Metamorphic kyanite eclogites in the lufilian arc of Zambia

Eclogites formed by the Lufilian (post-Katanga) metamorphism of gabbros intruded into rocks of the Katanga System (Upper Proterozoic) occur in the Central Province of Zambia. Typical constituents of these rocks are omphacite, almandine garnet with significant contents of the pyrope and grossular components, kyanite and rutile. Eclogites from some localities display well preserved, relict ophitic texture inherited from the original gabbro. Hornblende-scapolite metagabbro and coronite metagabbro often accompany the eclogites, and metalherzolite and serpentinite occur at a few localities. The Zambian eclogites are broadly associated with a variety of relatively high-pressure, kyanite-bearing mineral assemblages some of which are possibly in the eclogite facies. It is suggested that, in addition to temperature and load pressure, fluid pressure, fluid composition (H₂O, CO₂, Cl, SO₃) and permeability of the gabbro due to deformation were important factors for the transformation of gabbro to eclogite in the environment of the Lufilian Arc.     

Experimental modelling of corona textures

Formation of corona textures along olivine–plagioclase and orthopyroxene–plagioclase interfaces has been experimentally reproduced at 670 and 700 °C and 5 kbar with either a pure H₂O fluid phase or 0.1 and 37 m NaCl–H₂O solution fluid. In these experiments, we investigate the interaction of primary olivine and/or orthopyroxene and plagioclase in powders and polished crystals, and in small samples of a natural gabbro. The experiments result in the formation of corona textures with several layers of different assemblages (according to the experimental conditions) consisting of garnet (grossular), clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, amphibole, chlorite and phlogopite. The experiments show major differences in the number of layers, the mineral assemblages and mineral composition, and in the trends of composition of plagioclase in coronas around olivine and orthopyroxene. The fluid phase composition influences the corona assemblages and the composition of the minerals in the experimental coronas; for example, garnet appears in the coronas in the second experiment where the NaCl–H₂O ratio is low. Experimental modelling of corona textures confirms a model of simultaneous growth of layers by the mechanism of diffusion metasomatism with participation of a fluid phase through which mass is transferred. Zoning in the experimental coronas shows opposing diffusion of Al and Ca from plagioclase and Mg and Fe from olivine/orthopyroxene; difference in the mobility of the components is inferred from observations in the coronas. The experimental corona textures are compared with natural coronas from the Belomorian belt (Baltic shield), developed at 670–690 °C and 7–8 kbar, and the Marun‐Keu complex (Polar Urals), developed at 670–700 °C and 14–16 kbar, where the corona textures correspond to a transitional stage of the gabbro‐to‐eclogite transformation.     

Diffusion-controlled olivine corona textures in granitic rocks from Lofoten, Norway: calculation of Onsager diffusion coefficients, thermodynamic modelling and petrological implications

Reactions occurring during cooling of charnockitic intrusives on the Lofoten Islands produce characteristic diffusion-controlled textures around fayalite and Fe–Ti oxides. Thermobarometry indicates the corona textures formed at 780–840 °C and pressures of 4–10 kbar, whereas the magmatic assemblage of the charnockite (clinopyroxene–olivine–quartz) crystallized at about 850–870 °C and 4 kbar. The succession olivine|orthopyroxene+magnetite|orthopyroxene+garnet and olivine|orthopyroxene+magnetite|amphibole developed where olivine reacted with adjacent plagioclase or K-feldspar, but the modes and the thicknesses of the corona textures vary according to the feldspar type, indicating that the primary magmatic ternary feldspar was already exsolved into albitic plagioclase and alkali feldspar when the corona formation began. Simultaneously, in other parts of the rock, primary magmatic clinopyroxene reacted to amphibole and Fe–Ti oxides reacted to orthopyroxene+garnet coronas or to amphibole. Textures demonstrate significant Al diffusion in the rocks under granulite facies conditions and they suggest that no pervasive fluid influx occurred and that amphibole formation was dependant on a local source of H₂O probably related to water-release during the last stages of magmatism. Calculation of the net reaction by accounting for all observed reactions at different sites in the rock indicates that the system can be regarded as balanced on a hand-specimen scale with respect to all elements except for Na and H₂O. The larger variety of textures developed in rocks of granitic bulk composition provide more constraints than textures from gabbroic compositions, and permitted calculation of a set of relative diffusion coefficients which also reproduce textures in the gabbroic and anorthositic rocks from the Lofoten Islands. The following set of relative diffusion coefficients (L_i/L_Fe) reproduces the observed textures in the Lofoten rocks: Si=0.82, Mg=0.59, Mn=0.05, Na=0.38, K=0.39, Al=0.05 and Ca=0.07.     

Chemical and mineralogical heterogeneity in the basal zone of the Partridge River Intrusion: implications for the origin of Cu–Ni sulfide mineralization in the Duluth Complex,midcontinent rift system

Copper–nickel sulfide mineralization in the Partridge River Intrusion of the 1.1 Ga Duluth Complex is restricted primarily to a 100 m thick zone near the base of the intrusion, which is heterogeneous at meter scales in terms of both sulfide contents and rock types, which include dunite, melatroctolite, troctolite, leucotroctolite, gabbro, olivine gabbro, gabbronorite, and rare norite. Olivine-rich troctolites and melatroctolites appear to have required mineral accumulation on a substrate, whereas augite troctolite and gabbros are thought to have formed via in situ crystallization of magmas ranging in composition from high-Al olivine tholeiite to high-Ti tholeiite. δ¹⁸O values of orthopyroxene-poor rocks in the Partridge River Intrusion range from 5.2 to 6.7‰. δ¹⁸O values of 6.7‰ are consistent with less than 20% contamination by high-¹⁸O metasedimentary country rock, either via devolatilization or local partial melting. Rocks with greater than ∼15% orthopyroxene, gabbronorites, and norites, are characterized by δ¹⁸O values in excess of 6.9‰, and required the assimilation of larger amounts of siliceous country rocks. Sulfur isotopic values in leucotroctolitic rocks that contain less than ∼400 ppm S and that overlie the basal zone range between −1.5 and 2‰, values that are consistent with those of mantle-derived sulfur. In contrast, δ³⁴S values in the basal zone range from −1.4 to 10.5‰, where the ³⁴S-enriched samples require an input of sulfur from metasedimentary country rocks. δ³⁴S values of the rocks in the basal zone correlate with variations in olivine Fo content but not with S abundance. The wide range in δ³⁴S values of rocks in the basal zone strongly suggests that magmas interacted with layers in the sedimentary country rocks that were themselves characterized by variable sulfide contents and δ³⁴S values. The S isotopic data suggest that the heterogeneity observed in the basal zone results from the emplacement of relatively thin sheets of compositionally distinct magma. All rock types present in the basal zone can be produced as a result of variable degrees of fractionation of a parental high-Al olivine tholeiite, followed by varying degrees of contamination of derivative liquids by country rocks. The S-contamination process was essential for the development of Cu–Ni mineralization, and was restricted to the earliest stages in the development of the Duluth Complex at a time when volatile species such as S and H₂O, and low-T partial melts of country rocks, were available to magmas. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Geology and Genesis of the Mafic—Ultramafic Complexes in the Huangshan—Jingerquan（HJ） Belt,East Xinjiang

More than twenty mafic-ultramafic complexes, which host several mediumor large-sized Cu−Ni deposits, occur along the Huangshan-Jingerquan (HJ) belt in East Xinjiang. Rock types in these complexes are predominated by peridotite, pyroxene peridotite, olivine pyroxenite, gabbronorite, orthopyroxene gabbro, troctolite, gabbro and diorite. The ultramafic rocks are relatively Fe-enriched and are characterized by an assemblage of olivine+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene+hornblende±plagioclase without obvious metamorphic textures. Chemically, these complexes are relatively Fe-enriched and show a tholeiitic trend of evolution. The complexes in this belt are intruded under the extensional environment in a Mid-Carboniferous back-arc basin. They can be considered as a new type of mafic-ultramafic complexes in orogenic belts, as designated by the name of the East-Xinjiang-type complexes. This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

西南天山哈拉达拉岩体的锆石SHRIMP年代学及地球化学研究

西南天山哈拉达拉侵入体由橄长岩、橄榄辉长岩和辉长岩组成,橄长岩和橄榄辉长岩具有典型的堆晶结构,堆晶矿物以斜长石和橄榄石为主。辉石、角闪石和金云母主要为堆晶间隙矿物。辉长岩发育辉长—辉绿结构。结晶分异作用在岩浆演化过程中起重要作用。对从辉长岩中分选出来的锆石进行的SHRIMP年代学研究表明,辉长岩形成于308.3±1.8Ma （MSWD=0.86,n=15）。哈拉达拉岩体稀土元素配分模式与E-MORB相似,具有高Rb、Cs、Ba及Sr的特点,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr初始比值0.7040~0.7050。这些特征表明,岩浆源区具有富集地幔的特征(古南天山洋俯冲流体交代形成了富集地幔)。根据平坦的稀土元素配分模式以及Gd、Sm、Nb、Zr等微量元素的地球化学行为判别,岩浆源区岩石为含角闪石的尖晶石二辉橄榄岩。批式熔融模拟计算显示,地幔岩10%~15%的部分熔融能够形成哈拉达拉岩体的母岩浆。母岩浆通过48%~50%的结晶分异作用则能够形成哈拉达拉岩体。早期结晶的橄榄石和斜长石通过堆晶作用形成橄长岩和橄榄辉长岩,剩余岩浆结晶形成辉长岩。     

雅鲁藏布江缝合带西段普兰蛇绿岩中地幔橄榄岩的岩石学研究

西藏雅鲁藏布江缝合带西段普兰蛇绿岩以出现面积约600余平方千米的特大型地幔橄榄岩体而引人注目.该地幔橄榄岩以方辉橄榄岩为主体,含有少量的二辉橄榄岩和纯橄榄岩,岩体中另有一些橄榄单斜辉石岩、辉长岩和辉绿岩等侵入体.地幔橄榄岩的主要造岩矿物橄榄石的Fo 90～93,其中呈包裹体的橄榄石的Fo略高,斜方辉石为顽火辉石(En 88～90),单斜辉石主要为顽透辉石和透辉石,以低铝(0.48％～3.96％)和高Mg#(91～96)为特征,铬尖晶石的Cr#值为18～69,其中方辉橄榄岩和二辉橄榄岩中的铬尖晶石属富铝型尖晶石,而纯橄岩中为富铬型尖晶石.橄榄单斜辉石岩的橄榄石Fo值一致较低,平均为88.4,斜方辉石En平均87,单斜辉石以透辉石为主,铬尖晶石的Cr#值为45～69.普兰地幔橄榄岩及橄榄单斜辉石岩都具有相似的稀土元素和微量元素配分模式,表现为LREE相对富集,Eu亏损不明显,微量元素中大离子亲石元素含量较低,部分样品高场强元素亏损,另一些则相对富集,显示地幔橄榄岩具有亏损地幔源区特征,但也具有俯冲带流体的交代特征,表明普兰岩体可能经历了MOR和SSZ两种构造环境,该特征与雅鲁藏布江缝合带东段的罗布莎地幔橄榄岩的特征可以对比.     

Development of corona textures around olivine in anorthosites of the Korosten’ pluton, Ukrainian Shield: Mineralogy, geochemistry, and fluid inclusions

New data on the composition of minerals in corona textures around olivine and crystal-fluid inclusions in olivine from anorthosites of the Korosten’ pluton (sampled in the Golovino quarry), Ukrainian Shield were obtained using electron and ion microprobe analyses, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and cryo- and thermometry. The corona textures developed around olivine grains in contact with plagioclase and consist of inner orthopyroxene rims around olivine and outer rims of orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-orthoclase-plagioclase symplectites. The symplectites and orthopyroxene rims most probably developed nearly simultaneously and grew in the opposite directions from the original contact of the magmatic olivine and plagioclase and replaced both olivine and plagioclase. The Al₂O₃ and CaO concentrations in the symplectitic orthopyroxene increase toward the contact with magmatic plagioclase, whereas the Al₂O₃ and CaO concentrations in the symplectitic plagioclase simultaneously decrease and its Na₂O and K₂O increase. Optically discernible crystalline and fluid phases of crystal-fluid inclusions in olivine were identified as pyroxenes (orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene), actinolite, Ca-and Fe, Mg-carbonates, and magnetite, along with practically pure highdensity CO₂. The mineral assemblages of corona texture in the Korsten’ anorthosites were produced by autometasomatic processes at a high CO₂ activity, and the local variations in the chemistry of corona minerals were likely controlled by the content and chemistry of the interstitial fluid and primary minerals. The coronas developed under subsolidus conditions, via the reaction interaction of olivine and plagioclase under the effect of an integranular fluid, with the dissolution of olivine and plagioclase at T = 980–860°C and P > 5 kbar. Inasmuch as corona textures do not occur ubiquitously in the rocks, the origin of the former was most probably controlled by the amount of the intergranular fluid.     

On the origin of multi‐layer coronas between olivine and plagioclase at the gabbro–granulite transition,Valle Fértil–La Huerta Ranges,San Juan Province,Argentina

Troctolitic gabbros from Valle Fértil and La Huerta Ranges, San Juan Province, NW‐Argentina exhibit multi‐layer corona textures between cumulus olivine and plagioclase. The corona mineral sequence, which varies in the total thickness from 0.5 to 1 mm, comprises either an anhydrous corona type I with olivine|orthopyroxene|clinopyroxene+spinel symplectite|plagioclase or a hydrous corona type II with olivine|orthopyroxene|amphibole|amphibole+spinel symplectite|plagioclase. The anhydrous corona type I formed by metamorphic replacement of primary olivine and plagioclase, in the absence of any fluid/melt phase at <840 °C. Diffusion controlled metamorphic solid‐state replacement is mainly governed by the chemical potential gradients at the interface of reactant olivine and plagioclase and orthopyroxene and plagioclase. Thus, the thermodynamic incompatibility of the reactant minerals at the gabbro–granulite transition and the phase equilibria of the coronitic assemblage during subsequent cooling were modelled using quantitative μMgO–μCaO phase diagrams. Mineral reaction textures of the anhydrous corona type I indicate an inward migration of orthopyroxene on the expense of olivine, while clinopyroxene+spinel symplectite grows outward to replace plagioclase. Mineral textures of the hydrous corona type II indicate the presence of an interstitial liquid trapped between cumulus olivine and plagioclase that reacts with olivine to produce a rim of peritectic orthopyroxene around olivine. Two amphibole types are distinguished: an inclusion free, brownish amphibole I is enriched in trace elements and REEs relative to green amphibole II. Amphibole I evolves from an intercumulus liquid between peritectic orthopyroxene and plagioclase. Discrete layers of green amphibole II occur as inclusion‐free rims and amphibole II+spinel symplectites. Mineral textures and geochemical patterns indicate a metamorphic origin for amphibole II, where orthopyroxene was replaced to form an inner inclusion‐free amphibole II layer, while clinopyroxene and plagioclase were replaced to form an outer amphibole+spinel symplectite layer, at <770 °C. Calculation of the possible net reactions by considering NCKFMASH components indicates that the layer bulk composition cannot be modelled as a ‘closed’ system although in all cases the gain and loss of elements within the multi‐layer coronas (except H₂O, Na₂O) is very small and the main uncertainties may arise from slight chemical zoning of the respective minerals. Local oxidizing conditions led to the formation of orthopyroxene+magnetite symplectite enveloping and/or replacing olivine. The sequence of corona reaction textures indicates a counter clockwise P–T path at the gabbro–granulite transition at 5–6.5 kbar and temperatures below 900 °C.     

Petrological evidence for shock‐induced high‐P metamorphism in a gabbro

Microlites (minute spherulitic, dendritic, skeletal, acicular and poikilitic crystals) diagnostic of crystallization in quenched melt or glass in fault rocks have been used to infer fossil earthquakes. High‐P microlites and crystallites are described here in a variably eclogitized gabbro, the wallrock to the coesite‐bearing eclogite breccia at Yangkou in the Chinese Su‐Lu high‐P metamorphic belt. The studied hand specimens are free of discernible shear deformation, although microfractures are not uncommon under the microscope. In the least eclogitized gabbro, the metagabbro, stellate growths of high‐P minerals on the relict igneous minerals are common. Dendritic garnet crystals (<1?5 μm) grew around rutile and/or phengite replacing ilmenite and biotite, respectively. Skeletal garnet also rims broken flakes of igneous biotite and mechanically twinned augite. Radial intergrowths of omphacite and quartz developed around relict igneous orthopyroxene and are rimmed by skeletal or poikilitic garnet where a Ti‐bearing mineral relict is present. Acicular epidote, kyanite and phengite crystallites are randomly distributed in a matrix of Na‐rich plagioclase, forming the pseudomorphs after igneous plagioclase. In the more eclogitized gabbro, the coronitic eclogite located closer to the eclogite breccia, all the igneous minerals broke down into high‐P assemblages. Thick coronas of poikilitic garnet grew between the pseudomorphs after igneous plagioclase and ferromagnesian minerals. The igneous plagioclase is replaced by omphacite crystallites, with minor amounts of phengite and kyanite. Thermodynamic modelling of the plagioclase pseudomorphs shows an increase in P–T in the wallrock from the metagabbro to the coronitic eclogite, and the P–T variation is unrelated to H₂O content. The fluid‐poor pressure overstepping scenario is unsupported both by phase diagram modelling and by whole‐rock chemical data, which show that the various types of eclogitized gabbro are all fairly dry. A large pressure difference of >2 GPa between the metagabbro and the coesite‐bearing eclogites ~20 m apart cannot be explained by the subduction hypothesis because this would require a depth difference of >60 km. The microlites and crystallites are evidence for dynamic crystallization due to rapid cooling because constitutional supercooling was unlikely for the plagioclase pseudomorphs. The lack of annealing of the broken biotite and augite overgrown by strain free skeletal garnet is consistent with a transient high‐P–T event at a low ambient temperature (<300 °C), probably in the crust. Therefore, the eclogitization of the wallrock to the eclogite breccia was also coseismic, as proposed earlier for the eclogite facies fault rocks. The outcrop‐scale P–T variation and the transient nature of the high‐P–T event are inconsistent with the other existing tectonic models for high‐P metamorphism. The fact that the less refractory but denser biotite is largely preserved while the more refractory but less dense plagioclase broke down completely into high‐P microlite assemblages in the metagabbro indicates a significant rise in pressure rather than temperature. Given that the metamorphic temperatures are far below the melting temperatures of most of the gabbroic minerals under fluid‐absent conditions, stress‐induced amorphization appears to be the more likely mechanism of the coseismic high‐P metamorphism.     

Petrology of the Kurancali Phlogopitic Metagabbro: An Island Arc-Type Ophiolitic Sliver in the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex

The Kurancali metagabbro occurs as an isolated body in the central part of the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex. It has been emplaced along a steep S-vergent thrust-plane onto the uppermost units of the Central Anatolian Metamorphics. The main body of the Kurancali metagabbro is characterized by distinct compositional layering. The layered gabbros comprise pyroxene and hornblende gabbros. Phlogopite-rich, plagioclase-hornblende gabbro occurs mainly as pegmatitic dikes intruding the layered gabbro sequence. The layered gabbros, in general, consist mainly of diopsidic augites, brown hornblendes, and plagioclase. Secondary phases are phlogopitic mica, brownish-green hornblende replacing clinopyroxenes, and fibrous, greenish actinolitic hornblende partially or completely replacing brown hornblende. The primary dark micas are phlogopitic in the range of phlogopite_(57-70) and annite_(30-43). The analyzed pyroxenes are diopsidic (En₃₂Fs₁₉Wo₄₉-En₃₅Fs₁₈Wo₄₈).

The whole-rock geochemistry of the gabbros indicates the presence of two distinct groups of rocks; a less pronounced group of phlogopite gabbro with island-arc calc-alkaline affinities, and a dominating layered gabbro sequence with island-arc tholeiite characteristics. They are extremely enriched in LILE, indicative of alkaline metasomatism in the source region, and display geochemical features of transitional backarc-basin basalts (BABB)/island-arc basalts (IAB)—and IAB-type oceanic crust. Based on their geochemical similarities to modern island-arc basements, we suggest that the Kurancali metagabbro may represent the basement of an initial island arc, generated in a suprasubduction zone setting within the Izmir-Ankara branch of Neotethys.     

Alpine-type gabbros within the Krivaja-Konjuh ultramafic massif in the ophiolite zone of the Dinarides,Yugoslavia

Summary Gabbros of two kinds, one related to dolerite and the other related to peridotite, are widespread in the Dinaride ophiolite zone. Gabbros within the Krivaja-Konjuh peridotite massif, along the Gostovii River and near Romanovac Mountain, exemplify the second kind. The gabbroic rocks range from feldspathic wehrlite and feldspathic dunite through troctolite and olivine gabbro to olivine-free gabbro, all of which are more or less serpentinized or uralitized.The gabbro is characterized by foliation and layering in which cumulus textures are well shown. Peridotite and gabbro intergrade and are interlayered, but in places feldspar seems to have been introduced metasomatically into peridotite along gabbro dikes. The gabbro masses, like their internal structures, parallel layering in the surrounding peridotite. Intrusive relations, however, are indicated by gabbro dikes in peridotite, and xenoliths of peridotite in gabbro. Absence of gabbro dikes in the surrounding Jurassic rocks shows that the gabbro was intruded into peridotite before both were emplaced tectonically.Chemically, the gabbros are typically alpine, with high ratios of CaO: Na₂O, high MgO: FeO ratios, and low K₂O and TiO₂. Plots of chemical composition suggest a close affinity between gabbro and olivine tholeiite and olivine basalt.It is proposed that a primary magma of olivine tholeiite composition was produced by partial melting of the upper mantle material below an ancient Jurassic(?) Mid-oceanic ridge at a depth of 35 to 70 km. The melt was moved to higher levels and it was intruded into the peridotites moving upwards and crystallization began at a depth below 30 km. The trends of differentiation processes have been disscused in detail.

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Alpinotype Gabbros innerhalb des Ultramafit-Massivs von Krivaja-Konjuh in der Ophiolith-Zone der Dinariden, Jugoslawien

Zusammenfassung In der Ophiolith-Zone der Dinariden kommen verbreitet Gabbros zweierlei Art vor: die eine steht zu Doleriten in Beziehung, die andere zu Peridotiten. Gabbros innerhalb des Peridotit-Massivs von Krivaja-Konjuh, längs des Flusses Gostoviéi und nahe dem Berg Romanovac sind Beispiele für die zweite Art. Die gabbroiden Gesteine variieren von Feldspat-führenden Wehrliten und Feldspat-führenden Duniten über Troktolithe und Olivin-Gabbros bis zu Olivin-freiem Gabbro; sie sind alle mehr oder weniger serpentinisiert oder uralitisiert.Der Gabbro ist durch Faltung und Bänderung, in der Cumulus-Texturen gut erkennbar sind, charakterisiert. Peridotit und Gabbro gehen ineinander über und zeigen Wechsellagerung, aber an manchen Stellen scheint der Feldspat längs Gabbrogängen metasomatisch in den Peridotit eingedrungen zu sein. Die Gabbromassen liegen ebenso wie ihre internen Strukturen parallel zur Schichtung der umgebenden Periodotite. Gabbrogänge in Peridotit und Xenolithe von Peridotit in Gabbro zeigen indessen intrusive Beziehungen an. Die Abwesenheit von Gabbrogängen in den umgebenden jurassischen Gesteinen zeigt, daß der Gabbro in den Peridotit vor deren gemeinsamen tektonischen Platznahme intrudierte.Vom chemischen Standpunkt aus sind die Gabbros typisch alpin, mit großen (CaO: Na₂O)- und (MgO: FeO)-Verhältnissen und kleinen TiO₂-und K₂O-Werten.Es wird vorgeschlagen, daß ein primäres Magma von olivintholeiitischer Zusammensetzung durch partielle Aufschmelzung von Material des Oberen Mantels unterhalb einer alten jurassischen(?) mittelozeanischen Schwelle in einer Tiefe von 35–70 km entstand. Die Schmelze wurde in höhere Niveaus bewegt und in die sich aufwärts bewegenden Peridotite intrudiert; die Kristallisation begann in einer Tiefe von unter 30 km. Die Tendenzen der Differentiationsprozesse werden im Detail diskutiert.

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With 7 Figures     

Prograde metamorphic evolution and development of chloritoid-bearing eclogitic assemblages in subcontinental metagabbro (Sesia–Lanzo zone, Italy)

In the coronitic metagabbroic rocks of the Corio and Monastero metagabbro bodies in the continental Sesia–Lanzo zone of the western Italian Alps, a variety of mineral reactions that testify to prograde conditions from greenschist to eclogite-facies can be recognised. A microstructural and microchemical study of a series of samples characterized by coronitic textures and pseudomorphic replacement of the original igneous minerals has allowed the prograde reactions undergone by the rocks to be established.

In completely eclogitized coronitic samples, paragonite, blue amphibole, garnet, epidote, fine grained jadeite and chloritoid occur in plagioclase microdomains (former igneous plagioclase). The mafic mineral microdomains consist of glaucophane and garnet. Complexly-zoned amphiboles constrain changing metamorphic conditions: cores of pre-Alpine brown hornblende and/or tremolite are preserved inside rims of a sodic–calcic amphibole that are in turn surrounded by a sodic amphibole. The main high-pressure mineral assemblage, as seen in mylonites, involves glaucophane, chloritoid, epidote, garnet ± phengite, ± paragonite. Some layers within the gabbro contain garnet, omphacite, ± glaucophane, and acid dykes crosscutting the gabbro body contain jadeite, quartz, garnet, epidote and paragonite.

The presence of chloritoid-bearing high-pressure assemblages reflects hydration of the gabbros during their pre-Alpine exhumation prior to subduction, as well as the composition of the microdomains operating during subduction. The pressure and temperature conditions of gabbro transformation during subduction are inferred to be 450–550 °C at up to 2 GPa on the basis of the chloritoid-bearing assemblages. The factors controlling the reaction pathway to form chloritoid-bearing high-pressure assemblages in mafic rocks are inferred from these observations.     

Petrology of mafic-ultramafic rocks along North Puruliya Shear zone,West Bengal

The North Puruliya Shear zone (NPSZ) is characterized by occurrence of mafic-ultramafic rocks aligned parallel to the shear zone, intruding the high grade Proterozoic rocks of Chhotanagpur Gneissic Complex. The ultramafic rocks occur as small lenses, pockets, veins, thin dykes and are intimately associated with mafic (gabbro, norite) rocks. Pyroxenites (viz. olivine websterite, websterite, plagioclase websterite) and hornblendite are the two important members of the ultramafic rocks containing clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, olivine, plagioclase, amphibole, phlogopite and ilmenite. The mafic-ultramafic rocks show evidence of shearing and retrogressive metamorphism. Linear correlation of chemical attributes suggests fractionation-controlled magmatic differentiation. Enrichment of LILE and LREE in the mafic-ultramafic suite suggests an enriched mantle source and pronounced negative Eu-anomalies in all the rock types except hornblendite suggest fractionation of plagioclase under low f_O2 condition. Progressive iron enrichment trend in rocks of the mafic-ultramafic suite also indicate magmatic differentiation under low f_O2 condition. Early fractionation and accumulation of clinopyroxene and plagioclase from a basaltic magma may have given rise to the ultramafic rocks of the area. Little change in the Nb/Zr and Ce/Zr ratios of ultramafic and mafic rocks (except alkali norite) strongly support low crustal contamination. A few samples of norite and gabbro-norites appeared to be variably contaminated by a crustal component or affected by late granitic intrusion resulting in enrichment of alkali in the former.     

Eutectoid and cotectoid petrographic types of acid volcanic and subvolcanic rocks of the continental margin volcanic belts as exemplified by East Asia

Using continental-margin volcanic belts of East Asia as an example, the petrography and geochemistry of acid volcanic and subvolcanic rocks are considered. Cotectoid and eutectoid types are distinguished among them. The eutectoid type is characterized by a disequilibrium mineralogical composition, which includes phenocrysts of early “gabbro” paragenesis (pyroxenes, calcic plagioclase, occasional olivine and amphibole) and “granite” paragenesis (K-Na feldspar, quartz, biotite) and groundmass corresponding to dry quartz-feldspathic eutectics. A linear correlation is noted between the amount of phenocrysts of gabbro paragenesis and SiO₂ content. The entire petrochemical diversity of the eutectoid-type rocks is determined by the quantitative proportions between the gabbro paragenesis and bulk composition. The cotectoid rocks are dominated by sparsely-phyric and aphyric rocks lacking melanocratic inclusions and xenogenic minerals. In the cotectoid-type rocks, the compositions of the phenocrysts and groundmass are complementary with the bulk rocks composition, indicating their equilibrium cotectic crystallization.     

Geochemistry of an island-arc plutonic suite: Wadi Dabr intrusive complex, Eastern Desert, Egypt

The Wadi Dabr intrusive complex, west of Mersa-Alam, Eastern Desert, Egypt ranges in composition from gabbro to diorite, quartz diorite and tonalite. The gabbroic rocks include pyroxene-horn blend e gabbro, hornblende gabbro, quartz-hornblende gabbro, metagabbro and amphibolite. Mineral chemistry data for the gabbroic rocks indicate that the composition of clinopyroxenes ranges from diopside to augite and the corresponding magma is equivalent to a volcanic-arc basalt. Plagioclase cores range from An₇₅ to An₃₄ for the gabbroic varieties, except for the metagabbro which has An _11–18. The brown amphiboles are primary phases and classified as calcic amphiboles, which range from tschermakitic hornblende to magnesiohornblende. Green hornblende and actinolite are secondary phases. Hornblende barometry and hornblende-plagioclase themometry for the gabbroic rocks estimate crystallisation conditions of 2–5 kb and 885–716°C.The intrusive rocks cover an extensive silica range (47.86–72.54 wt%) and do not exhibit simple straight-line variation on Harker diagrams for many elements (e.g. TiO₂, Al₂O₃, FeO^*, MgP, CaO, P₂O₅, Cr, Ni, V, Sr, Zr and Y). Most of these elements exhibit two geochemical trends suggesting two magma sources.The gabbroic rocks are relatively enriched in large ion lithophile elements (K, Rb, Sr and Ba) and depleted in high field strength elements (Nb, Zr, Ti and Y) which suggest subduction-related magma. Rare earth element (REE) data demonstrate that the gabbroic rocks have a slight enrichment of light REE [(La/Yb)_N=2.67−3.91] and depletion of heavy REE ((Tb/Yb)_N=1.42−1.47], which suggest the parent magma was of relatively primitive mantle source.The diorites and tonalites are clearly calc-alkaline and have negative anomalies of Nb, Zr, and Y which also suggest subduction-related magma. They are related to continental trondhjemites in terms of Rb---Sr, K---Na---Ca, and to volcanic-arc granites in terms of Rb---and Nb---Y.The Wadi Dabr intrusive complex is analogous to intrusions emplaced in immature ensimatic island-arcs and represents a mixture of mantle (gabbroic rocks) and crustal fusion products (diorites and tonalites) modified by fractional processes.     

The role of fluids in the metamorphism of komatiites,Agnew nickel deposit,western Australia

The Agnew nickel sulfide deposit is spatially associated with a lenticular body of ultramafic rocks which shows a concentric zonation in metamorphic mineralogy. Olivine + tremolite + chlorite + cummingtonite ±enstatite assemblages occur at the margin of the ultramafic lens, giving way to olivine + anthophyllite, olivine + talc and olivine + antigorite assemblages successively inwards. These rocks are interpreted as having crystallized from komatiitic lavas, and exhibit a spectrum of compositions from those of original flow tops to pure olivine adcumulates. The relative modal abundances of metamorphic olivine, tremolite and chlorite reflect original proportions of cumulus olivine and komatiite liquid in the protolith. Peak metamorphic conditions are estimated at 550° C, based on garnet-biotite thermometry, at a maximum pressure of 3 kb. This temperature falls within the narrow range over which metamorphic olivine may co-exist with enstatite, anthophyllite, talc or antigorite depending upon the fugacity of water in the metamorphic fluid. The observed mineralogical zonation is therefore attributed to infiltration by CO₂-rich fluids, generated by decarbonation of talc-carbonate rocks formed during pre-metamorphic marginal alteration of the ultramafic lens. Metamorphic fluids were essentially binary mixtures of water and CO₂, with minor H₂S having a maximum partial pressure less than 1 percent of total pressure. Enstatite-bearing assemblages formed in the presence of CO₂-rich fluids at fluid: rock volume ratios close to one, while anthophyllite, talc and antigorite bearing assemblages formed in the presence of progressively more water-rich fluids at progressively lower fluid-rock ratios.     

内蒙古狼山地区早石炭世角闪辉长岩、花岗闪长岩的岩石成因及构造意义

内蒙古狼山山脉西侧分布有大面积的晚古生代岩浆岩,时代集中在早石炭世—晚二叠世,早石炭世角闪辉长岩、花岗闪长岩体出露于潮格温都尔镇西侧。角闪辉长岩体呈岩滴状产出,被花岗闪长岩体侵入,LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄显示,角闪辉长岩的~(206)Pb/~(238)U加权平均年龄为329.0±2.3 Ma,花岗闪长岩的~(206)Pb/~(238)U加权平均年龄为331.1±0.9 Ma~330.0±4.2 Ma。花岗闪长岩暗色矿物以角闪石为主,富钠(Na2O=3.48%~4.46%),高钠钾比值(Na2O/K2O=1.03~2.39),钙碱性系列,P2O5-SiO_2之间存在较好的负相关性,岩石地球化学特征具Ⅰ型花岗岩的特点。Hf同位素及元素地球化学特征指示了角闪辉长岩及花岗闪长岩均来自于受地壳混染的亏损地幔,为同源岩浆演化的产物。角闪辉长岩及花岗闪长岩稀土元素配分型式一致,均为轻稀土元素富集,重稀土元素亏损,具弱的负Eu异常;角闪辉长岩富集Ba、Sr,亏损Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf;花岗闪长岩富集大离子亲石元素Rb、K、Pb、Sr,不同程度地亏损高场强元素Nb、Ta、P、Ti,总体反映了岩浆弧的地球化学特征。结合区域地质背景,早石炭世狼山地区侵入岩岩石组合为角闪辉长岩(闪长岩)+石英闪长岩+花岗闪长岩,认为狼山地区早石炭世处于大陆边缘弧构造背景。     

Eclogitization of basites in early proterozoic shear zones in the area of the village of Gridino, western Belomorie

The considered part of ductile shear zones, which are widespread in the area of the village of Gridino in the central part of the Belomorian Mobile Belt, is accompanied by the high-temperature eclogitization of basites. The paper reports examples of eclogitization in rocks of various age, mostly in rocks of the Early Proterozoic lherzolite-gabbronorite and coronite gabbro complexes. The degrees of structural and mineralogical transformations in unequally deformed bodies of gabbronorites and olivine gabbronorites of the lherzolite-gabbronorite complex are correlated with the degrees of deformations of these rocks and their fluid recycling. The relatively weakly deformed rocks have massive and apomagmatic textures with garnet and omphacite reaction rims at boundaries between grains of magmatic plagioclase and pyroxenes. These rims are typical of the domainal equilibrium stage, which is an intermediate eclogitization stage between a magmatic rock and completely equilibrated eclogite. The enhancement of rock deformation results in the development of equilibrium eclogite with anisotropic metamorphic textures and structures. Textural transformations simultaneous with intense deformations are manifested involved the recrystallization of magmatic minerals and the development of linear fine-grained mineral aggregates of the Pl-Opx-Grt-Omp eclogite mineral assemblage and the systematically oriented growth of much larger mineral neoblasts in amphibole eclogite assemblages.     

The stability of hydrous phases beyond antigorite breakdown for a magnetite-bearing natural serpentinite between 6.5 and 11 GPa

Phase relations for a natural serpentinite containing 5 wt% of magnetite have been investigated using a multi-anvil apparatus between 6.5 and 11 GPa and 400–850 °C. Post-antigorite hydrous phase assemblages comprise the dense hydrous magnesium silicates (DHMSs) phase A (11.3 wt% H₂O) and the aluminous phase E (Al-PhE, 11.9 wt% H₂O). In addition, a ferromagnesian hydrous silicate (11.1 wt% H₂O) identified as balangeroite (Mg,Fe)₄₂Si₁₆O₅₄(OH)₄₀, typically described in low pressure natural serpentinite, was found coexisting with Al-PhE between 650 and 700 °C at 8 GPa. In the natural antigorite system, phase E stability is extended to lower pressures (8 GPa) than previously reported in simple chemical systems. The reaction Al-phase E?=?garnet?+?olivine?+?H₂O is constrained between 750 and 800 °C between 8 and 11 GPa as the terminal boundary between hydrous mineral assemblages and nominally anhydrous assemblages, hence restricting water transfer into the deep mantle to the coldest slabs. The water storage capacity of the assemblage Al-PhE?+?enstatite (high-clinoenstatite)?+?olivine, relevant for realistic hydrated slab composition along a relatively cold temperature path is estimated to be ca. 2 wt% H₂O. Attempts to mass balance run products emphasizes the role of magnetite in phase equilibria, and suggests the importance of ferric iron in the stabilization of hydrous phases such as balangeroite and aluminous phase E.