Tracing exhumation record in high-pressure micaschists: A new tectonometamorphic model of the evolution of the eastern part of the Fore Sudetic Block,Kamieniec Metamorphic Belt,NE Bohemian Massif,SW Poland

The Kamieniec Metamorphic Belt comprises a volcano-sedimentary succession exposed within a collision zone between the Saxothuringian and Brunovistulian crustal domains of the European Variscides. The studied rocks recorded two metamorphic episodes. The first episode, M₁, occurred at conditions of c. 485 ± 25 °C and 18 ± 1.8 kbar related to burial within a subduction zone. The subsequent episode, M₂, was linked to the final phases of exhumation to mid-crustal level, associated with pressure and temperature (P–T) conditions ranging from c. 520 ± 26 °C and 6 ± 0.6 kbar through 555 ± 28 °C and 7 kbar ± 0.7 to ~590 ± 30 °C and 3–4 ± 0.4 kbar. The documented deformation record is ascribed to three events, D₁ to D₃, interpreted as related to the burial and subsequent exhumation of the Kamieniec Metamorphic Belt. The D₁ event must have witnessed the subduction of the Kamieniec Metamorphic Belt rock succession whereas the D₂ event was associated with the exhumation and folding of the Kamieniec Metamorphic Belt in an E-W-directed shortening regime. A subsequent folding related to the D₂ event was initiated at HP conditions, however, the planar fabric produced during a late stage of the D₂ event, defined by a low-pressure mineral assemblage M₂, indicates that the D₂ final stage was synchronous with the onset of the M₂ episode. Consequently, the entire D₂ event seems to have been associated with the exhumation of the Kamieniec Metamorphic Belt to mid crustal level. The third deformation event D₃, synchronous with the M₂ episode, marked the last stage of the exhumation, and was linked to emplacement of granitoid veins and lenses. The latter resulted in heating and rheological weakening of the entire rock succession and in the formation of non-coaxial shear zones.     

Sulfur and selenium systematics of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle: Inferences from the Massif Central xenolith suite (France)

Selenium has been analyzed in addition to S in 58 spinel peridotite xenoliths collected in Cenozoic alkali basalts from the Massif Central (France). The S concentration range now available for this suite, calculated from 123 samples, is the largest ever reported for alkali basalt-hosted xenoliths (<3-592 ppm). Likewise, the Se concentrations range between 0.2 and 67 ppb. No partial melting signature can be identified from the S and Se systematic. Half of the analyzed xenoliths have lost S during supergene weathering. By contrast, neither surficial alteration, nor loss of chalcophile elements during eruption can explain the regional-scale variations of S and Se concentrations. A first group of lherzolite xenoliths sampled in Southern Massif Central, from volcanic centers older and spatially unrelated to the Massif Central plume that triggered the Cenozoic volcanism, contains between 20 and 250 ppm S (with occasional S concentrations up to 592 ppm) and 12-67 ppb Se. It is clear that the highest S values, originally interpreted as representing S abundances in the primitive mantle, were in fact enriched by metasomatism. Highly variable S and Se contents (<5-360 ppm; 9-52 ppb) have also been observed in peridotite xenoliths collected in the Northern Massif Central, from volcanic centers mostly older than the plume. Like Group I xenoliths, these Group II xenoliths were strongly metasomatized by volatile-rich carbonated/silicated melts which precipitated Cu-rich sulfides. A third group of xenoliths from Plio-Quaternary basalts spatially related to the Massif Central Plume are uniformly poor in S (10-60 ppm) and Se (9-29 ppb). In this Group III, poikiloblastic textured xenoliths have lost most of their S and Se budget by peridotite-melt interactions at high melt/rock ratios. Taken as a whole, the Massif Central xenolith suite provides further evidence for strong heterogeneities in the S and Se budget of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. However, the few LREE-depleted fertile lherzolites that escaped strong metasomatic alterations suggest a S- and Se-depleted primitive mantle reservoir compared to currently accepted primitive mantle estimates.     

EPMA and PIXE dating of monazite in granulites from Stary Gierałtów,NE Bohemian Massif,Poland

Chemical Th–U–total Pb (CHIME) dating of monazite by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and proton microprobe (PIXE) was carried out on felsic granulites from Stary Gierałtów, Poland, which represent part of the Orlica-Śnieżnik Dome in the NE Bohemian Massif. Analyzed monazite is characterized by mosaic zoning rather than simple core-to-rim growth, and strontium contents of up to 750ppm. An isochron age of 347 ± 13Ma represents timing of amphibolite-facies metamorphism, in agreement with previously published estimates.     

Strain coupling between upper mantle and lower crust: natural example from the Běstvina granulite body, Bohemian Massif

Strain patterns within mantle rocks and surrounding coarse‐grained felsic granulites from the Kutná Hora Crystalline Complex in the Variscan Bohemian Massif have been studied in order to assess their strain coupling. The studied rock association occurs within low‐strain domains surrounded by fine‐grained granulite and migmatite. The Doubrava peridotite contains closely spaced and steeply dipping layers of garnet clinopyroxenite, which are parallel to the NE–SW‐striking, high‐temperature foliation in nearby granulites, while the Úhrov peridotite lacks such layering. The Spa?ice eclogite is not associated with peridotite and shows upright folds of alternating coarse‐ and fine‐grained varieties bearing NE–SW‐striking axial planes. Electron back‐scattered diffraction measurements revealed full strain coupling between clinopyroxenites and coarse‐grained granulites in the S₁ fabric that is superposed on the S₀ fabric preserved in peridotites. The B‐type olivine lattice preferred orientation (LPO) characterizes the S₀ fabric in peridotites and its reworking is strongly controlled by the presence of macroscopic clinopyroxenite layering. The S₁ in clinopyroxenites and coarse‐grained granulites is associated with the LS‐type clinopyroxene LPO and prism <c> slip in quartz respectively. While the S₁ fabric in these rock types is accompanied invariably by a sub‐vertical stretching lineation, the S₁ fabric developed in reworked Úhrov peridotite is associated with strongly planar axial (010) type of olivine LPO. The peridotites with the S₀ fabric are interpreted to be relicts of a fore‐arc mantle wedge hydrated to a various extent above the Saxothuringian subduction zone. The prograde metamorphism recorded in peridotites and eclogites occurred presumably during mantle wedge flow and was reaching UHP conditions. Strain coupling in the S₁ fabric between clinopyroxenites and granulites at Doubrava and upright folding of eclogites at Spa?ice document a link between tectonic and magmatic processes during orogenic thickening, coeval with intrusions of the arc‐related calcalkaline suites of the Central Bohemian Plutonic Complex (c. 360–345 Ma). Juxtaposition of peridotites and granulites could be explained by a rheological heterogeneity connected to the development of clinopyroxenite layering in the upper mantle and a previously published model of a lithospheric‐scale transpressional arc system. It invokes vertical shearing along NE–SW trending, sub‐vertical foliations in the upper mantle that could have led to an emplacement of mantle bodies into the granulitized, orogenic root in the sub‐arc region. Clearly, such a transpressional arc system could represent an important pathway for an emplacement of deep‐seated rocks in the orogenic lower crust.     

华北东部橄榄岩与岩石圈减薄中的地幔伸展和侵蚀置换作用

对比分析了华北不同时代捕虏体橄榄岩及其南部超高压地质体橄榄岩的矿物化学。具古老难熔岩石圈地幔特征的橄榄岩是古生代金伯利岩捕虏体和早中生代苏鲁变质带地质体的主要岩石类型。具这一性质的橄榄岩也构成了河南鹤壁上新世玄武岩捕虏体的主体部分,并可以在辽宁阜新晚中生代玄武岩中被发现。具饱满岩石圈地幔性质的橄榄岩则是阜新晚中生代火山岩、特别是郯庐断裂带(山旺)及其附近地区(栖霞)中新世玄武岩捕虏体的主要类型。从华北东部已有的捕虏体橄榄岩及地质体橄榄岩所表现出的新生饱满与古老难熔地幔的时、空分布特点,即有些地区捕虏体橄榄岩表现出不同性质地幔共存现象(如阜新、鹤壁)或橄榄石Mg#呈渐变关系看:克拉通岩石圈地幔因扬子板块俯冲所引起的早期(如早中生代)地幔伸展、和晚中生代—渐新世因太平洋俯冲所引起的热扰动的软流圈物质上涌对古老地幔产生强烈的侵蚀作用(引起岩石圈的巨大减薄);中新世以来的软流圈热沉降作用出现新生岩石圈地幔并表现为岩石圈的小幅增厚,从而实现地幔置换过程和华北东部岩石圈的整体减薄过程。岩石圈幔内薄弱带及岩石圈深断裂(如郯庐断裂带)起了软流圈物质侵蚀古老岩石圈地幔的通道作用并导引着深部物质运移和不规则减薄作用等。个别地区(如阜新)强烈的软流圈上涌于晚中生代就已经开始,显示地幔置换作用的强烈不均一性。     

EPMA and PIXE dating of monazite in granulites from Stary Gierałtów, NE Bohemian Massif, Poland

Chemical Th–U–total Pb (CHIME) dating of monazite by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and proton microprobe (PIXE) was carried out on felsic granulites from Stary Gierałtów, Poland, which represent part of the Orlica-Śnieżnik Dome in the NE Bohemian Massif. Analyzed monazite is characterized by mosaic zoning rather than simple core-to-rim growth, and strontium contents of up to 750ppm. An isochron age of 347 ± 13Ma represents timing of amphibolite-facies metamorphism, in agreement with previously published estimates.     

Laboratory measurement of P-wave velocity in crustal and upper mantle xenoliths from Ichino-megata, NE Japan: ultrabasic hydrous lower crust beneath the NE Honshu arc

Ultrasonic laboratory measurements of P-wave velocity (Vp) were carried out up to 1.0 GPa in a temperature range of 25–400 °C for crustal and mantle xenoliths of Ichino-megata, northeast Japan. The rocks used in the present study cover a nearly entire range of lithological variation of the Ichino-megata xenoliths and are considered as representative rock samples of the lower crust and upper mantle of the back arc side of the northeast (NE) Honshu arc. The Vp values measured at 25 °C and 1.0 GPa are 6.7–7.2 km/s for the hornblende gabbros (38.6–46.9 wt.% SiO₂), 7.2 km/s for the hornblende-pyroxene gabbro (43.8 wt.% SiO₂), 6.9–7.3 km/s for the amphibolites (36.1–44.3 wt.% SiO₂), 8.0–8.1 km/s for the spinel lherzolites (46.2–47.2 wt.% SiO₂) and 6.30 km/s for the biotite granite (72.1 wt.% SiO₂). Combining the present data with the Vp profile of the NE Honshu arc [Iwasaki, T., Kato, W., Moriya, T., Hasemi, A., Umino, N., Okada, T., Miyashita, K., Mizogami, T., Takeda, T., Sekine, S., Matsushima, T., Tashiro, K., Miyamachi, H. 2001. Extensional structure in northern Honshu Arc as inferred from seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiling. Geophys. Res. Lett. 28 (12), 2329–2332], we infer that the 15 km thick lower crust of the NE Honshu arc is composed of amphibolite and/or hornblende (±pyroxene) gabbro with ultrabasic composition. The present study suggests that the Vp range of the lower crustal layer (6.6–7.0 km/s) in the NE Honshu arc, which is significantly lower than that obtained from various seismic measurements (e.g. the northern Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc: 7.1–7.3 km/s), is due to the thick hydrous lower crustal layer where hornblende, plagioclase and magnetite are dominant.     

Lateral displacement of crustal units relative to underlying mantle lithosphere: Example from the Bohemian Massif

We propose a mechanical model of deformation of the entire lithosphere of the Bohemian Massif (BM), whose core is formed by an asymmetric block of the Teplá-Barrandian (TB) unit in between the Saxothuringian (ST) and Moldanubian (MD) units. For the modelling, we have re-processed P-wave travel times recorded during the last two decades at dense networks of seismic stations installed in the BM during several passive seismic experiments. We also use previous results of anisotropic studies based on splitting of teleseismic shear waves. This allows us to refine estimates of the lithosphere thickness and delimit deep margins of the individual mantle lithosphere domains. The domains are rigid enough to preserve pre-orogenic olivine fabrics differently oriented in each of the units. Shapes and dips of the mantle boundaries, representing major zones of weakness inherited from the Variscan amalgamation of independent microplates, indicate that north-westward subductions beneath the TB unit dominated tectonic development of the core of the BM. Two mantle lithosphere domains with different fabric orientations, separated by a WSW-ENE striking shear zone, underlie the TB crust. The NW domain is the TB mantle lithosphere, while the SE domain is the MD mantle lithosphere thrust under the TB crust. Lithosphere of the north-western TB domain, compressed between early Variscan subductions of the ST continental lithosphere from the northwest and the MD continental lithosphere from the southeast, was pushed south-westward by about 50 km. Though the crust of the south-westerly TB promontory is commonly attributed to the MD unit, apparently it preserves the TB mantle lithosphere. The shifted TB lithosphere provides compelling evidence in support of older views suggesting that the Zone Erbendorf-Vohenstrauss (ZEV) originally belonged to the tilted western rim of the TB unit. During the final phase of the assemblage of the BM, the rigid TB lithosphere was disrupted by the southward pushing ST lithosphere along the newly formed NW-SE striking Jáchymov Fault Zone (JFZ). This lithosphere-scale process most likely changed the tectonic regime, released subduction-related forces and started the gravity-dominated tectonics.     

Upper mantle beneath Kamchatka: The depth model and its relation to tectonics

The comparative analysis of geological-geophysical data on the deep structure of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the seismic tomography model of the upper mantle revealed the coordinated spatial structure of the regional lithosphere with outlining beneath eastern Kamchatka and the boundaries, thickness, and distribution area of the asthenolith, which was first defined under its central part. Low-velocity bodies connected with the velocity structure of the focal layer and its seismicity patterns are established under recent volcanic belts. It is shown that subordination of the upper mantle structure to fault tectonics is a dominant feature at some of its levels. The system of NW-trending faults in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii area, which is likely responsible for significant horizontal displacements in the upper mantle, is most contrasting. It is assumed that defined asthenolith heterogeneities continue under the Sredinnyi (Median) Range.     

Middle/Late Cambrian intracontinental rifting in the central West Sudetes,NE Bohemian Massif (Czech Republic): geochemistry and petrogenesis of the bimodal metavolcanic rocks

The Early Palaeozoic East Krkonoše Complex (EKC) situated in the central West Sudetes, NE Bohemian Massif, is a volcano‐sedimentary suite containing abundant mafic and felsic volcanics metamorphosed to greenschist facies. The trace element distribution patterns and Nd isotope signatures (E_Nd500 = + 3.1 to + 6.6) of the metabasites (metabasalts) indicate that they may be related to a rising mantle diapir associated with intracontinental rifting. At the early stage, limited melting of an upwelling asthenosphere produced alkali basalts and enriched tholeiites which compositionally resemble oceanic island basalts. A later stage of rifting with larger degrees of melting at shallower depths generated tholeiitic basalts with E‐MORB to N‐MORB characteristics. The values of (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i = 0.706 and E_Nd500 = − 5 ±1 of the porphyroids (metarhyolites) as well as the lack of rocks with intermediate compositions suggest that the felsic rocks were formed by a partial melting event of continental crust triggered by mantle melts. The geochemistry of the EKC bimodal metavolcanics and their association with abundant terrigenous metasediments suggest that the felsic–mafic volcanic suite was generated during intracontinental rifting. This process, widespread in Western and Central Europe during the Early Palaeozoic, is evidence of large‐scale fragmentation of the northern margin of the Gondwana supercontinent. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks from the Erzgebirge, and their relation to other settings in the Bohemian Massif

Garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks (GBU) enclosed in high-grade gneisses are known from several parts of the Bohemian Massif. One of these is the high-pressure(HP)-unit 1 in the Erzgebirge Crystalline Complex, which is the subject of the present study. Hitherto, two different models have been put forward to explain the stabilisation of garnet in mantle-derived ultramafic rocks from the Bohemian Massif and their emplacement into the crust. (1) Garnetiferous assemblages were formed in the ultramafics before they came in contact with their crustal host rocks. (2) Garnet was formed in the ultramafics at the expense of spinel due to cooling caused by their tectonic emplacement in the crust. The PT-evolution revealed by the investigated GBU from the Erzgebirge Crystalline Complex, however, requires a third model. The reconstruction of the PT-paths for the Erzgebirge GBU is based on both conventional thermobarometry and phase relations. Thermodynamic calculations allowed the construction of a PT-phase diagram for the system Na₂O-CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O, which is the first quantitative petrogenetic grid in this model system relevant to ultramafic HP-rocks. The grid shows the uni-, di-, and tri-variant assemblages stable in peridotitic rocks at different PT-conditions, providing a tool to constrain PT-paths from the succession of mineral assemblages observed in a rock. The PT-path obtained for the Erzgebirge GBU suggests that the garnet-bearing assemblages formed by HP-metamorphism of spinel peridotite which was emplaced into the crust prior to or during the HP-compressional stage. This model is supported by peak PT-conditions around 900?°C and 30–35 kbar recorded by the ultramafic rocks, which are very similar to those attained in the eclogites sensu stricto which occur in the same tectonic unit (HP-unit 1) and for which an in situ metamorphism has been inferred (Schmädicke et al. 1992). On the other hand, the other two high-pressure units in the Erzgebirge, HP-units 2 and 3, which also contain eclogites sensu stricto but lack peridotites, record lower peak PT-conditions of 650–750?°C/24–26 kbar and 600–650?°C/20–24 kbar, respectively. Postulating an in situ HP-metamorphism for the garnet peridotites as result of continental collision during the Variscan orogeny, a crustal thickness of 90–110 km would be required. A comparison of the distribution of eclogites sensu stricto and mantle-derived rocks from the Bohemian Massif together with their reported PT-conditions reveals a correlation between peak PT-conditions in eclogites sensu stricto and the prevailing assemblages in the ultramafic rocks in the same unit. Furthermore, the Erzgebirge Crystalline Complex and the Snieznik Complex on one hand as well?as the Granulitgebirge and the Sowie Góry on the other hand are thought to be genetically linked. The garnet peridotites from the Granulitgebirge, the Sowie Góry and the Gföhl unit seem to have experienced peak PT-conditions not recorded by their country rocks with non-eclogitic basic interlayers, inferring a formation of?HP-assemblages in the ultramafics prior to their emplacement into the crust.     

Early cretaceous ophiolites of the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone: insights from dolerites and peridotites from the Baer upper mantle suite,SW Tibet (China)

The Baer ophiolitic massif is located in the northern sub-belt of the western segment of the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) and mainly consists of a lherzolite-dominant mantle suite, dolerite intrusions and limited crustal outcrops. The dolerites show sub-ophitic texture and light rare earth element-depleted chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns similar to normal-mid-ocean ridge basalts (N-MORB); though, they display enrichments in fluid-mobile elements (Rb, Ba, and Sr) and marked depletions in Th and Nb. The U–Pb ages of several magmatic zircon grains recovered from two dolerite samples indicate that the intrusion of the dikes into the Baer lherzolitic mantle occurred at 125.6–126.3 Ma, consistent with the widespread mafic magmatism between 120 and 130 Ma in the Yarlung Zangbo ophiolites. The dolerites have slightly more radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7043–0.7054) in comparison to N-MORB, whereas they show ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values (0.513067–0.513114) similar to N-MORB and high zircon Hf-isotope compositions. They have a limited range of Nd-isotope (ε_Nd(t) values: +8.2 to +9.1) and juvenile Hf-isotope compositions (ε_Hf(t) values: +8.4 to +14.2 and +10.0 to +15.1) indicating derivation from mantle melts. The moderate spread in the ε_Hf (t) values of zircons indicates derivation of the dolerites parental magma from a weakly contaminated spinel-bearing mantle source. This is also corroborated by the geochemical signatures of the Baer dolerites (enrichment in LILE and depletion in HFSE) suggesting minor slab input to the mantle source of the dike-filling melt. We suggest that the genesis of the dolerite dike-forming melt happened at a stage of subduction initiation in a sub-oceanic mantle domain mildly affected by fluids emanating from the downgoing slab. Our data combined with literature data allow us to presume that the intrusion of the dolerites into the Baer mantle corresponds to an early phase of subduction initiation beneath a developing forearc basin.     

Spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Tariat Depression, Mongolia. I: Major element chemistry and mineralogy of a primitive mantle xenolith suite

For mantle peridotite xenoliths from the Tariat Depression in central Mongolia an origin as partial melt residues has been inferred from the systematic change of bulk chemical compositions with mineral chemistries and modal compositions. The suite is dominated by primitive to slightly depleted lherzolites ranging from 15.7 to 7.9 wt.% of modal clinopyroxene, whereas harzburgites are rare. An increase of clinopyroxene to more than 20% in three samples is unrelated to liquid/crystal equilibria and is concluded to be the result of metamorphic differentiation. Leaving this enrichment of clinopyroxene aside, seven out of the twelve xenoliths studied come close to pyrolite in terms of mode and bulk chemistry. The primitive nature of these xenoliths is further emphazised by the low ratios of Cr/(Cr + Al + Fe) in their spinels, ranging from 0.075 to 0.087.

In the majority of the samples studied orthopyroxene is chemically zoned with Al and Cr decreasing from core to rim. Temperatures of about 1050°C and about 950°C are derived for cores and rims, respectively. No zoning is observed for Ca in orthopyroxene and temperatures obtained from the solubility of CaO in orthopyroxene are close to 950°C, which shows that with respect to Ca the orthopyroxenes had already reequilibrated to the lower temperature. This and the zoning of Al and Cr may be related to cooling after some initial thermal perturbation or to cooling in a diapir.     

华北克拉通西北部显生宙岩石圈地幔属性与演化特征: 橄榄岩捕虏体证据

众所周知,华北克拉通东部岩石圈地幔的组成和性质在显生宙发生了显著变化,但由于西部出露含有捕虏体的火山岩较少,这在一定程度上限制了人们对该区岩石圈地幔属性与演化特征的认识。本文将华北克拉通西北部晚白垩世-新生代玄武岩中橄榄岩捕虏体的研究成果归纳总结,旨在进一步揭示该区岩石圈地幔的属性与演化特征。研究表明,华北克拉通西北部岩石圈地幔主要由低Mg^#的二辉橄榄岩和少量高Mg^#的方辉橄榄岩组成。高Mg^#橄榄岩代表该区受轻微再富集作用影响的古老岩石圈地幔残余,低Mg^#橄榄岩是软流圈来源熔体与高Mg^#橄榄岩反应的产物,代表地幔再富集作用对古老岩石圈地幔改造的结果。该区岩石圈地幔经历了多期地幔交代作用的改造,早期交代事件与古亚洲洋俯冲有关,近期与软流圈来源的玄武质熔体有关。这种广泛的地幔再富集作用对华北克拉通古老岩石圈地幔的转变做出了重要贡献。

     

Precambrian crustal contribution to the Variscan accretionary prism of the Kaczawa Mountains (Sudetes,SW Poland): evidence from SHRIMP dating of detrital zircons

SHRIMP dating of detrital zircons from sandstones of the Gackowa Formation (Kaczawa Complex, Sudetes, SW Poland) indicates input from late (550–750 Ma) and early Proterozoic to Archaean sources (∼2.0–3.4 Ga, the latter being the oldest recorded age from the Sudetic region). These dates preclude within-terrane derivation from seemingly correlatory acid volcanic rocks of early Palaeozoic age. Rather, they indicate provenance from Cadomian and older rocks that currently form part of other, geographically distant terranes; the most likely source identified to date is the Lusatian Block in the Saxothuringian Zone. Hence, the Gackowa Formation may be late Proterozoic rather than early Palaeozoic in depositional age, possibly coeval with the late Proterozoic (pre-Cadomian) greywackes of Lusatia, being subsequently tectonically interleaved with early Palaeozoic volcanic rocks into the Kaczawa accretionary prism during the Variscan orogeny. However, correlation with the lithologically similar early Ordovician Dubrau Quartzite of Saxothuringia, and so assignation to the early Paleozoic (post-Cadomian) rift succession deposited at the northern margin of Gondwana, cannot yet be precluded.     

Subduction of lithospheric upper mantle recorded by solid phase inclusions and compositional zoning in garnet: Example from the Bohemian Massif

This paper presents monomineral and multiphase inclusions in garnet from eclogites and clinopyroxenites, which form layers and boudins in garnet peridotites from two areas in the Moldanubian zone of the Bohemian Massif. The garnet peridotites occur in felsic granulites and reached UHP conditions prior to their granulite facies overprint. In addition to complex compositional zoning, garnets from hosting eclogites and clinopyroxenites preserve inclusions of hydrous phases and alkali silicate minerals including: amphiboles, chlorites, micas and feldspars. Amphibole, biotite and apatite inclusions in garnet have a high concentration of halogens; CO₂ and sulfur are involved in carbonates and sulfide inclusions, respectively. The inclusion patterns and compositional zoning in garnet in combination with textural relations among minerals, suggest that the ultramafic and mafic bodies are derived from lithospheric mantle above the subduction zone and were transformed into garnet pyroxenites and eclogites in the subduction zone. Based on compositional, mineral and textural relations, all of these rocks along with the surrounding crustal material were overprinted by granulite facies metamorphism during their exhumation.     

Continental crust and lithospheric mantle interaction beneath North China: isotopic evidence from granulite xenoliths in Hannuoba, Sino-Korean craton

Mafic granulite and pyroxenite xenoliths from Cenozoic alkaline basalts at Hannuoba, Hebei Province, North China have been selected for a systematic geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic study, which provides a unique opportunity to explore nature of the lower crust and the interaction between the continental crust and lithospheric mantle beneath an Archean craton. The major, compatible and incompatible elements and radiogenic isotopes of these xenoliths suggest great chemical heterogeneity of the lower crust beneath the Hannuoba region. Petrological and geochemical evidences indicate a clear cumulate origin, and most likely, they are related to basaltic underplating in different geological episodes. However, the Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the xenoliths reveal a profound enriched source signature (EM I) with some influence of EM II, which implies that some portion of pre-existing, old metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle could have played an important role in their genesis. It is suggested that the interaction between continental crust and subcontinental mantle as manifested by basaltic underplating would be closely related to regional tectonic episodes and geodynamic processes in the deep part of subcontinental lithospheric mantle.     

Seismic evidence of Caledonian deformed crust and uppermost mantle structures in the northern part of the Trans-European Suture Zone, SW Baltic Sea

Collisional structures from the closure of the Tornquist Ocean and subsequent amalgamation of Avalonia and Baltica during the Caledonian Orogeny in the northern part of the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ) in the SW Baltic Sea are investigated. A grid of marine reflection seismic lines was gathered in 1996 during the DEKORP-BASIN '96 campaign, shooting with an airgun array of 52 l total volume and recording with a digital streamer of up to 2.1 km length. The detailed reflection seismic analysis is mainly based on post-stack migrated sections of this survey, but one profile has also been processed by a pre-stack depth migration algorithm. The data provides well-constrained images of upper crustal reflectivity and lower crustal/uppermost mantle reflections. In the area of the Caledonian suture, a reflection pattern is observed with opposing dips in the upper crust and the uppermost mantle. Detailed analysis of dipping reflections in the upper crust provides evidence for two different sets of reflections, which are separated by the O-horizon, the main decollement of the Caledonian deformation complex. S-dipping reflections beneath the sub-Permian discontinuity and above the O-horizon are interpreted as Caledonian thrust structures. Beneath the O-horizon, SW-dipping reflections in the upper crust are interpreted as ductile shear zones and crustal deformation features that evolved during the Sveconorwegian Orogeny. The Caledonian deformation complex is subdivided into (1) S-dipping foreland thrusts in the north, (2) the S-dipping suture itself that shows increased reflectivity, and (3) apparently NE-dipping downfaulted sedimentary horizons south of the Avalonia–Baltica suture, which may have been reactivated during Mesozoic normal faulting. The reflection Moho at 28–35 km depth appears to truncate a N-dipping mantle structure, which may represent remnant structures from Tornquist Ocean closure or late-collisional compressional shear planes in the upper mantle. A contour map of these mantle reflections indicates a consistent northward dip, which is steepest where there is strong bending of the Caledonian deformation front. The thin-skinned character of the Caledonian deformation complex and the fact that N-dipping mantle reflections do not truncate the Moho indicate that the Baltica crust was not mechanically involved in the Caledonian collision and, therefore, escaped deformation in this area.     

Metamorphic record of burial and exhumation of orogenic lower and middle crust: a new tectonothermal model for the Drosendorf window (Bohemian Massif, Austria)

Summary A continuous, but attenuated section through orogenic lower and middle crust overthrust by a second lower-crustal complex was distinguished at the eastern margin of the Bohemian Massif. This indicates the existence of two lower-crustal “autochthonous” extrusions into middle crust that is not compatible with the model of “allochthonous” lower crustal klippen remaining after flat thrusting of the Gf?hl nappe over large distances. The base of the lower crust is represented by a granulite body exhumed from c. 15 kbar and 800 °C. A hangingwall complex of layered amphibolites gradually passes into amphibolite bearing paragneisses (the Monotonous unit) and micaschists intercalated with marbles at the top (the Varied unit). The metamorphic grade and anatexis decreases upwards and the micaschists preserve a prograde path to c. 8 kbar and 700 °C. This sequence is overthrust by a second lower crustal strongly migmatitized complex, referred to as the Raabs complex, which is marked by an eclogite-bearing belt at the base. The garnet zoning of eclogite indicates burial from 10 kbar to min. 15 kbar. In all units, relics of a steep metamorphic fabric were identified, reworked by folding and a moderately west-dipping foliation. The conditions of 7–10 kbar and approximately 750 °C for the flat foliation were obtained in all units indicating that exhumation of the lower crust into a middle crustal level occurred earlier, probably during the development of steep fabrics. The intense flat fabric is interpreted as a result of thrusting of the whole assembly over the middle crustal Brunian indentor.