Timing relationships between pegmatite emplacement,metamorphism and deformation during the intra‐plate Alice Springs Orogeny,central Australia

In the Harts Range (central Australia), the upper amphibolite facies to lower granulite facies, c. 480–460 Ma Harts Range Metamorphic Complex (HRMC), and the upper amphibolite facies, c. 340–320 Ma Entia Gneiss Complex are cut by numerous, generally peraluminous pegmatites and their deformed equivalents. The pegmatites have previously been interpreted as locally derived partial melts. However, SHRIMP U–Pb monazite and zircon dating of 29 pegmatites or their deformed equivalents, predominantly from the HRMC, reveal that they were emplaced episodically throughout almost the entire duration of the polyphase, c. 450–300 Ma intra‐plate Alice Springs Orogeny. Episodes of pegmatite intrusion correlate with the age of major Alice Springs‐age structures and with deposition of syn‐orogenic sedimentary rocks in the adjacent Centralian Superbasin. Similar Alice Springs ages have not been obtained from anatectic country rocks in the HRMC, suggesting that the pegmatites were not locally derived. Instead, they are interpreted as highly fractionated granites, and imply that much larger parental Alice Springs‐age granites exist at depth. The mechanism to allow repeated felsic magmatism in an intraplate setting, where all exposed rock types had a previous high‐temperature history, is enigmatic. However, we suggest that episodic underthrusting and dehydration of unmetamorphosed Centralian Superbasin sedimentary rocks allowed crustal fertility to maintained over a c. 140 Ma interval during the intra‐plate Alice Springs Orogeny.     

The flow of surface-derived fluids through Alice Springs age middle-crustal ductile shear zones, Reynolds Range, central Australia

The south-east Reynolds Range, central Australia, is cut by steep north-west-trending Alice Springs age ( c. 334  Ma) shear zones that are up to hundreds of metres wide and several kilometres long with reverse senses of movement. Amphibolite facies (550–600  °C, 500–600  MPa) shear zones cut metapelites, while greenschist facies shear zones (420–535  °C, 400–650  MPa) cut metagranites. The sheared rocks commonly underwent metasomatism implying that the shear zones were the pathways of significant fluid flow. Altered granites within greenschist facies shear zones have gained Si and K but lost Ca and Na relative to their unsheared counterparts, suggesting that the fluid flowed down-temperature (and hence probably upward) through the shear zones. Time-integrated fluid fluxes calculated from silica addition are up to 2.1×10¹⁰ mol  m⁻² ( c. 4.2×10⁵  m³  m⁻²). Similar time-integrated fluid fluxes are also estimated from changes in K and Na. The sheared granitic rocks locally have δ¹⁸O values as low as 0 which is much lower than the δ¹⁸O values of the adjacent unsheared granites (7 to 9), implying that the fluid which flowed through these shear zones was derived from the surface. For the estimated time-integrated fluid fluxes, the fluids would be able to retain their isotopic signature for many tens to hundreds of kilometres. The flow of surface-derived fluids into the ductile middle crust, with subsequent expulsion upwards through the shear zones, may have been driven by seismic activity accompanying the Alice Springs deformation.     

Contrasting mechanisms of fluid flow through adjacent stratigraphic units during regional metamorphism,south-central Maine,USA

The flow pattern of reactive metamorphic fluid through six outcrops of micaceous, carbonate-bearing sandstones from the Vassalboro Formation was determined by calculating and mapping fluid-rock ratios for numerous samples within each outcrop. The ratio of maximum to minimum measured fluid/rock varied by factors of only 1.3-22.9 in each outcrop. Fluid flow was pervasive at metamorphic grades ranging from the biotite through the sillimanite zones. Average fluid-rock ratio for the outcrops increases with increasing grade of metamorphism from 0.4 in the biotite zone to 1.4 in the sillimanite zone.The flow pattern of reactive fluid through impure sandstones of the Vassalboro Formation was different at low and medium grades from fluid flow through the limestone member of the adjacent Waterville Formation. In the biotite and garnet zones, fluid flow through the Waterville Formation was channelized with channelways corresponding to individual lithologic layers that acted as metamorphic aquifers. Fluid-rock ratios recorded by the aquifers are greater than those recorded by the intervening beds by factors of up to 50–60. At the highest grades of metamorphism (sillimanite zone), however, flow through the Waterville Formation was as pervasive as through the Vassalboro Formation.The Waterville and Vassalboro Formations experienced the same metamorphic event. The difference in pattern of fluid flow through the two formations therefore reflects the important control that lithology exerts on the permeability of rocks during metamorphism. Micaceous, carbonate-bearing sandstones evidently were more permeable than argillaceous carbonate rocks. The greater permeability of the sandstones may result from a greater concentration of grain boundaries between unlike minerals in the rocks.     

Faults and associated fault rocks of the Southern Arunta block, Alice Springs, Central Australia

The Southern Arunta block within the Alice Springs region is dissected by an E-W-trending network of high-angle reverse faults. Microstructural evidence indicates that there is a change from dominantly ductile to brittle faulting southwards across the block towards the Amadeus Basin, and this suggests that the faults in the north were progressively uplifted by the more southern faults. The generation of ultramylonite has been particularly extensive in the Alice Springs region. TEM and SEM observations have allowed an appraisal of the deformation mechanisms at ultrafine grainsizes and suggest complex interactions between dislocation processes, diffusion and grain-boundary sliding.     

Effects of fluid production on fluid flow during regional and contact metamorphism

Numerical and analytical models of fluid flow that account for fluid production during prograde regional and contact metamorphism show that expulsion of metamorphic fluids dominates the convective flux when crustal permeabilities are less than 0.1–100 μD, depending primarily on the rate of fluid production. When this is the case, fluid circulation is limited or prevented, fluid pressures are elevated above hydrostatic values, and flow throughout most of the model is up and away from the region of maximum fluid production. Fluid circulation is predicted to occur where permeability is high, in dry rocks, or after rates of fluid production decrease as peak temperatures are reached. Large changes in the pattern of flow and influx of externally derived fluids may thus occur in metamorphic terranes when dehydration wanes or ceases and cooling begins. Inclusion of an impermeable horizon in the models further inhibits fluid circulation. Earlier, shallow hydrothermal models and interpretations based on the Rayleigh number may be inappropriate for characterizing fluid flow during prograde metamorphism at depth because they do not account for fluid production.     

The role of the fluid phase during regional metamorphism and deformation

Evidence from rock microstructures, mass transfer and isotopic exchange indicates that substantial quantities of aqueous fluids are involved in low- and medium-grade regional metamorphism. Similar conclusions are drawn from many retrograde environments, whereas high-grade metamorphic fluids may be melt dominated. The mobile fluids play essential roles in metamorphic reactions, mass transport and deformation processes. These processes are linked by the mechanical consequences of metamorphic fluid pressures (P_f) generally being greater than or equal to the minimum principal compressive stress. Under such conditions metamorphic porosity comprises grain boundary tubules and bubbles together with continuously generated (and healed) microfractures. Deformation results in significant interconnected porosity and hence enhanced permeability. Lithologically and structurally controlled permeability variations may cause effective fluid channelling.
Simple Rayleigh-Darcy modelling of a uniformly permeable, crustal slab shows that convective instability of metamorphic fluid is expected at the permeabilities suggested for the high P_f metamorphic conditions. Complex, large-scale convective cells operating in overpressured, but capped systems may provide a satisfactory explanation for the large fluid/rock ratios and extensive mass transport demonstrated for many low- and medium-grade metamorphic environments. Such large-scale fluid circulation may have important consequences for heat transfer in and the thermal evolution of metamorphic belts.     

S-type granite generation and emplacement during a regional switch from extensional to contractional deformation (Central Iberian Zone,Iberian autochthonous domain,Variscan Orogeny)

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Zircon grains extracted from S-type granites of the Mêda-Escalhão-Penedono Massif (Central Iberian Zone, Variscan Orogen) constrain the timing of...     

Assessing the geochemical and tectonic impacts of fluid–rock interaction in mid‐crustal shear zones: a case study from the intracontinental Alice Springs Orogen,central Australia

The Reynolds–Anmatjira Ranges, central Australia, form part of a high‐grade basement terrane dissected by intensely metasomatized transpressional shear zones active during the Ordovician–Carboniferous Alice Springs Orogeny. Unlike typical retrograde structures associated with discrete fluid flow, the mid‐crustal setting and intracontinental nature of these shear systems present significant problems for the source and ingress mechanism of the fluid involved in their rehydration. To address these issues, we describe two detailed traverses across deformed and metasomatized basement rocks in this region, and interrogate their record of fluid–rock interaction from various perspectives. Both traverses combine structural and petrological observations with Zr‐in‐rutile and Ti‐in‐quartz thermobarometry, oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope analysis, and major, trace and rare earth element mobility trends. Each technique is critically evaluated for its utility in this study and its more widespread applicability to alternative field areas, providing a strategic framework for the general investigation of fluid‐affected shear zones. Ultimately, the integrated data sets specify pressure–temperature conditions of ～530 °C and 4–5 kbar, implying average apparent thermal gradients of 29–36 °C km^?1 and depths of 14–18 km. Other characteristic features to emerge include strongly variable element mobilities and pronounced isotopic depletion fronts consistent with the alteration effects of an externally derived, non‐equilibrium fluid. This is confirmed by calculated fluid compositions indicative of contributions from a fluid of meteoric origin, with estimated δ¹⁸O and δD values as low as 2.3‰ and ?59.8‰, respectively. We propose that these surficial fluid signatures are imposed on the mid‐crust by the prograde burial and dehydration of hydrothermally altered fault panels produced during pre‐orogenic basin formation. Progressive fluid release with continued subsidence then leads to the accumulation of increasing fluid volumes in the vicinity of the brittle–ductile transition, promoting extensive hydration, metasomatism and reaction softening at the locus of stress transmission from plate‐boundary sources. The sustained injection of externally derived fluids into refractory crustal material may thus stimulate a critical reduction in the long‐term strength of the lithosphere, providing strong impetus for the initiation and advancement of intracontinental orogenesis.     

Timing and nature of fluid flow and alteration during Mesoproterozoic shear zone formation, Olary Domain, South Australia

The development of shear zones at mid‐crustal levels in the Proterozoic Willyama Supergroup was synchronous with widespread fluid flow resulting in albitization and calcsilicate alteration. Monazite dating of shear zone fabrics reveal that they formed at 1582 ± 22 Ma, at the end of the Olarian D3 deformational event and immediately prior to the emplacement of regional S‐type granites. Two stages of fluid flow are identified in the area: first an albitizing event which involved the addition of Na and loss of Si, K and Fe; and a second phase of calcsilicate alteration with additions of Ca, Fe, Mg and Si and removal of Na. Fluid fluxes calculated for albitization and calcsilicate alteration were 5.56 × 10⁹ to 1.02 × 10¹⁰ mol m^?2 and 2.57 × 10⁸–5.20 × 10⁹ mol m^?2 respectively. These fluxes are consistent with estimates for fluid flow through mid‐crustal shear zones in other terranes. The fluids associated with shearing and alteration are calculated to have δ¹⁸O and δD values ranging between +8 and +11‰, and ?33 and ?42‰, respectively, and ?Nd values between ?2.24 and ?8.11. Our results indicate that fluids were derived from metamorphic dehydration of the Willyama Supergroup metasediments. Fluid generation occurred during prograde metamorphism of deeper crustal rocks at or near peak pressure conditions. Shear zones acted as conduits for major crustal fluid flow to shallow levels where peak metamorphic conditions had been attained earlier leading to the apparent ‘retrograde’ fluid‐flow event. Thus, the peak metamorphism conditions at upper and lower crustal levels were achieved at differing times, prior to regional granite formation, during the same orogenic cycle leading to the formation of retrograde mineral assemblages during shearing.     

Review and classification of structural controls on fluid flow during regional metamorphism

Mechanisms for kilometre-scale, open-system fluid flow during regional metamorphism remain problematic. Debate also continues over the degree of fluid flow channellization during regional metamorphism, and the mechanisms for pervasive fluid flow at depth. The requirements for pervasive long-distance fluid flow are an interconnected porosity and a large regional gradient in fluid pressure and hydraulic head (thermally or structurally controlled) that dominates over local perturbations in hydraulic head due to deformation. In contrast, dynamic or transient porosity interconnection and fluid flow accompanying deformation of heterogeneous rock suites should result in moderately to strongly channellized flow at a range of scales, of which there are many examples in the literature. Classification of fluid flow types based on scale and degree of equilibration between fluid and rock, wallrock permeability, and mode of fluid transport contributes to an understanding of key factors that control fluid flow. Closed-system fluid behaviour, with restricted fluid flow in microcracks or cracks and limited fluid–rock interaction, occurs over a range of strains and crustal depths, but requires low permeabilities and/or small fluid fluxes. Long-distance, open-system fluid flow in channels is favoured in heterogeneous rocks at high strains, moderate (but variable) permeabilities, and moderate to high fluid fluxes. Long-distance, broad, pervasive fluid flow during regional metamorphism requires that the rocks are not accumulating high strains and have high permeabilities, low permeability contrasts, and high fluid fluxes. The ideal situation for such fluid flow is in situations where the rocks are undergoing stress relaxation immediately after a major deformation phase. In the mid-crust, fairly specific conditions are thus required for pervasive fluid flow. During active orogenesis, structurally controlled fluid flow (with focused open systems surrounding regions of closed-system behaviour) predominates in most, but not all, regional metamorphic situations, at a range of scales.     

Exhumation of the lower crust during crustal shortening: an Alice Springs (380 Ma) age for a prograde amphibolite facies shear zone in the Strangways Metamorphic Complex (central Australia)

Foliated garnet-bearing amphibolites occur within the West Bore Shear Zone, cutting through granulite facies gneisses of the Strangways Metamorphic Complex. In the amphibolites, large euhedral garnet (up to 3 cm) occurs within fine-grained recrystallized leucocratic diffusion haloes of plagioclase–quartz. The garnet and their haloes include a well-developed vertical foliation, also present in the matrix. This foliation is the same as that cutting through the unconformably overlying Neoproterozoic Heavitree Quartzite. The textures indicate syn- to late kinematic growth of the amphibolite facies mineral assemblages.
All mineral assemblages record an arrested prograde reaction history. Noteworthy is the growth of garnet at the expense of hornblende and plagioclase, and the breakdown of staurolite–hornblende to give plagioclase–gedrite. These dehydration reactions indicate increasing P – T  conditions during metamorphism, and suggest heating towards the end of a period of intense deformation. Temperature estimates for the garnet–amphibolite and related staurolite–hornblende assemblages from the shear zone are about 600 °C. Pressure is estimated at about 5 kbar.
An Sm–Nd isochron gives an age of 381±7 Ma for the peak metamorphism and associated deformation. This age determination confirms that amphibolite facies conditions prevailed during shear zone development within the Strangways Metamorphic Complex during the Alice Springs Orogeny. These temperature conditions are significantly higher than those expected at this depth assuming a normal geothermal gradient. The Alice Springs Orogeny was associated with significant crustal thickening, allowing exhumation of the granulite facies, Palaeoproterozoic, lower crust. Along-strike variations of the tectonic style suggest a larger amount of crustal shortening in the eastern part of the Alice Springs Orogeny.     

Phlogopite-chlorite reaction mechanisms and physical conditions during retrograde reactions in the Marble Formation,Franklin, New Jersey

A retrograde assemblage in a specimen from the Franklin Marble Formation containing an unusual occurrence of three micas has been studied. Microprobe analyses of the margarite, muscovite and phlogopite reveal significant sodium and fluorine but otherwise show little mutual solid solution. The conditions that prevailed during the retrogression estimated from phase equilibria are T=370–450° C and =0.03–0.3 at an assumed pressure of 2 kb.Examination of the phlogopite by TEM revealed replacement of phlogopite by chlorite. The chlorite occurred as small packets of layers interlayered with phlogopite. AEM analyses revealed that the chlorite composition approximates that of clinochlore. Transformations from a single phlogopite layer to one chlorite layer (a 11 reaction) and also from two phlogopite layers to one chlorite layer (a 21 reaction) have been observed. Both reactions result in a large volume change causing local strain at transition fronts. An apparently strain-free, volume-preserving transformation of 14 phlogopite layers terminating against 10 chlorite layers was observed which indicates that pervasive replacement may occur through a combination of both reactions. Topological and site occupancy changes during the transformation suggest that the reaction involves not only gain and loss of layer units, but also considerable local rupturing and reformation of bonds, concomitant with ion diffusion and interchange. Dislocations (layer terminations) at the transition front imply the existence of pathways for the fluid flow and ion transport required for mass balance.Contribution No. 397 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA     

Strain geometry,microstructure and mineral chemistry in metagabbro shear zones: a study of softening mechanisms during progressive mylonitization

The strain geometry, microstructure and metamorphism is described from two minor shear zones from the Chatelaudren metagabbro, N. Brittany. A serially slabbed shear zone reveals a strain geometry consistent with simple shear deformation. Strain calculations based on X trajectory angles coincide with those obtained from elliptical mineral clusters at high values of strain only. Strain profiles typically show a broad low-strain region with a narrow high-strain peak at the centre of the zones. Microstructures typically show distinct grain size reduction in both amphibole and feldspar towards the high strain region of shear zones, and this is discussed in terms of deformation mechanisms related to strain softening. A palaeostress estimate based on recrystallized feldspar grain sizes gives a differential stress of 32 MPa for the low strain region and 119 MPa in the shear zone centre. Electron probe analyses reveal chemical and mineralogical changes accompanying metamorphism within the shear zones. This suggests local conditions favourable for ionic diffusion and the activity of fluids is implied.     

中高盐度NaCl-H_2O溶液包裹体3种存在形式(T_h＞T_m、T_h=T_m、T_h＜T_m)的形成机制及捕获时的物化条件研究

首次提出均一捕获的中高盐度NaCl-H_2O溶液包裹体出现的3种类型(T_h>T_m、T_h=T_m、T_h|△V_s|,即在NaCl饱和曲线上温度小于Tr点温度(|△_l|=|△V_s|时的温度)段捕获包裹体的T_h=T_m,T_h或T_m为其捕获时温度。当包裹体的|△_l|≤|△V_s|,即在NaCl饱和曲线上温度大于或等于Tr点温度段捕获的包裹体的T_hT_m,T_h是该类包裹体捕获的最低温度。在温度和密度均大于Tr点的等容线上捕获的包裹体的T_h相似文献   

U–Pb isotopic dating of fluid infiltration and metasomatism during Dalradian regional metamorphism in Connemara, western Ireland

Abstract A metasomatic diopside rock occurs at the top of the dolomitic Connemara Marble Formation of western Ireland and contains titanite and K-feldspar in addition to around 90% diopside ( X _Mg= 0.90–0.97). U–Pb isotopic measurements on this mineral assemblage show that the titanite is both unusually uranium-rich and isotopically concordant, with the result that a precise U–Pb age of 478 ± 2.5 Ma can be determined. The age is identical within error to a less precise Rb–Sr age of diopside–K-feldspar of 483 ± 6 Ma. Petrological evidence indicates that the assemblage crystallized at c . 620° C close to or below the closure temperature of titanite. The age thus provides a precise estimate of the time of metamorphism; this age is 11 ± 3 Ma younger than the 490 Ma age for nearby gabbroic plutons which has previously been used to constrain the peak metamorphic age. This difference accords well with geological evidence that the gabbros were emplaced prior to the metamorphic peak. Analysis of minerals with high closure temperature from assemblages whose crystallization is unambiguously associated with a specific episode of fluid infiltration at the peak of metamorphism provides the basis for a new approach to dating metamorphism. The success of this approach is demonstrated by the results from Connemara.     

Controls on the mechanisms of fluid infiltration and front advection during regional metamorphism: a stable isotope and textural study of retrograde Dalradian rocks of the SW Scottish Highlands

Vein-controlled retrograde infiltration of H₂O-CO₂ fluids into Dalradian epidote amphibolite facies rocks of the SW Scottish Highlands under greenschist facies conditions resulted in alteration of calcite-rich marble bands to dolomite and spatially associated ¹⁸O enrichment of about 10%. on a scale of metres. Fluid inclusion data indicate that the retrograde fluid was an H₂O-salt mixture with a low CO₂ content, and that the temperature of the fluid was about 400d? C. Detailed petrographic and textural (backscattered electron imaging) studies at one garnet-grade locality show that advection of fluid into marbles proceeded by a calcite-calcite grain edge flow mechanism, while alteration of non-carbonate wall-rock is associated with veinlets and microcracks. Stable isotopic analysis of carbonates from marble bands provides evidence for advection of isotopic fronts through carbonate wall-rocks perpendicular to dolomite veins, and fluid fluxes in the range 2.4–28.6 m³/m² have been computed from measured advection distances. Coincidence of isotope and reaction fronts is considered to result from reaction-enhanced kinetics of isotope exchange at the reaction front. Front advection distances are related to the proportion of calcite to quartz in each marble band, with the largest advection distance occurring in nearly pure calcite matrix. This relationship indicates that fluid flow in carbonates is only possible along fluid-calcite-calcite grain edges. However, experimental constraints on dihedral angles in calcite-fluid systems require that pervasive infiltration occurred in response to calcite dissolution initiated at calcite-calcite grain junctions rather than to an open calcite pore geometry. The regional extent of the retrograde infiltration event has been documented from the high δ¹⁸O of dolomite-ankerite carbonates from veins and host-rocks over an area of least 50 × 50 km in the SW Scottish Highlands. Isotopically exotic ¹⁸O-rich retrograde fluids have moved rapidly upwards through the crust, inducing isotopic exchange and mineral reaction in wall-rocks only where lithology, pore geometry or mineral solubilities, pressure and temperature have been appropriate for pervasive infiltration to occur.     

Reaction mechanisms,physical conditions,and mass transfer during hydrothermal alteration of mica and feldspar in granitic rocks from south-central Maine,USA

Samples of granitic rock from south-central Maine contain primary igneous minerals altered by hydrothermal fluids. The reaction mechanisms (by which the over-all mineralogical change during the alteration was accomplished) involve several different mineral-fluid reactions at different reaction sites in the rock. The reactions involve both molecular and charged species in solution. The different reaction sites correspond to alteration of different primary igneous minerals. Biotite is partially converted to chlorite+sphene; microcline to muscovite; plagioclase to various combinations of muscovite, epidote, and calcite. The different reaction sites are linked by exchange of ions: some reaction sites produce ions consumed at other sites and vice versa. Physical conditions during the hydrothermal event are estimated from mineralogical and thermochemical data: P = 3,500 (±300) bars; T =425 ° (± 25 °)C. The fluid was characterized by X _{CO 2} = 0–0.13; ln([K⁺]/[H⁺ ]) = 10.0; ln([Ca²⁺]/[H⁺]²)=9.1; ln([Na⁺]/[H⁺]) = 10.5; Fe/(Fe+Mg) = 0.95. Amounts of secondary minerals in altered rock, when compared to the inferred mineral reactions that formed them, indicate that small but significant amounts (0.01–0.3mol/ 1,000cm³ altered rock) of CO₂, H₂O, H⁺, and K⁺ were added to the granites by fluids during the alteration, as well as lesser amounts (< 0.01–0.03 mol/1,000cm³ altered rock) of Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Na⁺, and Ti⁴⁺. The sole element leached from the granitic rocks during alteration was Ca in amounts 0.1–0.3 mol/1,000 cm³ rock. By estimating the composition of the hydrothermal fluids before and after reaction with the granites and by measuring the amount of material added to or subtracted from the granites during the alteration, the amount and volume of hydrothermal fluid involved can be calculated. Two independent calculations require minimum volumes in the range 100–1,000 cm³ fluid/1,000cm³ altered rock to participate in the hydrothermal event.     

Fluid flow paths and mechanisms of fluid infiltration in carbonates during contact metamorphism: the Beinn an Dubhaich aureole, Skye

A textural study of marbles from the Beinn an Dubhaich granite contact aureole, Skye, has shown that mass transport by diffusion was probably negligible during the metamorphic event, and that the bulk of the carbonates reacted as a consequence of silica metasomatism, permitting the use of calcsilicates as a tracer for fluid infiltration pathways. Fracture-controlled infiltration was predominant in undeformed marbles, whereas pervasive infiltration occurred during synmetamorphic ductile deformation. Some calcite marbles contain disseminated unoriented calcsilicate minerals that are associated with neither fractures nor a ductile deformation fabric, consistent with an origin via infiltration of fluid along an interconnected grain-edge porosity. The inference of limited pervasive infiltration of undeformed carbonates is consistent with predictions based on experimentally determined fluid–solid dihedral angles.     

Temperature,fluid content and rheology of localized ductile shear zones in subsolidus cooling plutons

Temperature and fluid content are critical parameters that control rock rheology and strain localization in the continental crust. Here, we determine by thermodynamic modelling the of localized ductile shearing during cooling of three different granitoid plutons: the Rieserferner and the Adamello plutons in the Italian Alps, and the Lake Edison pluton in the Sierra Nevada—USA. Shear zones exploited precursor joints, associated veins and alteration zones. and P−T phase diagram sections were computed with Perple_X in the system MnO−Na₂O−CaO −K₂O−FeO−MgO−Al₂O₃−SiO₂−H₂O−Fe₂O₃. The phase diagram sections show that the nucleation of the brittle precursors (joints, veins) occurred at T» 450°C at fluid-saturated conditions. Localized ductile shearing likely occurred at temperature ranging between 420 and 460°C evolving from initially fluid-saturated to fluid-undersaturated conditions in a closed system. In this temperature range, granitoid rocks are potentially subject to a series of retrograde metamorphic reactions replacing the load-bearing feldspars with weaker phyllosilicates. Metamorphic reactions occurred in spatial association with the precursory structures, leading to localized shearing. Decreasing temperature and fluid-undersaturated conditions likely hampered progressive strain accommodation in shear zones by slowing down metamorphic reactions, thermally activated dislocation creep processes, fluid-mediated deformation mechanisms and weakening mechanisms. Polyphase granitoid ultramylonite and mylonitic quartz veins have been affected differently by the fluid-undersaturated conditions of the system, as consequence of different dominant deformation mechanisms and syn-kinematic paragenesis during localized shearing. Localized ductile shearing in cooling plutons effectively occurs in a limited temperature range (420–460°C) in which the strain accommodation capacity of the shear zone is controlled by the negative feedback between the cooling rate, the kinetics of metamorphic reactions and deformation mechanisms, and the consumption of the limited amount of available fluids.