High- and Ultrahigh-pressure Metamorphism and Retrogressive Textures of Gneiss in the Donghai Area

In the gneisses from the drillhole ZK2304 of the Donghai area, there have been preserved high- and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic mineral assemblages, a series of complicated retrogressive textures and relevant metamorphic reactions. In addition to garnet, jadeititic-clinopyroxene and rutile, other peak stage (M₂) minerals in some gneisses include phengite, aragonite and coesite or quartz pseudomorphs after coesite. The typical peak-stage mineral assemblages in gneisses are characterized by garnet + jadeitic-clinopyroxene + rutile + coesite, garnet + jadeitic-clinopyroxene + phengite + rutile ± coesite and garnet + jadeitic-clinopyroxene + aragonite + rutile ± coesite. The grossular content (Gro) in garnet is high and may reach 50.1 mol%. The SiO₂ content of phengite ranges from 54.37% to 54.84% with 3.54–3.57 p.f.u. Quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet. The gneisses of the Donghai area have been subjected to multistage recrystallization and exhibit a closewise P-T evolutional path characterized by the near-isothermal decompression. The inclusion assemblage (Hb+Ep+Bi+Pl+Qz) within garnet and other minerals has recorded a pre-peak stage (M₁) epidote amphibole fades metamorphic event. High- and ultrahigh-pressure peak metamorphism (M₂) took place at T=750–860°C and P>2.7 GPa. The symplectitic assemblages after garnet, jadeitic-clinopyroxene and rutile imply a near-isothermal decompression metamorphism (M₃, M₄) during the rapid exhumation. Several lines of evidence of petrography and metamorphic reactions indicate that both gneisses and eclogites have experienced ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the Donghai area. This research may be of great significance for an in-depth study of the metamorphism and tectonic evolution in the Su-Lu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt.     

High-pressure eclogites in northern Jiangsu – southern Shandong province, eastern China

Abstract Eclogites are distributed for more than 500 km along a major tectonic boundary between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons in central and eastern China. These eclogites usually have high-P assemblages including omphacite + kyanite and/or coesite (or its pseudomorph), and form a high-P eclogite terrane. They occur as isolated lenses or blocks 10 cm to 300 m long in gneisses (Type I), serpentinized garnet peridotites (Type II) and marbles (Type III). Type I eclogites were formed by prograde metamorphism, and their primary metamorphic mineral assemblage consists mainly of garnet [pyrope (Prp) = 15–40 mol%], omphacite [jadeite (Jd) = 34–64 mol%], pargasitic amphibole, kyanite, phengitic muscovite, zoisite, an SiO₂ phase, apatite, rutile and zircon. Type II eclogites characteristically contain no SiO₂ phase, and are divided into prograde eclogites and mantle-derived eclogites. The prograde eclogites of Type II are petrographically similar to Type I eclogites. The mantle-derived eclogites have high MgO/(FeO + Fe₂O₃) and Cr₂O₃ compositions in bulk rock and minerals, and consist mainly of pyrope-rich garnet (Prp = 48–60 mol%), sodic augite (Jd = 10–27 mol%) and rutile. Type III eclogites have an unusual mineral assemblage of grossular-rich (Grs = 57 mol%) garnet + omphacite (Jd = 30–34 mol%) + pargasite + rutile. Pargasitic and taramitic amphiboles, calcic plagioclase (An₆₈), epidote, zoisite, K-feldspar and paragonite occur as inclusions in garnet and omphacite in the prograde eclogites. This suggests that the prograde eclogites were formed by recrystallization of epidote amphibolite and/or amphibolite facies rocks with near-isothermal compression reflecting crustal thickening during continent–continent collision of late Proterozoic age. Equilibrium conditions of the prograde eclogites range from P > 26 kbar and T= 500–750°C in the western part to P > 28 kbar and T= 810–880°C in the eastern part of the high-P eclogite terrane. The prograde eclogites in the eastern part are considered to have been derived from a deeper position than those in the western part. Subsequent reactions, manifested by (1) narrow rims of sodic plagioclase or paragonite on kyanite and (2) symplectites between omphacite and quartz are interpreted as an effect of near-isothermal decompression during the retrograde stage. The conditions at which symplectites re-equilibrated tend to increase from west (P < 10 kbar and T < 580°C) to east (P > 9 kbar and T > 680°C). Equilibrium temperatures of Type II mantle-derived eclogites and Type III eclogite are 730–750°C and 680°C, respectively.     

Metamorphic history of eclogites and country rock gneisses in the Aktyuz area,Northern Tien‐Shan,Kyrgyzstan: a record from initiation of subduction through to oceanic closure by continent–continent collision

Eclogites and related high‐P metamorphic rocks occur in the Zaili Range of the Northern Kyrgyz Tien‐Shan (Tianshan) Mountains, which are located in the south‐western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Eclogites are preserved in the cores of garnet amphibolites and amphibolites that occur in the Aktyuz area as boudins and layers (up to 2000 m in length) within country rock gneisses. The textures and mineral chemistry of the Aktyuz eclogites, garnet amphibolites and country rock gneisses record three distinct metamorphic events (M1–M3). In the eclogites, the first MP–HT metamorphic event (M1) of amphibolite/epidote‐amphibolite facies conditions (560–650 °C, 4–10 kbar) is established from relict mineral assemblages of polyphase inclusions in the cores and mantles of garnet, i.e. Mg‐taramite + Fe‐staurolite + paragonite ± oligoclase (An_<16) ± hematite. The eclogites also record the second HP‐LT metamorphism (M2) with a prograde stage passing through epidote‐blueschist facies conditions (330–570 °C, 8–16 kbar) to peak metamorphism in the eclogite facies (550–660 °C, 21–23 kbar) and subsequent retrograde metamorphism to epidote‐amphibolite facies conditions (545–565 °C and 10–11 kbar) that defines a clockwise P–T path. thermocalc (average P–T mode) calculations and other geothermobarometers have been applied for the estimation of P–T conditions. M3 is inferred from the garnet amphibolites and country rock gneisses. Garnet amphibolites that underwent this pervasive HP–HT metamorphism after the eclogite facies equilibrium have a peak metamorphic assemblage of garnet and pargasite. The prograde and peak metamorphic conditions of the garnet amphibolites are estimated to be 600–640 °C; 11–12 kbar and 675–735 °C and 14–15 kbar, respectively. Inclusion phases in porphyroblastic plagioclase in the country rock gneisses suggest a prograde stage of the epidote‐amphibolite facies (477 °C and 10 kbar). The peak mineral assemblage of the country rock gneisses of garnet, plagioclase (An_11–16), phengite, biotite, quartz and rutile indicate 635–745 °C and 13–15 kbar. The P–T conditions estimated for the prograde, peak and retrograde stages in garnet amphibolite and country rock are similar, implying that the third metamorphic event in the garnet amphibolites was correlated with the metamorphism in the country rock gneisses. The eclogites also show evidence of the third metamorphic event with development of the prograde mineral assemblage pargasite, oligoclase and biotite after the retrograde epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism. The three metamorphic events occurred in distinct tectonic settings: (i) metamorphism along the hot hangingwall at the inception of subduction, (ii) subsequent subduction zone metamorphism of the oceanic plate and exhumation, and (iii) continent–continent collision and exhumation of the entire metamorphic sequences. These tectonic processes document the initial stage of closure of a palaeo‐ocean subduction to its completion by continent–continent collision.     

Deep in the Heart of Dixie: Pre-Alleghanian Eclogite and HP Granulite Metamorphism in the Carolina Terrane, South Carolina, USA

The central part of the Carolina terrane in western South Carolina comprises a 30 to 40 km wide zone of high grade gneisses that are distinct from greenschist facies metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina slate belt (to the SE) and amphibolite facies metavolcanic and metaplutonic rocks of the Charlotte belt (to the NW). This region, termed the Silverstreet domain, is characterized by penetratively deformed felsic gneisses, granitic gneisses, and amphibolites. Mineral assemblages and textures suggest that these rocks formed under high‐pressure metamorphic conditions, ranging from eclogite facies through high‐P granulite to upper amphibolite facies. Mafic rocks occur as amphibolite dykes, as metre‐scale blocks of coarse‐grained garnet‐clinopyroxene amphibolite in felsic gneiss, and as residual boulders in deeply weathered felsic gneiss. Inferred omphacite has been replaced by a vermicular symplectite of sodic plagioclase in diopside, consistent with decompression at moderate to high temperatures and a change from eclogite to granulite facies conditions. All samples have been partially or wholly retrograded to amphibolite assemblages. We infer the following P‐T‐t history: (1) eclogite facies P‐T conditions at ≥ 1.4 GPa, 650–730 °C (2) high‐P granulite facies P‐T conditions at 1.2–1.5 GPa, 700–800 °C (3) retrograde amphibolite facies P‐T conditions at 0.9–1.2 GPa and 720–660 °C. This metamorphic evolution must predate intrusion of the 415 Ma Newberry granite and must postdate formation of the Charlotte belt and Slate belt arcs (620 to 550 Ma). Comparison with other medium temperature eclogites and high pressure granulites suggests that these assemblages are most likely to form during collisional orogenesis. Eclogite and high‐P granulite facies metamorphism in the Silverstreet domain may coincide with a ≈570–535 Ma event documented in the western Charlotte belt or to a late Ordovician‐early Silurian event. The occurrence of these high‐P assemblages within the Carolina terrane implies that, prior to this event, the western Carolina terrane (Charlotte belt) and the eastern Carolina terrane (Carolina Slate belt) formed separate terranes. The collisional event represented by these high‐pressure assemblages implies amalgamation of these formerly separate terranes into a single composite terrane prior to its accretion to Laurentia.     

Cordierite gneisses of southern Kerala,India: petrology,fluid inclusions and implications for crustal uplift history

The cordierite-bearing gneisses occurring as elongate patches in an 8- to 10-km-wide zone along the Achankovil fault-lineament at the northern margin of the southern Kerala crustal segment represent an important lithological unit in the Archaean granulite terrane of south India. The textural relationships in these rocks are consistent with the following main reactions: (1) garnet+quartz=cordierite+hypersthene; (2) garnet+sillimanite+quartz=cordierite; (3) hypersthene+sillimanite+quartz=cordierite; (4) sillimanite+spinel=cordierite+corundum; and (5) biotite+quartz+sillimanite=cordierite+K-feldspar. Many of the mineral associations and reaction textures, including the remarkable preservation of symplectites, are indicative of partial replacement of high-pressure assemblages by cordierite-bearing lower-pressure ones during an event of rapid decompression. Temperature estimates from coexisting mineral phases show 710° (garnet-biotite), 791° (garnet-cordierite) and 788° C (garnet-orthopyroxene). Pressure estimates from mineral assemblages range from 5.4 to 7 kb. Detailed fluid inclusion studies in quartz associated with cordierite show high-density CO₂ (0.80–0.95 g/cm³) as the dominant fluid phase, with traces of probable CH₄ (?) in the sillimanite-bearing rocks. The isochore for the higher-density fluid inclusions defines a pressure of 5.5 kb. The fracture-bound CO₂ and CO₂-H₂O (±CH₄?) inclusions indicate simultaneous entrapment at 400° C and 1.7 kb in the cordierite-hypersthene assemblage and 340° C and 1.2 kb in the cordierite-sillimanite assemblage. The P-T path delineated from combined solid and fluid data corresponds to the piezothermic array of the gneisses and is characterized by T-convex nature, indicative of rapid and virtually isothermal crustal uplift, probably aided by extensional tectonics.     

Genetic relationship between eclogite and hornblende + plagioclase pegmatite in western Norway

The role of water during metamorphism of eclogites and surrounding quartzofeldspathic gneisses in western Norway has been studied. The appearance of small patches and veinlets of hornblende+plagoclae+quartz(+biotite+garnet) is attributed to partial meltiing of gneisses adjacent to eclogite in a high pressure metamorphic terrain (P > 8 kb, T > 600°C, approx.). This melting is responsible for the lowering of P_H2O during metamorphism whereby the interlayered mafic were pre- or synmetamorphic mafic intrusions and accumulates which retained an essentially anhydrous character during metamorphism.     

High-and Ultrahigh-pressure Metamorphism and Retrogressive Textures of Gneiss in the Donghai Area--Evidence from gneisses in drillhole ZK2304

In the gneisses from the drillhole ZK2304 of the Donghai area, there have been preserved high- and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic mineral assemblages, a series of complicated retrogressive textures and relevant metamorphic reactions. In addition to garnet, jadeititic-clinopyroxene and rutile, other peak stage (M2) minerals in some gneisses include phengite, aragonite and coesite or quartz pseudomorphs after coesite. The typical peak-stage mineral assemblages in gneisses are characterized by garnet + jadeitic-clinopyroxene + rutile + coesite, garnet + jadeitic-clinopyroxene + phengite + rutile ± coesite and garnet + jadeitic-clinopyroxene + aragonite + rutile ± coesite. The grossular content (Gro) in garnet is high and may reach 50.1 mol%. The SiO2 content of phengite ranges from 54.37% to 54.84% with 3.54- 3.57 p.f.u. Quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet.The gneisses of the Donghai area have been subjected to multistage recrystallization and exhibit a closewise P-T evolutional path characterized by the near-isothermal decompression. The inclusion assemblage (Hb+Ep+Bi+Pl+Qz) within garnet and other minerals has recorded a pre-peak stage (M1) epidote amphibole facies metamorphic event. High- and ultrahigh-pressure peak metamorphism (M2) took place at T=750- 860° C and P>2.7 GPa. The symplectitic assemblages after garnet, jadeitic-clinopyroxene and rutile imply a near-isothermal decompression metamorphism (M3, M4) during the rapid exhumation. Several lines of evidence of petrography and metamorphic reactions indicate that both gneisses and eclogites have experienced ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the Donghai area. This research may be of great significance for an in-depth study of the metamorphism and tectonic evolution in the Su-Lu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt.     

Cordierite-bearing schists and gneisses from Timor, eastern Indonesia: P-T conditions of metamorphism and tectonic implications

In the Boi Massif of Western Timor the Mutis Complex, which is equivalent to the Lolotoi Complex of East Timor, is composed of two lithostratigraphical components: various basement schists and gneisses; and the dismembered remnants of an ophiolite. Cordierite-bearing pelitic schists and gneisses carry an early mineral assemblage of biotite + garnet + plagioclase + Al-silicate, but contain no prograde muscovite; sillimanite occurs in a textural mode which suggests that it replaced and pseudomorphed kyanite at an early stage and some specimens of pelitic schist contain tiny kyanite relics in plagioclase. Textural relations between, and mineral chemistries of, ferro-magnesian phases in these pelitic chists and gneisses suggest that two discontinuous reactions and additional continuous compositional changes have been overstepped, possibly with concomitant anatexis, as a result of decrease in P_load during high temperature metamorphism. The simplified reactions are: garnet and/or biotite + sillimanite + quartz + cordierite + hercynite + ilmenite + excess components. P-T conditions during the development of the early mineral assemblage in the pelitic gneisses are estimated to have been P + 10 kbar and T > 750°C, based upon the plagioclase-garnet-Al-silicate-quartz geobarometer and the garnet-biotite geothermometer. P-T conditions during the subsequent development of cordierite-bearing mineral assemblages in the pelitic gneisses are estimated to have been P + 5 kbar and T + 700°C with X_H2O < 0.5, based upon the Fe content of cordierite occurring in the assemblage quartz + plagioclase + sillimanite + biotite + garnet + cordierite coexisting with melt. Final equilibration between some of the phases suggests that conditions dropped to P > 2.3 kbar and T > 600°C. A similar exhumation P-T path is suggested for the pelitic schists with early metamorphic conditions of P > 6.2 kbar and T > 745°C and subsequent development of cordierite under conditions in the range P = 3-4 kbar and T = 600-700°C. The tectonic implications of these P-T estimates are discussed and it is concluded that the P-T path followed by these rocks was caused by decompression during rifting and synmetamorphic ophiolite emplacement resulting from processes during the initiation and development of a convergent plate junction located in Southeast Asia during late Jurassic to Cretaceous time.     

Petrology of ultrahigh-pressure rocks from the southern Su-Lu region, eastern China

Abstract In the Su-Lu ultrahigh- P terrane, eastern China, many coesite-bearing eclogite pods and layers within biotite gneiss occur together with interlayered metasediments now represented by garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite. In addition to garnet + omphacite + rutile + coesite, other peak-stage minerals in some eclogites include kyanite, phengite, epidote, zoisite, talc, nyböite and high-Al titanite. The garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite contain jadeite + quartz + garnet + rutile ± zoisite ± apatite and quartz + kyanite + garnet + epidote + phengite + rutile ± omphacite assemblages, respectively. Coesite and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet, omphacite, jadeite, kyanite and epidote from both eclogites and metasediments. Study of major elements indicates that the protolith of the garnet-quartz jadeite rock and the kyanite quartzite was supracrustal sediments. Most eclogites have basaltic composition; some have experienced variable 'crustal'contamination or metasomatism, and others may have had a basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rock protolith.
The Su-Lu ultrahigh- P rocks have been subjected to multi-stage recrystallization and exhibit a clockwise P-T path. Inclusion assemblages within garnet record a pre-eclogite epidote amphibolite facies metamorphic event. Ultrahigh- P peak metamorphism took place at 700–890° C and P >28 kbar at c . 210–230 Ma. The symplectitic assemblage plagioclase + hornblende ± epidote ± biotite + titanite implies amphibolite facies retrogressive metamorphism during exhumation at c . 180–200 Ma. Metasedimentary and metamafic lithologies have similar P-T paths. Several lines of evidence indicate that the supracrustal rocks were subducted to mantle depths and experienced in-situ ultrahigh- P metamorphism during the Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons.     

The Lac Cornu retrograded eclogites (Aiguilles Rouges massif,Western Alps,France): evidence of crustal origin and metasomatic alteration

Metabasic rocks interbedded in amphibolite facies supracrustal gneisses outcrop around Lac Carnu in the Aiguilles Rouges massif (Western Alps). The cores of the thickest boudinaged lenses are made up of eclogitic amphibolites grading outwards into amphibolites. The common assemblage is unzoned garnet + symplectitic clinopyroxebe + hornblende + plagioclase. In a slightly amphibolitized sample, minimum P and T conditions of equilibrium between garnet and omphacite inclusions are 780°C and 11 Kb. A polymetamorphic pre-Alpine evolution of the massif is thus demonstrated. Eclogitic amphibolites show variations in major element composition similar to the Skaergaard evolution in the Al₂O₃ ? FeO + Fe₂O₃ ? MgO triangle. Variation diagrams in which Zr is taken as differentiation index also indicate magmatic trends for Mn, Ti, P, Ni, Co, Y, V and Cr, Ca, K, Na, Sr, Rb and Si were mobile during the evolution of the rocks. The igneous trend can be described by a quantitative model of fractional crystallization in which a noritic assemblage separated in the initial stage. This provides evidence of crustal P, T conditions of differentiation for the original materoal and in situ evolution for the eclogites. A second group of amphibolites shows banded structure and transitional terms with the surrounding gneisses. A volcano-sedimentary origin is suggested though the process cannot be modelled. The rocks may result from complex interactions of magnetic, metasomatic and sedimentary processes. It is concluded that Lac Cornu metabasites were originally continental tholeiites, though several geochemical criteria tend to indicate an oceanic origin. This casts some doubt on the validity of these criteria, when applied to metamorphic rocks.     

Talc-, Magnesite- and Ti-Clinohumite-Bearing Ultrahigh-Pressure Meta-Mafic and Ultramafic Complex in the Dabie Mountains, China

The Bixiling mafic-ultramafic metamorphic complex is a 1•5km² tectonic block within biotite gneiss in the southern Dabieultrahigh-pressure terrane, central China. The complex consistsof banded eclogites that contain thin layers of garnet-bearingcumulate ultramafic rock. Except for common eclogitic phases(garnet, omphacite, kyanite, phengite, zoisite and rutilc),banded eclogites contain additional talc and abundant coesiteinclusions in omphacite, zoisite, kyanite and garnet. Some metaultramaficrocks contain magnesite and Ti-clinohumite. Both eclogites andmeta-ultramafic rocks have undergone multi-stage metamorphism.Eclogite facies metamorphisrn occurred at 610–700C andP>27 kbar, whereas amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphismis characterized by symplectites of plagioclase and hornblendeafter omphacite and replacement of tremolite after talc at P<6–15kbar and T <600C. The meta-ultramafic assemblages such asolivine + enstatite + diopside + garnet and Ti-clinohumite +diopside + enstatite + garnet + magnesite olivine formed at700–800C and 47–67 kbar. Investigation of the phaserelations for the system CaO-MgO-SiO₂-H₂O-CO₂ and the experimentallydetermined stabilities of talc, magnesite and Ti-clinohumiteindicate that (1) UHP talc assemblages are restricted to Mg-Algabbro composition and cannot be an important water-bearingphase in the ultramafic mantle, and (2) Ti-clinohumite and magnesiteare stable H₂O-bearing and CO₂-bearing phases at depths >100km. The mafic-ultramafic cumulates were initially emplaced atcrustal levels, then subducted to great depths during the Triassiccollision of the Sine-Korean and Yangtze cratons. KEY WORDS: eclogite; magnesite; meta-ultramafics; talc; ultrahigh-P metamorphism ^*Corresponding author     

Calculated phase equilibria for MORB compositions: a reappraisal of the metamorphic evolution of lawsonite eclogite

Pseudosections calculated with thermocalc predict that lawsonite‐bearing assemblages, including lawsonite eclogite, will be common for subducted oceanic crust that experiences cool, fluid‐saturated conditions. For glaucophane–lawsonite eclogite facies conditions (500–600 °C and 18–28 kbar), MORB compositions are predicted in the NCKMnFMASHO system to contain glaucophane, garnet, omphacite, lawsonite, phengite and quartz, with chlorite at lower temperature and talc at higher temperature. In these assemblages, the pyrope content in garnet is mostly controlled by variations in temperature, and grossular content is strongly controlled by pressure. The silica content in phengite increases linearly with pressure. As the P–T conditions for these given isopleths are only subtly affected by common variations in bulk‐rock compositions, the P–T pseudosections potentially present a robust geothermobarometric method for natural glaucophane‐bearing eclogites. Thermobarometric results recovered both by isopleth and conventional approaches indicate that most natural glaucophane–lawsonite eclogites (Type‐L) and glaucophane–epidote eclogites (Type‐E) record similar peak P–T conditions within the lawsonite stability field. Decompression from conditions appropriate for lawsonite stability should result in epidote‐bearing assemblages through dehydration reactions controlled by lawsonite + omphacite = glaucophane + epidote + H₂O. Lawsonite and omphacite breakdown will be accompanied by the release of a large amount of bound fluid, such that eclogite assemblages are variably recrystallized to glaucophane‐rich blueschist. Calculated pseudosections indicate that eclogite assemblages form most readily in Ca‐rich rocks and blueschist assemblages most readily in Ca‐poor rocks. This distinction in bulk‐rock composition can account for the co‐existence of low‐T eclogite and blueschist in high‐pressure terranes.     

Petrogenesis of garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks and associated eclogites in the Su-Lu ultrahigh-P metamorphic terrane, eastern China

Ultramafic blocks that themselves contain eclogite lenses in the Triassic Su-Lu ultrahigh-P terrane of eastern China range in size from hundreds of metres to kilometres. The ultramafic blocks are enclosed in quartzofeldspathic gneiss of early Proterozoic age. Ultramafic rocks include garnetiferous lherzolite, wehrlite, pyroxenite, and hornblende peridotite. Garnet lherzolites are relatively depleted in Al₂O₃ (<3.8wt%), CaO (<3.2%) and TiO₂ (<0.11 wt%), and are low in total REE contents (several p.p.m.), suggesting that the rocks are residual mantle material that was subjected to low degrees of partial melting. The eclogite lenses or layers within the ultramafic rocks are characterized by higher MgO and CaO, lower Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ contents, and a higher CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio compared to eclogites enclosed in the quartzofeldspathic gneiss. Scatter in the plots of major and trace elements vs. MgO, REE patterns and La, Sm and Lu contents suggest that some eclogites were derived from melts formed by various degrees (0.05–0.20) of partial melting of peridotite, and that other eclogites formed by accumulation of garnet and clinopyroxene ± trapped melt in the upper mantle. Both ultramafic and eclogitic rocks have experienced a complex metamorphic history. At least six stages of recrystallization occurred in the ultramafic rocks based on an analysis of reaction textures and mineral compositions. Stage I is a high temperature protolith assemblage of Ol + Opx + Cpx + Spl. Stage II consists of the ultrahigh-pressure assemblage Ol + Cpx + Opx + Grt. Stage III is manifested by the appearance of fine-grained garnet after coarse-grained garnet. Stage IV is characterized by formation of kelyphitic rims of fibrous Opx and Cpx around garnet, and replacement of garnet by spinel and pargasitic-hornblende. Stage V is represented by the assemblage Ol + Opx + Prg-Hbl + Spl. The mineral assemblages of stages VI_A and VI_B are Ol + Tr-Amp + Chl and Serp + Chl ± talc, respectively. Garnet and orthopyroxene all show a decrease in MgO with retrogressive recrystallization and Na₂O in clinopyroxene also decreases throughout this history. Eclogites enclosed within ultramafic blocks consist of Grt + Omp + Rt ± Qtz ± Phn. A few quartz-bearing eclogites contain rounded and oval inclusion of polycrystalline quartz aggregates after coesite in garnet and omphacite. Minor retrograde features include thin symplectic rims or secondary amphiboles after Cpx, and ilmenite after rutile. P-T estimates indicate that the ultrahigh-metamorphism (stage II) of ultramafic rocks occurred at 820-900d? C and 36-41 kbar and that peak metamorphism of eclogites occurred at 730-900d? C and >28 kbar. Consonant with earlier plate tectonic models, we suggest that these rocks were underplated at the base of the continental crust. The rocks then underwent ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and were tectonically emplaced into thickened continental crust during the Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons.     

Petrology of high-pressure granulites from the eastern Himalayan syntaxis

The eastern Himalayan syntaxis, situated at the eastern terminus of the Himalayas, is the least-known segment of the Himalayas. Recent research in this area has revealed that the syntaxis consists of the Gangdise, the Yarlung Zangbo, and the Himalayan units, each of which is bounded by faults. The Himalayan unit, the northernmost exposed part of the Indian plate, mainly contains amphibolite facies rocks, marked by the assemblages staurolite+kyanite+plagioclase+biotite+muscovite±sillimanite and garnet+amphibole+plagioclase, in the south; to the north, low- to medium-pressure granulite grade pelitic gneisses and marbles are present and are characterized by the assemblages garnet+sillimanite+K-feldspar+plagioclase or antiperthite+biotite+quartz±spinel±cordierite±orthopyroxene in gneisses, and anorthite+diopside±wollastonite and plagioclase+diopside+quartz+phlogopite+calcite in marbles. Within this unit, the Namula thrust system is a series of moderately north-dipping structures that displaced the granulite facies rocks southwards over the amphibolite facies rocks. High-pressure granulites occur as relics within these granulite facies rocks and contain garnet–kyanite granulite and garnet clinopyroxenite. The peak assemblage of the garnet–kyanite granulite includes garnet (core part)+kyanite+ternary feldspar+quartz+rutile. Sillimanite+garnet (rim part)+K-feldspar+ oligoclase+ilmenite+biotite and spinel+albite+biotite or spinel+cordierite±orthopyroxene, which are coronas around sillimanite and garnet, are retrograde products of this peak assemblage. Another peak assemblage includes very-high-Ca garnet (CaO 32–34 wt%, Alm₁₀±Grs_>80) and diopside (CaO 22–24 wt%), scapolite, meionite, quartz, and accessory Al-bearing titanite (Al₂O₃ 4–4.5 wt%). The diopside has kink bands. Partial or complete breakdown of Ca-rich garnet during post-peak metamorphism produced pseudomorphs and coronas consisting of fine-grained symplectic intergrowths of hedenbergite and anorthite. Thermobarometric estimates in combination with reaction textures, mineral compositions, and recent experimental studies indicate that these peak assemblages were formed at P=c. 1.7–1.8 GPa, T =c. 890 °C, and the retrograde assemblages experienced near-isothermal decompression to P=0.5±0.1 GPa, T =850±50 °C. The whole-rock compositions indicate that marble and pelite are plausible candidates for the protoliths. These facts suggest the following (1) sedimentary rocks were transported to upper-mantle depths and equilibrated at those conditions to form these high-pressure granulites, which were then emplaced into the crust quickly. During the rapid exhumation of these rocks, the earlier high-pressure assemblages were overprinted by the later low- to medium-pressure assemblages, that is, the high-pressure granulite belt formed in the syntaxis. (2) The Namula thrust system is an important tectonic boundary in the syntaxis, or even in the Higher Himalaya more generally.     

Ultra-high-pressure metamorphism of carbonate rocks in the Dabie Mountains, central China

Abstract Widespread ultra-high-P assemblages including coesite, quartz pseudomorphs after coesite, aragonite, and calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite in marble, gneiss and phengite schist are present in the Dabie Mountains eclogite terrane. These assemblages indicate that the ultra-high-P metamorphic event occurred on a regional scale during Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons. Marble in the Dabie Mountains is interlayered with coesite-bearing eclogite and gneiss and as blocks of various size within gneiss. Discontinuous boudins of eclogite occur within marble layers. Marble contains an ultra-high-P assemblage of calcite/aragonite, dolomite, clinopyroxene, garnet, phengite, epidote, rutile and quartz/coesite. Coesite, quartz pseudomorphs after coesite, aragonite and calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite occur as fine-grained inclusions in garnet and omphacite. Phengites contain about 3.6 Si atoms per formula unit (based on 11 oxygens). Similar to the coesite-bearing eclogite, marble exhibits retrograde recrystallization under amphibolite–greenschist facies conditions generated during uplift of the ultra-high-P metamorphic terrane. Retrograde minerals are fine grained and replace coarse-grained peak metamorphic phases. The most typical replacements are: symplectic pargasitic hornblende + epidote after garnet, diopside + plagioclase (An₁₈) after omphacite, and fibrous phlogopite after phengite. Ferroan pargasite + plagioclase, and actinolite formed along grain boundaries between garnet and calcite, and calcite and quartz, respectively. The estimated peak P–T conditions for marble are comparable to those for eclogite: garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometry yields temperatures of 630–760°C; the garnet–phengite thermometer gives somewhat lower temperatures. The minimum pressure of peak metamorphism is 27 kbar based on the occurrence of coesite. Such estimates of ultra-high-P conditions are consistent with the coexistence of grossular-rich garnet + rutile, and the high jadeite content of omphacite in marble. The fluid for the peak metamorphism was calculated to have a very low X_CO2 (<0.03). The P–T conditions for retrograde metamorphism were estimated to be 475–550°C at <7 kbar.     

Precambrian sulphide deposits: R.W. Hutchinson,C.D. Spence and J.M. Franklin (Editors). Geological Association of Canada,Special Paper 25, H.S. Robinson Memorial Volume 1982, VII + 791 pp., US$ 47.00 plus US$ 2.50 postage and handling for members,and US$ 57.00 plus US$ 2.50 postage and handling for others,hardcover

The Precambrian of Madagascar appears to be a part of the Mozambiquian mobile belt. Some authors consider the southern part of the island to be constituted, from east to west, by more and more recent formations, i.e., the ultrametamorphic ‘Androyan’ sequence with an Archean reworked crust as the oldest one, first followed by the ‘Graphite’ sequence, then by the ‘Vohibory’ sequence. The cordierite and garnet banded gneisses and leptynites are widely distributed in the Androyan sequence. These gneisses result from an incipient partial melting of paragneisses. Garnet—plagioclase, garnet—cordierite and garnet—biotite geothermo- and geobarometers allow the estimation of the conditions of this migmatisation (T > 700°C, P_T = 5?5.5 kbar, PH₂O = 0.3?0.4 P_T). Some cordierite and garnet leptynites represent the leucosomes of this anatectic event. Since previous experiments showed that the seven-phase assemblage (quartz + plagioclase + K feldspar + garnet + biotite + sillimanite + cordierite) only occurs in a limited range of pressure and temperature (T = 690?710°C, P_T = 4?5.7 kbar, PH₂O = 0.2?0.5 P_T), we can consider these gneisses as very precise thermobarometric reference levels in southern Madagascar. This migmatic event may be contemporary with the Pan-African orogenesis.     

Thermobarometry of phengite-bearing eclogites in the Dabie Mountains of central China

Pressure–temperature conditions for formation of the peak metamorphic mineral assemblages in phengite-bearing eclogites from Dabieshan have been assessed through a consideration of Fe²⁺–Mg²⁺ partitioning between garnet–omphacite and garnet–phengite pairs and of the reaction equilibrium celadonite+pyrope+grossular=muscovite+diopside, which incorporates an evaluation of the extent of the strongly pressure-dependent inverse Tschermak's molecule substitution in the phengites. For the latter equilibrium, the calibration and recommended activity–composition models indicated by 45 ) have been employed and importantly yield results consistent with petrographic evidence for the stability at peak conditions of coesite in certain samples and quartz in others. Confirmation that in some phengite-eclogite samples peak silicate mineral assemblages have equilibrated at confining pressures sufficient for the stability of coesite (and in some cases even diamond) rather negates previous suggestions that coesite may have been stabilized in only very localized, possibly just intracrystalline, domains. Inherent difficulties in the evaluation of peak metamorphic temperatures from Fe²⁺–Mg²⁺ partitioning between mineral phases, due to uncertainties over Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ ratios in the minerals (especially omphacites), and to re-equilibration during extensive retrograde overprinting in some samples, are also assessed and discussed. Our results indicate the existence in south-central Dabieshan of phengite eclogites with markedly different equilibration conditions within two structurally distinct tectonometamorphic terranes. Thus our data do not support earlier contentions that south-central Dabieshan comprises a structurally coherent continental-crust terrane with a regional P–T gradient signalling previous deepest-level subduction in the north. Instead, we recognize the Central Dabie ultra-high-pressure (coesite eclogite-bearing) terrane to be structurally overlain by a Southern Dabie high-pressure (quartz eclogite-bearing) terrane at a major southerly dipping shear zone along which late orogenic extensional collapse appears to have eliminated at least 20 km of crustal section.     

Petrology of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from the ZK703 drillhole in the Donghai, eastern China

The 558-m-deep ZK703 drillhole located near Donghai in the southern part of the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt, eastern China, penetrates alternating layers of eclogites, gneisses, jadeite quartzites, garnet peridotites, phengite–quartz schists, and kyanite quartzites. The preservation of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic minerals and their relics, together with the contact relationship and protolith types of the various rocks indicates that these are metamorphic supracrustal rocks and mafic-ultramafic rock assemblages that have experienced in-situ ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. The eclogites can be divided into five types based on accessory minerals: rutile eclogite, phengite eclogite, kyanite–phengite eclogite, quartz eclogite, and common eclogite with rare minor minerals. Rutile eclogite forms a thick layer in the drillhole that contains sufficient rutile for potential mining. Two retrograde assemblages are observed in the eclogites: the first stage is characterized by the formation of sodic plagioclase+amphibole symplectite or symplectitic coronas after omphacite and garnet, plagioclase+biotite after garnet or phengite, and plagioclase coronas after kyanite; the second stage involved total replacement of omphacite and garnet by amphibole+albite+epidote+quartz. Peak metamorphic P–T conditions of the eclogites were around 32 to 40 kbar and 720°C to 880°C. The retrograde P–T path of the eclogites is characterized by rapidly decreasing pressure with slightly decreasing temperature. Micro-textures and compositional variations in symplectitic minerals suggest that the decompression breakdown of ultrahigh-pressure minerals is a domainal equilibrium reaction or disequilibrium reaction. The composition of the original minerals and the diffusion rate of elements involved in these reactions controlled the symplectitic mineral compositions.     

Tectonothermal evolution of the gneiss complex at Salur in the Eastern Ghats Grnaulite Belt of India

Textural relations, thermobarometry and petrogenetic grid considerations in the syn-tectonic granitoid massif and the enveloping metasedimentary gneisses at Salur are consistent with a counter-clockwise P–T –t path for the rocks. The low-P/high-T prograde sector is documented by the pre- to syn-D₁ cordierite±orthopyroxene±garnet±spinel–bearing metatexite leucosomes in metapelites. Heating and loading of the rocks (syn- to post-D₁) resulted in the formation of garnet+orthopyroxene± cordierite-bearing diatexites, and decomposition of cordierite in metatexite leucosomes to orthopyroxene+sillimanite+biotite+quartz symplectites. Near-peak temperature, 850 °C at 8.0 kbar, was reached syn- to post-D₂. Post-peak cooling resulted in the stabilization of coronal grossular and anorthite+calcite symplectites at the expense of scapolite+wollastonite+calcite assemblages in calc-silicate gneisses, and the resetting of cation exchange temperatures at 700–750 °C. Near-isothermal decompression at c. 700–750 °C is manifested by the decomposition of garnet porphyroblasts in the granitoid gneisses to plagioclase+orthopyroxene/ilmenite/biotite two-phase coronas and restabilization of cordierite at garnet margins in metapelites. Subsequent low-P, near-isobaric cooling led to the overprinting of granulite facies assemblages by muscovite+calcite assemblages, and further resetting of cation exchange thermometers to lower temperatures c. 600 °C. The tectonothermal evolution of the Salur gneiss complex vis-a-vis the Eastern Ghats Belt is therefore consistent with high degrees of lower crustal melting, followed by prograde heating of the cover rocks due to magma invasion synchronous with crustal compression, and finally thermal relaxation over a protracted period punctuated by tectonic/erosional denudation of the thickened crust.     

Mineral zoning as a record of P,T history of Precambrian eclogites and schists in western Tasmania

Ferromagnesian minerals, particularly garnet but also phengite, omphacite and talc, from eclogites and surrounding schists from the Lyell Highway-Collingwood river area, western Tasmania are compositionally zoned.In rocks which have suffered little secondary alteration the Mg-value ($\text{100 Mg}\text{Mg+Fe}{}^{\mathrm{++}}$) of granets increases from core to rim, while the Mg-value of the most important coexisting ferromagnesian phases (clinopyroxene, phengite and talc in different assemblages) decreases from core to rim. CaO decreases from core to rim in garnet. MnO may show little or no variation in garnet, or decrease from core to rim.When compared with experimental data, the zoning of these minerals can be uniquely explained by growth during changing P,T conditions. The eclogites and the surrounding schists have the same prograde P,T history.When determining the K_D-values of garnet and its coexisting ferromagnesian phases it is important to consider secondary rim alterations as well as the prograde zoning of the mineral.