39)Ar Geochronology and Cretaceous Tectonic Implications

The Hengshan complex is located in the central part of SE China, which underwent rapid tectonic uplift in the Cretaceous just like many other complexes on the continent. (40)~Ar–(39)~Ar geochronological data from the Hengshan complex suggest that two episodes of crustal cooling/extension took place in this part of the continent during the Cretaceous time. The first stage of exhumation was active during ca. 136–125 Ma, with a cooling rate of 10 °C/Ma. The second stage of exhumation happened at ca. 98–93 Ma, with a cooling rate of 10 °C/Ma. Considering the folding in the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and the regional unconformity underneath the Upper Cretaceous red beds, it is believed that the Cretaceous crustal extension in SE China was interrupted by a compressional event. The reversion to extension, shortly after this middle Cretaceous compression, led to the rapid cooling/exhumation of the Hengshan complex at ca. 98–93 Ma. The Cretaceous tectonic processes in the hinterland of SE China could be controlled by interactions between the continental margin and the Paleo–pacific plate.     

Tracing the exhumation of the Eclogite Zone (Tauern Window,Eastern Alps) by <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar dating of white mica in eclogites

New radiometric ages from the Subpenninic nappes (Eclogite Zone and Rote Wand – Modereck Nappe, Tauern Window) show that phengites formed under eclogite-facies metamorphic conditions retain their initial isotopic signature, even when associated lithologies were overprinted by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies metamorphism. Different stages of the eclogite-facies evolution can be dated provided ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating is combined with micro-structural analyses. An age of 39 Ma from the Rote Wand – Modereck Nappe is interpreted to be close to the burial age of this unit. Eclogite deformation within the Eclogite Zone started at the pressure peak along distinct shear zones, and prevailed along the exhumation path. An age of ca. 38 Ma is only observed for eclogites not affected by subsequent deformation and is interpreted as maximum age due to the possible influence of homogenously distributed excess argon. During exhumation deformation was localised along distinct mylonitic shear zones. This stage is mainly characterised by the formation of dynamically recrystallized omphacite2 and phengite. Deformation resulted in the resetting of the Ar isotopic system within the recrystallized white mica. Flat argon release spectra showing ages of 32 Ma within mylonites record the timing of cooling along the exhumation path, and the emplacement onto the Venediger Nappe. Ar-release patterns and ³⁶Ar/⁴⁰Ar vs.³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar isotope correlation analyses indicate no significant ⁴⁰Ar-loss after initial closure, and only a negligible incorporation of excess argon. From the pressure peak onwards, eclogitic conditions prevailed for almost 8–10 Ma.