Contrasting metamorphic conditions in the Neoproterozoic collision-related Nappes south of São Francisco Craton, SE Brazil

Metamorphic conditions are described for three major tectonic entities on the basis of geothermobarometry in a huge Neoproterozoic nappe complex that verges toward the southern border of the São Francisco craton. The uppermost Socorro-Guaxupé Nappe, represented by its granulite facies basal portion, yields a maximum temperature and pressure of 890 °C and 11 kbar. Its metamorphic evolution is consistent with heating at the base of the crust as a result of an abnormally high geothermal gradient, probably due to underplating by the lithospheric mantle. The underlying Três Pontas-Varginha Nappe yields two somewhat distinct P–T paths, both characterized by peak assemblages in the kyanite stability field. The basal kyanite-bearing granulites show higher peak pressure values (15 kbar at 840 °C) and a trajectory that continues in the kyanite stability field, whereas the upper sillimanite granulites show higher temperatures (880 °C at 13 kbar) and a steeper path toward the sillimanite stability field. Data for the Carmo da Cachoeira nappe reveal a steep trajectory, in which the elevated maximum pressure (18.5 kbar at 820 °C) was obtained from a garnet amphibolite that lies along its basal contact. The inverted metamorphic pattern previously observed across these sequences is confirmed by our thermobarometric data, which reveal that the highest temperatures were attained toward the top of the pile.     

The bimodal rift-related Juscelândia volcanosedimentary sequence in central Brazil: Mesoproterozoic extension and Neoproterozoic metamorphism

The Barro Alto Complex and Juscelândia volcanosedimentary sequence are exposed in the central part of the Neoproterozoic Brasília belt of central Brazil. The former is a large (approximately 150 km long), boomerang-shaped, mafic-ultramafic, layered complex formed by two different intrusions metamorphosed under granulite facies. These rocks are tectonically overlain by rocks of the Juscelândia volcanosedimentary sequence, represented mainly by biotite-gneiss and amphibolite, or amphibolite facies metamorphic equivalents of rhyolite and basalt, respectively. New SIMS U–Pb zircon data and Sm–Nd isochron data presented herein help clarify the igneous and metamorphic evolution of the Juscelândia volcanosedimentary sequence, as well as its relationship with the Barro Alto Complex. Zircon grains from two biotite gneisses were analyzed by SIMS (SHRIMP) and indicate Mesoproterozoic dates, approximately 1.28 Ga, interpreted as the time of bimodal volcanism in a tectonic setting transitional between a continental rift and an ocean basin. Metamorphism is constrained by Sm–Nd garnet-whole-rock isochrons for garnet amphibolite and pelitic schists of the Juscelândia sequence, as well as for clinopyroxene-garnet amphibolite and garnet granulite of the Barro Alto Complex, which give ages between 0.74 and 0.76 Ga, in agreement with SIMS dates for metamorphic zircon rims. These new data are significant, because they establish that a single metamorphic event affected both the Barro Alto Complex and the Juscelândia sequence. Based on these new data, we present a modified tectonic model for the Brasília belt.     

Petrology and geothermobarometry of granulite facies metapelites from the Hisøy-Torungen area, south Norway: new data on the Sveconorvegian P–T–t path of the Bamble sector

ABSTRACT The high-grade rocks (metapelite, quartzite, metagabbro) of the Hisøy-Torungen area represent the south-westernmost exposures of granulites in the Proterozoic Bamble sector, south Norway. The area is isoclinally folded and a metamorphic P–T–t path through four successive stages (M1-M4) is recognized. Petrological evidence for a prograde metamorphic event (M1) is obtained from relict staurolite + chlorite + albite, staurolite + hercynite + ilmenite, cordierite + sillimanite, fine-grained felsic material + quartz and hercynite + biotite ± sillimanite within metapelitic garnet. The phase relations are consistent with a pressure of 3.6 ± 0.5 kbar and temperatures up to 750–850°C. M1 is connected to the thermal effect of the gabbroic intrusions prior to the main (M2) Sveconorwegian granulite facies metamorphism. The main M2 granulite facies mineral assemblages (quartz+ plagioclase + K-feldspar + garnet + biotite ± sillimanite) are best preserved in the several-metre-wide Al-rich metapelites, which represent conditions of 5.9–9.1 kbar and 790–884°C. These P–T conditions are consistent with a temperature increase of 80–100°C relative to the adjacent amphibolite facies terranes. No accompanying pressure variations are recorded. Up to 1-mm-wide fine-grained felsic veinlets appear in several units and represent remnants of a former melt formed by the reaction: Bt + Sil + Qtz→Grt + lq. This dehydration reaction, together with the absence of large-scale migmatites in the area, suggests a very reduced water activity in the rocks and XH₂O = 0.25 in the C–O–H fluid system was calculated for a metapelitic unit. A low but variable water activity can best explain the presence or absence of fine-grained felsic material representing a former melt in the different granulitic metapelites. The strongly peraluminous composition of the felsic veinlets is due to the reaction: Grt +former melt ± Sil→Crd + Bt ± Qtz + H₂O, which has given poorly crystalline cordierite aggregates intergrown with well-crystalline biotite. The cordierite- and biotite-producing reaction constrains a steep first-stage retrograde (relative to M2) uplift path. Decimetre- to metre-wide, strongly banded metapelites (quartz + plagioclase + biotite + garnet ± sillimanite) inter-layered with quartzites are retrograded to (M3) amphibolite facies assemblages. A P–T estimate of 1.7–5.6 kbar, 516–581°C is obtained from geothermobarometry based on rim-rim analyses of garnet–biotite–plagioclase–sillimanite–quartz assemblages, and can be related to the isoclinal folding of the rocks. M4 greenschist facies conditions are most extensively developed in millimetre-wide chlorite-rich, calcite-bearing veins cutting the foliation.     

The Meatiq dome (Eastern Desert, Egypt) a Precambrian metamorphic core complex: petrological and geological evidence

The Meatiq basement, which is exposed beneath late Proterozoic nappes of supracrustal rocks in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, was affected by three metamorphic events. The ophiolite cover nappes show only the last metamorphic overprint. The M1 metamorphic event (T ≥750 °C) is restricted to migmatized amphibolite xenoliths within the Um Ba′anib orthogneiss in the structurally lowest parts of the basement. Typical upper amphibolite facies M2 mineral assemblages include Grt–Zn-rich Spl–Qtz±Bt, Grt–Zn-rich Spl–Ms–Kfs–Bt–Sil–Qtz and locally kyanite in metasedimentary rocks. The mineral assemblages Ms–Qtz–Kfs–Sil in the matrix and Sil–Grt in garnet cores indicate that peak M2 P–T conditions exceeded muscovite and staurolite stabilities. Diffusional equilibration at M2 peak temperature conditions caused homogeneous chemical profiles across M2 garnets. Abundant staurolite in garnet rims and the matrix indicates a thorough equilibration during M2 at decreasing temperature conditions. M2 P–T conditions ranged from 610 to 690 °C at 6–8 kbar for the metamorphic peak and 530–600 °C at about 5.8 kbar for the retrograde stage. However, relic kyanite indicates pressures above 8 kbar, preceeding the temperature peak. A clockwise P–T path is indicated by abundant M2 sillimanite after relic kyanite and by andalusite after sillimanite. M2 fluid inclusions, trapped in quartz within garnet and in the quartz matrix show an array of isochores. Steepest isochores (water-rich H₂O-CO₂±CH₄/N₂ inclusions) pass through peak M2 P–T conditions and flatter isochores (CO₂-rich H₂O-CO₂±CH₄/N₂ inclusions) are interpreted to represent retrograde fluids which is consistent with a clockwise P–T path for M2. The M3 assemblage Grt–Chl in the uppermost metasedimentary sequence of the basement limits temperature to 460 to 550 °C. M3 temperature conditions within the ophiolite cover nappes are limited by the assemblage Atg–Trem–Tlc to<540 °C and the absence of crysotile to >350 °C. The polymetamorphic evolution in the basement contrasts with the monometamorphic ophiolite nappes. The M1 metamorphic event in the basement occurred prior to the intrusion of the Um Ba′anib granitoid at about 780 Ma. The prograde phase of the M2 metamorphic event took place during the collision of an island arc with a continent. The break-off of the subducting slab increased the temperature and resulted in the peak M2 mineral assemblages. During the rise of the basement domain retrograde M2 mineral assemblages were formed. The final M3 metamorphic event is associated with the updoming of the basement domain at about 580 Ma along low-angle normal faults.     

Metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high-grade rocks from the central Mozambique Belt of Tanzania: crustal recycling of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material during the Pan-African orogeny

New data on the metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high‐grade rocks in the central Mozambique Belt (MB) of Tanzania show that this part of the orogen consists of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was structurally reworked during the Pan‐African event. The metamorphic rocks are characterized by a clockwise P–T path, followed by strong decompression, and the time of peak granulite facies metamorphism is similar to other granulite terranes in Tanzania. The predominant rock types are mafic to intermediate granulites, migmatites, granitoid orthogneisses and kyanite/sillimanite‐bearing metapelites. The meta‐granitoid rocks are of calc‐alkaline composition, range in age from late Archean to Neoproterozoic, and their protoliths were probably derived from magmatic arcs during collisional processes. Mafic to intermediate granulites consist of the mineral assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–quartz–biotite–amphibole ± K‐feldspar ± orthopyroxene ± oxides. Metapelites are composed of garnet‐biotite‐plagioclase ± K‐feldspar ± kyanite/sillimanite ± oxides. Estimated values for peak granulite facies metamorphism are 12–13 kbar and 750–800 °C. Pressures of 5–8 kbar and temperatures of 550–700 °C characterize subsequent retrogression to amphibolite facies conditions. Evidence for a clockwise P–T path is provided by late growth of sillimanite after kyanite in metapelites. Zircon ages indicate that most of the central part of the MB in Tanzania consists of reworked ancient crust as shown by Archean (c. 2970–2500 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (c. 2124–1837 Ma) protolith ages. Metamorphic zircon from metapelites and granitoid orthogneisses yielded ages of c. 640 Ma which are considered to date peak regional granulite facies metamorphism during the Pan‐African orogenic event. However, the available zircon ages for the entire MB in East Africa and Madagascar also document that peak metamorphic conditions were reached at different times in different places. Large parts of the MB in central Tanzania consist of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was reworked during the Pan‐African event and that may have been part of the Tanzania Craton and Usagaran domain farther to the west.     

P–T and structural evolution during exhumation of high-T, medium-P basement rocks in the Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa

The P–T evolution of amphibolite facies gneisses and associated supracrustal rocks exposed along the northern margin of the Paleo to MesoArchean Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, has been reconstructed via detailed structural analysis combined with calculated K(Mn)FMASH pseudosections of aluminous felsic schists. The granitoid‐greenstone contact is characterized by a contact‐parallel high‐strain zone that separates the generally low‐grade, greenschist facies greenstone belt from mid‐crustal basement gneisses. The supracrustal rocks in the hangingwall of this contact are metamorphosed to upper greenschist facies conditions. Supracrustal rocks and granitoid gneisses in the footwall of this contact are metamorphosed to sillimanite grade conditions (600–700 °C and 5 ± 1 kbar), corresponding to elevated geothermal gradients of ～30–40 °C km^?1. The most likely setting for these conditions was a mid‐ or lower crust that was invaded and advectively heated by syntectonic granitoids at c. 3230 Ma. Combined structural and petrological data indicate the burial of the rocks to mid‐crustal levels, followed by crustal exhumation related to the late‐ to post‐collisional extension of the granitoid‐greenstone terrane during one progressive deformation event. Exhumation and decompression commenced under amphibolite facies conditions, as indicated by the synkinematic growth of peak metamorphic minerals during extensional shearing. Derived P–T paths indicate near‐isothermal decompression to conditions of ～500–650 °C and 1–3 kbar, followed by near‐isobaric cooling to temperatures below ～500 °C. In metabasic rock types, this retrograde P–T evolution resulted in the formation of coronitic Ep‐Qtz and Act‐Qtz symplectites that are interpreted to have replaced peak metamorphic plagioclase and clinopyroxene. The last stages of exhumation are characterized by solid‐state doming of the footwall gneisses and strain localization in contact‐parallel greenschist‐facies mylonites that overprint the decompressed basement rocks.     

Metamorphic history and geodynamic significance of high-grade metabasites from the ophiolitic mélange beneath the Yarlung Zangbo ophiolites, Xigaze area, Tibet

Blocks of highly foliated amphibolite are locally embedded within a serpentinite mélange underlying the Yarlung Zangbo ophiolites in the Xigaze area of southern Tibet. The ophiolites are remnants of an Early Cretaceous back-arc basin within the Permo-Cretaceous Tethys Ocean, which are exposed along in the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ). These amphibolites are interpreted as fragments of a dismembered dynamothermal sole. Three types of amphibolite are present: (1) common amphibolite with assemblages of Hbl + Pl ± Ep ± Ap ± Ttn, (2) clinopyroxene-bearing amphibolite with Hbl ± Pl ± Cpx ± Ep ± Ttn ± Qtz ± Ap and (3) garnet–clinopyroxene-bearing amphibolite characterized by the assemblages Hbl + Cpx + Grt + Pl ± Rt and Grt + Hbl + Pl (corona assemblage). In all three types, plagioclase is pseudomorphed by late albite–prehnite. Retrograde cataclastic veins containing assemblages of Prh + Ab + Ep ± Chl are also present. P–T estimates indicate that the amphibolites reached peak metamorphic conditions of 13–15 kbar and 750–875 °C. Partial replacement of pyrope-rich (up to 35 mole%) garnet by Al-tschermakite (Al₂O₃ up to 21 wt%) reflects a high pressure (≈18 kbar, 600 °C) metamorphic event followed by rapid exhumation. Soon after exhumation, the amphibolites were intruded by very fine-grained diabase dykes that were then hydrothermally altered. The field relationships and metamorphic history of the amphibolites indicate formation during inception of subduction within a back-arc basin prior to obduction of the ophiolites onto the Indian passive margin.     

U–Pb geochronology of the southern Brasília belt (SE-Brazil): sedimentary provenance, Neoproterozoic orogeny and assembly of West Gondwana

The Brasília belt borders the western margin of the São Francisco Craton and records the history of ocean opening and closing related to the formation of West Gondwana. This study reports new U–Pb data from the southern sector of the belt in order to provide temporal limits for the deposition and ages of provenance of sediments accumulated in passive margin successions around the south and southwestern margins of the São Francisco Craton, and date the orogenic events leading to the amalgamation of West Gondwana.Ages of detrital zircons (by ID–TIMS and LA-MC-ICPMS) were obtained from metasedimentary units of the passive margin of the São Francisco Craton from the main tectonic domains of the belt: the internal allochthons (Araxá Group in the Áraxá and Passos Nappes), the external allochthons (Canastra Group, Serra da Boa Esperança Metasedimentary Sequence and Andrelândia Group) and the autochthonous or Cratonic Domain (Andrelândia Group). The patterns of provenance ages for these units are uniform and are characterised as follows: Archean–Paleoproterozoic ages (3.4–3.3, 3.1–2.7, and 2.5–2.4 Ga); Paleoproterozoic ages attributed to the Transamazonian event (2.3–1.9 Ga, with a peak at ca. 2.15 Ga) and to the ca. 1.75 Ga Espinhaço rifting of the São Francisco Craton; ages between 1.6 and 1.2 Ga, with a peak at 1.3 Ga, revealing an unexpected variety of Mesoproterozoic sources, still undetected in the São Francisco Craton; and ages between 0.9 and 1.0 Ga related to the rifting event that led to the individualisation of the São Francisco paleo-continent and formation of its passive margins. An amphibolite intercalation in the Araxá Group yields a rutile age of ca. 0.9 Ga and documents the occurrence of mafic magmatism coeval with sedimentation in the marginal basin.Detrital zircons from the autochthonous and parautochthonous Andrelândia Group, deposited on the southern margin of the São Francisco Craton, yielded a provenance pattern similar to that of the allochthonous units. This result implies that 1.6–1.2 Ga source rocks must be present in the São Francisco Craton. They could be located either in the cratonic area, which is mostly covered by the Neoproterozoic epicontinental deposits of the Bambuí Group, or in the outer paleo-continental margin, buried under the allochthonous units of the Brasília belt.Crustal melting and generation of syntectonic crustal granites and migmatisation at ca. 630 Ma mark the orogenic event that started with westward subduction of the São Francisco plate and ended with continental collision against the Paraná block (and Goiás terrane). Continuing collision led to the exhumation and cooling of the Araxá and Passos metamorphic nappes, as indicated by monazite ages of ca. 605 Ma and mark the final stages of tectonometamorphic activity in the southern Brasília belt.Whilst continent–continent collision was proceeding on the western margin of the São Francisco Craton along the southern Brasília belt, eastward subduction in the East was generating the 634–599 Ma Rio Negro magmatic arc which collided with the eastern São Francisco margin at 595–560 Ma, much later than in the Brasília belt. Thus, the tectonic effects of the Ribeira belt reached the southernmost sector of the Brasília belt creating a zone of superposition. The thermal front of this event affected the proximal Andrelândia Group at ca. 588 Ma, as indicated by monazite age.The participation of the Amazonian craton in the assembly of western Gondwana occurred at 545–500 Ma in the Paraguay belt and ca. 500 Ma in the Araguaia belt. This, together with the results presented in this work lead to the conclusion that the collision between the Paraná block and Goiás terrane with the São Francisco Craton along the Brasília belt preceded the accretion of the Amazonian craton by 50–100 million years.     

Formation of eclogite, and reaction during exhumation to mid-crustal levels, Snowbird tectonic zone, western Canadian Shield

A re‐evaluation of the P–T history of eclogite within the East Athabasca granulite terrane of the Snowbird tectonic zone, northern Saskatchewan, Canada was undertaken. Using calculated pseudosections in combination with new garnet–clinopyroxene and zircon and rutile trace element thermometry, peak metamorphic conditions are constrained to ～16 kbar and 750 °C, followed by near‐isothermal decompression to ～10 kbar. Associated with the eclogite are two types of occurrences of sapphirine‐bearing rocks preserving a rich variety of reaction textures that allow examination of the retrograde history below 10 kbar. The first occurs as a 1–2 m zone adjacent to the eclogite body with a peak assemblage of garnet–kyanite–quartz interpreted to have formed during the eclogite facies metamorphism. Rims of orthopyroxene and plagioclase developed around garnet, and sapphirine–plagioclase and spinel–plagioclase symplectites developed around kyanite. The second variety of sapphirine‐bearing rocks occurs in kyanite veins within the eclogite. The veins involve orthopyroxene, garnet and plagioclase layers spatially organized around a central kyanite layer that are interpreted to have formed following the eclogite facies metamorphism. The layering has itself been modified, with, in particular, kyanite being replaced by sapphirine–plagioclase, spinel–plagioclase and corundum–plagioclase symplectites, as well as the kyanite being replaced by sillimanite. Petrological modelling in the CFMAS system examining chemical potential gradients between kyanite and surrounding quartz indicates that these vein textures probably formed during further essentially isothermal decompression, ultimately reaching ～7 kbar and 750 °C. These results indicate that the final reaction in these rocks occurred at mid‐crustal levels at upper amphibolite facies conditions. Previous geochronological and thermochronological constraints bracket the time interval of decompression to <5–10 Myr, indicating that ～25 km of exhumation took place during this interval. This corresponds to minimum unroofing rates of ～2–5 mm year^?1 following eclogite facies metamorphism, after which the rocks resided at mid‐crustal levels for 80–100 Myr.     

Progressive metamorphism of pelitic rocks from protolith to granulite facies, Dutchess County, New York, USA: constraints on the timing of fluid infiltration during regional metamorphism

A complete Barrovian sequence ranging from unmetamorphosed shales to sillimanite–K-feldspar zone metapelitic gneisses crops out in a region extending from the Hudson River in south-eastern New York state, USA, to the high-grade core of the Taconic range in western Connecticut. NNE-trending subparallel biotite, garnet, staurolite, kyanite, sillimanite and sillimanite–K-feldspar isograds have been identified, although the assignment of Barrovian zones in the high-grade rocks is complicated by the appearance of fibrolitic sillimanite at the kyanite isograd. Thermobarometric results and reaction textures are used to characterize the metamorphic history of the sequence. Pressure–temperature estimates indicate maximum metamorphic conditions of 475 °C, c. 3–4 kbar in the garnet zone to >720 °C, c. 5–6 kbar in the highest grade rocks exposed. Some samples in the kyanite zone record anomalous (low) peak conditions because garnet composition has been modified by fluid-assisted reactions. There is abundant petrographic and mineral chemical information indicating that the sequence (with the possible exception of the granulite facies zone) was infiltrated by a water-rich fluid after garnet growth was nearly completed. The truncation of fluid inclusion trails in garnet by rim growth or recrystallization, however, indicates that metamorphic reactions involving garnet continued subsequent to initial infiltration. The presence of these textures in some zones of a well-constrained Barrovian sequence allows determination of the timing of fluid infiltration relative to the P–T paths. Thermobarometric results obtained using garnet compositions at the boundary between fluid–inclusion-rich and inclusion-free regions of the garnet are interpreted to represent peak metamorphic conditions, whereas rim compositions record slightly lower pressures and temperatures. Assuming that garnet grew during a single metamorphic event, infiltration must have occurred at or slightly after the peak of metamorphism, i.e. 4–5 kbar and a temperature of c. 525–550 °C for staurolite and kyanite zone rocks.     

Textures and phase relationships in ferrous granulites from Tidjenouine (Hoggar, Algeria): fayalite–ferrossilite–quartz secondary assemblage

Ferrous granulites in the area of Tidjénouine (Central Hoggar) exhibit a remarkable mineralogical composition characterized by the association orthoferrossilite–fayalite–quartz. These granulites are metamorphosed mafic igneous rocks showing the juxtaposition of different metamorphic parageneses. Peak paragenesis with garnet–clinopyroxene–amphibole–plagioclase–quartz reach to assemblage with orthopyroxene–plagioclase₂. Secondary orthopyroxene reacted with garnet to produce symplectites with fayalite + plagioclase + quartz. The latest stage corresponds to an orthopyroxene–fayalite–quartz–plagioclase assemblage. The metamorphic history of the ferrous granulites is inferred by combining the study of phase relations with the construction of a petrogenetic grid and pseudosection in the CFMASH and CFAS systems using the Thermocalc program of [J. Metamorph. Geol. 6 (1988) 173]. The evolution of paragenetic minerals indicates a metamorphic P–T path through the following conditions: 7.1 ± 1 kbar at 880 °C, 4.9 ± 1.6 kbar at 750 °C and 3–4 kbar at 700 °C, which is consistent with a clockwise P–T path recorded throughout the area.     

P–T–t conditions of high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Garzon Massif, Andean basement, SE Colombia

The metamorphic evolution of the Garzón Massif, Colombia, is established on the basis of the textural, goethermobarometric, and geochronological relationships of the metamorphic minerals. The geothermobarometric data define a clockwise, nearly isothermal decompression path (ITD) for rocks from Las Margaritas migmatites, constrained by four P–T areas: 780–826 °C and 6.3–8.0 kbar, 760–820 °C and 8.0–8.8 kbar, 680–755 °C and 6.6–9.0 kbar, and 630 °C and 4 kbar. For the a garnet-bearing charnockitic gneiss from the Vergel granulites, the path is counterclockwise, constrained by geothermobarometric data of 5.3–6.2 kbar and 700–780 °C and 6.2–7.2 kbar and 685–740 °C. The clockwise ITD path represents a loop followed by the orogen during the transitional granulite–amphibolite metamorphic conditions, probably associated with a subduction process followed by a collisional tectonic event. This subduction framework produced continental crust thickening between 1148 and 1034 Ma and later collision with another continental block approximately 1000 Ma ago. The orogenic exhumation occurred with moderate uplift rate. The counterclockwise trajectory and two metamorphic events suggest a vertical displacement between the Vergel granulites and Las Margaritas migmatites units, because there is no isotopic difference that indicates the existence of different terranes. The data confirm that the metamorphic evolution for this domain was more dynamic than previously believed and includes: (1) metamorphic processes with the generation of new crust with a possible mixture of old material and (2) metamorphic recycling of continental crust. These geological processes characterize a complex Mesoproterozoic orogenic event that shares certain features with the Grenvillian basement rocks participating in the formation of Rodinia.     

P-T evolution and fluid inclusion characteristics of retrograded eclogites,Münchberg Gneiss Complex,Germany

Kyanite eclogites occur as part of the Münchberger nappe pile in NE-Bavaria, West Germany. Eclogites are overprinted by subsequent amphibolite facies metamorphism. The preservation of primary eclogitic textures as well as symplectitic textures are indicative of rapid decompression. Eclogite formation is estimated to have occurred under conditions of high H₂O-activities at pressures between 20 and 26 kbar and temperatures ranging between 590 and 660° C, as is shown by the coexistence of omphacite (Jd 50), kyanite, zoisite and quartz. Minimum pressure estimates, independent of the water activity, range between 9 and 16 kbar at the relevant temperatures. Detailed studies of fluid inclusion reveal two predominant groups of aqueous-brine inclusions: high salinity (14–17 wt% NaCl equiv.) and low salinity (0–8 wt% NaCl equiv.) inclusions. Fluid compositions of both groups of inclusions yield isochores passing close to the estimated amphibolite facies PT-field. The compositions of these fluids are in good agreement with fluid compositions considered from mineral equilibria. None of the fluid inclusions has densities appropriate for eclogite facies metamorphism, but probably reflect later amphibolite facies metamorphism.     

Aluminous reaction textures in orthoamphibole-bearing rocks: the pressure–temperature evolution of the high-grade Proterozoic of the Bamble sector, south Norway

Aluminous reaction textures in orthoamphibole-bearing rocks from the Froland area, Bamble, south Norway, record the prograde pressure–temperature path of the high-grade Kongsbergian Orogeny (c. 1600–1500 Ma) and the low–mid amphibolite facies overprint during the Sveconorwegian Orogeny (c. 1100–1000 Ma). The rocks contain anthophyllite/gedrite, garnet, cordierite, biotite, quartz, andalusite, kyanite, Cr-rich staurolite, tourmaline, ilmenite, rutile and corundum in a variety of parageneses. The P–T path is deduced from petrographic observations, mineral chemistry and zoning, geothermometry and (N)FMASH equilibria. The results indicate the sequence of metamorphic stages outlined below. (a) An M₁ phase characterized by the presence of strongly deformed andalusite, gedrite and tourmaline. (b) An M₂ phase with the development of kyanite after andalusite and the growth of staurolite associated with strong Na–Al–Mg zoning in orthoamphibole, indicating an increase in pressure (4 8 kbar) and temperature (500° 650°C). (c) Pressure decrease at high P (6–7 kbar) and high T (600–700 °C) during M_3a with the production of cordierite ° Corundum between kyanite, staurolite and orthoamphibole and cordierite growth between corundum and orthoamphibole. (d) Temperature increase to 740 ± 60 °C and 7 kbar; static growth of garnet (M_3b) at the metamorphic climax (peak T). The heat supply necessary to explain the temperature increase between the M_3a and M_3b phases is correlated with synkinematic enderbitic–charnockitic and basic intrusions in the Arendal granulite facies terrain. (e) M_3b metamorphic conditions were followed by an initial isobaric cooling path (early M₄) and late-stage pressure decrease (late M₄). Early M₄ conditions of 6–7 kbar and 550–600 °C, assuming P_H2O < P_total are indicated by a retrograde talc–kyanite–quartz assemblage in late quartz–cordierite veins. Late M₄ conditions of 3–4 kbar and 420–530 °C are inferred from a kyanite–andalusite–chlorite–quartz assemblage in vein-cordierite. The M₁–M₃ stages are interpreted as being the result of the same metamorphic P–T path, which was caused by both tectonic and magmatic thickening. A prolonged crustal residence time is proposed for the Bamble sector before uplift during the later stages of M₄ occurred.     

Relics of eclogite facies assemblages in the Ceará Central Domain, NW Borborema Province, NE Brazil: Implications for the assembly of West Gondwana

The Borborema Province, in the NE of Brazil, is a rather complex piece in the Brazil–Africa puzzle as it represents the junction of the Dahomeyide/Pharusian, Central African, Araçuai and Brasilia fold belts located between the West-African/São Luis, Congo/São Francisco and Amazonas craton. The correlation between the Dahomeyides from W-Africa (Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Mali) and the Borborema Province involves the Médio Coreaú and Central Ceará domains. The inferred continuation of the main oceanic suture zone exposed in the Dahomeyides of W Africa is buried beneath the Phanerozoic Parnaíba Basin in Brazil (northwest of the Médio Coreaú domain) where some high density gravity anomalies may represent hidden remnants of an oceanic suture. In addition to this major suture a narrow, nearly continuous strip composed of mainly mafic pods containing relics of eclogite-facies assemblages associated with partially migmatized granulite-facies metapelitic gneisses has been found further east in the NW Borborema Province. These high pressure mafic rocks, interpreted as retrograded eclogites, are located between the Transbrasiliano Lineament and the Santa Quitéria continental arc and comprise primitive to evolved arc-related rocks with either arc- or MORB-type imprints that can indicate either deep subduction of oceanic lithosphere or roots of continental and oceanic magmatic arcs. Average peak P–T conditions under eclogite-facies metamorphism (T = 770 °C and P = 17.3 kbar) were estimated using garnet–clinopyroxene thermometry and Jd content in clinopyroxene. Transition to granulite-facies conditions, as well as later widespread re-equilibration under amphibolite facies, were registered both in the basic and the metapelitic rocks and suggest a clockwise P–T path characterized by an increase in temperature followed by strong decompression. A phenomenon possibly related to the exhumation of a highly thickened crust associated with the suturing of the Médio Coreaú and Central Ceará domains, two distinct crustal blocks separated by the Transbrasiliano Lineament.     

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.     

Geothermobarometry, P–T paths and metamorphic field gradients of high-pressure rocks from the Adula Nappe, Central Alps

Metabasic rocks from the Adula Nappe in the Central Alps record a regional high‐pressure metamorphic event during the Eocene, and display a regional variation in high‐pressure mineral assemblages from barroisite, or glaucophane, bearing garnet amphibolites in the north to kyanite eclogites in the central part of the nappe. High‐pressure rocks from all parts of the nappe show the same metamorphic evolution of assemblages consistent with prograde blueschist, high‐pressure amphibolite or eclogite facies conditions followed by peak‐pressure eclogite facies conditions and decompression to the greenschist or amphibolite facies. Average PT calculations (using thermocalc ) quantitatively establish nested, clockwise P–T paths for different parts of the Adula Nappe that are displaced to higher pressure and temperature from north to south. Metamorphic conditions at peak pressure increase from about 17 kbar, 640 °C in the north to 22 kbar, 750 °C in the centre and 25 kbar, 750 °C in the south. The northern and central Adula Nappe behaved as a coherent tectonic unit at peak pressures and during decompression, and thermobarometric results are interpreted in terms of a metamorphic field gradient of 9.6 ± 2.0 °C km^?1 and 0.20 ± 0.05 kbar km^?1. These results constrain the peak‐pressure position and orientation of the nappe to a depth of 55–75 km, dipping at an angle of approximately 45° towards the south. Results from the southern Adula Nappe are not consistent with the metamorphic field gradient determined for the northern and central parts, which suggests that the southern Adula Nappe may have been separated from central and northern parts at peak pressure.     

Contrasting metamorphic histories of lenses of high‐pressure rocks and host migmatites with a flat orogenic fabric (Bohemian Massif,Czech Republic): a result of tectonic mixing within horizontal crustal flow?

Migmatites with sub‐horizontal fabrics at the eastern margin of the Variscan orogenic root in the Bohemian Massif host lenses of eclogite, kyanite‐K‐feldspar granulite and marble within a matrix of migmatitic paragneiss and amphibolite. Petrological study and pseudosection modelling have been used to establish whether the whole area experienced terrane‐wide exhumation of lower orogenic crust, or whether smaller portions of higher‐pressure lower crust were combined with a lower‐pressure matrix. Kyanite‐K‐feldspar granulite shows peak conditions of 16.5 kbar and 850 °C with no clear indications of prograde path, whereas in the eclogite the prograde path indicates burial from 10 kbar and 700 °C to a peak of 18 kbar and 800 °C. Two contrasting prograde paths are identified within the host migmatitic paragneiss. The first path is inferred from the presence of staurolite and kyanite inclusions in garnet that contains preserved prograde zoning that indicates burial with simultaneous heating to 11 kbar and 800 °C. The second path is inferred from garnet overgrowths of a flat foliation defined by sillimanite and biotite. Garnet growth in such an assemblage is possible only if the sample is heated at 7–8 kbar to around 700–840 °C. Decompression is associated with strong structural reworking in the flat fabric that involves growth of sillimanite in paragneiss and kyanite‐K‐feldspar granulite at 7–10 kbar and 750–850 °C. The contrasting prograde metamorphic histories indicate that kilometre‐scale portions of high‐pressure lower orogenic crust were exhumed to middle crustal levels, dismembered and mixed with a middle crustal migmatite matrix, with the simultaneous development of a flat foliation. The contrasting P–T paths with different pressure peaks show that tectonic models explaining high‐pressure boudins in such a fabric cannot be the result of heterogeneous retrogression during ductile rebound of the whole orogenic root. The P–T paths are compatible with a model of heterogeneous vertical extrusion of lower crust into middle crust, followed by sub‐horizontal flow.     

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

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

Separate or shared metamorphic histories of eclogites and surrounding rocks? An example from the Bohemian Massif

Eclogite boudins occur within an orthogneiss sheet enclosed in a Barrovian metapelite‐dominated volcano‐sedimentary sequence within the Velké Vrbno unit, NE Bohemian Massif. A metamorphic and lithological break defines the base of the eclogite‐bearing orthogneiss nappe, with a structurally lower sequence without eclogite exposed in a tectonic window. The typical assemblage of the structurally upper metapelites is garnet–staurolite–kyanite–biotite–plagioclase–muscovite–quartz–ilmenite ± rutile ± silli‐manite and prograde‐zoned garnet includes chloritoid–chlorite–paragonite–margarite, staurolite–chlorite–paragonite–margarite and kyanite–chlorite–rutile. In pseudosection modelling in the system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (NCKFMASH) using THERMOCALC, the prograde path crosses the discontinuous reaction chloritoid + margarite = chlorite + garnet + staurolite + paragonite (with muscovite + quartz + H₂O) at 9.5 kbar and 570 °C and the metamorphic peak is reached at 11 kbar and 640 °C. Decompression through about 7 kbar is indicated by sillimanite and biotite growing at the expense of garnet. In the tectonic window, the structurally lower metapelites (garnet–staurolite–biotite–muscovite–quartz ± plagioclase ± sillimanite ± kyanite) and amphibolites (garnet–amphibole–plagioclase ± epidote) indicate a metamorphic peak of 10 kbar at 620 °C and 11 kbar and 610–660 °C, respectively, that is consistent with the other metapelites. The eclogites are composed of garnet, omphacite relicts (jadeite = 33%) within plagioclase–clinopyroxene symplectites, epidote and late amphibole–plagioclase domains. Garnet commonly includes rutile–quartz–epidote ± clinopyroxene (jadeite = 43%) ± magnetite ± amphibole and its growth zoning is compatible in the pseudosection with burial under H₂O‐undersaturated conditions to 18 kbar and 680 °C. Plagioclase + amphibole replaces garnet within foliated boudin margins and results in the assemblage epidote–amphibole–plagioclase indicating that decompression occurred under decreasing temperature into garnet‐free epidote–amphibolite facies conditions. The prograde path of eclogites and metapelites up to the metamorphic peak cannot be shared, being along different geothermal gradients, of about 11 and 17 °C km^?1, respectively, to metamorphic pressure peaks that are 6–7 kbar apart. The eclogite–orthogneiss sheet docked with metapelites at about 11 kbar and 650 °C, and from this depth the exhumation of the pile is shared.