Leucogranite intruding the South Tibetan Detachment in western Nepal: implications for exhumation models in the Himalayas

The most popular models regarding the exhumation of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS), such as extrusion, channel flow, critical taper and wedge extrusion, require prolonged activity of the two bounding shear zones and faults, the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and the South Tibetan Detachment (STD). We present the crystallization age of an undeformed leucogranite that intrudes both the GHS and the Tethyan Himalaya Sequence (THS). Zircon and monazite U‐Pb ages in the leucogranite give ages between 23 and 25 Ma constraining, at that time, the end of shearing along the STD. Our results limit the contemporaneous activity of the MCT and STD to a short period of time (~1–2 Ma) and thus argue against exhumation models requiring prolonged contemporaneous activity of the MCT and STD.     

Timing of metamorphism,melting and exhumation of the Leo Pargil dome,northwest India

The Leo Pargil dome, northwest India, is a 30 km‐wide, northeast‐trending structure that is cored by gneiss and mantled by amphibolite facies metamorphic rocks that are intruded by a leucogranite injection complex. Oppositely dipping, normal‐sense shear zones that accommodated orogen‐parallel extension within a convergent orogen bound the dome. The broadly distributed Leo Pargil shear zone defines the southwest flank of the dome and separates the dome from the metasedimentary and sedimentary rocks in the hanging wall to the west and south. Thermobarometry and in‐situ U–Th–Pb monazite geochronology were conducted on metamorphic rocks from within the dome and in the hanging wall. These data were combined with U–Th–Pb monazite geochronology of leucogranites from the injection complex to evaluate the relationship between metamorphism, crustal melting, and the onset of exhumation. Rocks within the dome and in the hanging wall contain garnet, kyanite, and staurolite porphyroblasts that record prograde Barrovian metamorphism during crustal thickening that reached ～530–630 °C and ～7–8 kbar, ending by c. 30 Ma. Cordierite and sillimanite overgrowths on Barrovian assemblages within the dome record dominantly top‐down‐to‐the‐west shearing during near‐isothermal decompression of the footwall rocks to ～4 kbar by 23 Ma during an exhumation rate of 1.3 mm year^?1. Monazite growth accompanied Barrovian metamorphism and decompression. The leucogranite injection complex within the dome initiated at 23 Ma and continued to 18 Ma. These data show that orogen‐parallel extension in this part of the Himalaya occurred earlier than previously documented (>16 Ma). Contemporaneous onset of near‐isothermal decompression, top‐down‐to‐the‐west shearing, and injection of the decompression‐driven leucogranite complex suggests that early crustal melting may have created a weakened crust that was proceeded by localization of strain and shear zone development. Exhumation along the shear zone accommodated decompression by 23 Ma in a kinematic setting that favoured orogen‐parallel extension.     

Late Miocene movement within the Himalayan Main Central Thrust shear zone, Sikkim, north-east India

In the Sikkim region of north‐east India, the Main Central Thrust (MCT) juxtaposes high‐grade gneisses of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines over lower‐grade slates, phyllites and schists of the Lesser Himalaya Formation. Inverted metamorphism characterizes rocks that immediately underlie the thrust, and the large‐scale South Tibet Detachment System (STDS) bounds the northern side of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines. In situ Th–Pb monazite ages indicate that the MCT shear zone in the Sikkim region was active at c. 22, 14–15 and 12–10 Ma, whereas zircon and monazite ages from a slightly deformed horizon of a High Himalayan leucogranite within the STDS suggest normal slip activity at c. 17 and 14–15 Ma. Although average monazite ages decrease towards structurally lower levels of the MCT shear zone, individual results do not follow a progressive younging pattern. Lesser Himalaya sample KBP1062A records monazite crystallization from 11.5 ± 0.2 to 12.2 ± 0.1 Ma and peak conditions of 610 ± 25 °C and 7.5 ± 0.5 kbar, whereas, in the MCT shear zone rock CHG14103, monazite crystallized from 13.8 ± 0.5 to 11.9 ± 0.3 Ma at lower grade conditions of 525 ± 25 °C and 6 ± 1 kbar. The P–T–t results indicate that the shear zone experienced a complicated slip history, and have implications for the understanding of mid‐crustal extrusion and the role of out‐of‐sequence thrusts in convergent plate tectonic settings.     

Phase equilibria modelling and LASS monazite petrochronology: P–T–t constraints on the evolution of the Priest River core complex,northern Idaho

Phase equilibria modelling, laser‐ablation split‐stream (LASS)‐ICP‐MS petrochronology and garnet trace‐element geochemistry are integrated to constrain the P–T–t history of the footwall of the Priest River metamorphic core complex, northern Idaho. Metapelitic, migmatitic gneisses of the Hauser Lake Gneiss contain the peak assemblage garnet + sillimanite + biotite ± muscovite + plagioclase + K‐feldspar ± rutile ± ilmenite + quartz. Interpreted P–T paths predict maximum pressures and peak metamorphic temperatures of ~9.6–10.3 kbar and ~785–790 °C. Monazite and xenotime ²⁰⁸Pb/²³²Th dates from porphyroblast inclusions indicate that metamorphism occurred at c. 74–54 Ma. Dates from HREE‐depleted monazite formed during prograde growth constrain peak metamorphism at c. 64 Ma near the centre of the complex, while dates from HREE‐enriched monazite constrain the timing of garnet breakdown during near‐isothermal decompression at c. 60–57 Ma. Near‐isothermal decompression to ~5.0–4.4 kbar was followed by cooling and further decompression. The youngest, HREE‐enriched monazite records leucosome crystallization at mid‐crustal levels c. 54–44 Ma. The northernmost sample records regional metamorphism during the emplacement of the Selkirk igneous complex (c. 94–81 Ma), Cretaceous–Tertiary metamorphism and limited Eocene exhumation. Similarities between the Priest River complex and other complexes of the northern North American Cordillera suggest shared regional metamorphic and exhumation histories; however, in contrast to complexes to the north, the Priest River contains less partial melt and no evidence for diapiric exhumation. Improved constraints on metamorphism, deformation, anatexis and exhumation provide greater insight into the initiation and evolution of metamorphic core complexes in the northern Cordillera, and in similar tectonic settings elsewhere.     

Formation and metamorphism of sedimentary rocks beneath the Dingxi Basin: Record of the evolution from subduction to collision in the North Qilian Orogen

The North Qilian Orogen (NQO) in northwest China underwent oceanic subduction and subsequent continental collision. Metasedimentary rocks from a deep borehole in the Dingxi Basin, NQO, contain garnet, biotite, plagioclase, quartz and minor cummingtonite and chlorite in the matrix, with inclusions of kyanite and staurolite in garnet. The mineral textures and compositions define clockwise pressure–temperature evolution with peak conditions of ~10.5 kbar and ~670°C, followed by isothermal decompression down to ~6.5 kbar. Age and Hf isotope data of detrital zircon support the formation of the sedimentary protolith in an arc setting at ~460 Ma, and the age and rare earth element characteristics of metamorphic monazite reflect exhumation at ~425 Ma. These results indicate a complete cycle of deposition–burial–exhumation for the sedimentary rocks, and directly constrain the continental collision process in NQO to yield a geotherm of ~21°C/km and to culminate before 425 Ma.     

The pressure–temperature–time path of migmatites from the Sikkim Himalaya

A combined metamorphic and isotopic study of lit‐par‐lit migmatites exposed in the hanging wall of the Main Central Thrust (MCT) from Sikkim has provided a unique insight into the pressure–temperature–time path of the High Himalayan Crystalline Series of the eastern Himalaya. The petrology and geochemistry of one such migmatite indicates that the leucosome comprises a crystallized peraluminous granite coexisting with sillimanite and alkali feldspar. Large garnet crystals (2–3 mm across) are strongly zoned and grew initially within the kyanite stability field. The melanosome is a biotite–garnet pelitic gneiss, with fibrolitic sillimanite resulting from polymorphic inversion of kyanite. By combining garnet zoning profiles with the NaCaMnKFMASHTO pseudosection appropriate to the bulk composition of a migmatite retrieved from c. 1 km above the thrust zone, it has been established that early garnet formed at pressures of 10–12 kbar, and that subsequent decompression caused the rock to enter the melt field at c. 8 kbar and c. 750 °C, generating peritectic sillimanite and alkali feldspar by the incongruent melting of muscovite. Continuing exhumation resulted in resorption of garnet. Sm–Nd growth ages of garnet cores and rim, indicate pre‐decompression garnet growth at 23 ± 3 Ma and near‐peak temperatures during melting at 16 ± 2 Ma. This provides a decompression rate of 2 ± 1 mm yr^?1 that is consistent with exhumation rates inferred from mineral cooling ages from the eastern Himalaya. Simple 1D thermal modelling confirms that exhumation at this rate would result in a near‐isothermal decompression path, a result that is supported by the phase relations in both the melanosome and leucosome components of the migmatite. Results from this study suggest that anatexis of Miocene granite protoliths from the Himalaya was a consequence of rapid decompression, probably in response to movement on the MCT and on the South Tibetan detachment to the north.     

Bulk chemical control on metamorphic monazite growth in pelitic schists and implications for U–Pb age data

Several petrographic studies have linked accessory monazite growth in pelitic schist to metamorphic reactions involving major rock‐forming minerals, but little attention has been paid to the control that bulk composition might have on these reactions. In this study we use chemographic projections and pseudosections to argue that discrepant monazite ages from the Mount Barren Group of the Albany–Fraser Orogen, Western Australia, reflect differing bulk compositions. A new Sensitive High‐mass Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb monazite age of 1027 ± 8 Ma for pelitic schist from the Mount Barren Group contrasts markedly with previously published SHRIMP U–Pb monazite and xenotime ages of c. 1200 Ma for the same area. All dated samples experienced identical metamorphic conditions, but preserve different mineral assemblages due to variable bulk composition. Monazite grains dated at c. 1200 Ma are from relatively magnesian rocks dominated by biotite, kyanite and/or staurolite, whilst c. 1027 Ma grains are from a ferroan rock dominated by garnet and staurolite. The latter monazite population is likely to have grown when staurolite was produced at the expense of garnet and chlorite, but this reaction was not intersected by more magnesian compositions, which are instead dominated by monazite that grew during an earlier, greenschist facies metamorphic event. These results imply that monazite ages from pelitic schist can vary depending on the bulk composition of the host rock. Samples containing both garnet and staurolite are the most likely to yield monazite ages that approximate the timing of peak metamorphism in amphibolite facies terranes. Samples too magnesian to ever grow garnet, or too iron‐rich to undergo garnet breakdown, are likely to yield older monazite, and the age difference can be significant in terranes with a polymetamorphic history.     

Eocene migmatite formation and diachronous burial revealed by petrochronology in NW Himalaya,Zanskar

In this contribution, we highlight the importance of in-situ monazite geochronology linked to P−T modelling for identification of timescales of metamorphic processes. Barrovian-type micaschists, migmatites and augengneiss from the Gumburanjun dome in the southeastern extremity of the Gianbul dome, NW Himalaya, have been studied in order to correlate the early stages of Himalayan metamorphism at different crustal levels and infer the timing of anatexis. P−T−t paths are constrained through combined pseudosection modelling and in-situ and in-mount monazite and xenotime laser ablation–split-stream inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Petrography and garnet zoning combined with pseudosection modelling show that garnet-staurolite schists record burial from ~530 to 560°C and 5.5 kbar to ~630 to 660°C and 7 kbar; staurolite-kyanite schists from ~530 to 560°C and 5 kbar to ~670 to 680°C and 7−9 kbar; and garnet-kyanite migmatites from 540−570°C and 5 kbar to ~680 to 750°C and 7−10 kbar, probably also to >750°C and >9 kbar above the muscovite stability field. The decompression paths of garnet-staurolite schists indicate cooling on decompression, while garnet rim chemistry and local sillimanite growth point to a stage of re-equilibration at ~600 to 670°C and 4−6 kbar in some of the staurolite-kyanite schists, and at ~670 to 700°C and 6 kbar in garnet-kyanite migmatites. Some of the staurolite-kyanite schists and garnet-kyanite migmatites also contain andalusite or andalusite-cordierite. Monazite and xenotime were analysed in thin sections in garnet, staurolite and kyanite, and in the matrix; and in mounts. BSE images and compositional maps of monazite (xenotime was too small) show variable internal structures from homogeneous through patchy zoning with embayed to sharp boundaries. Two groups of samples can be identified on the basis of the presence or absence of c. 44 − 37 Ma ages. The first group of samples—two garnet-staurolite schists—recorded only c. 31 − 27 Ma ages in porphyroblasts and no c. 40 Ma ages. The second group (samples of staurolite-kyanite schist, garnet-kyanite migmatites, augengneiss) have both the older, c. 44 − 37 Ma monazite ages in porphyroblasts and younger ages down to c. 22 Ma. These significantly different ranges of ages from porphyroblasts of 44−37 Ma, and 31−27 Ma, are interpreted as the duration of prograde P−T paths in Eocene and Oligocene, and indicate diachronous two-stage burial of rocks. Early migmatization occurred at 38 Ma. The c. 29 Ma is interpreted as the time when rocks from the lower and middle crustal levels were partially exhumed and came in to contact with rocks that were downgoing at this time. Localized monazite recrystallization is as young as 26−24 Ma. The youngest ages of 23−22 Ma are related to leucogranite emplacement.     

Thermal metamorphism of the Arunachal Himalaya, India: Raman thermometry and thermochronological constraints on the tectono-thermal evolution

Determination of the peak thermal condition is vital in order to understand tectono-thermal evolution of the Himalayan belt. The Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) in the Western Arunachal Pradesh, being rich in carbonaceous material (CM), facilitates the determination of peak metamorphic temperature based on Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM). In this study, we have used RSCM method of Beyssac et al. (J Metamorph Geol 20:859–871, 2002a) and Rahl et al. (Earth Planet Sci Lett 240:339–354, 2005) to estimate the thermal history of LHS and Siwalik foreland from the western Arunachal Pradesh. The study indicates that the temperature of 700–800 °C in the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) decreases to 650–700 °C in the main central thrust zone (MCTZ) and decreases further to <200 °C in the Mio-Pliocene sequence of Siwaliks. The work demonstrates greater reliability of Rahl et al.’s (Earth Planet Sci Lett 240:339–354, 2005) RSCM method for temperatures >600 and <340 °C. We show that the higher and lower zones of Bomdila Gneiss (BG) experienced temperature of ~600 °C and exhumed at different stages along the Bomdila Thrust (BT) and Upper Main Boundary Thrust (U.MBT). Pyrolysis analysis of the CM together with the Fission Track ages from upper Siwaliks corroborates the RSCM thermometry estimate of ~240 °C. The results indicate that the Permian sequence north of Lower MBT was deposited at greater depths (>12 km) than the upper Siwalik sediments to its south at depths <8 km before they were exhumed. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages suggest that the upper zones of Se La evolved ~13–15 Ma. The middle zone exhumed at ~11 Ma and lower zone close to ~8 Ma indicating erosional unroofing of the MCT sheet. The footwall of MCTZ cooled between 6 and 8 Ma. Analyses of P–T path imply that LHS between MCT and U.MBT zone falls within the kyanite stability field with near isobaric condition. At higher structural level, the temperatures increase gradually with P–T conditions in the sillimanite stability field. The near isothermal (700–800 °C) condition in the GHS, isobaric condition in the MCTZ together with T–t path evidence of GHS that experienced relatively longer duration of near peak temperatures and rapid cooling towards MCTZ, compares the evolution of GHS and inverted metamorphic gradient closely to channel flow predictions.     

Separating metamorphic events in the Fosdick migmatite–granite complex,West Antarctica

The Fosdick migmatite–granite complex in West Antarctica records evidence for two high‐temperature metamorphic events, the first during the Devonian–Carboniferous and the second during the Cretaceous. The conditions of each high‐temperature metamorphic event, both of which involved melting and multiple melt‐loss events, are investigated using phase equilibria modelling during successive melt‐loss events, microstructural observations and mineral chemistry. In situ SHRIMP monazite and TIMS Sm–Nd garnet ages are integrated with these results to constrain the timing of the two events. In areas that preferentially preserve the Devonian–Carboniferous (M₁) event, monazite grains in leucosomes and core domains of monazite inclusions in Cretaceous cordierite yield an age of c. 346 Ma, which is interpreted to record the timing of monazite growth during peak M₁ metamorphism (～820–870 °C, 7.5–11.5 kbar) and the formation of garnet–sillimanite–biotite–melt‐bearing assemblages. Slightly younger monazite spot ages between c. 331 and 314 Ma are identified from grains located in fractured garnet porphyroblasts, and from inclusions in plagioclase that surround relict garnet and in matrix biotite. These ages record the growth of monazite during garnet breakdown associated with cooling from peak M₁ conditions. The Cretaceous (M₂) overprint is recorded in compositionally homogeneous monazite grains and rim domains in zoned monazite grains. This monazite yields a protracted range of spot ages with a dominant population between c. 111 and 96 Ma. Rim domains of monazite inclusions in cordierite surrounding garnet and in coarse‐grained poikiloblasts of cordierite yield a weighted mean age of c. 102 Ma, interpreted to constrain the age of cordierite growth. TIMS Sm–Nd ages for garnet are similar at 102–99 Ma. Mineral equilibria modelling of the residual protolith composition after Carboniferous melt loss and removal of inert M₁ garnet constrains M₂ conditions to ～830–870 °C and ～6–7.5 kbar. The modelling results suggest that there was growth and resorption of garnet during the M₂ event, which would facilitate overprinting of M₁ compositions during the M₂ prograde metamorphism. Measured garnet compositions and Sm–Nd diffusion modelling of garnet in the migmatitic gneisses suggest resetting of major elements and the Sm–Nd system during the Cretaceous M₁ overprint. The c. 102–99 Ma garnet Sm–Nd ‘closure’ ages correspond to cooling below 700 °C during the rapid exhumation of the Fosdick migmatite–granite complex.     

Monazite geochronology in central New England: evidence for a fundamental terrane boundary

Monazite crystallization ages have been measured in situ using SIMS and EMP analysis of samples from the Bronson Hill anticlinorium in central New England. In west‐central New Hampshire, each major tectonic unit (nappe) displays a distinctive P–T path and metamorphic history that requires significant post‐metamorphic faulting to place them in their current juxtaposition, and monazite ages were determined to constrain the timing of metamorphism and nappe assembly. Monazite ages from the low‐pressure, high‐temperature Fall Mountain nappe range from c. 455 to 355 Ma, and Y zoning indicates that these ages comprise three to four distinct age domains, similar to that found in the overlying Chesham Pond nappe. The underlying Skitchewaug nappe contains monazite ages that range from c. 417 to 307 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate rapid cooling of the Chesham Pond and Fall Mountain nappes after 350 Ma, which is believed to represent the time of emplacement of the high‐level Chesham Pond and Fall Mountain nappes onto rocks of the underlying Skitchewaug nappe. Garnet zone rocks from western New Hampshire contain monazite that display a range of ages (c. 430–340 Ma). Both the metamorphic style and monazite ages suggest that the low‐grade belt in western New Hampshire is continuous with the Vermont sequence to the west. Rocks of the Big Staurolite nappe in western New Hampshire contain monazite that crystallized between c. 370 and 290 Ma and the same unit along strike in northern New Hampshire and central Connecticut records ages of c. 257–300 Ma. Conspicuously absent from this nappe are the older age populations that are found in both the overlying nappes and underlying garnet zone rocks. These monazite ages confirm that the metamorphism observed in the Big Staurolite nappe occurred significantly later than that in the units structurally above and below. These data support the hypothesis that the Big Staurolite nappe represents a major tectonic boundary, along which rocks of the New Hampshire metamorphic series were juxtaposed against rocks of the Vermont series during the Alleghanian.     

Two-stage metamorphic evolution of the Bemarivo Belt of northern Madagascar: constraints from reaction textures and in situ monazite dating

New results on the pressure–temperature–time evolution, deduced from conventional geothermobarometry and in situ U‐Th‐total Pb dating of monazite, are presented for the Bemarivo Belt in northern Madagascar. The belt is subdivided into a northern part consisting of low‐grade metamorphic epicontinental series and a southern part made up of granulite facies metapelites. The prograde metamorphic stage of the latter unit is preserved by kyanite inclusions in garnet, which is in agreement with results of the garnet (core)‐alumosilicate‐quartz‐plagioclase (inclusions in garnet; GASP) equilibrium. The peak metamorphic stage is characterized by ultrahigh temperatures of ～900–950 °C and pressures of ～9 kbar, deduced from GASP equilibria and feldspar thermometry. In proximity to charnockite bodies, garnet‐sillimanite‐bearing metapelites contain aluminous orthopyroxene (max. 8.0 wt% Al₂O₃) pointing to even higher temperatures of ～970 °C. Peak metamorphism is followed by near‐isothermal decompression to pressures of 5–7 kbar and subsequent near‐isobaric cooling, which is demonstrated by the extensive late‐stage formation of cordierite around garnet. Internal textures and differences in chemistry of metapelitic monazite point to a polyphasic growth history. Monazite with magmatically zoned cores is rarely preserved, and gives an age of c. 737 ± 19 Ma, interpreted as the maximum age of sedimentation. Two metamorphic stages are dated: M1 monazite cores range from 563 ± 28 Ma to 532 ± 23 Ma, representing the collisional event, and M2 monazite rims (521 ± 25 Ma to 513 ± 14 Ma), interpreted as grown during peak metamorphic temperatures. These are among the youngest ages reported for high‐grade metamorphism in Madagascar, and are supposed to reflect the Pan‐African attachment of the Bemarivo Belt to the Gondwana supercontinent during its final amalgamation stage. In the course of this, the southern Bemarivo Belt was buried to a depth of >25 km. Approximately 25–30 Myr later, the rocks underwent heating, interpreted to be due to magmatic underplating, and uplift. Presumably, the northern part of the belt was also affected by this tectonism, but buried to a lower depth, and therefore metamorphosed to lower grades.     

Crustal growth during back‐arc closure: Cretaceous exhumation history of Cordillera Darwin,southern Patagonia

The Cordillera Darwin metamorphic complex is unique in the Andes in exposing kyanite–staurolite schist north of the Beagle Channel in southern Patagonia. Garnet in amphibolite facies pelitic schists from Bahía Pia has patchy textures whereby some grains consist of clear, grossular‐rich garnet with fine‐grained S1 inclusion trails truncated by regions of turbid spessartine–pyrope‐rich garnet with biotite, muscovite, plagioclase and quartz inclusions. Micron‐scale aqueous inclusions in turbid garnet are consistent with recrystallization facilitated by fluid ingress; S2 inclusion trails indicate this was broadly contemporary with the growth of kyanite and staurolite in the matrix. Pseudosection modelling in Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–Fe₂O₃ (NCKFMASHTO) is used to infer a P–T path dominated by decompression from 12 to 9 kbar at T ≈ 620 °C, coupled with garnet mode decreasing from ～5% to <1%. U–Th–Pb in situ dating of S2 monazite indicates that staurolite and kyanite growth and thus exhumation was underway before 72.6 ± 1.1 Ma. Contact aureoles developed adjacent to late granite intrusions include sillimanite‐bearing migmatites formed at P ≈ 6 kbar after 72 Ma. Metamorphism of southern Cordillera Darwin induced by continental underthrusting beneath the arc, related to closure of the Rocas Verdes back‐arc basin, was terminated by thrusting‐controlled exhumation, with the rocks at P ≈ 9 kbar by c. 73 Ma and 6 kbar by c. 70 Ma.     

Monazite behaviour during isothermal decompression in pelitic granulites: a case study from Dinggye,Tibetan Himalaya

Monazite is a key accessory mineral for metamorphic geochronology, but interpretation of its complex chemical and age zoning acquired during high-temperature metamorphism and anatexis remains a challenge. We investigate the petrology, pressure–temperature and timing of metamorphism in pelitic and psammitic granulites that contain monazite from the Greater Himalayan Crystalline Complex (GHC) in Dinggye, southern Tibet. These rocks underwent isothermal decompression from pressure of >10 kbar to ~5 kbar at temperatures of 750–830 °C, and recorded three metamorphic stages at kyanite (M₁), sillimanite (M₂) and cordierite-spinel grade (M₃). Monazite and zircon crystals were dated by microbeam techniques either as grain separates or in thin sections. U–Th–Pb ages are linked to specific conditions of mineral growth on the basis of zoning patterns, trace element signatures, index mineral inclusions (melt inclusions, sillimanite and K-feldspar) in dated domains and textural relationships with co-existing minerals. The results show that inherited domains (500–400 Ma) are preserved in monazite even at granulite-facies conditions. Few monazites or zircon yield ages related to the M₁-stage (~30–29 Ma), possibly corresponding to prograde melting by muscovite dehydration. During the early stage of isothermal decompression, inherited or prograde monazites in most samples were dissolved in the melt produced by biotite dehydration-melting. Most monazite grains crystallized from melt toward the end of decompression (M₃-stage, 21–19 Ma) and are chemically related to garnet breakdown reactions. Another peak of monazite growth occurred at final melt crystallization (~15 Ma), and these monazite grains are unzoned and are homogeneous in composition. In a regional context, our pressure–temperature–time data constrains peak high-pressure metamorphism within the GHC to ~30–29 Ma in Dinggye Himalaya. Our results are in line with a melt-assisted exhumation of the GHC rocks.     

A geochronological and petrological study of anatectic paragneiss and associated granite dykes from the Day Nui Con Voi metamorphic core complex,North Vietnam: constraints on the timing of metamorphism within the Red River shear zone

The Red River shear zone (RRSZ) is a major left‐lateral strike‐slip shear zone, containing a ductilely deformed metamorphic core bounded by brittle strike‐slip and normal faults, which stretches for >1000 km from Tibet through Yunnan and North Vietnam to the South China Sea. The RRSZ exposes four high‐grade metamorphic core complexes along its length. Various lithologies from the southernmost core complex, the Day Nui Con Voi (DNCV), North Vietnam, provide new constraints on the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of this region prior to and following the initial India–Asia collision. Analysis of a weakly deformed anatectic paragneiss using P–T pseudosections constructed in the MnO–Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O (MnNCKFMASHTO) system provides prograde, peak and retrograde metamorphic conditions, and in situ U–Th–Pb geochronology of metamorphic monazite yields texturally controlled age constraints. Tertiary metamorphism and deformation, overprinting earlier Triassic metamorphism associated with the Indosinian orogeny and possible Cretaceous metamorphism, are characterized by peak metamorphic conditions of ~805 °C and ~8.5 kbar between c. 38 and 34 Ma. Exhumation occurred along a steep retrograde P–T path with final melt crystallizing at the solidus at ≥~5.5 kbar at ~790 °C. Further exhumation at ~640–700 °C and ~4–5 kbar at c. 31 Ma occurred at subsolidus conditions. U–Pb geochronological analysis of monazite from a strongly deformed pre‐kinematic granite dyke from the flank of the DNCV provides further evidence for exhumation at this time. Magmatic grains suggest initial emplacement at 66.0 ± 1.0 Ma prior to the India–Asia collision, whereas grains with metamorphic characteristics indicate later growth at 30.6 ± 0.4 Ma. Monazite grains from a cross‐cutting post‐kinematic dyke within the core of the DNCV antiform provide a minimum age constraint of 25.2 ± 1.4 Ma for the termination of fabric development. A separate and significant episode of monazite growth at c. 83–69 Ma is suggested to be the result of fluid‐assisted recrystallization following the emplacement of magmatic units.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Himalayan metamorphic core between the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, central Nepal

The metamorphic core of the Himalaya in the Kali Gandaki valley of central Nepal corresponds to a 5-km-thick sequence of upper amphibolite facies metasedimentary rocks. This Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) thrusts over the greenschist to lower amphibolite facies Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) along the Lower Miocene Main Central Thrust (MCT), and it is separated from the overlying low-grade Tethyan Zone (TZ) by the Annapurna Detachment. Structural, petrographic, geothermobarometric and thermochronological data demonstrate that two major tectonometamorphic events characterize the evolution of the GHS. The first (Eohimalayan) episode included prograde, kyanite-grade metamorphism, during which the GHS was buried at depths greater than c. 35 km. A nappe structure in the lowermost TZ suggests that the Eohimalayan phase was associated with underthrusting of the GHS below the TZ. A c. 37 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar hornblende date indicates a Late Eocene age for this phase. The second (Neohimalayan) event corresponded to a retrograde phase of kyanite-grade recrystallization, related to thrust emplacement of the GHS on the LHS. Prograde mineral assemblages in the MCT zone equilibrated at average T =880 K (610 °C) and P =940 MPa (=35 km), probably close to peak of metamorphic conditions. Slightly higher in the GHS, final equilibration of retrograde assemblages occurred at average T =810 K (540 °C) and P=650 MPa (=24 km), indicating re-equilibration during exhumation controlled by thrusting along the MCT and extension along the Annapurna Detachment. These results suggest an earlier equilibration in the MCT zone compared with higher levels, as a consequence of a higher cooling rate in the basal part of the GHS during its thrusting on the colder LHS. The Annapurna Detachment is considered to be a Neohimalayan, synmetamorphic structure, representing extensional reactivation of the Eohimalayan thrust along which the GHS initially underthrust the TZ. Within the upper GHS, a metamorphic discontinuity across a mylonitic shear zone testifies to significant, late- to post-metamorphic, out-of-sequence thrusting. The entire GHS cooled homogeneously below 600–700 K (330–430 °C) between 15 and 13 Ma (Middle Miocene), suggesting a rapid tectonic exhumation by movement on late extensional structures at higher structural levels.     

Zoned Zircon from Eclogite Lenses in Marbles from the Dabie-Sulu UHP Terrane, China： A Clear Record of Ultra-deep Subduction and Fast Exhumation

Eclogite lenses in marbles from the Dabie-Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane are deeply subducted meta-sedimentary rocks. Zircons in these rocks have been used to constrain the ages of prograde and UHP metamorphism during subduction, and later retrograde metamorphism during exhumation. Inherited (detrital) and metamorphic zircons were distinguished on the basis of transmitted light microscopy, cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, trace element contents and mineral inclusions. The distribution of mineral inclusions combined with CL imaging of the metamorphic zircon make it possible to relate zircon zones (domains) to different metamorphic stages. Domain 1 consists of rounded, oblong and spindly cores with dark-luminescent images, and contains quartz eclogite facies mineral inclusion assemblages, indicating formation under high-pressure (HP) metamorphic conditions of T = 571-668℃and P = 1.7-2.02 GPa. Domain 2 always surrounds domain 1 or occurs as rounded and spindly cores with white-luminescent images. It contains coesite edogite facies mineral inclusion assemblages, indicating formation under UHP metamorphic conditions of T = 782-849℃and P > 5.5 GPa. Domain 3, with gray-luminescent images, always surrounds domain 2 and occurs as the outermost zircon rim. It is characterized by low-pressure mineral inclusion assemblages, which are related to regional amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphism of T = 600-710℃and P = 0.7-1.2 GPa. The three metamorphic zircon domains have distinct ages; sample H1 from the Dabie terrane yielded SHRIMP ages of 245±4 Ma for domain 1, 235±3 Ma for domain 2 and 215±6 Ma for domain 3, whereas sample H2 from the Sulu terrane yielded similar ages of 244±4 Ma, 233±4 Ma and 214±5 Ma for Domains 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The mean ages of these zones suggest that subduction to UHP depths took place over 10-11 Ma and exhumation of the rocks occurred over a period of 19-20 Ma. Thus, subduction from～55 km to > 160 km deep mantle depth took place at rates of approximately 9.5-10.5 km/Ma and exhumation from depths >160 km to the base of the crust at～30 km occurred at approximately 6.5 km/Ma. We propose a model for these rocks involving deep subduction of continental margin lithosphere followed by ultrafast exhumation driven by buoyancy forces after break-off of the UHP slab deep within the mantle.     

Monazite in a Variscan mylonitic paragneiss from the Münchberg Metamorphic Complex (NE Bavaria) records Cadomian protolith ages

Small oval‐shaped, unshielded monazite grains found in a Variscan garnet–muscovite‐bearing mylonitic paragneiss from the Liegendserie unit of the Münchberg Metamorphic Complex in the northwestern Bohemian Massif, central Europe, yield only pre‐Variscan ages. These ages, determined with the electron microprobe, have maxima at c. 545, 520 and 495 Ma and two side‐maxima at 455 and 575 Ma, and are comparable with previously determined ages of detrital zircon reported from paragneisses elsewhere in the NW Bohemian Massif. The pressure (P)–temperature (T) history of this mylonitic paragneiss, determined from contoured P–T pseudosections, involved an initial stage at 6 kbar/600 °C, reaching peak P–T conditions of 12.5 kbar/670 °C with partial melting, followed by mylonitization and retrogression to 9 kbar/610 °C. The monazite, representing detrital grains derived from igneous rocks of a Cadomian provenance between 575 and 455 Ma, has survived these Variscan metamorphic/deformational events unchanged because this mineral has probably never been outside its P–T stability field during metamorphism.     

Fluid‐induced breakdown of monazite in medium‐grade metasedimentary rocks of the Pontremoli basement (Northern Apennines,Italy)

The last (decompression) stages of the metamorphic evolution can modify monazite microstructure and composition, making it difficult to link monazite dates with pressure and temperature conditions. Monazite and its breakdown products under fluid‐present conditions were studied in micaschist recovered from the cuttings of the Pontremoli1 well, Tuscany. Coronitic microstructures around monazite consist of concentric zones of apatite + Th‐silicate, allanite and epidote. The chemistry and microstructure of the monazite grains, which preserve a wide range of chemical dates ranging from Upper Carboniferous to Tertiary times, suggest that this mineral underwent a fluid‐mediated coupled dissolution–reprecipitation and crystallization processes. Consideration of the chemical zoning (major and selected trace elements) in garnet, its inclusion mineralogy (including xenotime), monazite breakdown products and phase diagram modelling allow the reaction history among accessory minerals to be linked with the reconstructed P–T evolution. The partial dissolution and replacement by rare earth element‐accessory minerals (apatite–allanite–epidote) occurred during a fluid‐present decompression at 510 ± 35 °C. These conditions represent the last stage of a metamorphic history consisting of a thermal metamorphic peak at 575 °C and 7 kbar, followed by the peak pressure stage occurring at 520 °C and 8 kbar. An anticlockwise P–T path or two clockwise P–T loops can fit the above P–T constraints. The former path may be related to a context of late Variscan strike‐slip‐dominated exhumation with minor Tertiary (Alpine‐related) reworking and fluid infiltration, while the latter requires an Oligocene–Miocene fluid‐present tectono‐metamorphic overprint on the Variscan paragenesis.     

Early Mesoproterozoic metamorphism in the Barossa Complex,South Australia: links with the eastern margin of Proterozoic Australia

LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronological data from metamorphic monazite in granulite-facies metapelites in the Barossa Complex, southern Australia, yield ages in the range 1580–1550 Ma. Metapelitic rocks from the Myponga and Houghton Inliers contain early biotite–sillimanite-bearing assemblages that underwent partial melting to produce peak metamorphic garnet–sillimanite-bearing anatectic assemblages. Phase equilibrium modelling suggests a clockwise P–T evolution with peak temperatures between 800 and 870°C and peak pressures of 8–9 kbar, followed by decompression to pressures of ～6 kbar. In combination with existing age data, the monazite U–Pb ages indicate that the early Mesoproterozoic evolution of the Barossa Complex is contemporaneous with other high geothermal gradient metamorphic terranes in eastern Proterozoic Australia. The areal extent of early Mesoproterozoic metamorphism in eastern Australia suggests that any proposed continental reconstructions involving eastern Proterozoic Australia should share a similar tectonothermal history.