High-Pressure Metamorphism in the SW Tauern Window, Austria: P-T Paths from Hornblende-Kyanite-Staurolite Schists

The hornblende garbenschist horizon of the Lower Schieferhulleseries (LSH) in the SW Tauern Window, Austria, contains theassemblage hornblende + kyanite + staurolite + garnet + biotite+ epidote + plagioclase + ankerite + quartz + rutile + ilmenite,with either chlorite or paragonite present in all samples. Theseassemblages are divariant in the system SiO₂-Al₂O₃-TiO₂-Fe₂O₃-MgO-FeO-MnO-CaO-Na₂O-K₂O-H₂O-CO₂.Garnet-biotite geothermometry yields temperatures of final equilibrationof {small tilde}550 °C, and garnet-plagioclase-kyanite-quartzgeobarometry indicates pressures of 6–8 kb for the matrixassemblage and 9–10 kb for plagioclase inclusions in garnet.Quantitative modelling of zoned garnet, hornblende, and plagioclaseindicates growth and equilibration along a decompression pathfrom {small tilde}530 °C, 10 kb to {small tilde}550 °C,7 kb. Fluid inclusion data constrain the uplift path to havepassed through a point at {small tilde} 375 °C, 1.5 kb. These data permit the construction of a relatively completeP-T loop for metamorphism associated with the Alpine orogeniccycle in the LSH of the SW Tauern Window. The maximum pressureconditions ({small tilde}10 kb at 530 °C) recorded alongthis loop are considerably higher than previous estimates of5–7 kb for the region. Simple overthrust models developedfor the Tauern Window cannot account for pressures of this magnitude;a more likely scenario involves partial subduction of the rocksto a depth of {small tilde}35 km, followed by prolonged heatingin response to decay of the subduction isotherms. Initial upliftappears to have been rapid and occurred along a nearly isothermalpath. Significant cooling did not occur until the rocks werewithin {small tilde}5 km of the surface. Detailed tectonic modelsfor the evolution of the Tauern Window must be able to accountfor the quantitative features of the P-T loop.     

P-T evolution of metasediments from the Eclogite Zone, south-central Tauern Window, Austria

Petrologic data on the paragenesis of (I) kyanite-zoisite marbles and (II) garnet-chloritoid quartz-mica schists are presented with the goal of providing constraints on the pressure-temperature evolution of the Eclogite Zone, Tauern Window, Austria. The peak metamorphic assemblages in the two rock types are: (I) kyanite + zoisite + dolomite + quartz; zoisite + muscovite + dolomite + calcite + quartz; and (II) garnet + chloritoid + kyanite + muscovite + quartz + epidote ± dolomite ± Zn-staurolite. The estimated peak metamorphic conditions are 19 ± 2 kbar, 590 ± 20°C.

Secondary alteration of the kyanite-zoisite marbles was accomplished in two stages. The early stage resulted in the production of margarite, paragonite, secondary muscovite and chlorite and the later stage resulted in the formation of sudoite (a di/trioctahedral Mg---Al layer silicate) and kaolinite. The early alteration is bracketed at conditions between 3 and 10 kbar, 450–550°C and the later alteration between 200 and 350°C, P 3 kbar.

The P-T path is characterized by maximum burial to approximately 19 kbar (60–70 km) (at≈590°C), followed by nearly isothermal decompression to approximately 10 kbar (30 km), and then more gradual decompression with cooling to approximately 3 kbar (10 km). Alteration was apparently accomplished by the influx of H₂O-rich fluids, with the composition of the fluid locally buffered by the mineral assemblage.     

Jadeite-gneiss from the Eclogite Zone,Tauern Window,Eastern Alps,Austria: Metamorphic,geochemical and zircon record of a sedimentary protolith

In the Eclogite Zone of the Tauern Window, a layer of strongly retrogressed leucocratic jadeite-bearing gneiss is intercalated between mafic kyanite-eclogites. The jadeite-gneiss consists of garnet + quartz + paragonite ± phengite ± zoisite + zircon + rutile + apatite + pyrite. Kyanite, jadeite or omphacite are exclusively present as inclusions in garnet. Retrogressive hydration during exhumation led to a breakdown of matrix jadeite to form pseudomorphs of calcic amphibole + albite. Peak metamorphic conditions derived from the primary gneiss assemblage are 2.0–2.4 GPa at approximately 640 °C. Major, trace element and isotopic compositions of the jadeite-gneiss are consistent with a siliciclastic sedimentary protolith. Zircon morphology and zonation patterns reveal a complex history. The presence of fracture-truncated zircons suggests a detrital origin, whereas most internal structures and Th/U ratios are characteristic of zircons from magmatic rocks. In situ LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U–Pb geochronology and zircon geochemisty provide evidence of at least three magmatic events in the provenance area. These were dated at 466 ± 2 Ma, 437 ± 2 Ma and 288 ± 9 Ma. Older ages ranging from 503 to 691 Ma are preserved in the cores of some zircon grains, suggesting derivation from peri-Gondwanan sources. Surprisingly, no firm evidence of the Tertiary high-pressure metamorphic event and subsequent retrograde overprint was seen in any of the studied zircons. However, some zircons show resorbed surfaces suggesting corrosion by a superficial fluid phase undersaturated in zirconium and one extensively altered porous zircon yielded highly discordant ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages in the range 325–109 Ma documenting partial recrystallization by dissolution–reprecipitation of a highly reactive grain.     

Syn‐metamorphic folding in the Tauern Window,Austria dated by Th–Pb ages from individual allanite porphyroblasts

High‐precision ²³²Th–²⁰⁸Pb dates have been obtained from allanite porphyroblasts that show unambiguous microstructural relationships to fabrics in a major syn‐metamorphic fold in the SE Tauern Window, Austria. Three porphyroblasts were analysed from a single garnet mica schist from the Peripheral Schieferhülle in the core of the Ankogel Synform, one of a series of folds which developed shortly before the thermal peak of Alpine epidote–amphibolite facies metamorphism: allanite grain 1 provided two analyses with a combined age of 27.7 ± 0.7 Ma; grain 2, which was slightly bent and fractured during crenulation, provided two analyses with a combined age of 27.7 ± 0.4 Ma; a single analysis from grain 3, which overgrew an already crenulated fabric, gave an age of 28.0 ± 1.4 Ma. The five ²³²Th–²⁰⁸Pb ages agree within error and define an isochron with an age of 27.71 ± 0.36 Ma (95% confidence level; MSWD = 0.46). The results imply that the crenulation event was in progress in a short interval (<1 Ma) c. 28 Ma, and that the Ankogel Synform was forming at this time. The thermal peak of regional metamorphism in the SE Tauern Window was probably attained shortly after 28 Ma, only c. 5 Ma after eclogite facies metamorphism in the central Tauern Window. Metasediment may contain allanite porphyroblasts with clear‐cut microstructural relationships to fabric development and metamorphic crystallization; for such rocks, ²³²Th–²⁰⁸Pb dating on microsamples offers a powerful geochronological tool.     

Geochemistry of blackwall sequences in the Habachtal emerald deposit,Hohe Tauern,Austria Part 1: Presentation of geochemical data

Summary The Habachtal emerald deposit, Hohe Tauern, is composed of blackwall sequences of the type: serpentinite — talc schist — ±chlorite schist or actinolite schist — biotite schist —albite gneiss and/or micaschist. 2 serpentinites, 33 blackwall rocks, 9 micaschists, 10 albite gneisses, and 5 aplitic gneisses were analyzed for major elements, and for Li, Be, Cr, Ni, Zn, Zr, Sn, in 36 samples also for Sc, Cu, Rb, Sr, Cs, Ba, W. The blackwall formation is due to a metasomatic exchange involving a transfer of Mg from the serpentinite to the silicic country rock, and of Si, Ca, K, and Al from the country rock to the serpentinite. Some of the trace elements were also mobile: Compared to serpentinite, Li and Be were enriched in all the blackwall rocks, and Sn and Cs in the actinolite, chlorite, and biotite schists; Sr was concentrated in the dolomite-bearing talc schists, and Zn, Rb, and Ba predominantly in the biotite schists.

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Geochemie der Blackwall-Folgen in der Smaragd-Lagerstätte Habachtal, Hohe Tauern, Österreich. Teil 1: Darstellung der geochemischen Daten

Zusammenfassung Die Smaragd-Lagerstätte Habachtal, Hohe Tauern, besteht aus Blackwall-Folgen vom Typ: Serpentinit — Talkschiefer — ±Chloritschiefer oder Aktinolithschiefer — Biotitschiefer — Albitgneis und/oder Glimmerschiefer. Von 2 Serpentiniten, 33 Blackwall-Gesteinen, 9 Glimmerschiefern, 10 Albitgneisen und 5 Aplitgneisen wurden chemische Analysen der Hauptelemente und von Li, Be, Cr, Ni, Zn, Zr, Sn vorgelegt; 36 Proben wurden auch auf Sc, Cu, Rb, Sr, Cs, Ba und W analysiert. Die Blackwall-Bildung geht auf einen metasomatischen Austausch zurück, bei dem Mg aus dem Serpentinit ins Nebengestein, Si, Ca, K und Al aus dem Nebengestein in den Serpentinit transportiert wurden. Daneben waren auch einige Spurenelemente mobil: Im Vergleich zum Serpentinit wurden Li und Be in allen Blackwall-Gesteinen, Sn und Cs in den Aktinolith-, Chlorit- und Biotitschiefern angereichert; Sr wurde(n) in den dolomitführenden Talkschiefern, Zn, Rb und Ba hauptsächlich in den Biotitschiefern konzentriert.

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With 5 Figures     

A Clinopyroxene Paragenesis of Albite--Epidote--Amphibolite Facies in Meta-Syenites from the South-East Tauern Window, Austria

Mineral assemblages and textures are described from clinopyroxene-bearingmeta-syenites and related rocks from a small area in the PenninicBasement Complex of the south-east Tauern Window. Evidence from mineral textures, mineral compositions and geobarometryindicate that the clinopyroxene, a sodic salite, crystallizedas part of an equilibrium albite-epidote-amphibolite faciesparagenesis in the 35–40 Ma meso-Alpine metamorphic event.Phase relations in co-facial quartz + albite + K-feldspar +sphene-bearing meta-syenites and meta-granites are examinedusing a projection from these minerals onto the plane (A1₂O₃+ Fe₂O₃)-CaO-(MgO + FeO + MnO). The projection demonstratesthat salitic clinopyroxene can only be a stable phase in suchrocks if the bulk-rock Al/Na + K ratios are low. This is confirmedby comparing the whole-rock analyses of clinopyroxene-bearingmeta-syenites with those of clinopyroxene-free meta-syenitesand meta-granites. Mineral assemblages in a variety of lithologies from the south-eastTauern Window are used to construct a generalized AKM diagramfor magnesian albite + epidote + quartz-bearing rocks of thealbite-epidote-amphibolite facies. Thermochemical calculations indicate that the meta-syeniteswere metamorphosed at temperatures close to 500 C and at a pressureof 6+2 –4 kb. Fluids in equilibrium with meta-syeniteand meta-granite mineral assemblages had X_H2O values of 0–95,assuming X_H2O + X_CO2O= 1.0.     

Carbo-Permian pteridophyll leaf fragments from an amphibolite facies basement, Tauern Window, Austria

Graphitic schists from the Pennine Basement, Tauern Window, Austria, contain fragments of pteridophyll leaves. They are preserved, despite the overall strong deformation and metamorphism at amphibolite facies conditions (˜ 525°C, 750°100 MPa), due to a particular strain path with volume loss by pressure solution. They were determined as cf. Callipteridium sp. indicating a Permo-Carboniferous age. This depositional age is similar to radiometric age data obtained for the intrusion of nearby metagranitoids, indicating either tectonic contacts between the metagranitoids and the graphite schists, or a very active and rapidly changing tectonic regime during the Hercynian event.     

Geothermobarometry in metasediments of the southern Grossvenediger area (Tauern Window, Austria)

Metasediments in the southern Grossvenediger area (Tauern Window, Austria) were studied along a cross-section through rocks of increasing metamorphic grade from the margin of the Tauern Window in the south to the base of the Upper Schieferhülle, including the Eclogite Zone, in the north. In the southern part of the cross-section there is no evidence for a pre-late Alpine metamorphic history in the form of high-pressure relics or pseudomorphs. Mineral assemblages are characterized by the stability of tremolite + calcite, biotite + calcite and biotite + chlorite + calcite. In the northern part a more complete Alpine metamorphic evolution is preserved. Primary high-pressure assemblages are dolomite + quartz, tremolite + zoisite, zoisite + dolomite + quartz + phengite I and probably tremolite + dolomite + phengite I. Secondary, post-kinematic assemblages [tremolite + calcite, talc + calcite, phengite II + chlorite + calcite (+ quartz), biotite + chlorite + calcite, biotite + zoisite + calcite] formed as a result of the dominant late Alpine metamorphic overprint. The occurrence of biotite + zoisite + calcite is confined to the northernmost area and defines a biotite–zoisite–calcite isograd. P–T estimates based on standard thermobarometric techniques and on stability relationships of tremolite + calcite + dolomite + quartz and zoisite give consistent results. P–T conditions of the main Tertiary metamorphic overprint were 525° C, P= 7.5 ± 1 kbar in the northern part of the cross-section. The southern part was metamorphosed at lower temperatures of 430–470° C. The Si-content of phengites from this area is almost as high as that of phengites from the Eclogite Zone (Si^max= 3.4 pfu). Pressures > 10 kbar at 420° C are suggested by phengite barometry according to Massone & Schreyer (1987). In the absence of high-pressure relics or pseudomorphs, these phengites, which lack late Alpine re-equilibration, are the only record that rocks of the southern part probably also experienced an early non-eclogitic high-pressure metamorphism.     

Pre-Alpine history of the pennine zone in the Tauern Window,Austria: U-Pb and Rb-Sr geochronology

Zircon ages from major lithologies of the Zentralgneis suggest that much of the Variscan magmatism in the Tauern Window is older than previously suggested. In the southeast Tauern Window a tonalite has been dated at 314±7 m.y. and a granodioritic biotite augen gneiss at 313±10 m.y. Two granodiorites from the Granatspitzkern yielded zircon data consistent with a similar age. These zircon data require re-interpretation of some previously published Rb-Sr whole rock ages and raise the possibility that Alpine metamorphism caused more widespread disturbance of Rb-Sr whole rocks than commonly supposed. Rb-Sr data on fabric-forming white micas from two banded gneisses give ages close to 220 m.y., indicating the foliation in these rocks is pre-Alpine and has not been greatly affected by Alpine recrystallisation.     

Alpine metamorphism in the south-east Tauern Window, Austria: 2. Rates of heating, cooling and uplift

Abstract Existing geochronological data are reviewed and new Rb-Sr, K-Ar and ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar ages are presented, including a suite of 33 mica ages from a 20 km north–south tunnel section. These data are discussed in relation to the thermal history from the overthrusting of the Autroalpine nappes c. 65 Myr ago to the present. The earliest phase of metamorphism, involving lawsonite crystallization, is associated with emplacement of these nappes. Subsequently, temperatures in the rocks beneath rose, at a mean rate of 3–6°C/Myr, until the climax of metamorphism.
At high structural levels, published data indicate an age > 35 Myr for the metamorphic climax. In contrast, a new ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar step-heating age of 23.8 ± 0.8 Myr on amphibole, from near the base of Peripheral Schieferhülle, closely approximates the age of metamorphism and provides the first clear indication that the climax of metamorphism occurred later at deeper structure levels. Following the climax, near-isothermal uplift and erosion reduced pressure to c. 1 kbar before white mica closure at 19 Myr; this implies uplift at >3 mm/yr.
Along the tunnel section, white mica K-Ar ages vary systematically from 24 Myr to 16.5 Myr with position relative to a late 4 km amplitude dome whereas biotite Rb-Sr ages are uniform at 16.5 Myr across the whole profile; doming is thus dated at 16.5 Myr with transient uplift rates >5 mm/yr. At other times uplift rates were <1 mm/yr.     

Phase relations and metamorphic history of a clinohumite-chlorite-serpentine-marble from the Western Tauern Area (Austria)

Several different metamorphic events — an early or prevariscian regional, a variscian contact and the alpine regional — on marbles from the Schlegeistal (Western Tauern Area, Tyrol, Austria) have resulted in a great variety of mineral assemblages. These assemblages include calcite, dolomite, tremolite, diopside, forsterite, clinohumite-titanianclinohumite-chondrodite, chlorite-serpentine, brucite, and boron minerals karlite and ludwigite.Microprobe analysis fo the minerals indicate that three different generations of chlorite minerals exist (clinochlor, penninite, Al-serpentine). The occurence of these chlorites is explained by formation of serpentine component during the last (alpine) regional metamorphism from the breakdown of forsterite, humite-minerals and diopside. The phase relations are described in the system CaO-MgO-SiO₂-H₂O-CO₂-HF and a petrogenetic grid for the low low X _F ^mineral region is given. The reactions are typical for ophicarbonate rocks, but include clinohumite and chlorite, due to the presence of F and minor amounts of Al₂O₃.     

Thermal history of the Sonnblick Dome,south-east Tauern Window,Austria: Implications for heterogeneous uplift within the Pennine basement

The Sonnblick Dome is one of several domal structures affecting the interface between basement and cover within the Pennine Zone of the Tauern Window in the eastern Alps. Rb-Sr isotopic data, comprising 19 biotite and 22 white mica ages from variably deformed granitic gneisses, provide new evidence of the thermal and tectonic history of the dome and its relationships with other parts of the south-east Tauern Window. White mica ages generally cluster between 26 and 30 Ma although there are values up to 82 Ma, which appear to reflect incomplete equilibration during Tertiary metamorphism under low amphibolite facies conditions; six closely spaced samples from an intensely sheared gneiss lamella are more tightly grouped between 26 and 27.6 Ma and provide the best estimate of the age of syntectonic crystallization. Biotite ages are systematically younger, ranging from 19 to 23.5 Ma, reflecting closure during post-metamorphic cooling. Sonnblick Dome and the Hochalm Dome approximately 20 km further east, where closure of Rb-Sr in biotite did not occur until 16.5 Ma; the metamorphic peak here is also probably younger, possibly as late as 22 Ma. The Sonnblick Dome was formed before 27 Ma and the deformation style had changed to extension before biotite closure by 19 Ma. In contrast, rapid updoming in the Hochalm Dome was previously dated at 16.5 Ma and the differences in thermal history can be linked to differences in deformation history. Overall the geochronological data from the south-east Tauern Window demonstrate the heterogeneity of thermal history on a geographical scale of 10 km and emphasize the importance of tectonic displacements in controlling temperature within orogenic belts.     

Alpine metamorphism in the south-east Tauern Window, Austria: 1. P–T variations in space and time

Abstract The Pennine rocks exposed in the south-east Tauern Window, Austria, contain mineral assemblages which crystallized in the mid-Tertiary ‘late Alpine’regional metamorphism. The pressure and temperature conditions at the thermal peak of this event have been estimated for rocks at four different structural levels using a variety of published and thermochemically derived geobarometers and geothermometers. The results are: (a) In the garnet+chlorite zone, 2–5 km structurally above the staurolite+biotite isograd: T= 490.50°C, P= 7° 1 kbar; (b) Within 0.5 km of the staurolite+biotite isograd: T= 560±300C, P=7.1 kbar; (c) In the staurolite+biotite zone, c. 2.5 km structurally below the staurolite+biotite isograd: T= 610±30°C, P=7.6±1.2 kbar; (d) In the staurolite+biotite zone, 3–4 km structurally below the staurolite+biotite isograd: T= 630±40°C, P= 6.6±1.2 kbar. The pressure estimates imply that the total thickness of overburden above the basement-cover interface in the mid-Tertiary was c. 26.4 km. This overburden can only be accounted for by the Austro-Alpine units currently exposed in the vicinity of the Tauern Window, if the Altkristallin (the ‘Middle Austro-Alpine’nappe) was itself buried beneath an ‘Upper Austro-Alpine’nappe or nappe-pile which was 7.4 km thick at that time. The occurrence of epidote + margarite + quartz pseudomorphs after lawsonite in garnet, indicates that part of the Mesozoic Pennine cover sequence in the south-east Tauern experienced blueschist-facies conditions (T<450°C, P<12 kbar) in early Alpine times. Evidence from the central Tauern is used to argue that the blueschist-facies imprint post-dated the main phase of tectonic thickening (D¹_A) and was thus a direct consequence of continental collision. Combined oxygen-isotope and fluid-inclusion studies on late-stage veins, thought to have been at lithostatic pressure and in thermal equilibrium with their host rocks during formation, suggest that they crystallized from aqueous fluids at 1.1±0.4 kbar and 420.20°C. Early Alpine, late Alpine and vein-formation P–T constraints have been used to construct a P–T path for the base of the Mesozoic cover sequence in the south-east Tauern Window. The prograde part of the P–T path, between early and late Alpine metamorphic imprints, is unlikely to have been a smooth curve and may well have had a low dP/dT overall; the decompression (presumably due to erosion) which occurred immediately before the thermal peak and possibly also earlier in the Tertiary, was probably partly or completely cancelled by the effects of early- to mid-Tertiary (D²_A) tectonic thickening. The thermal peak of metamorphism was followed by a phase of almost isothermal decompression, which implies a period of rapid uplift in the middle Tertiary. The peak metamorphic P–T estimates are compared with the solutions of England's (1978) one-dimensional conductive thermal model of the Eastern Alps, and are shown to be consistent with the idea that the late Alpine metamorphism was caused by tectonic burial of the Pennine Zone beneath the Austro-Alpine nappes in the absence of extraneous heat sources, such as large intrusions, at depth.     

Crustal stacking and extension recorded by tectonic fabrics of the SE margin of the Tauern Window, Austria

Structural and metamorphic analyses show that Alpine deformation in the Austroalpine-Pennine contact zone around the margin of the SE Tauern Window can be divided into two main stages: (i) early crustal thickening associated with prograde metamorphism; and (ii) a younger history of ductile flow that added to cumulative displacement of the upper units to the NW quadrant but was associated with substantial subvertical attenuation of the contact zone, and most probably of the overriding Austroalpine plate as well. During the history of this region strain localization progressively shifted down section. Radiometric ages constrain the early deformation to be older than 75 Ma. The onset of contact-zone attenuation and upper-plate extension was after this date but before 35 Ma (before major involvement of European basement in the collisional orogen), and associated with both retrograde metamorphism and a degree of non-coaxiality less than simple shear. Estimates of thinning in the contact zone and on a regional scale are in good agreement and indicate vertical attenuation of approximately 40%. These results suggest that pre-collisional tectonic thinning of the Austroalpine domain may be more widespread and significant than generally recognized.     

The Tauern Window (Eastern Alps, Austria): a new tectonic map, with cross-sections and a tectonometamorphic synthesis

We present a tectonic map of the Tauern Window and surrounding units (Eastern Alps, Austria), combined with a series of crustal-scale cross-sections parallel and perpendicular to the Alpine orogen. This compilation, largely based on literature data and completed by own investigations, reveals that the present-day structure of the Tauern Window is primarily characterized by a crustal-scale duplex, the Venediger Duplex (Venediger Nappe system), formed during the Oligocene, and overprinted by doming and lateral extrusion during the Miocene. This severe Miocene overprint was most probably triggered by the indentation of the Southalpine Units east of the Giudicarie Belt, initiating at 23–21 Ma and linked to a lithosphere-scale reorganization of the geometry of mantle slabs. A kinematic reconstruction shows that accretion of European lithosphere and oceanic domains to the Adriatic (Austroalpine) upper plate, accompanied by high-pressure overprint of some of the units of the Tauern Window, has a long history, starting in Turonian time (around 90 Ma) and culminating in Lutetian to Bartonian time (45–37 Ma).     

The potassic feldspar in metamorphic rocks from the western Hohe Tauern area,eastern Alps

Zusammenfassung Es wurden Kalifeldspäte aus Orthogneisen, Paragneisen und Glimmerschiefern des westlichen Tauemfensters (Hohe Tauern, Tirol) mit optischen und röntgenographischen Methoden im Hinblick auf ihren Strukturzustand untersucht.Es zeigte sich, daß in den Randbereichen des Tauemfensters in Gesteinen der Grünschieferfazies weitgehend geordneter Mikroklin mit einem optischen Achsenwinkel 2 V_x 80°, Auslöschungswinkel Z (010)=15–20°, Doppelbrechung n_z-n_x= 0,0065, Triklinität=0,90-–0,95, ca. 0,88 Al auf T₁O-Position und einem Ab-Gehalt von ca. 5 Gew.% auftritt. Dagegen wurden in Gesteinen der schwachtemperierten Amphibolitfazies des zentralen Bereichs Orthoklase bis intermediäre Mikrokline mit stark schwankenden optischen Eigenschaften, mit Triklinitäten zwischen 0 und 0,7, 0,8 bis 0,9 Al in T₁-Positionen, 0,45–0,8 Al auf T₁O und Ab-Gehalten von ca. 10 Gew.% festgestellt. Die Kalifeldspatkristalle zeigen ungleichmäßige Auslöschung mit Winkeln von Z (010) zwischen 0 und 15°, 2 V_x zwischen 50 und 75° und n_z-n_x=0,005 bis 0,006. Teilweise ist Zonarbau mit geringerer Triklinität am Kornrande erkennbar. Diese undulös auslöschenden Kalifeldspäte enthalten einzelne schmale Lamellen von maximal triklinem Mikroklin mit Z (010)=15–20° und n_z-n_x= 0,006–0,007.Die Grenze zwischen dem Verbreitungsgebiet von maximalem Mikroklin einerseits und Orthoklas bis intermediärem Mikroklin andererseits verläuft in den westlichen Hohen Tauern ungefähr konform mit der Albit-Oligoklas-Grenze (Morteani &Raase, 1974) und mit der aus Sauerstoff-Isotopen-Untersuchungen bestimmten 500° C-Isotherme (Hoernes &Friedrichsen, 1974).

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The potassic feldspar in orthogneisses, paragneisses, and mica schists from the western Tauernfenster (Hohe Tauern, Tyrol) were studied by optical and X-ray methods with regard to their structural state and in relation to grade of metamorphism.In the peripheral region of the Tauernfenster in greenschist-facies rocks highly triclinic microcline occurs with an optic angle 2 V_x of about 80°, extinction angle Z (010) =15–20°, birefringence n_z-n_x=0.0065, triclinicity=0.90–0.95, approx. 0.88 Al in T₁O-site, and an Ab-content of about 5 wt.%. In the central area with rocks of the low-grade amphibolite facies, on the other hand, orthoclase to intermediate microcline with highly variable optical properties, triclinicities in the range of 0–0.7, 0.8–0.9 Al in T₁-sites, 0.45–0.8 Al in T₁O-site, and an Ab-content of about 10 wt.% was recognized. The K-feldspar grains have nonuniform extinction Z (010) scattering in the range of 0–15°, 2 V_x in the range of 50–75°, and n_z-n_x= 0.005–0.006. Sometimes a zonal structure with lower triclinicity exists at the rim. These undulatory K-feldspar grains usually contain small lamellae of highly triclinic microcline with Z (010) =15–20° and n_z-n_x=0.006–0.007.From the occurrence of maximum microcline and of orthoclase to intermediate microcline in the Hohe Tauern area an isograd was defined that is approximately conformable with the albite-oligoclase isograd (Morteani &Raase, 1974) and with the 500° C isotherm based on oxygen isotope analyses (Hoernes &Friedrïchsen, 1974).

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Résumé Les feldspaths potassiques d'orthogneiss, de paragneiss et de micaschistes de la Fenêtre des Tauern occidental (Hohe Tauern, Tirol) ont été étudiés du point de vue de leur état structural.Dans les roches du faciès schistes verts de la région périphérique de la Fenêtre des Tauern les microclines sont caractérisés par un angle des axes optiques 2 V_p =80°, un angle d'extinction n_g (010)=15–20°, une biréfringence n_g-n_p=0,0065, une triclinicité= 0,90–0,95, 0,88 Al dans le site T₁O et par une teneur en albite d'environ 5%. Au contraire, dans les roches du faciès amphibolite à faible degré de la région centrale, ont été observées des orthoses allant à des microclines intermédiaires avec des propriétés optiques très variables, un degré de triclinicité de 0 à 0,7, 0,8–0,9 Al dans les sites T₁, 0,45–0,8 Al dans T₁O et avec une teneur en albite d'environ 10%.Les cristaux de feldspath montrent une extinction irrégulière avec des angles Z (010) variable de 0 à 15°, 2 V_p de 50 à 75° et n_g-n_p=0,005–0,006.On peut voir quelquefois une structure zonée avec une triclinicité moindre au bord des cristaux. Ces feldspaths potassiques contiennent de minces lamelles de microcline à triclinicité maximum, avec n_g (010)=15–20° et n_g-n_p 0,006–0,007.La limite entre les régions à microcline maximum d'une part, et à orthose ou microcline intermédiaire d'autre part, suit, dans les Hohe Tauern, sensiblement l'isograde albite-oligoclase (Morteani &Raase, 1974) et, l'isotherme de 500° C telle qu'elle fut determinée les isotopes de l'oxygène (Hoernes &Friedrichsen, 1974).

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, ( , ) ., 2 V_x80°, Z (010)=15–20°, n_z–n_x=0,0065, =0,90–0,95, 0,88 l T₁O Ab 5 .-%. , 0 0,7, 0,8-0,9 1 T₁ l 10 .-%. Z V (010) 0 15°, 2 V_x 50 75° n_z–n_x=0,005–0,006. . Z V (010) =15-20° n_z–n_x=0,006–0,007. , Morteani & Raase (1974) 500° , Hoernes & Friedrichsen (1974).

     

The Al-Fe(III)epidote miscibility gap in a metamorphic profile through the penninic series of the Tauern window,Austria

The compositional variations in epidotes, Ca₂Al₂(Fe³⁺, Al)-Si₃O₁₂(OH), from a prograde Mesozoic rock series in the Eastern Alps, Austria, are systematically related to metamorphic grade and the oxidation state of the rock. With increasing metamorphic grade the average composition of the zoned epidotes shifts to Fe³⁺-poorer compositions reflecting not only the effect of temperature and total pressure but also the concomitant decrease of the oxidation state of the rocks. Oxidized hematite-bearing assemblages are: 90 mole % Al₂FeEp (greenschists) 70 mole % Al₂FeEp (garnet amphibolites) 58 mole % Al₂FeEp (eclogites); reduced sulfidebearing assemblages are: 42 mole % Al₂FeEp (greenschists) 24 mole % Al₂FeEp (garnet amphibolites) 23 mole % Al₂FeEp (eclogites).A similar compositional evolution of the epidotes as in the spatial sequence of the samples can be observed within the single zoned crystals, reflecting the temporal changes of temperature, total pressure and oxygen fugacity during the prograde crystallization. The Fe³⁺-contents of core and rim decrease with increasing metamorphic grade and decreasing oxidation state. Generally the zoned epidotes consist of a Fe³⁺-rich core (90 to 63 mole % Al₂FeEp) and a Fe³⁺-poorer rim (55 to 23 mole % Al₂FeEp). Core and rim of the epidote crystals are separated by a compositional gap the extension of which is independent of the bulk rock composition, the oxidation state, and the mineralogical composition of the assemblages but becomes smaller with increasing metamorphic grade: 7253 mole % Al₂FeEp (low grade greenschists, 400° C) 6355 mole % Al₂FeEp (higher grade greenschists, 500° C), and 6055 mole % Al₂FeEp (garnet amphibolites, 500–550° C). At the temperature conditions of the highest grade garnet amphibolites and eclogites (550° C) the compositional gap closes at a composition of 58 mole % Al₂FeEp.The data presented thus confirm clearly the existence of an asymmetric miscibility gap in the monoclinic Al-Fe(III)-epidote solid solution series, which, for the first time, has been assumed by Strens (1964, 1965).A model is proposed that describes the prograde compositional evolution of the epidotes studied through the competing mechanisms of growth and diffusional Al-Fe³⁺ exchange and their dependence on metamorphic grade and oxidation state.     

The H contents of quartz from alpine veins from the penninic rocks of the central and western Tauern Window (Austria/Italy)

Summary The hydrogen content of 29 quartz crystals originating from the Penninic series of the central and western Tauern Window (Tyrol, Austria) was determined by IR spectroscopy. The hydrogen contents are between 7 and 66 H/10⁶ Si-atoms. In one sample showing a mimetic lamellar structure H-contents up to 140 H/10⁶ Si-atoms could be found. In most cases no difference exists between the hydrogen contents of margins and cores of the crystals. No clear relationships between the hydrogen content of the quartz lattice and the metamorphic temperature ranging from about 600°C to about 450°C can be found.

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Der H-Gehalt von Quarzen aus alpinen Klüften der Penninischen Gesteine des westlichen Tauernfensters (Österreich/Italien)

Zusammenfassung Der Wasserstoffgehalt von 29 Quarzkristallen aus den alpinen Zerrklüften der penninischen Gesteine des zentralen und westlichen Tauernfensters (Tirol, Österreich) wurde IR-spektroskopisch bestimmt. Der H-Gehalt schwankt zwischen 7 und 66 H/10⁶ Si-Atome. In einer Quarzprobe, die auch eine Lamellenstruktur zeigt, wurde ein H-Gehalt bis zu 140 H/10⁶ Si-Atome gemessen. In den meisten Quarzkristallen konnte kein Unterschied in den H-Gehalten des inneren und des äußeren Bereiches gefunden werden. Es konnte auch kein Zusammenhang zwischen den Metamorphosetemperaturen, die zwischen ca. 600 und 450°C liegen, und dem H-Gehalt der Quarzkristalle gefunden werden.

     

Young Alpine dykes south of the Tauern Window (Austria): a K-Ar and Sr isotope study

Fortyfive new K-Ar ages and Sr isotope data on amphiboles, biotites, clinopyroxenes and whole rock samples from subvolcanic dykes south of the Tauern Window establish, that alkalibasaltic dykes were intruded 30 m.y. ago and shoshonitic volcanism occured between 30 and 24 m.y. ago. Two calc-alkaline rocks of high-potassium composition yielded ages of 40 and 26 m.y. resp., a spread which may or may not be real. Calc-alkaline dykes with medium and low potassium contain excess argon and are hence undatable. Alkalibasaltic dykes have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7056–0.7070, shoshonitic rocks 0.7075–0.7133, potassium rich calc-alkaline dykes 0.7077–0.7100. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of all other calc-alkaline rocks scatter between 0.7074 and 0.7150. Sr data indicate that dykes studied do not represent closed Sr systems, but that Sr characteristics result from selective strontium assimilation en route to surface. Primary Sr isotopic ratios of alkalibasaltic dykes point to an origin of these rocks in enriched sub-continental upper mantle. The source region of shoshonitic and high-potassium calcalkaline rocks could have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr around 0.707, which is assigned to the input of a component rich in alkalies, LREE and LIL elements. Genetic relationships with other Tertiary magmatites of similar geotectonic position are explained in terms of plate tectonic models of the Eastern Alps.