碰撞带热结构与碰撞成矿系统

造山带热结构对大陆碰撞带的形态大小、构造式样、岩浆活动和变质作用具有重要控制作用。然而,热结构对碰撞成矿作用的控制还不清楚。本文概述比利牛斯、阿尔卑斯、加里东、扎格罗斯、青藏高原和华力西等全球主要碰撞带的热结构与成矿系统发育特征,对比各个造山带内不同矿床类型成矿温度变化,探讨热结构对碰撞成矿的控制作用。研究表明,碰撞带主要发育盆地流体有关的密西西比河谷型铅锌矿床、变质流体有关的造山型金矿床和岩浆热液有关矿床(斑岩铜矿床、云英岩型钨锡矿床和岩浆热液有关的铌钽锂铍矿床等)。其中,前两者在大多数碰撞带内均有发育,代表了大陆碰撞成矿作用的基本类型。这些矿床的成矿温度在热碰撞带比较高而在冷碰撞带则偏低。岩浆热液有关矿床一般只出现在比较热的碰撞带内,这些热碰撞带的温度压力条件有很大区域在湿固相线以内,热扰动能够造就地壳发生部分熔融形成含矿岩浆。     

The role of viscous heating in Barrovian metamorphism of collisional orogens: thermomechanical models and application to the Lepontine Dome in the Central Alps

Thermal models for Barrovian metamorphism driven by doubling the thickness of the radiogenic crust typically meet difficulty in accounting for the observed peak metamorphic temperature conditions. This difficulty suggests that there is an additional component in the thermal budget of many collisional orogens. Theoretical and geological considerations suggest that viscous heating is a cumulative process that may explain the heat deficit in collision orogens. The results of 2D numerical modelling of continental collision involving subduction of the lithospheric mantle demonstrate that geologically plausible stresses and strain rates may result in orogen‐scale viscous heat production of 0.1 to >1 μW m^?3, which is comparable to or even exceeds bulk radiogenic heat production within the crust. Thermally induced buoyancy is responsible for crustal upwelling in large domes with metamorphic temperatures up to 200 °C higher than regional background temperatures. Heat is mostly generated within the uppermost mantle, because of large stresses in the highly viscous rocks deforming there. This thermal energy may be transferred to the overlying crust either in the form of enhanced heat flow, or through magmatism that brings heat into the crust advectively. The amplitude of orogenic heating varies with time, with both the amplitude and time‐span depending strongly on the coupling between heat production, viscosity and collision strain rate. It is argued that geologically relevant figures are applicable to metamorphic domes such as the Lepontine Dome in the Central Alps. We conclude that deformation‐generated viscous dissipation is an important heat source during collisional orogeny and that high metamorphic temperatures as in Barrovian type metamorphism are inherent to deforming crustal regions.     

The metamorphic signature of contemporaneous extension and shortening in the central Himalayan orogen: data from the Nyalam transect, southern Tibet

Abstract Geological relationships and geochronological data suggest that in Miocene time the metamorphic core of the central Himalayan orogen was a wedge-shaped body bounded below by the N-dipping Main Central thrust system and above the N-dipping South Tibetan detachment system. We infer that synchronous movement on these fault systems expelled the metamorphic core southward toward the Indian foreland, thereby moderating the extreme topographic gradient at the southern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Reaction textures, thermobarometric data and thermodynamic modelling of pelitic schists and gneisses from the Nyalam transect in southern Tibet (28°N, 86°E) imply that gravitational collapse of the orogen produced a complex thermal structure in the metamorphic core. Amphibolite facies metamorphism and anatexis at temperatures of 950 K and depths of at least 30 km accompanied the early stages of displacement on the Main Central thrust system. Our findings suggest that the late metamorphic history of these rocks was characterized by high- T decompression associated with roughly 15 km of unroofing by movement on the South Tibetan detachment system. In the middle of the metamorphic core, roughly 7–8 km below the basal detachment of the South Tibetan system, the decompression was essentially isothermal. Near the base of the metamorphic core, roughly 4–6 km above the Main Central thrust, the decompression was accompanied by about 150 K of cooling. We attribute the disparity between the P–T paths of these two structural levels to cooling of the lower part of the metamorphic core as a consequence of continued (and probably accelerated) underthrusting of cooler rocks in the footwall of the Main Central thrust at the same time as movement on the South Tibetan detachment system.     

大陆碰撞造山样式与过程：来自特提斯碰撞造山带的实例

本文选取特提斯域内比利牛斯、阿尔卑斯、扎格罗斯、喜马拉雅-青藏高原四个地球上最年轻的陆-陆碰撞造山带,对其造山带结构、类型、物质组成、构造岩浆过程等方面进行详细介绍,进而讨论各个造山带的差异性及其缘由,分析碰撞造山普遍性规律。资料分析表明,四个碰撞造山带具有不同的结构和组成。根据板块汇聚方向与造山带边界间的夹角可将造山带分为正向和斜向两种;根据造山带结构可将碰撞带分为对称式和不对称式两种。由此本文将碰撞造山带划分为四种基本式样:正向对称式、正向不对称式、斜向对称式、斜向不对称式,分别以比利牛斯、青藏高原、阿尔卑斯和扎格罗斯碰撞带为代表。综合分析四个造山带碰撞以来的岩浆构造活动,本文发现完整的碰撞过程可以划分为三个阶段,第一阶段主要发生挤压缩短、地壳加厚,高压变质和钙碱性火山岩浆活动;第二阶段以大规模走滑系统发育和高钾钙碱性或钾质火山岩浆作用为特征;第三个阶段挤压应力向碰撞带两侧扩展,同时伴有大型伸展构造系统的发育。在这三阶段演化历程中,比利牛斯只进行到第一阶段,成为幼年夭折的碰撞带;扎格罗斯进行到第二阶段,出现调节挤压应变的走滑系统和钾质超钾质岩浆活动;青藏高原和阿尔卑斯进行到第三个阶段,以发育大型伸展构造和钾质、超钾质岩浆活动为特征,但后者在造山带物质组成和汇聚速率方面显示出比前者更成熟的造山演化程度。因此认为岩石圈组成是碰撞造山带结构的主要控制因素,如果上覆板块具有相对不稳定的岩石圈,会使得碰撞带后陆发育宽广的构造岩浆带,造成造山带呈不对称式结构。     

增生型造山带结构解析与时空制约

增生型造山带记录复杂的板块汇聚过程,增生造山作用演化历史漫长,发育多期次造山作用.就增生型造山带的特征与复杂性进行简要总结与评述,并讨论增生造山作用时空分析思路.增生造山作用是多种性质(汇聚、转换和离散)的板块边缘,沿一个核心大陆边缘最终发生复杂相互作用动力学过程的总和.弧前发育增生杂岩和各种混杂岩或者构造岩片,上叠有以弧前盆地为代表的各类沉积盆地,共同制约增生过程的时空演化特征.增生型造山带多发育多岛海复杂古地理格局,增生造山作用具有多组分、多岛海、多盆地类型、多种性质的岩浆活动、宽阔的增生杂岩、多俯冲极性、多地体拼贴、长期演化与面状增生等特性.以古地磁、古地理、古生物与古气候等资料为基本依据,划分一级大地构造单元界线.以构造地质解析和关键地区详细的地质填图,结合物质成分和年代学分析,进行二级大地构造单元及其相互关系的详细解剖.卷入增生造山事件中最年轻的地质体或者组分,提供了该期增生事件时限的下限;卷入增生造山事件中最年轻的角度不整合,以及最年轻的高压-低温变质事件,可能提供了最晚增生事件时限的下限;而未卷入增生造山事件中最老的区域性角度不整合,则可能提供了最晚增生事件时限的上限.     

Reworking of the Gangdese magmatic arc,southeastern Tibet: post‐collisional metamorphism and anatexis

The Gangdese magmatic arc, southeastern Tibet, was built by mantle‐derived magma accretion and juvenile crustal growth during the Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic northward subduction of the Neo‐Tethyan oceanic slab beneath the Eurasian continent. The petrological and geochronological data reveal that the lower crust of the southeastern Gangdese arc experienced Oligocene reworking by metamorphism, anatexis and magmatism after the India and Asia collision. The post‐collisional metamorphic and migmatitic rocks formed at 34–26 Ma and 28–26 Ma respectively. Meta‐granitoids have protolith ages of 65–38 Ma. Inherited detrital zircon from metasedimentary rocks has highly variable ages ranging from 2708 to 37 Ma. These rocks underwent post‐collisional amphibolite facies metamorphism and coeval anatexis under P–T conditions of ~710–760 °C and ~12 kbar with geothermal gradients of 18–20 °C km ^{? 1}, indicating a distinct crustal thickening process. Crustal shortening, thickening and possible subduction erosion due to the continental collision and ongoing convergence resulted in high‐P metamorphic and anatectic reworking of the magmatic and sedimentary rocks of the deep Gangdese arc. This study provides a typical example of the reworking of juvenile and ancient continental crust during active collisional orogeny.     

Contrasting styles of Phanerozoic and Precambrian continental collision

There are differences in the style of collisional orogens between the Phanerozoic and the Precambrian, most notably the appearance of blueschists and ultrahigh pressure metamorphic (UHPM) rocks in the geological record since the late Neoproterozoic, whereas these rocks are absent from older orogens. Understanding collisional orogenesis in the context of present-day values for ambient upper-mantle temperature and radiogenic heat production provides a reference from which to extrapolate back to conditions in the Precambrian. To evaluate differences in the way Phanerozoic and Precambrian collisional orogens develop, a series of experiments was run using a 2-D petrological–thermomechanical numerical model in which the collision of spontaneously moving continental plates was simulated for values of ambient upper-mantle temperature and radiogenic heat production increasing from those appropriate to the present-day. Thus, models of modern collisional orogens involving different modes of exhumation of UHPM rocks were extrapolated back to conditions appropriate for the Precambrian. Based on these experiments an increase of the ambient upper-mantle temperature to > 80–100 K above the present-day value leads to two distinct modes of collision that are different from the modern collision regime and for which the terms truncated hot collision regime (strong mafic lower continental crust) and two-sided hot collision regime (weak felsic lower continental crust) are proposed. Some Proterozoic orogens record post-extension thickening to generate counter-clockwise metamorphic P–T paths followed by slow close-to-isobaric retrograde cooling, such as occurred in the Paleoproterozoic Khondalite belt in the North China craton and the late Mesoproterozoic–early Neoproterozoic Eastern Ghats province, part of the Eastern Ghats belt of peninsular India. These orogens have similarities with the truncated hot collision regime in the numerical models, assuming subsequent shortening and thickening of the resulting hot lithosphere. Other Proterozoic orogens are characterized by clockwise looping metamorphic P–T paths and extensive granite magmatism derived from diverse crustal and subcontinental lithospheric mantle sources. These orogens have similarities with the two-sided hot collision regime in the numerical models. Both regimes are associated with shallow slab breakoff that precludes the formation of UHPM rocks. The temperature of the ambient upper-mantle where this transition in geodynamic regimes occurs corresponds broadly to the Neoproterozoic Era.     

原特提斯洋的俯冲、增生及闭合:阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘造山系早古生代增生/碰撞造山作用

分布在青藏高原北缘的阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘早古生代造山系被认为是原特提斯构造域最北部的构造拼合体。与其北侧具有长期增生历史的中亚造山系相比,特提斯造山拼合体被认为是各种来自冈瓦纳大陆北部大陆块体相互碰撞的产物。然而,与典型的阿尔卑斯和喜马拉雅碰撞造山带相比,阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘早古生代造山系包括有大量蛇绿岩、弧岩浆杂岩、俯冲-增生杂岩等,因此一些学者认为青藏高原北部的早古生代造山系为沿塔里木和华北克拉通边界向南逐渐增生的增生型造山带。但是,增生造山模式又很难解释南阿尔金-柴北缘地区普遍存在的与大陆俯冲有关的UHP变质岩、广泛分布的巴罗式变质作用和相关的岩浆作用,以及与碰撞造山有关的变形构造等。在本文中,通过对已有研究资料的综合总结,结合一些新的研究资料,我们提出在青藏高原东北缘的阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘造山系中,早古生代时期存在两种不同类型的造山作用,即增生和碰撞造山作用,其主要标志是北祁连-北阿尔金的HP/LT变质带、蛇绿混杂岩及与洋壳俯冲有关的构造岩浆作用,以及分布在柴北缘-南阿尔金与大陆俯冲和陆陆碰撞有关的UHP变质带、区域巴罗式变质作用、深熔作用、相关的岩浆活动及伸展垮塌作用等,并建立了一个反映原特提斯洋俯冲、增生、闭合及碰撞造山作用的构造模式。     

Evolution of the Pan-African Wadi Haimur metamorphic sole, Eastern Desert, Egypt

By comparison with the general features of metamorphic soles (e.g. vertical and lateral extension, metamorphic grade and diagnostic mineral parageneses, deformation and dominant rock types), it is inferred that the amphibolites, metagabbros and hornblendites of the Wadi Um Ghalaga–Wadi Haimur area in the southern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt represent the metamorphic sole of the Wadi Haimur ophiolite belt. The overlying ultramafic rocks represent overthrusted mantle peridotite. Mineral compositions and thermobarometric studies indicate that the rocks of the metamorphic sole record metamorphic conditions typical of such an environment. The highest P – T conditions ( c . 700 °C and 6.5–8.5 kbar) are preserved in clinopyroxene amphibolites and garnet amphibolites from the top of the metamorphic sole, which is exposed in the southern part of the study area. The massive amphibolites and metagabbros further north (Wadi Haimur) represent the basal parts of the sole and show the lowest P – T  conditions (450–620 °C and 4.7–7.8 kbar). The sole is the product of dynamothermal metamorphism associated with the tectonic displacement of ultramafic rocks. Heat was derived mainly from the hot overlying mantle peridotites, and an inverted P – T  gradient was caused by dynamic shearing during ophiolite emplacement. Sm/Nd dating of whole-rock–metamorphic mineral pairs yields similar ages of c . 630 Ma for clinopyroxene and hornblende, which is interpreted as a lower age limit for ophiolite formation and an upper age limit for metamorphism. A younger Sm/Nd age for a garnet-bearing rock ( c . 590 Ma) is interpreted as reflecting a meaningful cooling age close to the metamorphic peak. Hornblende K/Ar ages in the range 570–550 Ma may reflect thermal events during late orogenic granite magmatism.     

High T/P evolution and metamorphic ages of the migmatitic basement of northern Sierras Pampeanas,Argentina: Characterization of a mid-crustal segment of the Famatinian belt

New petrologic, thermobarometric and U-Pb monazite geochronologic information allowed to resolve the metamorphic evolution of a high temperature mid-crustal segment of an ancient subduction-related orogen. The El Portezuelo Metamorphic-Igneous Complex, in the northern Sierras Pampeanas, is mainly composed of migmatites that evolved from amphibolite to granulite metamorphic facies, reaching thermal peak conditions of 670–820 °C and 4.5–5.3 kbar. The petrographic study combined with conventional and pseudosection thermobarometry led to deducing a short prograde metamorphic evolution within migmatite blocks. The garnet-absent migmatites represent amphibolite-facies rocks, whereas the cordierite-garnet-K-feldspar-sillimanite migmatites represent higher metamorphic grade rocks. U-Pb geochronology on monazite grains within leucosome record the time of migmatization between ≈477 and 470 Ma. Thus, the El Portezuelo Metamorphic-Igneous Complex is an example of exhumed Early Ordovician anatectic middle crust of the Famatinian mobile belt. Homogeneous exposure of similar paleo-depths throughout the Famatinian back-arc and isobaric cooling paths suggest slow exhumation and consequent longstanding crustal residence at high temperatures. High thermal gradients uniformly distributed in the Famatinian back-arc can be explained by shallow convection of a low-viscosity asthenosphere promoted by subducting-slab dehydration.     

Granulite facies metamorphism in the Mallee Bore area, northern Harts Range: implications for the thermal evolution of the eastern Arunta Inlier, central Australia

The Mallee Bore area in the northern Harts Range of central Australia underwent high-temperature, medium- to high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism. Individual geothermometers and geobarometers and average P–T  calculations using the program Thermocalc suggest that peak metamorphic conditions were 705–810 °C and 8–12 kbar. Partial melting of both metasedimentary and meta-igneous rocks, forming garnet-bearing restites, occurred under peak metamorphic conditions. Comparison with partial melting experiments suggests that vapour-absent melting in metabasic and metapelitic rocks with compositions close to those of rocks in the Mallee Bore area occurs at 800–875 °C and >9–10 kbar. The lower temperatures obtained from geothermometry imply that mineral compositions were reset during cooling. Following the metamorphic peak, the rocks underwent local mylonitization at 680–730 °C and 5.8–7.7 kbar. After mylonitization ceased, garnet retrogressed locally to biotite, which was probably caused by fluids exsolving from crystallizing melts. These three events are interpreted as different stages of a single, continuous, clockwise P–T  path. The metamorphism at Mallee Bore probably occurred during the 1745–1730 Ma Late Strangways Orogeny, and the area escaped significant crustal reworking during the Anmatjira and Alice Springs events that locally reached amphibolite facies conditions elsewhere in the Harts Ranges.     

Late‐stage deformation in a collisional orogen (Western Alps): nappe refolding,back‐thrusting or normal faulting?

ABSTRACT Nappe refolding, back-thrusting and normal faulting frequently cause severe late-stage overprinting of the architecture of an orogen. A combined investigation of nappe stack polarity, kinematics of shearing and metamorphic gradients in the Western Alps develops criteria for distinguishing between these three modes of late-stage deformation. This distinction is a prerequisite for any retro-deformation necessary for understanding the main tectonic and metamorphic evolution of collisional orogens. In the case of the Western Alps overprint was by mega-scale nappe refolding in the Oligocene. This implies exhumation of the HP-rocks prior to postnappe folding, i.e. during nappe stacking and by foreland-directed ascent within a subduction channel.     

Complete metamorphic cycle and long-lived anatexis in the c. 2.1 Ga Mistinibi Complex,Canada

Secular changes in the architecture, thermal state, and metamorphic style of global orogens are thought to have occurred since the Archean; however, despite widespread research, the driving mechanisms for such changes remain unclear. The Paleoproterozoic may prove to be a key era for investigating secular changes in global orogens, as it marks the earliest stage of an eon that saw the onset of modern-style global tectonics. The 2.1 Ga granulite-facies Mistinibi-Raude Domain (MRD), located in the Southeastern Churchill Province, Canada, offers a rare exposure of Paleoproterozoic high metamorphic grade supracrustal sequences (Mistinibi Complex, MC). Rocks from this domain were subjected to petrochronological investigations to establish P–T–t–X evolutions and to provide first order thermal state, burial and exhumation rates, and metamorphic gradients for the transient Paleoproterozoic times. To obtain comprehensive insight into the P–T–t–X evolution of the MRD, we used multi-method geochronology—Lu–Hf on garnet and U–Pb on zircon and monazite—integrated with detailed petrography, trace element chemistry, and phase equilibria modelling. Despite the extensive use of zircon and monazite as geochronometers, their behaviour in anatectic conditions is complex, leading to substantial ambiguity in interpreting the timing of prograde metamorphism. Our results indicate a clockwise metamorphic path involving significant melt extraction from the metasedimentary rocks, followed by cooling from >815°C to ~770°C at ~0.8 GPa. The timing of prograde burial and cooling from supra- to subsolidus conditions is constrained through garnet, monazite, and zircon petrochronology at 2,150–2,120 Ma and at 2,070–2,080 Ma, respectively. These results highlight long-lived residence of the rocks at mid-crustal supra-solidus conditions (55–70 Ma), with preserved prograde and retrograde supra-solidus monazite and zircon. The rocks record extremely slow burial rates (0.25–0.30 km/Ma) along a high metamorphic gradient (900–1,000°C/GPa), which appears symptomatic of Paleoproterozoic orogens. The MC did not record any significant metamorphism after 2,067 Ma, despite having collided with terranes that record high-grade metamorphism during the major 1.9–1.8 Ga Trans-Hudson orogeny. The MC would therefore represent a remnant of a local early Paleoproterozoic metamorphic infrastructure, later preserved as superstructure in the large hot Trans-Hudson orogen.     

Petrological and geochronological constraints on regional metamorphism along the northern border of the Bitterroot batholith

Quantitative thermobarometry in pelites and garnet amphibolites from the Bitterroot metamorphic core complex, combined with U–Pb dating of metamorphic monazite and zircon from footwall rocks, provide new constraints on the P – T  – t evolution of footwall rocks. The thermobarometric and geochronological results, when correlated with observations from other regions bordering the Bitterroot batholith, define a regional metamorphic history for the northern margin of the Bitterroot batholith consisting of three distinct events beginning with early prograde metamorphism (M1) coincident with arc-related magmatism and crustal shortening at c .  100–80 Ma. Magmatism and crustal thickening led to regional upper-amphibolite facies metamorphism (M2) and anatectic melting between 64 and 56 Ma. Mineral textures related to high-temperature isothermal decompression (M3), coincident with late stages of magmatism in the Bitterroot complex footwall (56–48 Ma), are only preserved in areas adjacent to extensional structures. The close temporal relationship between peak metamorphism and the onset of footwall decompression indicates that thermal weakening was an important factor in the initiation of Early Eocene regional extension and tectonic denudation of the Bitterroot complex and possibly the Boehls Butte metamorphic terrane. The morphology of the decompressional P – T  – t path derived for Bitterroot footwall rocks is similar to other trajectories reported for Cordilleran core complexes and may represent a transition in the deformational style of core-bunding detachments responsible for exhumation.     

Transitional blueschist–epidote amphibolite facies metamorphism in the Frankenberg massif, Germany, and geotectonic implications

Bimodal metavolcanic rocks, granitic gneisses and metasediments are associated in the Frankenberg massif, Germany. These rocks are faulted against underlying very low-grade Palaeozoic sequences and adjacent metamorphic complexes of the Variscan basement. The granitic gneisses record an Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron age of 461±20  Ma that is taken as at least a minimum protolith age. The bimodal meta-igneous suites are interpreted to have formed during rifting of the Gondwana continental margin in the Cambro-Ordovician. The various metamorphic units have all experienced a common P–T  history. The peak-pressure stage is constrained to around 490–520  °C and 10–14  kbar (10–12  kbar being most realistic). The metamorphism proceeded along a clockwise P–T path towards conditions of around 580–610  °C and 7–8.5  kbar at the thermal peak followed by a final low-pressure overprint which spanned amphibolite facies to prehnite–actinolite facies temperatures. Owing to a secondary Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron age of 381±24  Ma, interpreted to date the retrograde stage, the whole metamorphic cycle in the Frankenberg massif is ascribed to the late Silurian–early Devonian high-pressure event widely recorded in the European Variscides. The antiformal complexes bordering the Frankenberg massif underwent a well-documented early Carboniferous metamorphism, suggesting that the Frankenberg massif constitutes a klippe which was overthrust towards the end of this second metamorphic cycle.     

THERMAL MODELLING OF COLLISIONAL OROGENY:IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ULTRA-HIGH PRESSURE METAMORPHISM

The petrological research on the ultra-high pressure metamorphism (UHP) of collisional orogen indicates that the upper-crustal rocks is subducted to depths exceeding 100 km,and returned to the surface rapidly.In this study,we investigate the thermal structure of collisional orogen as a slab of continental lithosphere being subducted beneath an overriding wedge of continental lithosphere by the 2-D finite element method.The advection heat transfer due to the accretion of orogenic wedge is considered.     

论大别造山带中“罗田片麻岩杂岩”的构造属性

罗田片麻岩杂岩位于大别造山带腹地，东、西大别变质带之间，面积约６０００ｋｍ２。主要由一套花岗片麻岩系组成。它们经历过早期高角闪岩相至麻粒岩相变质和晚期低角闪岩相叠加变质。该杂岩的原始建造以古老变质变形侵入体为主，与其周边构造变质单元的原始建造迥然不同，后者皆为沉积型或火山－沉积型原始建造。罗田片麻岩杂岩与其周边环境的地质特征不一致，是个造山带规模的外来变质地体。其下存在广泛的低密度岩层，相当于混合岩化或花岗岩化的硅铝质岩系。罗田片麻岩杂岩是华南、华北陆块碰撞期间，可能曾经存在的古岛弧深成岩系发生深变质强变形，并在仰冲机制作用下，于　地壳深层次拼贴到高压／超高压碰撞混杂岩之上的，具有推覆体属性的构造岩片。     

Metamorphic response in orogens of different obliquity,scale and geometry

Investigation of material flow within transpressional orogens must involve integration of structural and metamorphic datasets. To illustrate the problems in documenting flow vectors we present integrated structural-metamorphic datasets from two transpressional systems; the Kaoko Belt in Namibia and the Kalinjala Shear Zone in South Australia. These orogens experienced widely differing metamorphic responses to transpressional deformation. Integration of kinematic and metamorphic datasets from the Kaoko Belt indicate shallow up-plunging extrusion trajectories in the orogen core, and show that the maximum stretching direction pattern matches the inferred flow vectors. High-grade domains (800–840 °C and 7.0–8.0 kb) in the orogen core developed low-angle upward-verging maximum stretching direction trajectories, whereas a low-grade domain (575–600 °C and 5.0–5.5 kb) in the orogen core has downward-verging lineation trajectories. The barometric differential between these high-grade and low-grade domains is entirely consistent with the angle of plunge of maximum stretching directions within the high-grade domains that were extruded obliquely, for the amount of lateral shear estimated for the orogen core. The Kalinjala Shear Zone in South Australia contrasts strongly with the Kaoko Belt. In this example, the high-grade and high-strain shear zone core of the orogen, experienced high-T/high-P metamorphism with low thermal gradients of 21–26 °C/km and steep decompressive P–T paths. The lower-grade external domains experienced lower-T/lower-P metamorphism with high thermal gradients of 35–37 °C/km. Sub-horizontal maximum stretching directions do not match the vertical extrusional flow in the high-grade core that is indicated by the metamorphic data. This comparison shows that in general and on a gross scale, maximum stretching directions do not necessarily correlate with the real flow vectors experienced during orogenesis. In some cases maximum stretching direction recorded by deformation structures is to some degree decoupled from the vertical component of material flow. Consequently, information pertaining to flow is often partitioned into information derived from deformation structures and information derived from the metamorphic record. These two datasets must be used in concert to obtain realistic constraints on first-order material flow trajectories at orogenic scales. The horizontal component of flow is typically best recorded by structural fabrics (maximum stretching direction and sense of shear), whereas the vertical component is typically best recorded by metamorphic information, such as P–T paths, temperature over depth ratio (G) and metamorphic field gradients (i.e. ΔT, ΔP and ΔG) across the orogen.     

P–T–t evidence for mechanisms of vertical tectonic motion in a contractional orogen: north-western US and Canadian Cordillera

The >1800 km long Coast Mountains–North Cascades orogen of the Canadian Cordillera and north-western US developed as a continental magmatic arc. Metamorphic rocks in the orogen contain widespread evidence for burial of supracrustal rocks to depths of c. 40 km, followed by nearly isothermal decompression to depths of <10 km. Near many shallowly-emplaced, mid-Cretaceous plutons, low-pressure contact metamorphic effects were overprinted by high-pressure regional metamorphic minerals and textures, as evidenced by kyanite±staurolite pseudomorphs after andalusite in metapelitic rocks. Therefore, near-pluton rocks record the loading history of the orogen. Metapelitic rocks not associated with plutons only preserve evidence for high-pressure conditions and/or high-temperature decompression, as indicated, for example, by sillimanite and cordierite after kyanite and garnet, respectively. Petrological evidence for burial and decompression is therefore recorded in different rocks. Various regions of the orogen differ in timing of metamorphism, the overall shape of P–T paths and the relative timing and regional extent of the high-pressure event, but most of these data and observations are consistent with thrusting and/or pure shear thickening as primary loading mechanisms throughout the orogen, as opposed to magma-dominated loading. This interpretation is further supported by comparison with thermal models, which demonstrate that the P–T paths are consistent with simultaneous thrusting and folding at a high initial geothermal gradient (35–40 °C km^?1) in much of the orogen. A high geothermal gradient supports tectonic models invoking intra-arc contraction and suggests that magmatism played an important role in regional temperature-time paths. This tectonic-thermal history may be typical of other contractional orogens and illustrates the importance of large vertical displacement of crust in magmatic arcs.     

Pressure–temperature conditions and retrograde paths of eclogites, garnet–glaucophane rocks and schists from South Sulawesi, Indonesia

High-pressure metamorphic rocks exposed in the Bantimala area, c . 40  km north-east of Ujung Pandang, were formed as a Cretaceous subduction complex with fault-bounded slices of melange, chert, basalt, turbidite, shallow-marine sedimentary rocks and ultrabasic rocks. Eclogites, garnet–glaucophane rocks and schists of the Bantimala complex have estimated peak temperatures of T  =580–630 °C at 18  kbar and T  =590–640 °C at 24  kbar, using the garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometer. The garnet–omphacite–phengite equilibrium is used to estimate pressures. The distribution coefficient K _D1=[( X _pyr)³( X _grs)⁶/( X _di)⁶]/[(Al/Mg)_M2,wm (Al/Si)_T2,wm]³ among omphacite, garnet and phengite is a good index for metamorphic pressures. The K _D1values of the Bantimala eclogites were compared with those of eclogites with reliable P–T  estimates. This comparison suggests that peak pressures of the Bantimala eclogites were P =18–24  kbar at T  =580–640 °C. These results are consistent with the P–T  range calculated using garnet–rutile–epidote–quartz and lawsonite–omphacite–glaucophane–epidote equilibria.