Quantitative temperature-time information from retrograde diffusion zoning in garnet: constraints for the P–T–t history of the Central Black Forest, Germany

Garnet from a kinzigite, a high-grade gneiss from the central Black Forest (Germany), displays a prominent and regular retrograde diffusion zoning in Fe, Mn and particularly Mg. The Mg diffusion profiles are suitable to derive cooling rates using recent datasets for cation diffusion in garnet. This information, together with textural relationships, thermobarometry and thermochronology, is used to constrain the pressure–temperature–time history of the high-grade gneisses. The garnet–biotite thermometer indicates peak metamorphic temperatures for the garnet cores of 730–810  °C. The temperatures for the outer rims are 600–650  °C. Garnet–Al₂SiO₅–plagioclase–quartz (GASP) barometry, garnet–rutile–Al₂SiO₅–ilmenite (GRAIL) and garnet–rutile–ilmenite–plagioclase–quartz (GRIPS) barometry yield pressures from 6–9  kbar. U–Pb ages of monazite of 341±2  Ma date the low- P high- T metamorphism in the central Black Forest. A Rb/Sr biotite–whole rock pair defines a cooling age of 321±2  Ma. The two mineral ages yield a cooling rate of about 15±2  °C Ma⁻¹. The petrologic cooling rates, with particular consideration of the f O₂ conditions for modelling retrograde diffusion profiles, agree with the geochronological cooling rate. The oldest sediments overlying the crystalline basement indicate a minimum cooling rate of 10  °C Ma⁻¹.     

Granulites and garnet–cordierite gneisses from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Abstract The central sector of Mühlig-Hofmannfjellet (3°E/71°S) in western Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctic shield) is dominated by large intrusive bodies of predominantly orthopyroxene-bearing quartz syenites (charnockites). Metasedimentary rocks are rare; however, two distinct areas with banded gneiss–marble–quartzite sequences of sedimentary origin were found during the Norwegian Antarctic Research Expedition NARE 1989/90. Cordierite-bearing metapelitic gneisses from two different localities contain the characteristic mineral assemblage: cordierite + garnet + biotite + K-feldspar + plagioclase + quartz ± sillimanite ± spinel. Thermobarometry indicates equilibration conditions of about 650°C and 4 kbar. Associated orthopyroxene–garnet granulites, on the other hand, revealed pressures of about 8 kbar and temperatures of 750°C. The earlier granulite facies metamorphism is not well preserved in the cordierite gneisses as a result of excess K-feldspar combined with interaction with an H₂O-rich fluid phase, probably released by the cooling intrusives. These two features allowed the original high-grade K-feldspar + garnet assemblages to recrystallize as cordierite–biotite–sillimanite gneisses, completely re-equilibrating them. Phase relationships indicate that the younger metamorphic event occurred in the presence of a fluid phase that varied in composition between the lithologies.     

Peak metamorphic temperatures from cation diffusion zoning in garnet

A model that relates the characteristic diffusion length and average cooling rate to peak temperature was developed for chemical diffusion in spherical geometries on the basis of geospeedometry principles and diffusion theory. The model is quantitatively evaluated for cation diffusion profiles in garnet. Important model parameters were calibrated empirically using diffusion zoning of Ca in garnet from the Pikwitonei Granulite Domain, a terrane for which the thermal history has been well characterized. The results are used: (i) to empirically test diffusion parameters for Mg and Fe(II) and (ii) to develop a tool that uses the diffusion zoning of these cations in garnet to constrain peak temperature conditions for garnet‐bearing rocks. The thermometric approach was externally tested by applying it to garnet crystals from various metamorphic terranes worldwide and comparing the results to published peak temperature estimates. The results overlap within uncertainties in all cases, but result that are based on Fe(II) and Mg chemical‐diffusion profiles are up to three times more precise than those acquired by conventional methods. The remarkable consistency of the results implies that the model is robust and provides a reliable means of estimating peak temperatures for different types of high‐grade metamorphic rock. The tool could be of particular advantage in rocks where critical assemblages for conventional thermometry do not occur or have been replaced during retrogression.     

Pressure, temperature and cooling rates of granulite facies migmatitic pelites from the southern Adirondack Highlands, New York

Detailed petrographic analysis was performed on samples from five localities within the southern Adirondacks. Textures and zoning patterns in garnet from all samples provide evidence for dehydration melting of biotite. Zoning of grossular in garnet – providing a record of prograde growth – shows both increasing and decreasing trends in garnet from the same sample. However, Ca concentrations at the garnet rims of most samples are identical (grossular = 3.4%). These observations have been interpreted as evidence for the differential timing of garnet nucleation and growth. All Fe/(Fe + Mg) and some spessartine distributions are consistent between samples, displaying diffusive profiles established largely upon cooling. Only one sample, in which retrogression was minimal, contains garnet with flat Fe/(Fe + Mg) profiles. A general pelitic pseudosection constructed in the system MnNCKFMASH reveals a maximum for Ca in garnet where the plagioclase‐out isopleth intersects the solidus (muscovite = 0). The pseudosection predicts bell‐shaped core‐to‐rim profiles of grossular during anatexis, similar to those observed in the rocks. Garnet–biotite thermometry and GASP barometry indicate peak temperatures of at least 790 °C at about 7–9 kbar, similar to conditions determined for the central Adirondacks. Cooling rates determined from finite difference modelling of spessartine and Fe/(Fe + Mg) diffusional profiles indicate a multi‐stage cooling history in which some period of rapid cooling (>200 °C Myr^?1) is required.     

Modeling of retrograde diffusion zoning in garnet: evidence for slow cooling of granulites from the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka

Summary ?Diffusion modeling of zoning profiles in garnet rims from mafic granulites is used to estimate cooling rates in the Proterozoic basement of Sri Lanka, which represents a small, but important fragment of the Gondwana super-continent. Metamorphic peak temperatures and pressures, estimated with two-pyroxene thermometry and garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–quartz (GADS) barometry, yield 875±20 °C and 9.0±0.1 kbar. These peak metamorphic conditions are slightly higher than results obtained by garnet-biotite Fe–Mg exchange thermometry of 820±20 °C. Reset flat zoning profiles were observed in most garnets. Only narrow garnet rims touching biotite exhibit retrograde zoning in terms of Fe and Mg exchange. The garnet zoning observed requires a slow cooling history. Equilibrium was achieved along grain boundaries during or close to peak metamorphism. During subsequent cooling to lower temperatures, only local exchange between garnet and biotite occurred. A cooling rate of 1–5 °C/Ma is estimated. The estimated temperature-time history from garnet profiles is in good agreement with the cooling history inferred from mineral radiogenic ages in the literature. Received December 11, 2001; revised version accepted August 28, 2002     

Multicomponent diffusion in aluminosilicate garnet: coupling effects due to charge compensation

ABSTRACT

Three kinds of multicomponent diffusion effects, arising from three distinct physical mechanisms, are evident in stranded diffusion profiles at the rims of partially resorbed garnets from the contact aureole of the Makhavinekh Lake Pluton, northern Labrador. Profiles that display a subtle maximum in Ca concentration are explained by the prevailing ideal mean-field theory of multicomponent diffusion, but models implementing that theory cannot replicate inverted profiles for Li and internal maxima for Nd, Sm, and Eu. The anomalous profiles are quantitatively reproduced, however, by numerical simulations employing a model based on coupled movement of charge-compensating groups during diffusional transport of yttrium and the rare-earth elements (Y+REEs). An alkali-type charge-compensation mechanism for the heterovalent substitution of Y+REEs on dodecahedral sites in garnet produces direct charge coupling between Li⁺ and (Y+REE)³⁺ and leads to co-diffusion of Li⁺-(Y+REE)³⁺ pairs, with the result that Li profiles closely mimic those for Y+REEs. A menzerite-type charge-compensation mechanism produces indirect charge coupling among all Y+REE components, with the result that the fluxes of low-abundance REEs become partly dependent on the fluxes of Y+REEs present in higher abundance. These findings have implications for the robustness of Li profiles in garnet as monitors of fluid–rock interaction, for geochronology based on the Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf systems, and for future experimental attempts to quantify rates of diffusion in garnet.     

Effective bulk composition changes due to cooling: a model predicting complexities in retrograde reaction textures

Diffusive processes are a strong function of temperature. Thus, during cooling of rocks, mineral grains may develop zoning profiles as successively larger parts of the grain “close” to the diffusive exchange with the rock. One of the consequences of this process is that, during cooling, successively larger parts of zoned minerals (depending on grain size) are effectively removed from the reacting part of the rock volume. Thus, the effective bulk composition of metamorphic rocks changes during cooling and the rate of its change will be a function of grain size. Because the sequence of metamorphic reactions seen by a given rock is a strong function of its bulk composition, this process may have the consequence that two rocks of identical overall bulk composition, but of different grain size, may experience a different sequence of reactions. Qualitatively identical peak paragenesis may therefore react to form qualitatively different retrograde reaction textures. The model is applied to examples in the pelitic system. There, garnet is usually the slowest diffusing phase developing zoning profiles during cooling and the effective removal of garnet from the reacting rock volume will cause changes of the effective bulk composition. It is shown that, during cooling of pelitic rocks from amphibolite facies conditions, typical aluminous peak parageneses of garnet-muscovite-kyanite ± biotite may react to form either staurolite, chlorite or muscovite (or different combinations thereof), depending on grain size. During cooling from the granulite facies, aluminous peak parageneses of garnet-cordierite-sillimanite may form biotite, either on the expense of cordierite or garnet, also depending on grain size. The two examples are illustrated with a series of reaction textures reported for amphibolite and granulite terrains in the literature. Received: 12 March 1996 / Accepted: 7 April 1997     

The Influence of Retrograde Cation Exchange on Granulite P-T Estimates and a Convergence Technique for the Recovery of Peak Metamorphic Conditions

Chemical relationships in garnet-orthopyroxene-plagioclase-quartzrocks are governed principally by three equilibria: the Fe-Mgexchange reaction between garnet and orthopyroxene, the solubilityof alumina in orthopyroxene coexisting with garnet, and thereaction of garnet and quartz to form orthopyroxene and plagioclase.Various thermobarometric calibrations of these equilibria havebeen applied to granulite-facies gneisses from two areas ofthe Proterozoic Complex of East Antarctica, and a wide rangeof P-T estimates is obtained for each area. Some of this P-Tvariation reflects the different thermodynamic data and mineralmixing models used by each calibration, but other differencesare attributed to the effects of retrograde Fe-Mg exchange.An inter-specimen spread of temperatures in each area, obtainedfor mineral core compositions with a single calibration of thegarnet-orthopyroxene exchange reaction, is attributed to a variableextent of Fe-Mg exchange on cooling from peak metamorphic conditions.A similar spread of pressures from the garnet-orthopyroxenealumina solubility barometer indicates that this calibrationis also reset by retrograde Fe-Mg exchange. In contrast, pressuresfrom the garnet-orthopyroxene-plagioclase-quartz barometer formineral cores show little variation between specimens from thesame area, indicating that this equilibrium is relatively insensitiveto changes in the Fe-Mg distribution coefficient and that derivedpressures are more likely to reflect peak metamorphic conditionsthan those from the alumina solubility barometer. Temperaturescan be corrected for Fe-Mg exchange using the Fe-Mg distributioncoefficient required to bring pressures from the exchange-sensitivealumina solubility barometer into agreement with reference pressurescalculated from the exchange-insensitive garnet-orthopyroxene-plagioclase-quartzbarometer. These corrected temperatures are closure temperaturesfor Al diffusion, which in many cases are likely to be goodestimates for the peak metamorphic temperature. The extent oftemperature correction in these specimens is 0–140C,and can be qualitatively related to textural features such asgrain size and mutual proximity of garnet and orthopyroxenegrains. Retrograde Fe-Mg exchange has clearly been significantin these rocks, with major consequences for thermobarometry.It is likely that Fe-Mg exchange during cooling is more widespreadthan currently recognized, and that the suggested convergencemethod for retrieving peak metamorphic conditions is applicableto other granulite terrains.     

Garnet zoning and the identification of equilibrium mineral compositions in high-pressure–temperature granulites from the Moldanubian Zone, Austria

A detailed investigation of the compositional variation in garnet has been undertaken in a garnet–pyroxene‐bearing granulite from the high‐grade Gföhl Unit, Moldanubian Zone, Lower Austria. Textural observations, together with the interpretation of the preserved garnet chemistry, enables the recognition of both prograde core and peak metamorphic garnet mantle growth stages, an extremely rare feature in high‐P–T granulite facies rocks. Initial thermobarometric calculations undertaken across whole garnet zoning profiles show how correct interpretation of a zoning profile is essential if the maximum peak metamorphic P–T conditions are to be recovered. The effect of retrograde decompression‐ and cooling‐driven reactions on inclusion and host garnet compositions has also been assessed. The results indicate that caution should be exercised when utilizing inclusion and adjacent garnet compositions for the thermobarometric evaluation of peak metamorphic equilibration conditions. Peak P–T conditions were determined by the TWEEQU thermobarometric method, utilizing the core compositions of matrix phases combined with the interpreted high‐P–T garnet mantle composition, to give 15.6 kbar and 1090 °C, consistent with previously determined results for Moldanubian granulites. Similar high‐P–T estimates are also provided by a re‐evaluation of previously published results for a granulite sample from the same lithological unit, using a modified interpretation of garnet and plagioclase compositional data. The new estimates presented confirm the previously disputed idea that the Gföhl Unit underwent a high‐pressure granulite facies stage and is therefore distinctly different from the underlying tectonostratigraphic units. It is emphasized that any interpretation of the peak metamorphic conditions in high‐grade rocks must be based on detailed petrographic observations combined with a thorough understanding of the co‐existing equilibrium mineral compositions.     

Fast exhumation of the ultrahigh-pressure Alpe Arami garnet peridotite (Central Alps, Switzerland): constraints from geospeedometry and thermal modelling

Previous studies suggest that the metamorphic evolution of the ultrahigh‐pressure garnet peridotite from Alpe Arami was characterized by rapid subduction to a depth of c. 180 km with partial chemical equilibration at c. 5.9 Gpa/1180 °C and an initial stage of near‐isothermal decompression followed by enhanced cooling. In this study, average cooling rates were constrained by diffusion modelling on retrograde Fe–Mg zonation profiles across garnet porphyroclasts. Considering the effects of temperature, pressure and garnet bulk composition on the Fe–Mg interdiffusion coefficient, cooling rates of 380–1600 °C Myr^?1 for the interval from 1180 to 800 °C were obtained. Similar or even higher average cooling rates resulted from thermal modelling, whereby the characteristics of the calculated temperature‐time path depend on the shape and size of the hot peridotite body and the boundary conditions of the cooling process. The very high cooling rates obtained from both geospeedometry and thermal modelling imply extremely fast exhumation rates of c. 15 mm yr^?1 or more. These results agree with the range of exhumation rates (16–50 mm yr^?1) deduced from geochronological results. It is suggested that the Alpe Arami peridotite passively returned towards the surface as part of a buoyant sliver, caused as a consequence of slab breakoff.     

Trace element and Sm–Nd 'age' zoning in garnets from peridotites of the Caledonian and Variscan Mountains and tectonic implications

ABSTRACT Ion probe traverses across garnets from peridotites of the Caledonides of Norway and the Variscides of Poland show zoning patterns for Y, V, Zr, Cr, Ti and the REE. The complexly zoned patterns of garnets from the Bystrzyca Górna peridotite, Poland, are interpreted in terms of a changing P–T history (isobaric cooling followed by decompression and cooling). Weak rimward gradients in REE concentrations in garnets from the Almklovdalen and Sandvika peridotites, Norway, may be relicts of the original growth history of the garnets, but the nearly flat Y, V, Zr, Cr and Ti profiles from the same garnets imply a later period of near-homogenization at uniform P–T. Crushed garnet separates from each body were separated into three or more fractions on the assumption that density and magnetic susceptibility vary with Fe/Mg ratio, and Fe/Mg ratios change from garnet core to rim. Sm-Nd garnet–clinopyroxene ‘ages’ were determined for each fraction to determine whether they are also zoned. Four garnet fractions from the Góry Sowie peridotite give nearly the same ages (397–412 Ma) that are believed to span the interval of garnet growth. Garnet fractions from the Norwegian peridotites define scattered ages (816–1350 Ma) that are suspect, but hint at a Sveconorwegian equilibration event. The data indicate the Variscan and Norwegian peridotites had different histories, despite superficial mineralogical and tectonic similarities. Norwegian garnet peridotites had a long pre-Caledonian history and were extracted from a relatively cold mantle whereas the Variscan garnet peridotites had a comparatively short pre- or Eo-Variscan history and were extracted from a hot mantle.     

The P-T evolution of the Middle Köli Nappe Complex,Scandinavian Caledonides (68° N) and its tectonic implications

Near 68° N the Scandinavian Caledonides are composed of 3 tectonic domains each of which has a different tectonostratigraphy. The lower 2 domains can be related stratigraphically to Scandinavia prior to Caledonian deformation, whereas the highest domain, the Middle Köli Nappe Complex (MKNC) represents a fore-arc accretionary complex that was accreted to Scandinavia during Caledonian deformation. Subsequent to accretion, the flyschoid sediments that dominate the MKNC were metamorphosed to the amphibolite facies. In the area covered by this study, the MKNC is composed of two nappes, a lower Langvatn nappe and an upper Marko nappe, each of which has a unique early metamorphic history. Pelitic mineral assemblages in the Marko nappe constrain the peak P-T to be: 625°<T<775° C and P>7.0 kbars whereas ultramafic mineral assemblages in the lower Langvatn nappe constrain its peak temperature to be <580° C. P-T estimates from garnet-biotite and garnet-plagioclase geothermobarometry for both nappes overlap; ranging from 528° C and 6.6 kbars to 620° C and 8.8 kbars, with an average of 567±32° C and 8.0±0.9 kbar.Analysis of garnet zonation profiles from low variance pelitic assemblages from the Marko nappe using the Gibbs method of Spear and Selverstone (1983) suggests that P-T paths showing cooling (37–125° C) and decompression (20–1700 bars) were followed during the development of the outer part of garnet zonation profiles. The slope of these retrograde P-T paths is approximately 15 bars/° C. Because of the high variance of pelitic assemblages from the Langvatn nappe P-T paths have not been determined.The retrograde cooling rate of the Marko nappe has been estimated by numerical modeling of garnet zonation profiles that are interpreted to have formed by volume diffusion during retrograde cooling. This modeling suggests that the Marko nappe cooled very rapidly (25–100° C/m.y.) between the metamorphic peak and the temperature at which cation-exchange reactions closed. The form of Langvatn nappe garnet zonation profiles suggests that it did not undergo this rapid cooling.The cooling rate estimated for the Marko nappe is probably too high to be produced by unroofing alone and may be the result of late metamorphic thrusting and imbrication within the MKNC during which the cooler Langvatn nappe was underthrust beneath the warmer Marko nappe. The metamorphic peak of the Marko nappe therefore predates the peak of the Langvatn nappe. The peak P-T of the Langvatn nappe and the P-T recorded by geothermobarometry (570° C, 8.0 kbar) approximates the conditions under which the two nappes were juxtaposed.     

Pressure, Temperature, and Structural Evolution of the Orfordville Belt, West-Central New Hampshire

Metamorphic P-T paths have been derived for staurolite-kyanitegrade and garnet grade rocks from the Orfordville Belt, west-centralNew Hampshire. P-T paths calculated from garnet zoning are consistentwith parageneses observed in amphibolites as determined froma petrogenetic grid derived for amphibolites. The P-T pathsfrom the staurolite-kyanite zone show a pressure maximum at6.5 to 7.5 kb and {small tilde} 500?C followed by heating anddecompression to approximately 5 kb, 580?C, and a final phaseof near isobaric cooling. The path from the garnet zone is similar,but does not show the final phase of isobaric cooling. Both nappe-stage and dome-stage folds are observed in the OrfordvilleBelt. Comparison of mesoscale structures with mineral growthindicates that the nappe stage deformation occurred near orbefore the pressure maximum and dome stage deformation tookplace along the decompression-heating path. The last phase ofnear isobaric cooling may have resulted from rapid verticalreadjustment of the Orfordville Belt.     

Two-stage growth of porphyroblastic biotite and garnet in the Barrovian metapelites of the Imjingang belt, central Korea

Porphyroblastic biotite and garnet in the Barrovian metapelites of the Imjingang belt, Korea, were investigated to unravel the sequence and mechanism of mineral growth. Poikiloblastic biotite contains straight inclusion trails (S_i) discontinuous to the major foliation, and develops clear zones at the grain margin. These microstructures suggest an initial growth of biotite between two contractional deformations (D_n−1 and D_n) followed by an overgrowth during D_n. Although garnet poikiloblasts contain variable S_i patterns, their major growth is likely to have occurred during D_n on the basis of compositional relationships among variable garnet types. Early poikiloblasts of both minerals were formed by chemical replacement of the matrix that consisted mainly of chlorite, muscovite and quartz. Subsequent growth of biotite was governed by a crack-filling mechanism, and was accompanied by the production of extensional cracks inside or around biotite, providing fluid pathways. The overgrowth of garnet was favoured at the biotite–garnet interface, and the consequence was a partial replacement of inclusion-poor garnet after biotite subsequent to D_n. In addition, clear zones and pressure shadows as well as the matrix around biotite porphyroblasts were replaced by garnet, suggesting an inheritance of various pre-existing microstructures in the S_i pattern of garnet. Further attention is thus required for any attempt to delineate the microstructural interaction between deformation and metamorphism, particularly in a sample containing early-grown porphyroblasts. Microstructural evidence for the two-stage growth of biotite and garnet is present up to the kyanite zone, indicating that this growth mechanism is prevalent during progressive metamorphism of Barrovian metapelites.     

华北克拉通中部带云中山石榴斜长角闪岩变质演化及其构造意义

云中山地体位于华北克拉通中部造山带中部,是衔接吕梁地体和五台-恒山地体的关键位置.确定云中山地体的变质作用演化历史可为深入理解吕梁-云中山-五台-恒山地区的整体地质过程提供重要限定.对云中山石榴斜长角闪岩开展了详细的岩石学、相平衡模拟和锆石年代学研究.两个代表性样品均具有顺时针变质P-T-t轨迹,峰期阶段位于金红石稳定域,温压条件分别为0.96±0.11 GPa/720±8.0℃（L1903）和1.26±0.08 GPa/756±14.0℃（L1906）;峰期后发生降压作用,金红石转变成钛铁矿,石榴石边部生长斜长石（+普通角闪石）冠状边,普通角闪石转变成镁铁闪石;晚期阶段以冷却为主,石榴石的边部出现少量绿泥石交代.对两个样品的岩石组构和化学成分对比表明,石榴斜长角闪岩的部分熔融受全岩成分影响,岩石贫硅钠而富铁镁钛时难熔,反之则易熔.样品变质锆石的U-Pb定年结果为1 928~1 806 Ma.这些锆石相对富集重稀土,利用锆石Ti温度计计算的结晶温度为520~680℃,与岩石的冷却温度相近,因此所获年龄应代表退变冷却时代.吕梁-云中山-五台-恒山地区的整体地质特征对比表明,云中山地体的岩石-地层组成和变质作用演化与五台-恒山地体非常相似,记录了古元古代晚期的碰撞造山事件.      

Rapid cooling and exhumation of eclogitic rocks from the Great Caucasus, Russia

Diffusion modelling of growth-zoned garnet is used in combination with standard geothermometric and geobarometric techniques to estimate cooling and denudation rates from the mafic eclogites of the Red Cliff area, Great Caucasus, Russia. Euhedral garnet porphyroblasts exhibit different degrees of prograde growth zoning depending on the size of the grain (100 μm to several mm in diameter). Zoning patterns are mainly expressed in terms of Fe–Mg exchange, with 100*Mg/(Mg+Fe) increasing from 18–20 to 33–37 from core to rim. Geothermobarometry yields conditions of 680±40 °C and a minimum of 1.6±0.2 GPa and of 660±40 °C and 0.8±0.2 GPa for the high-pressure and retrograde stages of equilibration, respectively. A temperature of 600±40 °C has been recorded for the late-stage metamorphic overprint in the mica schists surrounding the eclogites. Relaxation of garnet zoning profiles was modelled for three different hypothetical P–T –t trajectories, all with an initial temperature of 680 °C and a pressure change of 0.8 GPa. The first two trajectories involve decompression associated with regular cooling down to 660 °C (near isothermal) and 600 °C. The third path is a two-step trajectory comprising near-isobaric cooling down to 600 °C followed by isothermal decompression to 0.8 GPa. These P–T trajectories cover as wide a range of pressure and temperature changes endured by the rocks as possible, thus representing extreme cases for calculating cooling and exhumation rates. Calculations indicate that the zoning pattern of the smallest garnet (i.e. garnet for which the zoning is most easily eliminated during post-growth processes) along the different paths can be preserved for the following average exhumation and cooling rates: path 1, 143 mm a^?1 and 102 °C Ma^?1; path 2, 60 mm a^?1 and 171 °C Ma^?1; path 3, 11–30 mm a^?1 and 200–400 °C Ma^?1. These results are discussed in light of theoretical P–T–t paths extracted from thermal models of regions of thickened crust, and from analogue models of accretionary wedge and continental lithosphere subduction.     

Dating Post-Metamorphic Cooling of the Eastern Granulites in the Mozambique Belt of Northern Tanzania Using the Garnet Sm-Nd Method

Granulites from the Usambara, Wami River and Uluguru areas in the northern part of the Mozambique Belt in Tanzania yield Sm-Nd garnet — whole rock ages of between 580 and 634 Ma with a mean of 609 ± 11 Ma (2σ). This mean age is only slightly younger than the previously published peak metamorphic age of 641 ± 2 Ma, suggesting that, contrary to some earlier arguments, garnet Sm-Nd ages can be used to closely constrain the age of peak metamorphism even in slowly cooled terranes. Using published peak metamorphic temperatures of ∼810°C and cooling rates of 1–4°C/Ma, the mean age translates into garnet closure temperatures of 690 to 780°C.The similarity in garnet ages over widely separated areas, coupled with the previously established similarity in equilibrium PT conditions, indicate that isolated complexes that form the Eastern Granulites in the Tanzanian sector of the Mozambique Belt share the same thermal history and were formed under the same geodynamic setting.A few published garnet ages of between 525 and 545 Ma indicate a younger, less pervasive event of granulite facies metamorphism in the Belt. The bimodal distribution of garnet ages supports a previously published hypothesis that the assembly of Gondwana took place in two stages. The ∼610 Ma old ages most likely date cooling from granulite facies metamorphism arising from regional crustal thickening associated with the amalgamation of India, Madagascar, parts of eastern Antarctica, the Kalahari craton, the Congo craton and the Arabian-Nubian shield (forming the IMSLEK-ANS collage). On the other hand, the 525–545 Ma ages may mark cooling from a thermal event associated with the collision of Australo-Antarctica with the IMSLEK-ANS collage.     

Decoding the complex internal chemical structure of garnet porphyroblasts from the Zermatt area,Western Alps

Garnet is a prototypical mineral in metamorphic rocks because it commonly preserves chemical and textural features that can be used for untangling its metamorphic development. Large garnet porphyroblasts may show extremely complex internal structures as a result of a polycyclic growth history, deformation, and modification of growth structures by intra‐ and intercrystalline diffusion. The complex internal structure of garnet porphyroblasts from garnet–phengite schists (GPS) of the Zermatt area (Western Alps) has been successfully decoded. The centimetre‐sized garnet porphyroblasts are composed of granulite facies garnet fragments overgrown by a younger generation of grossular‐rich eclogite facies garnet. The early granulite facies garnet (G‐Grt) formed from low‐P, high‐T metamorphism during a pre‐Alpine orogenic event. The late garnet (E‐Grt) is typical of high‐pressure, low‐temperature (HPLT) metamorphism and can be related to Alpine subduction of the schists. Thus, the garnet of the GPS are polycyclic (polymetamorphic). G‐Grt formation occurred at ~670 MPa and 780°C, E‐Grt formed at ~1.7 GPa and 530°C. The G‐Grt is relatively rich in Prp and poor in Grs, while E‐Grt is rich in Grs and poor in Prp. The Alm content (mol.%) of G‐Grt is 68 of E‐Grt 55. After formation of E‐Grt between and around fragmented G‐Grt at 530°C, the GPS have been further subducted and reached a maximum temperature of 580°C before exhumation started. Garnet composition profiles indicate that the initially very sharp contacts between the granulite facies fragments of G‐Grt and fracture seals of HPLT garnet (E‐Grt) have been modified by cation diffusion. The profiles suggest that Ca did not exchange at the scale of 1 µm, whereas Fe and Mg did efficiently diffuse at the derived maximum temperature of 580°C for the GPS at the scale of 7–8 µm. The Grt–Grt diffusion profiles resulted from spending c. 10 Ma at 530–580°C along the P–T–t path. The measured Grt composition profiles are consistent with diffusivities of log D_MgFe = ?25.8 m²/s from modelled diffusion profiles. Mg loss by diffusion from G‐Grt is compensated by Fe gain by diffusion from E‐Grt to maintain charge balance. This leads to a distinctive Fe concentration profile typical of uphill diffusion.     

High‐resolution geochemical record of fluid–rock interaction in a mid‐crustal shear zone: a comparative study of major element and oxygen isotope transport in garnet

Garnet grains from an intensely metasomatized mid‐crustal shear zone in the Reynolds Range, central Australia, exhibit a diverse assortment of textural and compositional characteristics that provide important insights into the geochemical effects of fluid–rock interaction. Electron microprobe X‐ray maps and major element profiles, in situ secondary ion mass spectrometry oxygen isotope analyses, and U–Pb and Sm–Nd geochronology are used to reconstruct their thermal, temporal and fluid evolution. These techniques reveal a detailed sequence of garnet growth, re‐equilibration and dissolution during intracontinental reworking associated with the Ordovician–Carboniferous (450–300 Ma) Alice Springs Orogeny. A euhedral garnet porphyroblast displays bell‐shaped major element profiles diagnostic of prograde growth zoning during shear zone burial. Coexisting granulitic garnet porphyroclasts inherited from precursor wall rocks show extensive cation re‐equilibration assisted by fracturing and fragmentation. Oxygen isotope variations in the former are inversely correlated with the molar proportion of grossular, suggesting that isotopic fractionation is linked to Ca substitution. The latter generally show close correspondence to the isotopic composition of their precursor, indicating slow intergranular diffusion of O relative to Fe²⁺, Mg and Mn. Peak metamorphism associated with shearing (～550 °C; 5.0–6.5 kbar) occurred at c. 360 Ma, followed by rapid exhumation and cooling. Progressive Mn enrichment in rim domains indicates that the retrograde evolution caused partial garnet dissolution. Accompanying intra‐mineral porosity production then stimulated limited oxygen isotope exchange between relict granulitic garnet grains and adjacent metasomatic biotite, resulting in increased garnet δ¹⁸O values over length scales <200 μm. Spatially restricted oxygen interdiffusion was thus facilitated by increased fluid access to reaction interfaces. The concentration of Ca in channelled fracture networks suggests that its mobility was enhanced by a similar mechanism. In contrast, the intergranular diffusion of Fe²⁺, Mg and Mn was rock‐wide under the same P–T regime, as demonstrated by a lack of local spatial variations in the re‐equilibration of these components. The extraction of detailed reaction histories from garnet must therefore take into account the variable length‐ and time‐scales of elemental and isotopic exchange, particularly where the involvement of a fluid phase enhances the possibility of measureable resetting profiles being generated for slowly diffusing components such as Ca and O, even at low ambient temperatures and relatively fast cooling rates.