Petrology of garnet — cordierite — sillimanite gneisses from the El Tormes thermal dome,Iberian Hercynian foldbelt (W Spain)

The core of the El Tormes thermal dome, situated in the central part of one of the main metamorphic belts of the Iberian Peninsula, is formed by garnet-cordierite-biotite-sillimanite pelitic gneisses. These rocks, that very often are cut by minor intrusions of Al-rich S-type granites, are metatexitic gneisses in which there exists garnet showing different stages of resorption and transformation into an aggregate of cordierite±plagioclase±biotite. The garnet, mantled and corroded mainly by cordierite, has never been found to occur in contact with the prismatic sillimanite of the matrix, thus indicating that the continuous reaction Gr+Sill+Q = Cd has taken place. The presence of corroded biotite inside the garnet-rimming cordierite of the aggregates as well as inside the cordierite of the matrix, which usually includes remmants of sillimanite, indicates that the continuous reaction Bi+Sill+Q = Cd+FK+H₂O has occurred too. Therefore, a realistic net reaction for these aggretates should be represented by the univariant, at a given , equilibrium: Biotite+Sillimanite+Garnet+Quartz = Cordierite+K-feldspar+H₂O (1)The important garnet resorption near the anatectic granitic veins implies that this process is favoured by a decrease in , this factor being otherwise buffered by the reaction (1) assemblage.The most probable P-T path, assuming these conditions, consistent with the AFM projection of the former (inferred) and present assemblages in the aggregates and in the matrix, implies a decrease in P coeval with a decrease in T (Fig. 4, path 2).The most reliable P-T determination for the final stage of garnet breakdown through reaction (1), based on the coexistence of the seven phase assemblage garnet — cordierite — biotite — sillimanite — plagioclase — potash feldspar — quartz plus melt, gives 695° C, 4.3 kbar, = 0.5, The maximum pressure for this process, obtained from the garnet — plagioclase equilibrium, is 6.5±1 kbar at the same temperature.The estimates of the T for the garnet core-garnet included biotite pairs are consistently lower, ca. 550° C, than those obtained for the garnet rim-biotite in aggregates, ca. 645° C, or garnet rim-adjacent cordierite pairs, ca. 695° C.It may, therefore, be supposed that, during their evolution these rocks underwent first an increase in T and then, during the last stages, as garnet and biotite brokedown, a decrease in P and T. This represents an uplift of the core of El Tormes dome under high grade amphibolite to low pressure granulite facies conditions, accompanied by a process of partial melting with local decrase in . It is suggested, from mineral growth-deformation relationships, that this process took place during the late hercynian deformation phases, P-3 or doming stage.     

Eo-Alpine Metamorphism in the Uppermost Unit of the Cretan Nappe System — Petrology and Geochronology

The uppermost unit of the Cretan nappe system contains a variegated series of high-grade metamorphic rocks. In the Léndas area, amphibolites are present characterized by the assemblage

$$\text{brown}\;\text{hornblende}\;+\;\text{diopside}\;+\;\text{plagioclase}\;\text{(An 50)}$$

while associated metapelitic gneisses consist of

$$\text{garnet}\;+\;\text{cordierite}\;+\;\text{biotite}\;+\;\text{sillimanite (andalusite)}\;\pm\;\text{K-feldspar}\;+\;\text{plagioclase (An 40-50)}\;+\;\text{quartz}.$$

Judging from relevant experimental data for the gneiss assemblage including the Fe/Mg distribution on coexisting garnet and cordierite, the P-T conditions of metamorphism are estimated at about 700° C and 5 kb water vapour pressure.K/Ar determinations on hornblendes from three amphibolites yielded cooling ages of 71.3, 71.2, and 71.1 (±1.7) m.y. respectively; biotites from three paragneisses gave 70.2 ± 1.4, 69.7 ± 1.2, and 67.9 ± 1.4 m.y. respectively. Assuming a sealing temperature against argon diffusion of 300° C, for biotite, and 500° C, for hornblende, a cooling rate of 100–200° C/m.y. is calculated. Thus a late Cretaceous (eo-Alpine) metamorphic event is established in the post-Cretaceous nappes of Crete.     

P–T–t evolution of spinel–cordierite–garnet gneisses from the Sauwald Zone (Southern Bohemian Massif, Upper Austria): is there evidence for two independent late-Variscan low-P/high-T events in the Moldanubian Unit?

The Sauwald Zone, located at the southern rim of the Bohemian Massif in Upper Austria, belongs to the Moldanubian Unit. It exposes uniform biotite + plagioclase ± cordierite paragneisses that formed during the post-collisional high-T/low-P stage of the Variscan orogeny. Rare metapelitic inlayers contain the mineral assemblage garnet + cordierite + green spinel + sillimanite + K-feldspar + plagioclase + biotite + quartz. Mineral chemical and textural data indicate four stages of mineral growth: (1) peak assemblage as inclusions in garnet (stage 1): garnet core + cordierite + green spinel + sillimanite + plagioclase (An_35–65); (2) post-peak assemblages in the matrix (stages 2, 3): cordierite + spinel (brown-green and brown) ± sillimanite ± garnet rim + plagioclase (An_10–45); and (3) late-stage growth of fibrolite, muscovite and albite (An_0–15) during stage 4. Calculation of the P–T conditions of the peak assemblage (stage 1) yields 750–840°C, 0.29–0.53 GPa and for the stage 2 matrix assemblage garnet + cordierite + green spinel + sillimanite + plagioclase 620–730°C, 0.27–0.36 GPa. The observed phase relations indicate a clockwise P–T path, which terminates below 0.38 GPa. The P–T evolution of the Sauwald Zone and the Monotonous Unit are very similar, however, monazite ages of the former are younger (321 ± 9 Ma vs. 334 ± 1 Ma). This indicates that high-T/low-P metamorphism in the Sauwald Zone was either of longer duration or there were two independent phases of late-Variscan low-P/high-T metamorphism in the Moldanubian Unit.     

Phase relationships in granulitic metapelites from the Ivrea-Verbano zone (Northern Italy)

Paragneisses of the Ivrea-Verbano zone exhibit over a horizontal distance of 5 km mineralogical changes indicative of the transition from amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism. The most obvious change is the progressive replacement of biotite by garnet via the reaction: a $${\text{Biotite + sillimanite + quartz }} \to {\text{ Garnet + K - feldspar + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ which results in a systematic increase in the modal ratio g = (garnet)/(garnet + biotite) with increasing grade. The systematic variations in garnet and biotite contents of metapelites are also reflected by the compositions of these phases, both of which become more magnesian with increasing metamorphic grade. The pressure of metamorphism has been estimated from the Ca₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ contents of garnets coexisting with plagioclase, sillimanite and quartz. These phases are related by the equilibrium: b $$\begin{gathered} 3 CaAl_2 {\text{Si}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{8}} \rightleftharpoons Ca_3 Al_2 {\text{Si}}_{\text{3}} {\text{O}}_{{\text{12}}} + 2 Al_2 {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} + {\text{SiO}}_{\text{2}} \hfill \\ plagioclase garnet sillimanite quartz \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ which has been applied to these rocks using the available data on the mixing properties of plagioclase and garnet solid solutions. Temperature and f _{H 2O} estimates have been made in a similar way using thermodynamic data on the biotite-garnet reaction (a) and the approximate solidus temperatures of paragneisses. Amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism in the Ivrea-Verbano zone took place in the P-T ranges 9–11 kb and 700–820 °C. The differences in temperature and pressure of metamorphism between g= 0 and g = 1 (5 kms horizontal distance) were less than 50° C and approximately 1 kb. Retrogression and re-equilibration of garnets and biotites in the metapelites extended to temperatures more than 50° C below and pressures more than 1.5 kb below the peak of metamorphism, the degree of retrogression increasing with decreasing grade of the metamorphic “peak”. The pressure and temperature of the peak of metamorphism are not inconsistent with the hypothesis that the Ivrea-Verbano zone is a slice of upthrusted lower crust from the crust-mantle transition region, although it appears that the thermal gradient was too low for the zone to represent a near-vertical section through the crust. The most reasonable explanation of the granulite facies metamorphism is that it arose through intrusion of mafic rocks into a region already undergoing recrystallisation under amphibolite facies conditions.     

Low-pressure metamorphism and anatexis of Carolina Slate Belt Phyllites in the contact aureole of the Lilesville Pluton,North Carolina,USA

In the contact aureole of the Lilesville granite and comagmatic Pee Dee gabbro, N.C., greenschist-facies phyllites of the Carolina slate belt have been overprinted by a series of metamorphic reactions producing opx-bearing hornfelses and migmatitic gneisses. In the exterior aureole the slate belt assemblage (chl+ms+ep+ab+qz) gives way to the continuous reaction assemblages (chl+bt+cd+ ms+ab±ep+qz), (bt+cd+ms+An_8–29+qz), (bt+cd+ kf+ms+pl+qz), (bt+cd+als±ms+kf+pl+qz), and (bt+cd+ga+kf+pl+qz), from lowest to highest grade. The interior aureole, interpreted as part of the floor of the granite, bears the continuous and discontinuous reaction assemblages (bt+cd+als+kf+pl+qz),(bt+cd+kf+ pl+qz), and, near the gabbro, (bt+cd+ga+opx+kf+ pl+qz). The leucosomes of the migmatitic interior aureole are predominantly trondhjemites with the assemblage (An_35–45+qz±bt±cd±kf). Restites in the migmatitic interior aureole contain the AFM assemblages (bt), (bt + cd), (bt+cd+als), and (bt+cd+ga), plus kf, An_40–50, and qz. Contact metamorphism was isobaric at 4.0–5.1 or 2.0–3.5 kb depending on choice of aluminosilicate triple point; temperatures reached 650° C in the migmatitic interior aureole and approached 750° C near the gabbro; was less than 0.8 in the migmatites, and was lower in the interior aureole and in the high grade exterior aureole. Partial melting in the migmatitic interior aureole took place during dynamothermal metamorphism caused by the magmatic diapir. Incipient melting occurred by the reaction bt+cd+kf+pl+qz+w = liquid. The melt was H₂O-undersaturated and coefficients of the reactants were weighted heavily toward the felsic minerals; the proportion of felsic minerals in the leucosomes was controlled in part by modal abundance of kf, pl, and qz available for melting. The incorporation of K into biotite by subsolidus reactions, coupled with the high thermal stability and low solubility of biotite in a felsic melt, are responsible for the trondhjemitic composition of the early anatectic liquids.Abbreviations als Al₂SiO₅ - ab albite - An_8–29 plagioclase with anorthite contents in the range indicated - bt biotite - cd cordierite - chl chlorite - ep epidote - ga garnet - kf K feldspar - ms muscovite - opx orthopyroxene - pl plagioclase undefined - qz quartz - w water     

Coexisting garnet and cordierite in migmatites from the Scottish Caledonides

Cordierite and garnet are common in migmatites adjoining Caldeonian (sensu lato) synorogenic intrusions in the Highlands of Scotland. Migmatitic hornfelses of the Huntly-Portsoy area, of particular interest in being closely associated with the regional andalusite/kyanite boundary, contain both of the pressure-sensitive sub-assemblages (cordierite-garnet-sillimanite) and (cordierite-garnet-ortho-pyroxene). In other areas regional metamorphism was of higher-pressure (kyanite-sillimanite) type, the metamorphic patterns having been subsequently modified at lower pressures. The subassemblage cordierite-garnet-sillimanite is found in pelites occurring near contacts of the Strontian Granodiorite and the nearby, but probably earlier, Glen Scaddle basic complex, where andalusite also occurs in the contact zone. The sub-assemblage cordierite-garnet-orthopyroxene is studied in migmatitic hornfelses of the Lochnagar aureole. Zoning of cordierite and garnet is found in all specimens, and results largely from retrograde diffusive reactions.The calibrations of the garnet-cordierite-sillimanite geobarometer by Thompson (1976) and by Holdaway and Lee (1977) are used to estimate pressures of migmatization. These calibrations give results 2–3 kbar lower than that of Hensen and Green (1973). In the Huntly-Portsoy area, where the pressure must have been close to that of the Al₂SiO₅ triple point, the Thompson result is 5.5 ±0.1 kbar. The calibration by Holdaway and Lee (1977), in which the H₂O content of cordierite is treated, gives a maximum pressure estimate (for P _{H 2 O}=P) of 6.1 ±0.2 kbar. Rough calculations in which is also estimated, using a simplified biotite-sillimanite-quartz dehydration reaction, give P=4.9±0.1 kbar with 0.6P.The Glen Scaddle area gives P = 5.6–5.9 kbar, P by this method, compared with P=5.2–5.3 kbar by the Thompson calibration. The Strontian area gives lower values (<5kbar) despite being structurally below the Glen Scaddle area; this would indicate late origin of the cordierite-bearing migmatites and is consistent with their interpretation in terms of the thermal effects of the Strontian Granodiorite. The Lochnagar aureole is also relatively low-pressure.Estimates of maximum temperatures are 700–740 °C for the Strontian and Huntly-Portsoy areas, and 780–820 °C for the higher grade localities in the Glen Scaddle and Lochnagar areas, where orthopyroxene coexists with potash felspar and cordierite (but not sillimanite). It is likely that cordierite in all the rocks studied was produced as a result of melting reactions that are also responsible for migmatization.     

The significance of garnet and cordierite from the Sioux Lookout region of the English River gneiss belt,Northern Ontario

Garnet and cordierite bearing Archean gneisses are a common rock-type in the English River gneiss belt of the Superior Province, northern Ontario. Bulk compositions of such gneisses are found to be depleted in potassium with respect to the garnet and/or cordierite-free biotite gneisses. The mineral assemblages of the garnet and cordierite gneisses indicate that they have equilibrated at higher metamorphic grades than the garnet and/or cordierite-free biotite gneisses. These, observations suggest that anatexis has occurred in the garnetiferous regions of the gneiss belt resulting in a granite melt which had migrated from the source rocks, thereby depleting the garnetiferous restite in potassium.     

Mineralogy and petrology of Grenada,Lesser Antilles island arc

The mineralogy and petrology of volcanic and plutonic rocks from the island of Grenada are described. The volcanic rocks include basanitoids, alkalic and subalkalic basalts, andesites and dacites. Phenocryst phases in the basanitoids and basalts are olivine (Fo_90–71), zoned calcic augite, spinel ranging from ferrian pleonaste through chromite to titaniferous magnetite, and plagioclase. Some of the basalts contain pargasitic amphibole. Andesites and dacites generally contain hypersthene and augite, and one pigeonite-hypersthene-augite-bearing andesite was found. Apatite commonly occurs as a phenocryst in the andesites and dacites and quartz is present in some dacites as well as being a possible xenocryst in both alkalic and subalkalic basalts. Plutonic cumulates found as ejected fragments in tuffs and ashes are composed of variable proportions of olivine, magnetite, calcic augite, amphibole and plagioclase. One peridotitic (ol-cpx-opx) fragment was found but spinel or garnet peridotitis are absent. Despite the alkalic nature of the association, calcalkalic characteristics such as calcic plagioclase, restricted Feenrichment in coexisting pyroxenes and generally low TiO₂ content relative to oceanic suites are present in Grenada. Estimates of conditions of equilibration of the basanitoids with potential upper mantle materials using the results of high-pressure experiments are compared with estimates from thermodynamic data. Equating and basanitoid with hypothetical garnet peridotite assemblages gives a pressure and temperature of equilibration in the region of 35–38 kbar and 1550–1625 ° K. Experimental results are not supportive of these estimates.     

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

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

An almandine garnet isograd in the Rogers Pass area,British Columbia: The nature of the reaction and an estimation of the physical conditions during its formation

In the Rogers Pass area of British Columbia the almandine garnet isograd results from a reaction of the form: 5.31 ferroan-dolomite+8.75 paragonite+4.80 pyrrhotite+3.57 albite+16.83 quartz+1.97 O₂=1.00 garnet+16.44 andesine+1.53 chlorite+2.40 S₂+1.90 H₂O+10.62 CO₂. The coefficients of this reaction are quite sensitive to the Mn content of ferroan-dolomite.Experimental data applied to mineral compositions present at the isograd, permits calculation of two intersecting P, T equilibrium curves. P=29088–39.583 T is obtained for the sub-system paragonite-margarite (solid-solution), plagioclase, quartz, ferroan-dolomite, and P=28.247 T–14126 is obtained for the sub-system epidote, quartz, garnet, plagioclase. These equations yield P=3898 bars and T=638° K (365° C). These values are consistent with the FeS content of sphalerite in the assemblage pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite and with other estimates for the area.At these values of P and T the composition of the fluid phase in equilibrium with graphite in the system C-O-H-S during the formation of garnet is estimated as: bars, bars, bars, bars, bars, bars, bars, bars, , bars, bars.     

Paragenetic relations in gedrite — cordierite — staurolite — biotite sillimanite — kyanite gneisses at Ajitpura,Rajasthan, India

Aluminous parageneses containing gedrite, cordierite, garnet, staurolite, biotite, sillimanite, kyanite, quartz or spinel plus corundum are found as dark colored lenses in the polymetamorphic, multideformed Archean complex at Ajitpura in northwest peninsular India. Staurolite, like kyanite, is a relict phase of earlier metamorphism and is excluded as a paragenetic mineral in view of its incompatibility with quartz and gedrite and its lower X _Mg values than for garnet of the assemblage. Its stability here is attributed to zinc content of up to 3 wt%. The XMg in other ferromagnesian minerals decreases in the order: cordierite, biotite, gedrite, garnet, as found elsewhere in high grade rocks.The textural criteria and systematic partitioning of Fe and Mg in the ferromagnesian phases, excluding staurolite, indicate attainment of equilibrium during the second metamorphism. From tie line configurations in the phase diagrams, X _Mg ratios in the constituent minerals, and other petrographic criteria, it is suggested that gedrite — cordierite-garnet — sillimanite — biotite assemblage has been produced by the reactions: Biotite+Sillimanite+Quartz = Cordierite+Garnet+K-feldspar+Vapor (1) and Biotite+Sillimanite+Quartz = Cordierite +Gedrite+K-feldspar+Vapor (2) which occurred during partial melting of the rocks at fixed P and T conditions.By isothermal P-X(Fe-Mg) sections it has been demonstrated that release of FeO, SiO₂ and other components modified the composition of the reactant biotite presumably by the substitution FeSi2 Al, whereby reaction 1 was replaced by reaction 2. Cordierite with higher X _Mg was produced with gedrite instead of with garnet, whose X _Mg is less than X _Mg of gedrite. Reaction 2 has been tentatively located in T-P space from the intersection of some continuous loops in the P-X(Fe-Mg) diagram at 700°C and also by other constraints. The discontinuous reaction 2 is located about 1–2 kilobars higher than reaction 1, which implies that it is difficult to distinguish between effects of pressure and those of melting on the X _Mg ratios of the reaction phases.The P-T calibrations of garnet — cordierite, garnet — biotite and garnet — plagioclase equilibria and the calibrations from other dehydration curves give temperatures near 700°C and pressure (assuming ) about 6 kilobars.     

Fe2+-Mg2+ partition between coexisting cordierite and garnet — a discussion of the experimental data

The partition of iron and magnesium between cordierite and garnet depends on as well as temperature. The apparently conflicting experimental data on the values of K _D may be reconciled by considering the pertaining during the different experiments.     

Partial melting of metagreywackes. Part I. Fluid-absent experiments and phase relationships

Island arcs, active and passive margins are the best tectonic settings to generate fertile reservoirs likely to be involved in subsequent granitoid genesis. In such environments, greywackes are abundant crustal rock types and thus are good candidates to generate large quantities of granitoid magmas. We performed a series of experiments, between 100 and 2000 MPa, on the fluid-absent melting of a quartz-rich aluminous metagreywacke composed of 32 wt% plagioclase (Pl) (An₂₂), 25 wt% biotite (Bt) (X _Mg45), and 41 wt% quartz (Qtz). Eighty experiments, averaging 13 days each, were carried out using a powder of minerals (5m) and a glass of the same composition. The multivariant field of the complex reaction Bt+Pl+QtzGrt/Crd/Spl+ Opx+Kfs+melt limited by the Opx-in and Bt-out curves, is located between 810–860°C at 100 MPa, 800–850°C at 200 MPa, 810–860°C at 300 MPa, 820–880°C at 500 MPa, 860–930°C at 800 MPa, 890–990°C at 1000 MPa, and at a temperature lower than 1000°C at 1500 and 1700 MPa. The melting of biotite+plagioclase+ quartz produced melt+orthopyroxene (Opx) +cordierite (Crd) or spinel (Spl) at 100, 200 and 300 MPa, and melt+orthopyroxene+garnet (Grt) from 500 to 1700 MPa (+Qtz, Pl, FeTi Oxide at all pressures). K-feldspar (Kfs) was found as a product of the reaction in some cases and we observed that the residual plagioclase was always strongly enriched in orthoclase component. The P-T surface corresponding to the multivariant field of this reaction is about 50 to 100°C wide. At temperatures below the appearance of orthopyroxene, biotite is progressively replaced by garnet with increasing P. At 850°C, we observed that (1) the modal proportion of garnet increases markedly with P; (2) the grossular content of the garnet increases regularly from about 4 mol% at 500 MPa to 15 mol% at 2000 MPa. These changes can be ascribed to the reaction Bt+Pl+Qtz Grt+Kfs+melt with biotite +plagioclase+quartz on the low-P side of the reaction. As a result, at 200 MPa, we observed the progressive disappearance of biotite without production of orthopyroxene. These experiments emphasize the importance of this reaction for the understanding of partial melting processes and evolution of the lower continental crust. Ca-poor Al-metagreywackes represent fertile rocks at commonly attainable temperatures (i.e. 800–900°C), below 700 MPa. There, 30 to 60 vol.% of melt can be produced. Above this pressure, temperatures above 900°C are required, making the production of granitoid magmas more difficult. Thin layers of gneisses composed of rothopyroxene, garnet, plagioclase, and quartz (±biotite), interbedded within sillimanite-bearing paragneisses, are quite common in granulite terrains. They may result from partial melting of metagreywackes and correspond to recrystallized mixtures of crystals (+trapped melt) left behind after removal of a major proportion of melt. Available experimental constraints indicate that extensive melting of pelites takes place at a significantly lower temperature (850°C±20) than in Al-metagreywackes (950°C±30), at 1000 MPa. The common observation that biotite is no longer stable in aluminous paragneisses while it still coexists commonly with orthopyroxene, garnet, plagioclase and quartz, provides rather tight temperature constraints for granulitic metamorphism.Abbreviations Ab albite - alm almandine component in garnet - Als aluminum silicate - An anorthite - Ap apatite - Bt biotite - Cal calcite - Crd cordierite - Crn corundum - En enstatite - Fl fluid phase - Fs ferrosilite - Ged gedrite - Gl glass - Grs Grossular - grs grossular component in garnet - Grt garnet - Hc hercynite - Hem hematite - Ilm ilmenite - Kfs K-feldspar - M melt - Mag magnetite - Ms muscovite - Opx orthopyroxene - Or orthoclase - Phl phlogopite - Pl plagioclase - Po Pyrrhotite - Prp pyrope - prp pyrope component in garnet - Otz quartz - Rt rutile - Sa sanidine - Sil sillimanite - Spl spinel - St staurolite - Ti-Mag titano-magnetite - W water     

A note on the significance of the assemblage calcite-quartz-plagioclase-paragonite-graphite

The biotite zone assemblage: calcite-quartz-plagioclase (An₂₅)-phengite-paragonite-chlorite-graphite, is developed at the contact between a carbonate and a pelite from British Columbia. Thermochemical data for the equilibrium paragonite+calcite+2 quartz=albite+ anorthite+CO₂+H₂O yields: $$\log f{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}} + \log f{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} = 5.76 + 0.117 \times 10^{ - 3} (P - 1)$$ for a temperature of 700°K and a plagioclase composition of An₂₅. By combining this equation with equations describing equilibria between graphite and gas species in the system C-H-O, the following partial pressures: \(P{\text{H}}_2 {\text{O}} = 2572{\text{b, }}P{\text{CO}}_2 = 3162{\text{b, }}P{\text{H}}_2 = 2.5{\text{b, }}P{\text{CH}}_4 = 52.5{\text{b, }}P{\text{CO}} = 11.0{\text{b}}\) are obtained for \(f{\text{O}}_2 = 10^{ - 26}\) . If total pressure equals fluid pressure, then the total pressure during metamorphism was approximately 6 kb. The total fluid pressure calculated is extremely sensitive to the value of \(f{\text{O}}_2\) chosen.     

Stabilitätsbeziehungen zwischen Chlorit,Cordierit und Almandin bei der Metamorphose

The stability relations between cordierite and almandite in rocks, having a composition of CaO poor argillaceous rocks, were experimentally investigated. The starting material consisted of a mixture of chlorite, muscovite, and quartz. Systems with widely varying Fe²⁺/Fe²⁺+Mg ratios were investigated by using two different chlorites, thuringite or ripidolite, in the starting mixture. Cordierite is formed according to the following reaction: $${\text{Chlorite + muscovite + quartz}} \rightleftharpoons {\text{cordierite + biotite + Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} + {\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ . At low pressures this reaction characterizes the facies boundary between the albite-epidotehornfels facies and the hornblende-hornfels facies, at medium pressures the beginning of the cordierite-amphibolite facies. Experiments were carried out reversibly and gave the following equilibrium data: 505±10°C at 500 bars H₂O pressure, 513±10°C at 1000 bars H₂O pressure, 527±10°C at 2000 bars H₂O pressure, and 557±10°C at 4000 bars H₂O pressure. These equilibrium data are valid for the Fe-rich starting material, using thuringite as the chlorite, as well as for the Mg-rich starting mixture with ripidolite. At 6000 bars the equilibrium temperature for the Mg-rich mixture is 587±10°C. In the Fe-rich mixture almandite was formed instead of cordierite at 6000 bars. The following reaction was observed: $${\text{Thuringite + muscovite + quartz}} \rightleftharpoons {\text{almandite + biotite + Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} {\text{ + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ . Experiments with the Fe-rich mixture, containing Fe²⁺/Fe²⁺+Mg in the ratio 8∶10, yielded three stability fields in a P,T-diagram (Fig.1):

1. Above 600°C/5.25 kb and 700°C/6.5 kb almandite+biotite+Al₂SiO₅ coexist stably, cordierite being unstable.
2. The field, in which almandite, biotite and Al₂SiO₅ are stable together with cordierite, is restricted by two curves, passing through the following points:
   1. 625°C/5.5 kb and 700°C/6.5 kb,
   2. 625°C/5.5 kb and 700°C/4.0 kb.
3. At conditions below curves 1 and 2b, cordierite, biotite, and Al₂SiO₅ are formed, but no garnet.

An appreciable MnO-content in the system lowers the pressures needed for the formation of almandite garnet, but the quantitative influence of the spessartite-component on the formation of almandite could not yet be determined. the Mg-rich system with Fe²⁺/Fe²⁺+Mg=0.4 garnet did not form at pressures up to 7 kb in the temperature range investigated. Experiments at unspecified higher pressures (in a simple squeezer-type apparatus) yielded the reaction: $${\text{Ripidolite + muscovite + quartz}} \rightleftharpoons {\text{almandite + biotite + Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{SiO}}_{\text{5}} {\text{ + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}$$ . Further experiments are needed to determine the equilibrium data. The occurence of garnet in metamorphic rocks is discussed in the light of the experimental results.     

The generation and crystallization conditions of the Proterozoic Harney Peak Leucogranite,Black Hills,South Dakota,USA: Petrologic and geochemical constraints

The mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry of the Proterozoic Harney Peak Granite, Black Hills, South Dakota, were examined in view of experimentally determined phase equilibria applicable to granitic systems in order to place constraints on the progenesis of peraluminous leucogranites and commonly associated rare-element pegmatites. The granite was emplaced at 3–4 kbar as multiple sills and dikes into quartz-mica schists at the culmination of a regional high-temperature, low-pressure metamorphic event. Principally along the periphery of the main pluton and in satellite intrusions, the sills segregated into granite-pegmatite couplets. The major minerals include quartz, K-feldspar, sodic plagioclase and muscovite. Biotite-{Mg No. [Molar MgO/(MgO+FeO)]=0.32-0.38} is the predominant ferromagnesian mineral in the granite's core, whereas at the periphery of the main pluton and in the satellite intrusions tourmaline (Mg No.=0.18–0.48) is the dominant ferromagnesian phase. Almandine-spessartine garnet is also found in the outer intrusions. There is virtually a complete overlap in the wide concentration ranges of SiO₂, CaO, MgO, FeO, Sr, Zr, W of the biotite- and tourmaline-bearing granite suites with no discernable differentiation trends on Harker diagrams, precluding the derivation of one suite from the other by differentiation following emplacement. This is consistent with the oxygen isotope compositions which are 11.5 ± 0.6 for the biotite granites and 13.2 ± 0.8 for the tourmaline granites, suggesting derivation from different sources. The concentrations of TiO₂ and possibly Ba are higher and of MnO and B are lower in the biotite granites. The normative Orthoclase/Albite ratio is extremely variable ranging from 0.26 to 1.65 in the biotite granites to 0.01–1.75 in the tourmaline granites. Very few sample compositions fall near the high-pressure, watersaturated haplogranite minima-eutectic trend, indicating that the granites for the most part are not minimum melts generated under conditions with =1. Instead, most biotite granites are more potassic than the water-saturated minima and eutectics and in analogy with experimentally produced granitic melts, they are best explained by melting at 6 kbar, <1 and temperatures 800°C. Such high temperatures are also indicated by oxygen isotope equilibration among the constituent minerals (Nabelek et al. 1992). Several of the tourmaline granite samples contain virtually no K-feldspar and have oxygen isotope equilibration temperatures 716–775°C. Therefore, they must represent high-temperature accumulations of liquidus minerals crystallized under equilibrium conditions from melts more sodic than the water-saturated haplogranite minima or during fractionation of intruded melts into granite-pegmatite couplets accompanied by volatile-aided differentiation of the alkali elements. The indicated high temperatures, <1, the relatively high TiO₂ and Ba concentrations and the relatively low values of the biotite granites suggest that they were generated by high-extent, biotite-dehydration melting of an immature Archean metasedimentary source. The ascent of the hot melts may have triggered low-extent, muscovite-dehydration melting of schists higher in the crust producing the high-B, low-Ti melts comprising the periphery of the main pluton and the satellite intrusions. Alternatively, the different granite types may be the result of melting of a vertical section of the crust in response to the ascent of a thermal pulse, with the low- biotite granites generated at a deeper, hotter region and the high- tourmaline granites at a higher, cooler region of the crust. The low-Ti and high-B concentrations in the high- melts resulted in the crystallization of tourmaline rather than biotite, which promoted the observed differentiation of the melts into the granitic and pegmatitic layers found along the periphery of the main pluton and the satellite intrusions.     

Reaction spaces and P-T paths: from amphibole eclogite to greenschist facies in the Austroalpine domain (Oetztal Complex)

The transition from feldspar amphibolite to eclogite is a very wide P-T field that extends from some-where close to 5 kbar where the garnet-amphibole pair starts to appear, to 10–20 kbar at albite-out reaction, then up to 25–30 kbar where an hydrated phase such as amphibole can be stable with pyroxene and garnet. Thus the assemblage garnet (py)+ amphibole (tr)+epidote (cz)±plagioclase (ab)±clinopyroxene (di)±quartz (qz)±fluid is commonly reported in a large number of metamorphic terrains. These mineral phases are complex solid-solutions which adapt to variations in environmental conditions mainly by means of continuous reactions. The reaction space, introduced by. Thompson in 1982a, provides a very elegant and powerful tool to approach these high-variance assemblages. The reactions:

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.     

Prograde and retrograde equilibria in garnet-cordierite gneisses in south-central Massachusetts

Partial electron microprobe analyses of garnet, biotite and cordierite in sillimanite-K feldspar gneisses of the Brimfield Formation in south-central Massachusetts indicate that the compositions of these minerals are not constant in a thin section. The FeO/MgO mol ratio of biotite is sensitive to the nature of other FeO-MgO minerals occurring in close proximity. The most iron-rich biotites are those that do not contact either cordierite or garnet. The most iron-poor biotites occur as inclusions in garnet. Biotites in direct contact with either cordierite or garnet have intermediate FeO/MgO ratios. The bulk of a given grain of garnet or cordierite is homogeneous in composition. Chemical zoning is absent. All grains of garnet and cordierite in a thin section are constant in composition. However, where garnet and cordierite abut biotite, the FeO/MgO ratio of the garnet rim is increased and that of cordierite is decreased. The FeO/MgO ratios of garnet, cordierite and biotite bare a regular relation to each other indicating a possible equilibrium state. However the distribution coefficient defined by the compositions of minerals in direct contact are greater than those defined by the compositions of the interiors of garnet and cordierite matched with the compositions of biotites removed from these phases. This pattern is believed to be the result of two thermal events. The first event produced the mineral assemblages and widespread equilibrium was obtained. A subsequent retrograde event left the mineralogy intact but caused cation exchange reactions at immediate contacts between garnet, cordierite and biotite. The physical conditions of the first event are estimated at P=5–6 kb, T=700–750° C. The retrograde event occurred at lower temperatures and very low activities of H₂O since no muscovite is developed at microcline-sillimanite contacts.     

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

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