Constraints on the timing and conditions of high‐grade metamorphism,charnockite formation and fluid–rock interaction in the Trivandrum Block,southern India

Incipient charnockites have been widely used as evidence for the infiltration of CO₂‐rich fluids driving dehydration of the lower crust. Rocks exposed at Kakkod quarry in the Trivandrum Block of southern India allow for a thorough investigation of the metamorphic evolution by preserving not only orthopyroxene‐bearing charnockite patches in a host garnet–biotite felsic gneiss, but also layers of garnet–sillimanite metapelite gneiss. Thermodynamic phase equilibria modelling of all three bulk compositions indicates consistent peak‐metamorphic conditions of 830–925 °C and 6–9 kbar with retrograde evolution involving suprasolidus decompression at high temperature. These models suggest that orthopyroxene was most likely stabilized close to the metamorphic peak as a result of small compositional heterogeneities in the host garnet–biotite gneiss. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether the heterogeneities were inherited from the protolith or introduced during syn‐metamorphic fluid flow. U–Pb geochronology of monazite and zircon from all three rock types constrains the peak of metamorphism and orthopyroxene growth to have occurred between the onset of high‐grade metamorphism at c. 590 Ma and the onset of melt crystallization at c. 540 Ma. The majority of metamorphic zircon growth occurred during protracted melt crystallization between c. 540 and 510 Ma. Melt crystallization was followed by the influx of aqueous, alkali‐rich fluids likely derived from melts crystallizing at depth. This late fluid flow led to retrogression of orthopyroxene, the observed outcrop pattern and to the textural and isotopic modification of monazite grains at c. 525–490 Ma.     

Reactive monazite and robust zircon growth in diatexites and leucogranites from a hot,slowly cooled orogen: implications for the Palaeoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the central Fennoscandian Shield,Sweden

Monazite in melt-producing, poly-metamorphic terranes can grow, dissolve or reprecipitate at different stages during orogenic evolution particularly in hot, slowly cooling orogens such as the Svecofennian. Owing to the high heat flow in such orogens, small variations in pressure, temperature or deformation intensity may promote a mineral reaction. Monazite in diatexites and leucogranites from two Svecofennian domains yields older, coeval and younger U–Pb SIMS and EMP ages than zircon from the same rock. As zircon precipitated during the melt-bearing stage, its U–Pb ages reflect the timing of peak metamorphism, which is associated with partial melting and leucogranite formation. In one of the domains, the Granite and Diatexite Belt, zircon ages range between 1.87 and 1.86 Ga, whereas monazite yields two distinct double peaks at 1.87–1.86 and 1.82–1.80 Ga. The younger double peak is related to monazite growth or reprecipitation during subsolidus conditions associated with deformation along late-orogenic shear zones. Magmatic monazite in leucogranite records systematic variations in composition and age during growth that can be directly linked to Th/U ratios and preferential growth sites of zircon, reflecting the transition from melt to melt crystallisation of the magma. In the adjacent Ljusdal Domain, peak metamorphism in amphibolite facies occurred at 1.83–1.82 Ga as given by both zircon and monazite chronology. Pre-partial melting, 1.85 Ga contact metamorphic monazite is preserved, in spite of the high-grade overprint. By combining structural analysis, petrography and monazite and zircon geochronology, a metamorphic terrane boundary has been identified. It is concluded that the boundary formed by crustal shortening accommodated by major thrusting.     

Quantitative elemental mapping of granulite-facies monazite: Textural insights and implications for petrochronology

Texturally complex monazite grains contained in two granulite-facies pelitic migmatites from southern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada, were mapped by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (using spot sizes ≤5 µm) to quantitatively determine the spatial variation in trace element chemistry (with up to 1,883 analyses per grain). The maps highlight the chemical complexity of monazite grains that have experienced multiple episodes of growth, resorption and chemical modification by dissolution–precipitation during high-grade metamorphism. Following detailed chemical characterization of monazite compositional zones, a related U–Pb data set is re-interpreted, allowing petrologically significant ages to be extracted from a continuum of concordant data. Synthesis of these data with pseudosection modelling of prograde and peak conditions allows for the temporal evolution of monazite trace element chemistry to be placed in the context of the evolving P–T conditions and major phase assemblage. This approach enables a critical evaluation of three commonly used petrochronological indicators: linking Y to garnet abundance, the Eu anomaly to feldspar content and Th/U to anatectic processes. Europium anomalies and Th/U behave in a relatively systematic fashion, suggesting that they are reliable petrochronological witnesses. However, Y systematics are variable, both within domains interpreted to have grown in a single event, between grains interpreted to be part of the same age population, and between samples that experienced similar metamorphic conditions and mineral assemblages. These observations caution against generalized petrological interpretations on the basis of Y content, as it suggests Y concentrations in monazite are controlled by domainal equilibria. The results reveal a c. 45 Myr interval between prograde metamorphism and retrograde melt crystallization in the study area, emphasizing the long-lived nature of heat flow in high-grade metamorphic terranes. Such long timescales of metamorphism would be assisted by the growth, retention and dominance of high-Th suprasolidus monazite, as observed in this study, contributing to the radiogenic heating budget of mid- to lower-crustal environments. Careful characterization of monazite grains suggests that continuum-style U–Pb data sets can be decoded to provide insights into the duration of metamorphic processes.     

Behavior of accessory phases and redistribution of Zr,REE, Y,Th, and U during metamorphism and partial melting of metapelites in the lower crust: an example from the Kinzigite Formation of Ivrea-Verbano,NW Italy

This study is aimed at understanding the behavior of monazite, xenotime, apatite and zircon, and the redistribution of Zr, REE, Y, Th, and U among melt, rock-forming and accessory phases in a prograde metamorphic sequence, the Kinzigite Formation of Ivrea-Verbano, NW Italy, that may represent a section from the middle to lower continental crust. Metamorphism ranges from middle amphibolite to granulite facies and metapelites show evidence of intense partial melting and melt extraction. The appearance of melt controls the grain size, fraction of inclusions and redistribution of REE, Y, Th, and U among accessories and major minerals. The textural evolution of zircon and monazite follows, in general, the model of Watson et al. (1989). Apatite is extracted from the system dissolved into partial melts. Xenotime is consumed in garnet-forming reactions and is the first source for the elevated Y and HREE contents of garnet. Once xenotime is exhausted, monazite, apatite, zircon, K-feldspar, and plagioclase are progressively depleted in Y, HREE, and MREE as the modal abundance of garnet increases. Monazite is severely affected by two retrograde reactions, which may have consequences for U-Pb dating of this mineral. Granulite-grade metapelites (stronalites) are significantly richer in Ti, Al, Fe, Mg, Sc, V, Cr, Zn, Y, and HREE, and poorer in Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Tl, U, and P, but have roughly the same average concentration of Cu, Sr, Pb, Zr, Ba, LREE, and Th as amphibolite-grade metapelites (kinzigites). The kinzigite-stronalite transition is marked by the sudden change of Th/U from 5–6 to 14–15, the progressive increase of Nb/Ta, and the decoupling of Ho from Y. Leucosomes were saturated in zircon, apatite, and (except at the lowest degree of partial melting) monazite. Their REE patterns, especially the magnitude of the Eu anomaly, depend on the relative proportion of feldspars and monazite incorporated into the melt. The presence of monazite in the source causes an excellent correlation of LREE and Th, with nearly constant Nd/Th ≈ 2.5–3. The U depletion and increase in Th/U characteristic of granulite facies only happens in monazite-bearing rocks. It is attributed to enhancement of the U partitioning in the melt due to elevated Cl activity followed by the release of a Cl-rich F-poor aqueous fluid at the end of the crystallization of leucosomes. Halide activity in partial melts was buffered by monazite and apatite. Since the U (and K) depletion does not substantially affect the heat-production of metapelites, and mafic granulites maintain similar Th/U and abundance of U and Th as their unmetamorphosed equivalents, it seems that geochemical changes associated to granulitization have only a minor influence on heat-production in the lower crust.     

U and Th Contents and Th/U Ratios of Zircon in Felsic and Mafic Magmatic Rocks: Improved Zircon-Melt Distribution Coefficients

High-precision data on U and Th contents and Th/U ratios of zircon obtained using secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis have been collected from the literature. Zircon in the granitic rocks has median values of 350 ppm U, 140 ppm Th, and Th/U=0.52; the recommended zircon-melt partition coefficients are 81 for DU and 8.2 for DTh. In zircon from mafic and intermediate rocks, the median values are 270 ppm U, 170 ppm Th, and Th/U=0.81, and the recommended zircon-melt partition coefficients are 169 for DU and 59 for DTh. The U and Th contents and Th/U ratios of magmatic zircon are low when zircon crystallizes in equilibrium with the melt. Increasing magma temperature should promote higher Th contents relative to U contents, resulting in higher Th/U ratios for zircon in mafic to intermediate rocks than in granitic rocks. However, when zircon crystallizes in disequilibrium with the melt, U and Th are more easily able to enter the zircon lattice, and their contents and Th/U ratios depend mainly on the degree of disequilibrium. The behavior of U and Th in magmatic zircon can be used as a geochemical indicator to determine the origins and crystallization environments of magmatic zircon.     

Behavior of zircon in the upper-amphibolite to granulite facies schist/migmatite transition, Ryoke metamorphic belt, SW Japan: constraints from the melt inclusions in zircon

Behavior of zircon at the schist/migmatite transition is investigated. Syn-metamorphic overgrowth is rare in zircon in schists, whereas zircon in migmatites has rims with low Th/U that give 90.3 ± 2.2 Ma U–Pb concordia age. Between inherited core and the metamorphic rim, a thin, dark-CL annulus containing melt inclusion is commonly developed, suggesting that it formed contemporaneous with the rim in the presence of melt. In diatexites, the annulus is further truncated by the brighter-CL overgrowth, suggesting the resorption and regrowth of the zircon after near-peak metamorphism. Part of the zircon rim crystallized during the solidification of the melt in migmatites. Preservation of angular-shaped inherited core of 5–10 μm in zircon included in garnet suggests that zircon of this size did not experience resorption but developed overgrowths during near-peak metamorphism. The Ostwald ripening process consuming zircon less than 5–10 μm is required to form new overgrowths. Curved crystal size distribution pattern for fine-grained zircons in a diatexite sample may indicate the contribution of this process. Zircon less than 20 μm is confirmed to be an important sink of Zr in metatexites, and ca. 35-μm zircon without detrital core are common in diatexites, supporting new nucleation of zircon in migmatites. In the Ryoke metamorphic belt at the Aoyama area, monazite from migmatites records the prograde growth age of 96.5 ± 1.9 Ma. Using the difference of growth timing of monazite and zircon, the duration of metamorphism higher than the amphibolite facies grade is estimated to be ca. 6 Myr.     

Monazite as a monitor for melt‐rock interaction during cooling and exhumation

Granulite facies cordierite–garnet–biotite gneisses from the southeastern Reynolds Range, central Australia, contain both orthopyroxene‐bearing and orthopyroxene‐free quartzofeldspathic leucosomes. Mineral reaction microstructures at the interface of gneiss and leucosome observed in outcrop and petrographically, reflect melt‐rock interaction during crystallization. Accessory monazite, susceptible to fluid alteration, dissolution and recrystallization at high temperature, is tested for its applicability to constrain the chemical and P–T–time evolution of melt‐rock reactions during crystallization upon cooling. Bulk rock geochemistry and phase equilibria modelling constrain peak pressure and temperature conditions to 6.5–7.5 kbar and ~850°C, and U–Pb geochronology constrains the timing of monazite crystallization to 1.55 Ga, coeval with the Chewings Orogeny. Modelling predicts the presence of up to 15 vol.% melt at peak metamorphic conditions. Upon cooling below 800°C, melt extraction and in situ crystallization of melt decrease the melt volume to less than 7%, at which time it becomes entrapped and melt pockets induce replacement reactions in the adjacent host rock. Replacement reactions of garnet, orthopyroxene and K‐feldspar liberate Y, REE, Eu and U in addition to Mg, Fe, Al, Si and K. We demonstrate that distinguishing between monazite varieties solely on the basis of U–Pb ages cannot solve the chronological order of events in this study, nor does it tie monazite to the evolution of melt or stability of rock‐forming minerals. Rather, we argue that analyses of various internal monazite textures, their composition and overprinting relations allow us to identify the chronology of events following the metamorphic peak. We infer that retrograde reactions involving garnet, orthopyroxene and K‐feldspar can be attributed to melt‐rock interaction subsequent to partial melting, which is reflected in the development of compositionally distinct monazite textural domains. Internal monazite textures and their composition are consistent with dissolution and precipitation reactions induced by a high‐T melt. Monazite rims enriched in Y, HREE, Eu and U indicate an increased availability of these elements, consistent with the breakdown of orthopyroxene, garnet and K‐feldspar observed petrographically. Our study indicates that compositional and textural analysis of monazite in relation to major rock‐forming minerals can be used to infer the post‐peak chemical evolution of partial melts during high‐ to ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism.     

The timing of migmatization in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield: Evidence for a juvenile sedimentary component in collision‐related batholiths

Collision‐related granitoid batholiths, like those of the Hercynian and Himalayan orogens, are mostly fed by magma derived from metasedimentary sources. However, in the late Neoproterozoic calcalkaline (CA) batholiths of the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS), which constitutes the northern half of the East African orogen, any sedimentary contribution is obscured by the juvenile character of the crust and the scarcity of migmatites. Here, we use paired in situ LASS‐ICP‐MS measurements of U–Th–Pb isotope ratios and REE contents of monazite and xenotime and SHRIMP‐RG analyses of separated zircon to demonstrate direct linkage between migmatites and granites in the northernmost ANS. Our results indicate a single prolonged period of monazite growth at 640–600 Ma, in metapelites, migmatites and peraluminous granites of three metamorphic suites: Abu‐Barqa (SW Jordan), Roded (S Israel) and Taba–Nuweiba (Sinai, Egypt). The distribution of monazite dates and age zoning in single monazite grains in migmatites suggest that peak thermal conditions, involving partial melting, prevailed for c. 10 Ma, from 620 to 610 Ma. REE abundances in monazite are well correlated with age, recording garnet growth and garnet breakdown in association with the prograde and retrograde stages of the melting reactions, respectively. Xenotime dates cluster at 600–580 Ma, recording retrogression to greenschist facies conditions as garnet continued to destabilize. Phase equilibrium modelling and mineral thermobarometry yield P–T conditions of ~650–680°C and 5–7 kbar, consistent with either water‐fluxed or muscovite‐breakdown melting. The expected melt production is 8–10 vol.%, allowing a melt connectivity network to form leading to melt segregation and extraction. U–Pb ages of zircon rims from leucosomes indicate crystallization of melt at 610 ± 10 Ma, coinciding with the emplacement of a vast volume of CA granites throughout the northern ANS, which were previously considered post‐collisional. Similar monazite ages (c. 620 Ma) retrieved from the amphibolite facies Elat schist indicate that migmatites are the result of widespread regional rather than local contact metamorphism, representing the climax of the East African orogenesis.     

Thermobarometric modelling of zircon and monazite growth in melt-bearing systems: examples using model metapelitic and metapsammitic granulites

U–Pb age data collected from zircon and monazite are used to draw fundamental inferences about tectonic processes in the Earth. Despite the emphasis placed on zircon and monazite ages, the understanding of how to relate the timing of growth of zircon and monazite to an evolving rock system remains in its infancy. In addition, few studies have presented large datasets of geochronological data from zircon and monazite occurring in the same metamorphic rock sample. Such information is crucial for understanding the growth of zircon relative to monazite in a systematic and predictive manner, as per this study. The data that exist support the generally held conception that zircon ages tend to be older than monazite ages within the same rock. Here experimental data for zircon and monazite saturation in melt-bearing rocks are integrated with phase diagram calculations. The calculations constrain the dissolution and growth behaviour of zircon and monazite with respect to evolving pressure, temperature and silicate mineral assemblages in high-grade, melt-bearing, metasedimentary rocks. Several key results emerge from this modelling: first, that in aluminous metapelitic rocks (i.e. garnet + cordierite + sillimanite assemblages), zircon ages are older than monazite ages in the same rock; second, that the growth rate of accessory minerals is nonlinear and much higher at and near saturation than at lower temperatures; and third, that the difference in zircon and monazite ages from the same rock may be ascribed to differences in the temperature(s) at which zircon and monazite grow rather than differences in closure temperature systematics. Using our methodology the cooling rate of granulites from the Reynolds Range, central Australia, have been constrained at ∼4 °C Myr⁻¹. This study serves as a first-pass template on which further research in applying the technique to a field study can be based.     

Magmatic-to-hydrothermal crystallization in the W–Sn mineralized Mole Granite (NSW, Australia): Part I: Crystallization of zircon and REE-phosphates over three million years—a geochemical and U–Pb geochronological study

Zircon, monazite and xenotime crystallized over a temperature interval of several hundred degrees at the magmatic to hydrothermal transition of the Sn and W mineralized Mole Granite. Magmatic zircon and monazite, thought to have crystallized from hydrous silicate melt, were dated by conventional U–Pb techniques at an age of 247.6 ± 0.4 and 247.7 ± 0.5 Ma, respectively. Xenotime occurring in hydrothermal quartz is found to be significantly younger at 246.2 ± 0.5 Ma and is interpreted to represent hydrothermal growth. From associated fluid inclusions it is concluded that it precipitated from a hydrothermal brine ≤ 600 °C, which is below the accepted closure temperature for U–Pb in this mineral. These data are compatible with a two-stage crystallization process: precipitation of zircon and monazite as magmatic liquidus phases in deep crustal magma followed by complete crystallization and intimately associated Sn–W mineralization after intrusion of the shallow, sill-like body of the Mole Granite. Later hydrothermal formation of monazite in a biotite–fluorite–topaz reaction rim around a mineralized vein was dated at 244.4 ± 1.4 Ma, which distinctly postdates the Mole Granite and is possibly related to a younger hidden intrusion and its hydrothermal fluid system.

Obtaining precise age data for magmatic and hydrothermal minerals of the Mole Granite is hampered by uncertainties introduced by different corrections required for multiple highly radiogenic minerals crystallising from evolved hydrous granites, including ²³⁰Th disequilibrium due to Th/U fractionation during monazite and possibly xenotime crystallization, variable Th/U ratios of the fluids from which xenotime was precipitating, elevated contents of common lead, and post-crystallization lead loss in zircon, enhanced by the fluid-saturated environment. The data imply that monazite can also survive as a liquidus phase in protracted magmatic systems over periods of 10⁶ years. The outlined model is in agreement with prominent chemical core-rim variation of the zircon.     

Neoproterozoic evolution and Cambrian reworking of ultrahigh temperature granulites in the Eastern Ghats Province,India

The time‐scales and P–T conditions recorded by granulite facies metamorphic rocks permit inferences about the geodynamic regime in which they formed. Two compositionally heterogeneous cordierite–spinel‐bearing granulites from Vizianagaram, Eastern Ghats Province (EGP), India, were investigated to provide P–T–time constraints using petrography, phase equilibrium modelling, U–Pb geochronology, the rare earth element composition of zircon and monazite, and Ti‐in‐zircon thermometry. These ultrahigh temperature (UHT) granulites preserve discrete compositional layering in which different inferred peak assemblages are developed, including layers bearing garnet–sillimanite–spinel, and others bearing orthopyroxene–sillimanite–spinel. These mineral associations cannot be reproduced by phase equilibrium modelling of whole‐rock compositions, indicating that the samples became domainal on a scale less than that of a thin section, even at UHT conditions. Calculation of the P–T stability fields for six compositional domains within which the main rock‐forming minerals are considered to have attained equilibrium suggests peak metamorphic conditions of ~6.8–8.3 kbar at ~1,000°C. In most of these domains, the subsequent evolution resulted in the growth of cordierite and final crystallization of melt at an elevated (residual) H₂O‐undersaturated solidus, consistent with <1 kbar of decompression. Concordant U–Pb ages obtained by SHRIMP from zircon (spread 1,050–800 Ma) and monazite (spread 950–800 Ma) demonstrate that crystallization of these minerals occurred during an interval of c. 250 Ma. By combining LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb zircon ages with Ti‐in‐zircon temperatures from the same analysis sites, we show that the crust may have remained above 900°C for a minimum of c. 120 Ma between c. 1,000 and c. 880 Ma. Overall, the results suggest that, in the interval 1,050 to 800 Ma, the evolution of the Vizianagaram granulites culminated with UHT conditions from c. 1,000 Ma to c. 880 Ma, associated with minor decompression, before further zircon crystallization at c. 880–800 Ma during cooling to the solidus. However, these rocks are adjacent to the Paderu–Anantagiri–Salur crustal block to the NW that experienced counterclockwise P–T–t paths, and records similar UHT peak metamorphic conditions (7–8 kbar, ~950°C) followed by near‐isobaric cooling, and has a similar chronology during the Neoproterozoic. The limited decompression inferred at Vizianagaram may be explained by partial exhumation due to thrusting of this crustal block over the adjacent Paderu–Anantagiri–Salur crustal block. The residual granulites in both blocks have high concentrations of heat‐producing elements and likely remained hot at mid‐crustal depths throughout a period of relative tectonic quiescence in the interval 800–550 Ma. During the Cambrian Period, the EGP was located in the hinterland of the Denman–Pinjarra–Prydz orogen. A later concordant population of zircon dated at 511 ± 6 Ma records crystallization at temperatures of ~810°C. This age may record a low‐degree of melting due to limited influx of fluid into hot, weak crust in response to convergence of the Crohn craton with a composite orogenic hinterland comprising the Rayner terrane, EGP, and cratonic India.     

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.     

Residence of REE, Y, Th and U in Granites and Crustal Protoliths; Implications for the Chemistry of Crustal Melts

A systematic study with laser ablation—ICP-MS, scanningelectron microscopy and electron microprobe revealed that 70–95wt% of REE (except Eu), Y, Th and U in granite rocks and crustalprotoliths reside within REEYThU-rich accessories whose nature,composition and associations change with the rock aluminosity.The accessory assemblage of peraluminous granites, migmatitesand high-grade rocks is composed of monazite, xenotime (in low-Cavarieties), apatite, zircon, Thorthosilicate, uraninite andbetafite-pyrochlore. Metaluminous granites have allanite, sphene,apatite, zircon, monazite and Thorthosilicaie. Peralkaline graniteshave aeschinite, fergusonite, samarskite, bastnaesite, fluocerite,allanite, sphene, zircon, monazite, xenotime and Th-orthosilicate.Granulite-grade garnets are enriched in Nd and Sm by no lessthan one order of magnitude with respect to amphibolite-gradegarnets. Granulitegrade feldspars are also enriched in LREEwith respect to amphibolite-grade feldspars. Accessories causenon-Henrian behaviour of REE, Y, Th and U during melt—solidpartitioning. Because elevated fractions of monazite, xenotimeand zircon in common migmatites are included within major minerals,their behaviour during anatexis is controlled by that of theirhost. Settling curves calculated for a convecting magma showthat accessories are too small to settle appreciably, beingseparated from the melt as inclusions within larger minerals.Biotite has the greatest tendency to include accessories, therebyindirectly controlling the geochemistry of REE, Y, Th and U.We conclude that REE, Y, Th and U are unsuitable for petrogeneticalmodelling of granitoids through equilibrium-based trace-elementfractionation equations. KEY WORDS: accessory minerals; geochemical modelling; granitoids; REE, Y, Th, U     

Relating zircon and monazite domains to garnet growth zones: age and duration of granulite facies metamorphism in the Val Malenco lower crust

Zircon from a lower crustal metapelitic granulite (Val Malenco, N‐Italy) display inherited cores, and three metamorphic overgrowths with ages of 281 ± 2, 269 ± 3 and 258 ± 4 Ma. Using mineral inclusions in zircon and garnet and their rare earth element characteristics it is possible to relate the ages to distinct stages of granulite facies metamorphism. The first zircon overgrowth formed during prograde fluid‐absent partial melting of muscovite and biotite apparently caused by the intrusion of a Permian gabbro complex. The second metamorphic zircon grew after formation of peak garnet, during cooling from 850 °C to c. 700 °C. It crystallized from partial melts that were depleted in heavy rare earth elements because of previous, extensive garnet crystallization. A second stage of partial melting is documented in new growth of garnet and produced the third metamorphic zircon. The ages obtained indicate that the granulite facies metamorphism lasted for about 20 Myr and was related to two phases of partial melting producing strongly restitic metapelites. Monazite records three metamorphic stages at 279 ± 5, 270 ± 5 and 257 ± 4 Ma, indicating that formation ages can be obtained in monazite that underwent even granulite facies conditions. However, monazite displays less clear relationships between growth zones and mineral inclusions than zircon, hampering the correlation of age to metamorphism. To overcome this problem garnet–monazite trace element partitioning was determined for the first time, which can be used in future studies to relate monazite formation to garnet growth.     

Divergent behaviour of Th and U during anatexis: Implications for the thermal evolution of orogenic crust

Mobilization and migration of the heat‐producing elements (HPE) during anatexis is a critical process in the development of orogenic systems, the evolution of continental crust and the stabilization of cratons. In many crustal rocks the accessory minerals are the dominant hosts of Th and U, and the behaviour of these minerals during partial melting controls the concentrations of these elements in draining melt and residue. We use phase equilibrium modelling to evaluate if loss of melt saturated in the essential structural constituents of the accessory minerals can explain the concentrations of Th and U in residual metasedimentary migmatites and granulites along two well‐characterized crustal transects in the Ivrea zone, Italy and at Mt Stafford, Australia. While an equilibrium model of accessory mineral breakdown and melt loss approximates the depletion of U in the residual crust along both transects, it does not explain the relative enrichment of Th. We propose that the high Th concentrations in residual crust may be explained by either inhibition of monazite dissolution by kinetic factors or near‐peak growth of new high Th grains and overgrowth rims on undissolved monazite due to migration of melt through the orogenic crust. Retention of the HPE in the middle and deep orogenic crust may allow metasedimentary granulites to overcome the enthalpy barrier of melting to achieve ultrahigh temperature conditions and may be partly responsible for the slow cooling of many granulite terranes. Lastly, although the mantle was warmer and crustal heat production was higher in the past, peak temperatures and apparent thermal gradients of high‐temperature (HT)–ultrahigh temperature (UHT) granulite terranes have not decreased significantly since the Neoarchean. However, the pressure of HP granulite facies metamorphism has increased gradually from the Archean to the Phanerozoic, which suggests that the lithosphere became stronger as secular cooling of the mantle enabled plate collisions to form thicker orogens. Thus, as the lithosphere became stronger, the proportion of HT–UHT metamorphism associated with thin lithosphere and mantle heat has decreased, whereas the proportion associated with the formation of thick crust and radiogenic heat has increased.     

Geochronological constraints on the evolution of high-pressure felsic granulites from an integrated electron microprobe and ID-TIMS geochemical study

A combined geochronological, geochemical, and Nd isotopic study of felsic high-pressure granulites from the Snowbird Tectonic Zone, northern Saskatchewan, Canada, has been carried out through the application of integrated electron microprobe and isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) techniques. The terrane investigated is a 400 km² domain of garnet–kyanite–K–feldspar-bearing quartzofeldspathic gneisses. Monazite in these granulites preserves a complex growth history from 2.6 to 1.9 Ga, with well-armored, high Y and Th grains included in garnet yielding the oldest U–Pb dates at 2.62 to 2.59 Ga. In contrast, matrix grains and inclusions in garnet rims that are not well-armored are depleted in Y and Th, and display more complicated U–Pb systematics with multiple age domains ranging from 2.5 to 2.0 Ga. 1.9 Ga monazite occurs exclusively as matrix grains. Zircon is typically younger (2.58 to 2.55 Ga) than the oldest monazite. Sm–Nd isotope analysis of single monazite grains and whole rock samples indicate that inclusions of Archean monazite in garnet are similar in isotopic composition to the whole rock signature with a limited range of slightly negative initial _Nd. In contrast, grains that contain a Paleoproterozoic component show more positive initial _Nd, most simply interpreted as reflecting derivation from a source involving consumption of garnet and general depletion of HREE's. Our preferred interpretation is that the oldest monazite dates record igneous crystallization of the protolith. The ca. 2.55 Ga dates in zircon and monazite record an extensive melting event during which garnet and ternary feldspar formed. Very high-pressure (> 1.5 GPa) metamorphism during the Paleoproterozoic at 1.9 Ga produced kyanite from garnet breakdown, and resulted in limited growth of new monazite and zircon. In the case of monazite, this is likely due to the armoring and sequestration of early-formed monazite such that it could not participate in metamorphic reactions during the high-pressure event, as well as the depletion of the REE's due to melt loss following the early melting event.     

东喜马拉雅构造结泥质高压麻粒岩的锆石和独居石定年与地质意义

东喜马拉雅构造结的南迦巴瓦杂岩含有广泛分布的高压麻粒岩,但由于以前获得了许多不同的年龄,对这些麻粒岩的变质与深熔时代、持续时间和成因存在不同认识。本文对泥质高压麻粒岩（蓝晶石榴黑云片岩）中的锆石和独居石进行了系统的内部结构、U-（Th）-Pb定年和微量元素分析,以求揭示这些岩石是否具有相同的演化过程。所研究的6个蓝晶石榴黑云片岩由石榴石、蓝晶石、黑云母、石英、钾长石、斜长石、夕线石、白云母、石墨和副矿物金红石、钛铁矿、锆石和独居石组成,峰期矿物组合是石榴石+蓝晶石+斜长石+钾长石+黑云母+石英+金红石。6个样品中的锆石均由继承碎屑核+变质（深熔）幔+变质（深熔）边组成。其中3个样品中的锆石幔和边较宽,均可进行原位定年,幔部给出了类似的较老年龄范围（39.6~31.6Ma、40.8~32.0Ma和38.1~31.3Ma）,而边部给出了类似的较年轻年龄范围（26.8~17.3Ma、28.3~18.6Ma和28.4~18.8Ma）。另外3个样品的锆石幔部较窄,不能进行分析,其边部给出了与前3个样品锆石边部类似的年轻年龄范围（22.0~17.0Ma、20.9~16.9Ma和22.2~16.6Ma）。一个片岩样品中的独居石给出了与其锆石幔部+边部年龄类似的较宽年龄范围（38.1~17.5Ma）,而另外3个样品中的独居石获得了与其锆石边部年龄相似的年轻年龄范围（26.0~18.8Ma、22.3~16.9Ma和26.4~19.4Ma）。随着年龄的减小,锆石和独居石的Th/U比值增大,Eu/Eu^*减小,独居石的HREE和Y含量减小。基于这些分析结果,笔者认为所研究的6个片岩记录了相同的、从~41Ma持续到~17Ma的进变质与深熔过程。但是,由于某些样品中的锆石和独居石在早期变质和深熔过程中形成的结晶域（锆石幔部）很窄,无法定年,导致不同的样品获得了不同的年龄范围。结合现有研究成果,笔者推测南迦巴瓦杂岩中的高压麻粒岩经历了相似的长期进变质与深熔过程。     

Why allanite may swindle about its true age

Allanite from the Tertiary Rieserferner pluton (Austrian Alps) is texturally and chemically heterogeneous. Continuous covariation trends reflect coupled substitution of Ca+Al vs. Fe+REE+Th in allanite, whereas systematic variations in La/Nd demonstrate the increasingly stronger depletion of LREE in the melt during its crystallization. Allanite samples (corrected for ²⁰⁶Pb_excess) from two rocks scatter in the concordia diagram and define discordias from 31.8±0.4 Ma and 32.2±0.4 Ma to ca. 540 Ma. The apparent inheritance does not originate from the inclusion of older allanite or a high- phase, such as monazite, xenotime, or zircon, but from the incorporation of radiogenic Pb originating from a precursor. Since allanite requires a high enrichment of Th, (U), and LREE, it may form at the expense of a Th-LREE-rich precursor in metamorphic rocks or where such a phase had dissolved in melts. Likely precursors acquire with time radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions. This Pb, if incorporated in the product mineral, may give the illusion of inheritance. The allanite samples from the Rieserferner pluton show a tendency from high Th/U_calc (30–50) in samples with an Alpine age to low Th/U_calc (4–12) in samples with distinct inheritance. This relation between extent of inheritance and apparent Th/U_calc indicates a lower Th/U_calc for a possible precursor, falling into the Th/U range commonly encountered for monazite. Precursor monazite would have originated from assimilated Palaeozoic rocks and give rise to localized enrichments of Th and LREE in the melt, thus eventually enabling the growth of allanite.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at .Editorial responsibility: J. Hoefs     

榴辉岩相峰期流体活动：来自东昆仑榴辉岩石英脉的证据

本文通过对东昆仑温泉地区榴辉岩中石英脉的锆石U-Pb定年和Lu-Hf同位素的综合研究,为榴辉岩相峰期变质阶段的流体活动提供了一定的证据。石英脉中的锆石晶型较好,具有振荡环带或弱分带,排除了从寄主榴辉岩中捕获锆石的可能性。石英脉和寄主榴辉岩中锆石U-Pb年龄的加权平均值分别为450±2Ma和451±2Ma,说明石英脉中锆石的形成年龄与榴辉岩相的峰期变质阶段一致。两种锆石Hf同位素组成的相似性说明形成石英脉的流体/熔体为内部来源,推测可能为榴辉岩中石英发生溶解以及绿辉石和石榴石分子结构中羟基的出溶作用形成。锆石较低的U、Th含量以及Th/U比值说明石英脉更可能是流体活动形成而非熔体。     

Host rock compositional controls on zircon trace element signatures in metabasites from the Austroalpine basement

Zircon populations of Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic age occur in metabasites of a high-pressure amphibolite-facies unit of the Austroalpine basement south of the Tauern Window. The host rocks for these zircons are eclogitic amphibolites of N-MORB-type character, hornblende gneisses with volcanic-arc basalt signature, and alkaline within-plate-basalt amphibolites. Bulk rock magmatic trace element patterns were preserved during amphibolite-facies high-pressure and subsequent high-temperature events, as well as a greenschist-facies overprint. Positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies and enrichment of HREE in normalized zircon REE patterns, as analysed by LA-ICP-MS, are typical for an igneous origin of these zircon suites. Zircon Y is well correlated to HREE, Ce, Th, U, Nb, and Ta and allows discrimination of compositional fields for each host rock type. Low Th/U ratios are correlated to low Y and HREE abundances in zircon from low bulk Th/U host rocks. This is likely a primary igneous characteristic that cannot be attributed to metamorphic recrystallization. Variations of zircon/host rock element ratios confirm that ionic radii and charges control abundances of many trace elements in zircon. The trace element ratios—presented as mineral/melt distribution coefficients—indicate a selectively inhibited substitution of Zr and Si by HREE and Y in zircon which crystallized from a N-MORB melt. Correlated host rock and zircon trace element concentrations indicate that the metabasite zircons are not xenocrysts but crystallized from mafic melts, represented by the actual host rocks.