Multistage Variscan magmatism in the central Tauern Window (Austria) unveiled by U/Pb SHRIMP zircon data

U/Pb SHRIMP ages of nine Variscan leucocratic orthogneisses from the central Tauern Window (Austria) reveal three distinct pulses of magmatism in Early Carboniferous (Visean), Late Carboniferous (Stephanian) and Early Permian, each involving granitoid intrusions and a contemporaneous opening of volcano-sedimentary basins. A similar relationship has been reported for the Carboniferous parts of the basement of the Alps further to the west, e.g. the “External massifs” in Switzerland. After the intrusion of subduction-related, volcanic-arc granitoids (374?±?10?Ma; Zwölferkogel gneiss), collisional intrusive-granitic, anatectic and extrusive-rhyolitic/dacitic rocks were produced over a short interval at ca. 340?Ma (Augengneiss of Felbertauern: 340?±?4?Ma, Hochweißenfeld gneiss: 342?± 5?Ma, Falkenbachlappen gneiss: 343?±?6?Ma). This Early Carboniferous magmatism, which produced relatively small volumes of melt, can be attributed to the amalgamation of the Gondwana-derived “Tauern Window” terrane with Laurussia–Avalonia. Probably due to the oblique nature of the collision, transtensional phenomena (i.e. volcano-sedimentary troughs and high-level intrusives) and transpressional regimes (i.e. regional metamorphism and stacked nappes with anatexis next to thrust planes) evolved contemporaneously. The magmas are mainly of the high-K I-type and may have been generated during a short phase of decompressional melting of lithospheric mantle and lower crustal sources. In the Late Carboniferous, a second pulse of magmatism occurred, producing batholiths of calc-alkaline I-type granitoids (e.g. Venediger tonalite: 296?±?4?Ma) and minor coeval bodies of felsic and intermediate volcanics (Heuschartenkopf gneiss: 299?±?4?Ma, Peitingalm gneiss: 300?±?5?Ma). Prior to this magmatism, several kilometres of upper crust must have been eroded, because volcano-sedimentary sequences hosting the Heu- schartenkopf and Peitingalm gneisses rest unconformably on 340-Ma-old granitoids. The youngest (Permian) period of magma generation contains the intrusion of the S-type Granatspitz Central Gneiss at 271?±?4?Ma and the extrusion of the rhyolitic Schönbachwald gneiss protolith at 279?±?9?Ma. These magmatic rocks may have been associated with local extension along continental wrench zones through the Variscan orogenic crust or with a Permian rifting event. The Permian and the above-mentioned Late Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary sequences were probably deposited in intra-continental graben structures, which survived post-Variscan uplift and Alpine compressional tectonics.     

Understanding the pre-Variscan and Variscan basement components of the central Tauern Window, Eastern Alps (Austria): constraints from single zircon U-Pb geochronology

New single-grain and within-grain U-Pb zircon ages from the central Tauern Window help sorting out the time dimension among the various Variscan and pre-Variscan basement components that were strongly overprinted by Alpine orogeny. Single-grain isotope dilution (ID-TIMS) U-Pb zircon geochronology of three Basisamphibolit samples yield protolith formation ages of 351±2, 349±1 and 343±1 Ma. Laser ablation ICP-MS and ID-TIMS U-Pb detrital zircon dating of the Biotitporphyroblastenschiefer constrained the maximum time of sedimentation to between 362±6 Ma and 368±17 Ma. Paragneisses from the Zwölferzug yield maximum sedimentation ages from 345±5 Ma (ion microprobe data) to 358±10 Ma. Zircons from gabbroic clasts and detrital zircons from a meta-agglomerate from the Habach Phyllite give an upper intercept age of 536±8 Ma and a near-concordant age of 506±9 Ma, respectively. Hence, apart from the Habach Phyllite, the maximum sedimentation ages of the metasediments investigated range from Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous. Consequently, the Basisamphibolit, the Biotitporphyroblastenschiefer, and the paragneisses of the Zwölferzug form parts of the Variscan basement series. The Basisamphibolit (351-343 Ma) is distinct both in space and time of formation from the Zwölferzug garnet amphibolite (c. 486 Ma), which forms part of the pre-Variscan basement.     

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.     

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.     

玲珑金矿区成矿后花岗斑岩脉的锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄对胶北地体演化的制约

采用SHRIMP测年技术对玲珑金矿区成矿后花岗斑岩脉的锆石进行了U Pb年龄测定,获得岩脉岩浆锆石的206Pb/238U平均年龄为119.4 Ma,同时获得大量的继承锆石年龄,范围从3 114~127 Ma。继承锆石年龄显示,胶北地体前寒武纪经历了中太古代的陆核生成阶段;新太古代花岗岩绿岩地体增生阶段;古元古代孔兹岩系的沉积阶段;新元古代蓬莱群盖层形成阶段。整个古生代,地体处于稳定的隆升受剥蚀状态,没有明显的岩浆活动。三叠纪,华南与华北克拉通碰撞,郯庐断裂带形成。晚三叠世—中侏罗世,后碰撞的巨大挤压作用导致华北克拉通南缘地壳增厚,玲珑和蚌埠荆山等花岗岩生成。中晚侏罗世,郯庐断裂带发生了巨大的左行平移,胶北地体从蚌埠—五河的东部推移到现在的位置。早白垩世,郯庐断裂由左旋压扭向右行拉张转化,导致胶北地体上郭家岭岩体生成。中晚白垩世,郯庐断裂发生了大规模的拉张,导致沂沭裂谷、胶莱盆地、青山组火山岩、金矿床形成和隆起区大量脉岩侵入。     

U-Pb (zircon) ages for the gneissic terrane west of the Nile,southern Egypt

The first U-Pb zircon ages are reported for the gneissic bedrock inliers previously interpreted as part of the Nile Craton. The inliers crop out in the Egyptian Western Desert, east of the Uweinat area and west of the Eastern Desert. Multi- and single-grain zircon analyses of granitoid gneiss and migmatite from Gebel Um Shagir, Aswan, and another locality approximately 160 km south-west of Aswan, yield simple discordia with near modern day Pb loss trajectories, and the following Neoproterozoic crystallization ages: 626+4/–3, 634 ± 4 and 741 ± 3 Ma. In contrast, multi- and single-grain U-Pb analyses (zircon and sphene) from an anorthositic gabbro at Gebel Kamil (22°46N 26°21E) and an anorthosite at Gebel El Asr (22°46N 31°10E) yield Archean and Paleoproterozoic emplacement ages. The former yield a crystallization age of > 2.67 Ga and a metamorphic age of 2.0 Ga; the latter a metamorphic age of 0.69 Ga and an inheritance age of 1.9–2.1 Ga. Because high grade gneiss and migmatite of Neoproterozoic, Paleoproterozoic and Archean age crop out west of the Nile, pre-Neoproterozoic crust should no longer be identified by its metamorphic grade. By contrast, mapping the anorthosite and related rocks might provide first-order estimates for the extension of pre-Neoproterozoic crust in north-east Africa. It is suggested that Archean and Paleoproterozoic crust of the Uweinat and Congo Craton are contiguous because these U-Pb (zircon) data show no evidence for a Neoproterozoic thermal overprint in the Gebel Kamil area and there is no pronounced Neoproterozoic magmatic activity south of the Uweinat inlier and north of the Congo Craton.     

Magmato-sedimentary Carboniferous to Jurassic evolution of the western Tauern window,Eastern Alps (constraints from U-Pb zircon dating and geochemistry)

New geochronological U-Pb (LA-ICP-MS) zircon data and geochemical analyses from the Variscan orthogneisses and metavolcanic rocks in the western Tauern window are presented and used to reconstruct the pre-Alpine evolution of this area. The late- and post-Variscan stage in the Tauern window was characterised by distinct magmatic pulses accompanied by the formation of volcano-sedimentary basins. The magmatic activity started in the Visean (335.4 ± 1.5 Ma) with the intrusion of a K-rich, durbachitic biotite-granite (protolith of the Ahorn gneiss). Following a period of exhumation and erosion, Westfalian–Stefanian volcanics were deposited (Grierkar meta-rhyodacite: 309.8 ± 1.5 Ma; Venntal meta-rhyolite: 304.0 ± 3.0 Ma). A renewed magmatic pulse occurred in the Early Permian, producing large volumes of tonalites and granodiorites (Tux meta-granodiorite: 292.1 ± 1.9 Ma). The youngest magmatism is characterised by pyroclastic and tuffitic deposits (Pfitsch meta-rhyolite: 280.5 ± 2.6 Ma; Schönach valley meta-andesite: 279.0 ± 4.8 Ma). This volcanism was probably related to crustal extensional faulting within an intra-continental graben and horst setting, asthenospheric upwelling and heat flow increase due to the onset of the Permian rifting. The Permo-Triassic peneplanation and subsidence is documented by shallow marine and evaporitic deposits. Probably in the Middle Jurassic times, the area was flooded and in the Late Jurassic the whole area was covered by limestones, representing post-rift sediments on the southern European continental margin.     

喜马拉雅地体的泛非-早古生代造山事件年龄记录

喜马拉雅地体是55±10Ma以来印度陆块与欧亚大陆碰撞而形成的增生地体,位于其中的高喜马拉雅与特提斯-喜马拉雅构造单元的变质基底主要由角闪岩相的富铝变质沉积岩和花岗质片麻岩组成。对两类岩石中锆石的SHRIMPU-Pb测年结果表明,除了记录了20Ma以来的构造事件年龄外,主要保存了529-457Ma的变形和变质事件记录,另外还保存了更早期(>835Ma)的年龄信息。根据20Ma以来崛起的喜马拉雅挤出岩片中包含早期强烈褶皱和向南的斜向逆冲构造以及伴随的角闪岩相变质作用记录,结合岩石测年所获得的大量泛非-早古生代年龄和奥陶纪底砾岩的发现,说明曾位于南半球印度陆块北部的变质基底岩石经历过泛非-早古生代造山事件,同位素年代学数据表明:(1)原始喜马拉雅山是泛非-早古生代造山事件的产物;(2)印度陆块早-中元古代变质基底的再活化在原始喜马拉雅山形成中起重要的作用;(3)现在的喜马拉雅山是在泛非-早古生代造山事件基础上再造山的结果。     

Alpine geodynamic evolution of passive and active continental margin sequences in the Tauern Window (eastern Alps, Austria, Italy): a review

The Penninic oceanic sequence of the Glockner nappe and the foot-wall Penninic continental margin sequences exposed within the Tauern Window (eastern Alps) have been investigated in detail. Field data as well as structural and petrological data have been combined with data from the literature in order to constrain the geodynamic evolution of these units. Volcanic and sedimentary sequences document the evolution from a stable continent that was formed subsequent to the Variscan orogeny, to its disintegration associated with subsidence and rifting in the Triassic and Jurassic, the formation of the Glockner oceanic basin and its consumption during the Upper Cretaceous and the Paleogene. These units are incorporated into a nappe stack that was formed during the collision between a Penninic Zentralgneis block in the north and a southern Austroalpine block. The Venediger nappe and the Storz nappe are characterized by metamorphic Jurassic shelf deposits (Hochstegen group) and Cretaceous flysch sediments (Kaserer and Murtörl groups), the Eclogite Zone and the Rote Wand–Modereck nappe comprise Permian to Triassic clastic sequences (Wustkogel quartzite) and remnants of platform carbonates (Seidlwinkl group) as well as Jurassic volcanoclastic material and rift sediments (Brennkogel facies), covered by Cretaceous flyschoid sequences. Nappe stacking was contemporaneous to and postdated subduction-related (high-pressure) eclogite and blueschist facies metamorphism. Emplacement of the eclogite-bearing units of the Eclogite zone and the Glockner nappe onto Penninic continental units (Zentralgneis block) occurred subsequent to eclogite facies metamorphism. The Eclogite zone, a former extended continental margin, was subsequently overridden by a pile of basement-cover nappes (Rote Wand–Modereck nappe) along a ductile out-of-sequence thrust. Low-angle normal faults that have developed during the Jurassic extensional phase might have been inverted during nappe emplacement.     

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.     

拉脊山口蛇绿混杂岩中辉绿岩的地球化学特征及SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄

拉脊山口蛇绿混杂岩是分布于中祁连和南祁连构造带之间蛇绿混杂带的重要组成部分。该混杂带中的岩石种类相对齐全,各岩性间为构造接触;其中辉绿岩以岩块和岩墙两种形式产出。辉绿岩块SiO₂含量为49.80%~50.13%,MgO含量为5.43%~5.64%,FeO^T为10.96%~11.52%,TiO₂含量较高（2.38%~2.62%）;辉绿岩墙SiO₂含量为43.41%~45.74%,MgO含量为9.04%~10.64%,FeO^T为8.39%~9.96%,TiO₂含量较低（0.89%~1.02%）,二者均属拉斑玄武岩系列。其中辉绿岩块ΣREE为135.4×10^-6~150.9×10^-6,（La/Yb）_N=3.51~4.03,具有右倾型稀土配分模式,富集Rb、Ba、K、Sr等大离子亲石元素及Th、Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf、Ti等高场强元素,呈现洋岛拉斑玄武岩特征;辉绿岩墙ΣREE为36.10×10^-6~43.72×10^-6,（La/Yb）_N=1.12~1.20,稀土配分曲线相对平坦,呈现出与洋中脊玄武岩相似的稀土和微量元素配分模式。这两类辉绿岩样品均缺乏Nb、Ta和Ti负异常,可能分别形成于洋岛/海山和洋中脊环境。SHRIMP锆石U-Pb测年结果显示,辉绿岩块形成时代为491.0±5.1Ma。这些不同构造属性的辉绿岩可能形成于原特提斯洋向北俯冲消减过程。     

用SHRIMP测定锆石U-Pb年龄的工作方法

用SHRIMP测定锆石U-Pb年龄涉及锆石单矿物分选、样品靶制备、U-Pb同位素组成测定、原始数据处理、数据解释等多方面。锆石分选中要避免不同样品的交叉污染,要尽量将岩石中所有的锆石分选出来;淘洗岩石粉末时要避免丢失细小的锆石,因细小的锆石更重要。制作样品靶时,粘贴到样品靶的锆石应反映岩石中锆石的全貌。数据处理中,要修正或剔除异常数据、评估拟参加加权平均计算的每个数据权重的合理性。通常用测得的众数年龄的加权平均值作为侵位年龄或喷发年龄会老于实际年龄,应使用样品中最年轻的锆石年龄来限定岩浆侵位或喷发年龄。     

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.     

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.     

Zoisite- and clinozoisite-segregations in metabasites (Tauern Window, Austria) as evidence for high-pressure fluid–rock interaction

High-pressure zoisite- and clinozoisite-bearing segregations are common in garnet- and albite-bearing amphibolites of the Palaeozoic part of the Lower Schieferhülle, south-central Tauern Window, Austria. The zoisite segregations (primary assemblage: Zo+Qtz+Cal) formed during an early to pre-Hercynian high-pressure event (P≫0.6 GPa, T =500–550 °C) by hydrofracturing as a result of protolith dehydration. Zoisite is growth zoned from Fe³⁺-poor cores (Al₂Fe=9 mol%) to Fe³⁺-rich rims (17 mol%), and has high Sr, Pb and Ga contents and LREE-enriched REE patterns, controlling the trace element budget of the segregations. Hercynian deformation at c. 0.7 GPa/600 °C kinked and cracked primary zoisite and enhanced breakdown into secondary zoisite (13 mol% Al₂Fe), clinozoisite (40–55 mol% Al₂Fe), albite (an_<20), calcite and white mica during an Eoalpine high-pressure event at 0.9–1.2 GPa/400–500 °C. The clinozoisite segregations (primary assemblage: Czo+Qtz+Omp+Ttn+Chl+Cal) are mm- to cm-wide, vein-like bodies, cross-cutting fabric elements of the host garnet amphibolite. They formed during the Eoalpine high-pressure event at 0.9–1.2 GPa/400–500 °C. During Alpine exhumation, omphacite was pseudomorphed by amphibole, albite, quartz and clinozoisite. Oxygen isotope data suggest equilibrium between host metabasite and zoisite segregations and indicate an internal fluid source and fluid buffering by the protolith. Mobility of P, Nb and LREE changed the protolith’s trace element composition in the vicinity of the zoisite segregations: Mobilization of LREE is evidenced by decreasing modal amounts of LREE-rich epidote and decreasing LREE contents in LREE-rich epidote towards the segregations, changing the REE patterns of the host metabasite from LREE-enriched to LREE-depleted. Tectonic discrimination diagrams, based on the trace element content of metabasites, should be applied with extreme caution.