Constraining peak P–T conditions in UHP eclogites: calculated phase equilibria in kyanite‐ and phengite‐bearing eclogite of the Tromsø Nappe,Norway

Kyanite‐ and phengite‐bearing eclogites have better potential to constrain the peak metamorphic P–T conditions from phase equilibria between garnet + omphacite + kyanite + phengite + quartz/coesite than common, mostly bimineralic (garnet + omphacite) eclogites, as exemplified by this study. Textural relationships, conventional geothermobarometry and thermodynamic modelling have been used to constrain the metamorphic evolution of the Tromsdalstind eclogite from the Tromsø Nappe, one of the biggest exposures of eclogite in the Scandinavian Caledonides. The phase relationships demonstrate that the rock progressively dehydrated, resulting in breakdown of amphibole and zoisite at increasing pressure. The peak‐pressure mineral assemblage was garnet + omphacite + kyanite + phengite + coesite, inferred from polycrystalline quartz included in radially fractured omphacite. This omphacite, with up to 37 mol.% of jadeite and 3% of the Ca‐Eskola component, contains oriented rods of silica composition. Garnet shows higher grossular (X_Grs = 0.25–0.29), but lower pyrope‐content (X_Prp = 0. 37–0.39) in the core than the rim, while phengite contains up to 3.5 Si pfu. The compositional isopleths for garnet core, phengite and omphacite constrain the P–T conditions to 3.2–3.5 GPa and 720–800 °C, in good agreement with the results obtained from conventional geothermobarometry (3.2–3.5 GPa & 730–780 °C). Peak‐pressure assemblage is variably overprinted by symplectites of diopside + plagioclase after omphacite, biotite and plagioclase after phengite, and sapphirine + spinel + corundum + plagioclase after kyanite. Exhumation from ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) conditions to 1.3–1.5 GPa at 740–770 °C is constrained by the garnet rim (X_Ca^Grt = 0.18–0.21) and symplectite clinopyroxene (X_Na^Cpx = 0.13–0.21), and to 0.5–0.7 GPa at 700–800 °C by sapphirine (X_Mg = 0.86–0.87) and spinel (X_Mg = 0.60–0.62) compositional isopleths. UHP metamorphism in the Tromsø Nappe is more widespread than previously known. Available data suggest that UHP eclogites were uplifted to lower crustal levels rapidly, within a short time interval (452–449 Ma) prior to the Scandian collision between Laurentia and Baltica. The Tromsø Nappe as the highest tectonic unit of the North Norwegian Caledonides is considered to be of Laurentian origin and UHP metamorphism could have resulted from subduction along the Laurentian continental margin. An alternative is that the Tromsø Nappe belonged to a continental margin of Baltica, which had already been subducted before the terminal Scandian collision, and was emplaced as an out‐of‐sequence thrust during the Scandian lateral transport of nappes.     

Geothermobarometry of a stilpnomelane–garnet-bearing metapegmatite: P–T constraints on the Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint of the Austroalpine nappes north of the Tauern Window

The Ordovician Kellerjochgneiss (Schwaz Augengneiss) is a polymetamorphic orthogneiss-bearing unit and is part of the Austroalpine basement nappes north of the Tauern Window. Within the Kellerjochgneiss a small, strongly deformed metapegmatite dike occurs. The pegmatite crosscuts the gneiss discordantly and contains the mineral assemblage muscovite 1,2+plagioclase+K-feldspar+chlorite+quartz+garnet 1 (Alm_67–76Andr_0.9–2Sps_17–28Prp_0.4–5)+garnet 2 (Grs_36–46Alm_24–32Andr_8–21Sps_15–17Prp_0–1)±stilpnomelane±biotite±clinozoisite. The magmatic protolith assemblage is comprised of relict K-feldspar, quartz and garnet 1. Textural observations indicate that biotite and muscovite cores (muscovite 1) are either part of the magmatic- or an earlier (Variscan?) metamorphic assemblage. Geothermobarometry of the metapegmatite was done on the latest-stage (Eo-Alpine) mineral assemblage garnet 2+muscovite 2+chlorite+stilpnomelane+plagioclase+quartz. Calculations of H₂O-absent intersections in the system [KCNFMAS] with the multi-equilibrium program THERMOCALC v.3.1 yielded P–T estimates of 4.4 to 6.7 kbar and 321°C to 376°C. Calculations of the P–T conditions by using the assemblage muscovite 2+chlorite+stilpnomelane+quartz yielded slightly higher pressures of 6.4 to 7.2 kbar at temperatures of 310–325°C. Correlating these P–T data with geochronological data from the neighbouring lithologies (Kellerjochgneiss, Innsbruck Quartzphyllite, Wildschönau Schists) and with structural investigations from these units indicate that the P–T estimates obtained in this investigation represent the Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint. Hence, these unusual rocks provide important information on the Eo-Alpine P–T conditions since most samples studied from the investigated Austroalpine basement nappes north of the Tauern Window rarely contain mineral assemblages suitable for geothermobarometry.     

Petrogenesis and implications of jadeite‐bearing kyanite eclogite from the Sanbagawa belt (SW Japan)

Jadeite‐bearing kyanite eclogite has been discovered in the Iratsu body of the Sanbagawa belt, SW Japan. The jadeite + kyanite assemblage is stable at higher pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions or lower H₂O activity [a(H₂O)] than paragonite, although paragonite‐bearing eclogite is common in the Sanbagawa belt. The newly discovered eclogite is a massive metagabbro with the peak‐P assemblage garnet + omphacite + jadeite + kyanite + phengite + quartz + rutile. Impure jadeite is exclusively present as inclusions in garnet. The compositional gap between the coexisting omphacite (P2/n) and impure jadeite (C2/c) suggests relatively low metamorphic temperatures of 510–620 °C. Multi‐equilibrium thermobarometry for the assemblage garnet + omphacite + kyanite + phengite + quartz gives peak‐P conditions of ~2.5 GPa, 570 °C. Crystallization of jadeite in the metagabbro is attributed to Na‐ and Al‐rich effective bulk composition due to the persistence of relict Ca‐rich clinopyroxene at the peak‐P stage. By subtracting relict clinopyroxene from the whole‐rock composition, pseudosection modelling satisfactorily reproduces the observed jadeite‐bearing assemblage and mineral compositions at ~2.4–2.5 GPa, 570–610 °C and a(H₂O) >0.6. The relatively high pressure conditions derived from the jadeite‐bearing kyanite eclogite are further supported by high residual pressures of quartz inclusions in garnet. The maximum depth of exhumation in the Sanbagawa belt (~80 km) suggests decoupling of the slab–mantle wedge interface at this depth.     

Petrology of ultrahigh-pressure rocks from the southern Su-Lu region, eastern China

Abstract In the Su-Lu ultrahigh- P terrane, eastern China, many coesite-bearing eclogite pods and layers within biotite gneiss occur together with interlayered metasediments now represented by garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite. In addition to garnet + omphacite + rutile + coesite, other peak-stage minerals in some eclogites include kyanite, phengite, epidote, zoisite, talc, nyböite and high-Al titanite. The garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite contain jadeite + quartz + garnet + rutile ± zoisite ± apatite and quartz + kyanite + garnet + epidote + phengite + rutile ± omphacite assemblages, respectively. Coesite and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet, omphacite, jadeite, kyanite and epidote from both eclogites and metasediments. Study of major elements indicates that the protolith of the garnet-quartz jadeite rock and the kyanite quartzite was supracrustal sediments. Most eclogites have basaltic composition; some have experienced variable 'crustal'contamination or metasomatism, and others may have had a basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rock protolith.
The Su-Lu ultrahigh- P rocks have been subjected to multi-stage recrystallization and exhibit a clockwise P-T path. Inclusion assemblages within garnet record a pre-eclogite epidote amphibolite facies metamorphic event. Ultrahigh- P peak metamorphism took place at 700–890° C and P >28 kbar at c . 210–230 Ma. The symplectitic assemblage plagioclase + hornblende ± epidote ± biotite + titanite implies amphibolite facies retrogressive metamorphism during exhumation at c . 180–200 Ma. Metasedimentary and metamafic lithologies have similar P-T paths. Several lines of evidence indicate that the supracrustal rocks were subducted to mantle depths and experienced in-situ ultrahigh- P metamorphism during the Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons.     

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.     

Integrating X‐ray mapping and microtomography of garnet with thermobarometry to define the P–T evolution of the (near) UHP Międzygórze eclogite,Sudetes, SW Poland

Detailed X‐ray compositional mapping and microtomography have revealed the complex zoning and growth history of garnet in a kyanite‐bearing eclogite. The garnet occurs as clusters of coalesced grains with cores revealing slightly higher Ca and lower Mg than the rims forming the coalescence zones between the grains. Core regions of the garnet host inclusions of omphacite with the highest jadeite, and phengite with the highest Si, similar to values in the cores of omphacite and phengite located in the matrix. Therefore, the core compositions of garnet, omphacite, and phengite have been chosen for the peak pressure estimate. Coupled conventional thermobarometry, average P–T, and phase equilibrium modelling in the NCKFMMnASHT system yields P–T conditions of 26–30 kbar at 800–930°C. Although coesite is not preserved, these P–T conditions partially overlap the coesite stability field, suggesting near ultra‐high–pressure (UHP) conditions during the formation of this eclogite. Therefore, the peak pressure assemblage is suggested to have been garnet–omphacite–kyanite–phengite–coesite/quartz–rutile. Additional lines of evidence for the possible UHP origin of the Mi?dzygórze eclogite are the presence of rod‐shaped inclusions of quartz parallel to the c‐axis in omphacite as well as relatively high values of Ca‐Tschermak and Ca‐Eskola components. Late zoisite, rare diopside–plagioclase symplectites rimming omphacite, and minor phlogopite–plagioclase symplectites replacing phengite formed during retrogression together with later amphibole. These retrograde assemblages lack minerals typical of granulite facies, which suggests simultaneous decompression and cooling during exhumation before the crustal‐scale folding that was responsible for final exhumation of the eclogite.     

Eclogite from the Kumon range,Myanmar: Petrology and tectonic implications

This paper presents the first report on the occurrence of eclogite from the Kumon range of the Western province in Myanmar, which is in the southeastern extension of the Himalayan orogenic belt. The eclogite is mainly composed of omphacite, garnet, hornblende/edenite/katophorite/taramite, biotite, quartz, and rutile. The garnet grains in the eclogite usually show textures of barrier reef, atoll, and table reef types, and have a wide compositional range of Alm_58–70Sps_1–2Prp_9–16Grs_14–31. Omphacite grains that occur as garnet inclusions and as isolated crystals in the matrix have similar compositions of Jd_34–45 and Jd_37–44, respectively. Lesser amounts of jadeitic clinopyroxene (Jd_21–38), phengite, biotite, albite, and quartz occur in the lagoon of barrier reef and atoll garnet grains. The matrix omphacite is partly replaced by symplectite of sodic clinopyroxene of Jd_20–29 and albite. The lower limits of the pressure/temperature during the eclogite stage, which are defined by the assemblage of garnet, omphacite (Jd_40–45), and quartz, are 1.2–1.3 GPa/530–615 °C. The finding of eclogite from Myanmar suggests the possibility of a wide occurrence of high-pressure metamorphic rocks in the ophiolite zone along the southeastern extension of the Indus-Yarlung Zangbo suture in Myanmar and Indochina.     

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the forbidden zone: the Xugou garnet peridotite, Sulu terrane, eastern China

The Xugou garnet peridotite body of the southern Sulu ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) terrane is enclosed in felsic gneiss, bounded by faults, and consists of harzburgite and lenses of garnet clinopyroxenite and eclogite. The peridotite is composed of variable amounts of olivine (Fo₉₁), enstatite (En_92?93), garnet (Alm_20?23Prp_53?58Knr_6?9Grs_12?18), diopside and rare chromite. The ultramafic protolith has a depleted residual mantle composition, indicated by a high‐Mg number, very low CaO, Al₂O₃ and total REE contents compared to primary mantle and other Sulu peridotites. Most garnet (Prp_44?58) clinopyroxenites are foliated. Except for rare kyanite‐bearing eclogitic bands, most eclogites contain a simple assemblage of garnet (Alm_29?34Prp_32?50Grs_15?39) + omphacite (Jd_24?36) + minor rutile. Clinopyroxenite and eclogite exhibit LREE‐depleted and LREE‐enriched patterns, respectively, but both have flat HREE patterns. Normalized La, Sm and Yb contents indicate that both eclogite and garnet clinopyroxenite formed by high‐pressure crystal accumulation (+ variable trapped melt) from melts resulting from two‐stage partial melting of a mantle source. Recrystallized textures and P–T estimates of 780–870 °C, 5–7 GPa and a metamorphic age of 231 ± 11 Ma indicate that both mafic and ultramafic protoliths experienced Triassic UHP metamorphism in the P–T forbidden zone with an extremely low thermal gradient (< 5 °C km^?1), and multistage retrograde recrystallization during exhumation. Develop of prehnite veins in clinopyroxenite, eclogite, felsic blocks and country rock gneiss, and replacements of eclogitic minerals by prehnite, albite, white mica, and K‐feldspar indicate low‐temperature metasomatism.     

Petrology of high-pressure granulites from the eastern Himalayan syntaxis

The eastern Himalayan syntaxis, situated at the eastern terminus of the Himalayas, is the least-known segment of the Himalayas. Recent research in this area has revealed that the syntaxis consists of the Gangdise, the Yarlung Zangbo, and the Himalayan units, each of which is bounded by faults. The Himalayan unit, the northernmost exposed part of the Indian plate, mainly contains amphibolite facies rocks, marked by the assemblages staurolite+kyanite+plagioclase+biotite+muscovite±sillimanite and garnet+amphibole+plagioclase, in the south; to the north, low- to medium-pressure granulite grade pelitic gneisses and marbles are present and are characterized by the assemblages garnet+sillimanite+K-feldspar+plagioclase or antiperthite+biotite+quartz±spinel±cordierite±orthopyroxene in gneisses, and anorthite+diopside±wollastonite and plagioclase+diopside+quartz+phlogopite+calcite in marbles. Within this unit, the Namula thrust system is a series of moderately north-dipping structures that displaced the granulite facies rocks southwards over the amphibolite facies rocks. High-pressure granulites occur as relics within these granulite facies rocks and contain garnet–kyanite granulite and garnet clinopyroxenite. The peak assemblage of the garnet–kyanite granulite includes garnet (core part)+kyanite+ternary feldspar+quartz+rutile. Sillimanite+garnet (rim part)+K-feldspar+ oligoclase+ilmenite+biotite and spinel+albite+biotite or spinel+cordierite±orthopyroxene, which are coronas around sillimanite and garnet, are retrograde products of this peak assemblage. Another peak assemblage includes very-high-Ca garnet (CaO 32–34 wt%, Alm₁₀±Grs_>80) and diopside (CaO 22–24 wt%), scapolite, meionite, quartz, and accessory Al-bearing titanite (Al₂O₃ 4–4.5 wt%). The diopside has kink bands. Partial or complete breakdown of Ca-rich garnet during post-peak metamorphism produced pseudomorphs and coronas consisting of fine-grained symplectic intergrowths of hedenbergite and anorthite. Thermobarometric estimates in combination with reaction textures, mineral compositions, and recent experimental studies indicate that these peak assemblages were formed at P=c. 1.7–1.8 GPa, T =c. 890 °C, and the retrograde assemblages experienced near-isothermal decompression to P=0.5±0.1 GPa, T =850±50 °C. The whole-rock compositions indicate that marble and pelite are plausible candidates for the protoliths. These facts suggest the following (1) sedimentary rocks were transported to upper-mantle depths and equilibrated at those conditions to form these high-pressure granulites, which were then emplaced into the crust quickly. During the rapid exhumation of these rocks, the earlier high-pressure assemblages were overprinted by the later low- to medium-pressure assemblages, that is, the high-pressure granulite belt formed in the syntaxis. (2) The Namula thrust system is an important tectonic boundary in the syntaxis, or even in the Higher Himalaya more generally.     

Jadeite–chloritoid–glaucophane–lawsonite blueschists in north-west Turkey: unusually high P/T ratios in continental crust

Sodic metapelites with jadeite, chloritoid, glaucophane and lawsonite form a coherent regional metamorphic sequence, several tens of square kilometres in size, and over a kilometre thick, in the Orhaneli region of northwest Turkey. The low‐variance mineral assemblage in the sodic metapelites is quartz + phengite + jadeite + glaucophane + chloritoid + lawsonite. The associated metabasites are characterized by sodic amphibole + lawsonite ± garnet paragenesis. The stable coexistence of jadeite + chloritoid + glaucophane + lawsonite, not reported before, indicates metamorphic pressures of 24 ± 3 kbar and temperatures of 430 ± 30 °C for the peak blueschist facies conditions. These P–T conditions correspond to a geotherm of 5 °C km^?1, one of the lowest recorded in continental crustal rocks. The low geotherm, and the known rate of convergence during the Cretaceous subduction suggest low shear stresses at the top of the downgoing continental slab.     

High-pressure eclogites in northern Jiangsu – southern Shandong province, eastern China

Abstract Eclogites are distributed for more than 500 km along a major tectonic boundary between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons in central and eastern China. These eclogites usually have high-P assemblages including omphacite + kyanite and/or coesite (or its pseudomorph), and form a high-P eclogite terrane. They occur as isolated lenses or blocks 10 cm to 300 m long in gneisses (Type I), serpentinized garnet peridotites (Type II) and marbles (Type III). Type I eclogites were formed by prograde metamorphism, and their primary metamorphic mineral assemblage consists mainly of garnet [pyrope (Prp) = 15–40 mol%], omphacite [jadeite (Jd) = 34–64 mol%], pargasitic amphibole, kyanite, phengitic muscovite, zoisite, an SiO₂ phase, apatite, rutile and zircon. Type II eclogites characteristically contain no SiO₂ phase, and are divided into prograde eclogites and mantle-derived eclogites. The prograde eclogites of Type II are petrographically similar to Type I eclogites. The mantle-derived eclogites have high MgO/(FeO + Fe₂O₃) and Cr₂O₃ compositions in bulk rock and minerals, and consist mainly of pyrope-rich garnet (Prp = 48–60 mol%), sodic augite (Jd = 10–27 mol%) and rutile. Type III eclogites have an unusual mineral assemblage of grossular-rich (Grs = 57 mol%) garnet + omphacite (Jd = 30–34 mol%) + pargasite + rutile. Pargasitic and taramitic amphiboles, calcic plagioclase (An₆₈), epidote, zoisite, K-feldspar and paragonite occur as inclusions in garnet and omphacite in the prograde eclogites. This suggests that the prograde eclogites were formed by recrystallization of epidote amphibolite and/or amphibolite facies rocks with near-isothermal compression reflecting crustal thickening during continent–continent collision of late Proterozoic age. Equilibrium conditions of the prograde eclogites range from P > 26 kbar and T= 500–750°C in the western part to P > 28 kbar and T= 810–880°C in the eastern part of the high-P eclogite terrane. The prograde eclogites in the eastern part are considered to have been derived from a deeper position than those in the western part. Subsequent reactions, manifested by (1) narrow rims of sodic plagioclase or paragonite on kyanite and (2) symplectites between omphacite and quartz are interpreted as an effect of near-isothermal decompression during the retrograde stage. The conditions at which symplectites re-equilibrated tend to increase from west (P < 10 kbar and T < 580°C) to east (P > 9 kbar and T > 680°C). Equilibrium temperatures of Type II mantle-derived eclogites and Type III eclogite are 730–750°C and 680°C, respectively.     

Revised empirical garnet–biotite–muscovite–plagioclase geobarometer in metapelites

The garnet–biotite–muscovite–plagioclase (GBMP) barometer was empirically revised for P–T conditions of 1–14 kbar and 450–840 °C, using 263 metapelitic rock samples from all over the world. This barometer is based on activity models for garnet, biotite and plagioclase identical to those of the well‐calibrated garnet–biotite thermometer and the garnet–aluminosilicate–plagioclase–quartz (GASP) barometer. The GBMP barometer is less temperature dependent than the GASP barometer and can be applied to either Al₂SiO₅‐absent or Al₂SiO₅‐bearing metapelites. The total error of the GBMP barometer is estimated to be about ±1.2 kbar on considering input temperature error and analytical errors of chemical compositions of the phases involved. The random error of the GBMP barometer is evenly distributed with respect to pressure, temperature and mineral composition. Simultaneous application of the GBMP barometer and the garnet–biotite thermometer identifies the correct stability field for Al₂SiO₅‐bearing metapelites. Application of the GBMP barometer to metapelitic rocks within the same geological terranes or thermal contact aureoles yielded similar pressures within error. A spreadsheet for implementing the proposed GBMP geobarometer is supplied on the journal's website.     

The pyrope-coesite rocks and their country rocks at Parigi,Dora Maira Massif,Western Alps: detailed petrography,mineral chemistry and PT-path

Both the coarse- and fine-grained varieties of the partly coesite-bearing pyrope-quartzites, their interlayered jadeite-kyanite rocks, and the biotite-phengite gneiss country rock common to all of them were subjected to detailed petrographic and textural studies in order to determine the sequence of crystallisation of their mineral constituents, which were also studied analytically by microprobe. Prior to pyrope and coesite growth, the Mg-rich metapelites were talc-kyanite-chlorite-rutile-ellenbergerite schists which — upon continued prograde metamorphism — developed first pyrope megacrysts in silica-deficient local environments at the expense of chlorite + talc + kyanite, and subsequently the smaller pyrope crystals with coesite inclusions from reacting talc + kyanite. Based on geobarometrically useful mineral inclusions as well as on experimentally determined phase relations, a prograde PT-path — simplified for water activity = 1 — is constructed which passes through the approximate PT-conditions 16 kbar and 560° C, 29 kbar and 720° C, and finally up to 37 kbar at about 800° C, where the Mg-rich metapelite was a pyrope-coesite rock with phengite, kyanite, and talc still present. During the retrograde path, pyrope was altered metasomatically either into phlogopite + kyanite + quartz or, at a later stage, to chlorite + muscovite + quartz. Both assemblages yield PT-constraints, the latter about 7–9 kbar, 500–600° C. The country rock gneisses have also endured high-pressures of at least 15 kbar, but they provide mostly constraints on the lowest portion of the uplift conditions within the greenschist facies (about 5 kbar, 450° C). Microprobe data are presented for the following minerals: pyrope, ellenbergerite, dumortierite (unusually MgTi-rich), jadeite, vermiculite (formed after Na-phlogopite?), paragonite, and for several generations of phengite, chlorite, talc, phlogopite, dravite, and glaucophane in the high-pressure rocks, as well as for biotite, chlorite, phengites, epidote, garnet, albite, and K-feldspar in the country rock gneisses. An outstanding open problem identified in this study is the preservation of minerals as inclusions within kyanite and pyrope beyond their PT-stability limits.     

Jadeitites, albitites and related rocks from the Motagua Fault Zone, Guatemala

Jadeitites from Guatemala are found as weathered blocks in tectonized serpentinite in a 15-km zone north of the Motagua Fault Zone. Rock types found with jadeitite include albitites, albite-mica rocks, omphacite/taramitic amphibole-bearing metabasites, chlorite-actinolite schists, talc-carbonate rocks and antigorite schists. In addition to the predominant jadeitic (Jd₉₃_₁₀₀) pyroxene, common phases in jadeitite include micas (paragonite and/or phengite ± rarer phlogopite), omphacite, albite, titanite /Pm zircon, apatite and graphite. Conditions of jadeitite formation are 100-400d? C, 5-11 kbar with 0.0 > log₁₀a_sio2≥= 0.7. Fluid inclusions, coarse textures, vein structures, and rhythmic zoning of pyroxene indicate an aqueuos fluid was involved. Jadeitites are either (1) metasomatic modifications of former felsic-to-pelitic inclusions that have undergone silica depletion plus efficient soda exchange and enrichment, or (2) solution precipitations derived from such a source. The close spatial relationship of faults and shear zones, serpentinites, and jadeitites suggests jadeitites form in a relatively high-P/T setting with substantial flow of sodic fluid in a tectonized zone. Most Guatemalan jadeitites are extensively altered to analcime, albite, taramitic amphibole, (clino)zoisite ± nepheline and preiswerkite. This alteration reflects depressurization /Pm heating to below the jadeite + fluid = analcime reaction at high a_Na. With progressive alteration, analcime and nepheline are replaced by albite; the increase in silica content may result from fluid flowing up a tectonized zone reaching saturation with an albite assemblage. Albitite phases, albite, actinolite, zoisite, /Pm chlorite, phengite, K-feldspar and quartz, record conditions of c. 3-8 kbar at T < 400d? C, indicating a clockwise P-T trajectory of the blocks. Barium aluminosilicates—banalsite, celsian, cymrite and hyalophane—are common minor late-stage phases in jadeitites and albite-rich rocks. Barian phengite is common in albite-mica rocks.     

Vapor-Absent Melting of Tonalite at 15-32 kbar

The behavior of igneous continental crust during subductionis modeled by means of vapor-absent partial melting experimentson a tonalite, containing equal amounts of biotite and hornblende,at pressures of 15–32 kbar. The experiments produce leucograniticmelts coexisting with garnet + omphacitic clinopyroxene + K-feldspar+ kyanite + quartz/coesite ± phengite ± zoisite.Experimental constraints and geometrical analysis of phase equilibriashow that the hydrous phases that control dehydration-meltingof tonalites in deep thickened continental crust and in theupper mantle are phengite and zoisite. The negatively slopingamphibole + quartz vapor-absent solidus characteristic of amphibolitesis largely suppressed in tonalites, because amphibole is eliminatedby water-conserving reactions that also consume K-feldspar andkyanite and produce phengite and zoisite. The temperature atwhich melt first appears in the experiments varies from <900°Cat 15 kbar, to 1000°C at 27 kbar, to <925°C at 32kbar. Moderate degrees of partial melting (20–30%) yieldresidual assemblages with mantle-like densities but which canstill contain minor amounts of hydrous phases. Partial meltingof tonalitic crust during continental subduction can thus generateincompatible element-rich residues that would be able to remainin the mantle indefinitely, acting as long-term sources of metasomaticfluids. KEY WORDS: mantle; melting; metasomatism; tonalite; UHP metamorphism     

Dehydration of metapelites during high‐P metamorphism: The coupling between fluid sources and fluid sinks

Polymetamorphic metapelites and embedded eclogites share a complex, episodic interplay of dehydration and fluid infiltration at the eclogite type‐locality (Saualpe–Koralpe, Eastern Alps, Austria). The metapelites inherited a fluid content (i.e. mineral‐bound OH expressed in terms of mol.% H₂O) of ～6–7 mol.% H₂O from high‐T–low‐P metamorphism experienced during the Permian. At or near P_max of the subsequent Eoalpine event (～20 kbar and 680^°C), the breakdown of paragonite to Na‐rich clinopyroxene and kyanite in metapelites released a discrete pulse of hydrous fluid. Prior to the dehydration event, the rocks were largely fluid absent, allowing only limited re‐equilibration during the prograde Eoalpine evolution. Similarly, Permian‐aged gabbros have persisted metastably due to the absence of a catalyst prior to fluid‐induced re‐equilibration. The fluid triggered partial to complete eclogitization along a fluid infiltration front partially preserved in metagabbro. Near‐isothermal decompression to ～7.5–10 kbar and 670–690°C took place under fluid‐absent conditions. After decompression, a second breakdown of phengitic white mica and garnet produced muscovite, biotite, plagioclase and ～0.1–0.7 mol.% H₂O that enhanced extensive fluid‐aided re‐equilibration of the metapelites. Potential relicts of high‐P assemblages were largely obliterated and replaced by the recurrent amphibolite facies assemblage garnet+biotite+staurolite+kyanite+muscovite+plagioclase+ilmenite+quartz. The hydrous fluid originating from the metapelites infiltrated the embedded eclogites at these P–T conditions and induced the local breakdown of the peak assemblage omphacite and garnet to fine‐grained symplectites of diopside and plagioclase. Further fluid infiltration led to the formation of hornblende–quartz poikiloblasts at the expense of the symplectites. The metapelites re‐equilibrated until the growth of retrograde staurolite consumed any remaining free fluid, thereby terminating the process. Further re‐equilibration is inhibited by both the lack of a catalytic fluid and H₂O as a reactant essential for rehydration reactions. The interplay between fluid sources and fluid sinks describes a closed cycle for the rocks at the eclogite type‐locality. Final, near‐isobaric cooling is indicated by a slight increase of X_Fe in garnet rims. Post‐decompression dehydration and fluid‐aided re‐equilibration arrested by the introduction of staurolite might explain the apparently homogeneous retrogression conditions as well as the notorious absence of diagnostic high‐P assemblages in metapelites at the eclogite type‐locality.     

Experimental evidence for diamond-facies metamorphism in the Dora-Maira massif

The peak metamorphic conditions of subducted continental crust in the Dora-Maira massif (Western Alps) have been revised by combining experimental results in the KCMASH system with petrologic information from whiteschists. Textural observations in whiteschists suggest that the peak metamorphic assemblage garnet+phengite+kyanite+coesite±talc originates from the reaction kyanite+talc↔garnet+coesite+liquid. In the experimentally determined petrogenetic grid, this reaction occurs above 45 kbar at 730 °C. At lower pressures, talc reacts either to orthopyroxene and coesite or, together with phengite, to biotite, coesite and kyanite. The liberated liquid contains probably similar amounts of H₂O and dissolved granitic components. The composition of the liquid in the whiteschists at peak metamorphic conditions, a major unknown in earlier studies, was probably very similar to the liquid composition produced in the experiments. Therefore, the experimentally determined petrogenetic grid represents a good model for the estimation of the peak metamorphic conditions in whiteschists. Experimentally determined Si-isopleths for phengite further constrain peak pressures to 43 kbar for the measured Si=3.60 of phengite in the natural whiteschists. All these data provide evidence that the whiteschists reached diamond-facies conditions.

The fluid-absent equilibrium 4 kyanite+3 CELADONITE=4 coesite+3 muscovite+pyrope has been calibrated on the basis of garnet and phengite compositions in the experiments and serves as a geothermobarometer for ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metapelites. For graphite-bearing metapelites and kyanite–phengite eclogites, forming the country rocks of the whiteschists, peak metamorphic pressures of about 44±3 kbar were calculated from this barometer for temperatures of 750 °C estimated from garnet–phengite thermometry. Therefore, the whole ultra-high-pressure unit of the Dora-Maira massif most likely experienced peak metamorphic conditions in the diamond stability field. While graphite is common in the metapelites, diamond has not been found so far. The absence of metamorphic microdiamonds might be explained by the low temperature of metamorphism, the absence of a free fluid phase in the metapelites and a short residence time in diamond-facies conditions resulting in kinetic problems in the conversion of graphite to diamond.     

P–T–t evolution and textural evidence for decompression of Pan-African high-pressure granulites, Lurio Belt, north-eastern Mozambique

Pan‐African high‐pressure granulites occur as boudins and layers in the Lurio Belt in north‐eastern Mozambique, eastern Africa. Mafic granulites contain the mineral assemblage garnet + clinopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz ± magnesiohastingsite. Garnet porphyroblasts are zoned with increasing almandine and spessartine contents and decreasing grossular and pyrope contents from core (Alm₄₆Prp₃₂Grs₂₁Sps₂) to rim (Alm₅₂Prp₂₆Grs₁₉Sps₃). This pattern is interpreted as a retrograde diffusion zoning with the preserved core chemistry representing the peak metamorphic composition. Mineral reaction textures occur in the form of monomineralic and composite plagioclase ± orthopyroxene ± amphibole ± biotite ± magnetite coronas around garnet porphyroblasts. Thermobarometry indicates peak metamorphic conditions of up to 1.57 ± 0.14 GPa and 949 ± 92 °C (stage I), corresponding to crustal depths of ～55 km. Zircon yielded an U–Pb age of 557 ± 16 Ma, inferred to date crystallization of zircon during peak or immediately post‐peak metamorphism. Formation of plagioclase + orthopyroxene‐bearing coronas surrounding garnet indicates a near‐isothermal decompression of the high‐pressure granulites to lower pressure granulite facies conditions (stage II). Development of plagioclase + amphibole‐coronas enclosing the same garnet porphyroblasts shows subsequent cooling into amphibolite facies conditions (stage III). Symplectitic textures of the corona assemblages indicate rapid decompression. The high‐pressure granulite facies metamorphism of the Lurio Belt, followed by near‐isothermal decompression and subsequent cooling, is in accordance with a long‐lived tectonic history accompanied by high magmatic activity in the Lurio Belt during the late Neoproterozoic–early Palaeozoic East‐African–Antarctic orogeny.     

The juxtaposition of eclogite and mid‐crustal rocks in the Orlica–Śnieżnik Dome,Bohemian Massif

Eclogite, felsic orthogneiss and garnet–staurolite metapelite occur in a 5 km long profile in the area of Mi?dzygórze in the Orlica–?nie?nik dome (Bohemian Massif). Petrographic observations and mineral equilibria modelling, in the context of detailed structural work, are used to document the close juxtaposition of high‐pressure and medium‐pressure rocks. The structural succession in all lithologies shows an early shallow‐dipping fabric, S1, that is folded by upright folds and overprinted by a heterogeneously developed subvertical foliation, S2. Late recumbent folds associated with a weak shallow‐dipping axial‐plane cleavage, S3, occur locally. The S1 fabric in the eclogite is defined by alternation of garnet‐rich (grs = 22–29 mol.%) and omphacite‐rich (jd = 33–36 mol.%) layers with oriented muscovite (Si = 3.26–3.31 p.f.u.) and accessory kyanite, zoisite, rutile and quartz, indicating conditions of ～19–22 kbar and ～700–750 °C. The assemblage in the retrograde S2 fabric is formed by amphibole, plagioclase, biotite and relict rutile surrounded by ilmenite and sphene that is compatible with decompression and cooling from ～9 kbar and ～730 °C to 5–6 kbar and 600–650 °C. The S3 fabric contains in addition domains with albite, chlorite, K‐feldspar and magnetite indicating cooling to greenschist facies conditions. The metapelites are composed of garnet, staurolite, muscovite, biotite, quartz, ilmenite and chlorite. Chemical zoning of garnet cores that contain straight ilmenite and staurolite inclusion trails oriented perpendicular to the external S2 fabric indicates prograde growth, from ～5 kbar and ～520 °C to ～7 kbar and ～610 °C, during the formation of the S1 fabric. Inclusion trails parallel with the S2 fabric at garnet and staurolite rims are interpreted to be a continuation of the prograde path to ～7.5 and ～630 °C in the S2 fabric. Matrix chlorite parallel to the S2 foliation indicates that the subvertical fabric was still active below 550 °C. The axial planar S2 fabrics developed during upright folding are associated with retrogression of the eclogite under amphibolite facies conditions, and with prograde evolution in the metapelites, associated with their juxtaposition. The shared part of the eclogite and metapelite P–T paths during the development of the subvertical fabric reflects their exhumation together.     

Geothermobarometry of UHP and HP eclogites and schists – an evaluation of equilibria among garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–phengite–coesite/quartz

Geothermometry of eclogites and other high pressure (HP)/ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) rocks has been a challenge, due to severe problems related to the reliability of the garnet–clinopyroxene Fe–Mg exchange thermometer to omphacite‐bearing assemblages. Likewise, reliable geobarometers for eclogites and related HP/UHP rocks are scarce. In this paper, a set of internally consistent geothermobarometric expressions have been formulated for reactions between the UHP assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–phengite–coesite, and the corresponding HP assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–phengite–quartz. In the system KCMASH, the end members grossular (Grs) and pyrope (Prp) in garnet, diopside (Di) in clinopyroxene, muscovite (Ms) and celadonite (Cel) in phengite together with kyanite and coesite or quartz define invariant points in the coesite and quartz stability field, respectively, depending on which SiO₂ polymorph is stable. Thus, a set of net transfer reactions including these end members will uniquely define equilibrium temperatures and pressures for phengite–kyanite–SiO₂‐bearing eclogites. Application to relevant eclogites from various localities worldwide show good consistency with petrographic evidence. Eclogites containing either coesite or polycrystalline quartz after coesite all plot within the coesite stability field, while typical quartz‐bearing eclogites with no evidence of former coesite fall within the quartz stability field. Diamondiferous coesite–kyanite eclogite and grospydite xenoliths in kimberlites all fall into the diamond stability field. The present method also yields consistent values as compared with the garnet–clinopyroxene Fe–Mg geothermometer for these kinds of rocks, but also indicates some unsystematic scatter of the latter thermometer. The net transfer geothermobarometric method presented in this paper is suggested to be less affected by later thermal re‐equilibration than common cation exchange thermometers.