Regional-scale fluid flow and element mobility in Barrow’s metamorphic zones,Stonehaven, Scotland

The geochemistry of metamorphic quartz vein formation in Barrow’s index mineral zones north of Stonehaven, Scotland, was investigated in order to assess regional fluid flow and mass transfer. Metamorphic grade in the Dalradian metasediments increases to the north–northwest away from the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF) and associated ophiolitic rocks of the Highland Border Complex (HBC), passing through the Chlorite (Chl), Biotite (Bt), Garnet (Grt), Chloritoid (Cld), and Staurolite (St) zones. Syn-metamorphic fluid infiltration at 462±8.8 Ma (Breeding et al. in Am Mineral 89:1067, 2004) produced considerable quartz veining. Vein abundance varies from about 5 to 15 volume percent of the outcrops; veins tend to be more abundant in metapelitic layers than in metapsammitic ones. Metamorphic veins are surrounded by centimeter- to decimeter-wide zones of chemical and mineralogical alteration (selvages). Porphyroblasts, particularly Bt, Grt, Cld, and St, are typically larger in selvages than in wallrocks distal to veins. The altered selvages underwent fluid-driven addition of Na, Ca, and Sr, and loss of K, Rb, and Ba. Alteration is most intense within ∼750 m of the HBF, but is still very significant at the northern end of the field area some 2 km away. Mg/Fe^T (Fe^T=total iron) was either unchanged or increased due to alteration. Silica was added at some Chl and Bt zone localities near the HBF. Pb mass transfer was variable although Pb was added at a number of locations. Rare Earth elements (REE) were generally immobile, but light REE and possibly heavy REE were lost at one field site. The gain of Na and Ca and loss of K promoted the growth of plagioclase at the expense of micas (particularly muscovite) in selvages and wallrock inclusions throughout the field area and, probably, some calcite and/or dolomite growth directly adjacent to the HBF. The Ca gains were also critical for epidote production in the Bt zone. Gains of Ca and increases in Mg/Fe^T helped to stabilize Grt at the expense of Cld and St in some selvages. Hornblende and cummingtonite were discovered in strongly altered metapelitic rocks at one Cld zone locality. The metasomatism puts important constraints on the processes of mass transfer and suggests two models for regional fluid flow. In the first model, fluid flow in a direction of increasing temperature downward along the HBF added Na and Ca, and removed K from the Dalradian. In the second model, fluid flow upward from the HBC transported Na and Ca into the overlying Dalradian and, at the same time, stripped out K. The latter model is favored because it can most readily account for silica addition near the HBF, but neither model can be ruled out at present. In either case, the veins represent fractures that transmitted very large time-integrated fluid fluxes of at least ∼10⁴ m³ (fluid)/m² (rock). Consequently, the veins were conduits for regional fluid flow that caused considerable open-system chemical and mineralogical alteration during metamorphism. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

The farnacht formation along the south side of the clew bay fault zone,Western Ireland: Its chemistry and age of metamorphism

The tectonically isolated Farnacht Formation consists of calc-alkaline dacitic-andesitic lavas of volcanic arc affinity. It is situated immediately to the south of the Clew Bay Fault Zone (western continuation of the Highland Boundary Fault Zone of Scotland) in the northeast corner of the Lower Palaeozoic South Mayo Trough in northwest Ireland. It has been metamorphosed to biotite grade greenschist facies following the development of a pervasive, c-s composite muscovite, quartz, and feldspar schistosity. The Farnacht Formation may comprise a terrane that is directly unrelated to nearby Ordovician and Silurian rocks; its present position was fixed largely by Wenlock times. The age of the Farnacht Formation and the deformational event(s) that produced the schistosity are not known. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹ Ar step heating from four specimens have dated the crystallization of biotite at from 422 ± 2 to 405 ± 14 Ma with a mean age of 413 Ma. These ages date either the post-D2, pre-D3 metamorphic peak, or a hornfelsing of the same structural age related to an unseen thermal source, and provide a minimum age for the end Silurian - early Devonian Caledonian tectonothermal activity in the northeast part of the South Mayo Trough.     

Reactions to define the biotite isograd in the Ryoke metamorphic belt,Kii Peninsula,Japan

Two types of biotite isograd are defined in the low-grade metamorphism of the Wazuka area, a Ryoke metamorphic terrain in the Kii Peninsula, Japan. The first, BI₁, is defined by the reaction of chlorite+K-feldspar= biotite+muscovite+quartz+H₂O that took place in psammitic rocks, and the second, BI₂, by the continuous reaction between muscovite, chlorite, biotite and quartz in pelitic rocks. The Fe/Mg ratios of the host rocks do not significantly affect the reactions. From the paragenesis of pelitic and psammitic metamorphic rocks, the following mineral zones were established for this low-pressure regional metamorphic terrain: chlorite, transitional, chlorite-biotite, biotite, and sillimanite. The celadonite content of muscovite solid solution in pelitic rocks decreases systematically with the grade of metamorphism from 38% in the chlorite zone to 11% in the biotite zone. Low pressure does not prohibit muscovite from showing the progressive change of composition, if only rocks with appropriate paragenesis are chosen. A qualitative phase diagram of the AKF system relevant to biotite formation suggests that the higher the pressure of metamorphism, the higher the celadonite content of muscovite at BI₁, which is confirmed by comparing the muscovites from the Barrovian and Ryoke metamorphism.     

Regional and contact metamorphism within the Moy Intrusive Complex,Grampian Highlands,Scotland

In central Scotland, the Moy Intrusive Complex consists of (1) the Main Phase — syntectonic peraluminous granodiorite to granite emplaced at c. 455 Ma, intruded by (2) the Finglack Alaskite — post-tectonic leucocratic granite emplaced at 407+/-5 Ma. The Main Phase was emplaced into country rocks at amphibolite facies temperatures. Rb-Sr dates and a compositional spectrum of decreasing celadonite content in Main Phase muscovite suggest the persistence of c. 550° C temperatures for c. 30 Ma but with a declining pressure regime, i.e. isothermal uplift. The Finglack Alaskite was intruded at high structural level, leading to the development of a contact metamorphic aureole in the Main Phase. The thermal effects of contact metamorphism include intergrowths of andalusite, biotite and feldspar in pseudomorphs after muscovite. This is associated with recrystallized granoblastic quartz. Muscovite breakdown and reaction with adjacent biotite, quartz and feldspar, i.e. a function of local mineral assemblage rather than bulk rock composition, is postulated to explain the occurrence of metamorphic andalusite in a granitoid rock.The Main Phase pluton of the Moy Intrusive Complex lies within a NNE trending belt of c. 450 Ma Caledonian tectonic and magmatic activity paralleling the Moine Thrust, and extending from northern Scotland to the Highland Boundary Fault. Syntectonic S-type magmatism with upper crustal source areas implies crustal thickening and suggests an intracratonic orogeny.     

The Kirsh gneiss dome: an extensional metamorphic core complex from the SE Arabian Shield

A number of gneiss-cored domes and antiforms are exposed along the regional strike-slip Najd fault system in the Arabian Shield and the eastern desert of Egypt. The mode of origin is still controversial, although plausible comparisons with modern metamorphic core complexes were made in some well-studied areas. The Kirsh dome is located within the major Ar Rika shear zone and consists of a core of orthogneiss/migmatite and an envelope of paragneisses with locally abundant kyanite-bearing quartzites. The dome is surrounded by the low-grade metasediments of the Murdama Group and is bound from the south by a low-angle dip-slip fault. Beyond the southern strand of the Ar Rika Fault is the Kibdi Basin which hosts unmetamorphosed sediments belonging to the Jibalah Group; this group occupies scattered pull-apart basins closely associated with releasing bends along the Najd fault system. Little dating has been done on the gneiss domes of the Arabian Shield; however, recent dates from similar structures in the eastern desert and Sinai range from 580 to 620?Ma. A similar, albeit younger ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 557?±?15?Ma was obtained from a biotite paragneiss south of Jabal Kirsh; this age difference probably represent the time interval it took the Kirsh rocks to cool below the biotite closure temperature and would place a lower age limit for the dome. The Kirsh dome occupies an extensional zone between left-stepping faults; movement within this zone might have caused enough decompression to trigger fluid-absent melting in the middle crust especially as the rocks cross the biotite dehydration solidus. Diapiric ascent aided by strike-slip dilatancy pumping led to the emplacement of the Kirsh rocks in their present position within the Murdama Group metasediments.     

Contact metamorphism of pelitic,psammitic and calcareous sediments in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales

Contact metamorphism has been recognized along a 4 km wide belt adjacent to the shallow‐dipping eastern margin of the Arthursleigh Tonalite, an Early Devonian pluton of the Marulan Batholith, eastern New South Wales. In Ordovician psammitic and pelitic rocks three zones of progressive contact metamorphism range from muscovite + biotite + chlorite assemblages in the outer zone to K‐feldspar + cordierite assemblages adjacent to the pluton and in metasedimentary xenoliths. Retrograde phenomena include extensive replacement of metamorphic minerals by ‘sericite’ and chlorite. Calcareous metasediments adjacent to the tonalite typically contain assemblages of quartz + calcic plagioclase + ferrosalite + sphene, or wollastonite + calcite + diopside with minor grossularite and vesuvianite. Thermal effects in volcanic rocks along the western margin of the pluton are confined to recrystallization of the groundmass.

The regional geology indicates confining pressures of approximately 1 kbar at the time of emplacement of the tonalite. Contact metamorphic temperatures were estimated from two‐feldspar geothermometry to attain a maximum of approximately 590°C for rocks in the innermost zone of the aureole and 700°C for the xenoliths. Fluid compositions attending progressive contact metamorphism were water‐rich (Xco₂<0.2) and, during cooling, these fluids probably account for the extensive retrograde hydration observed in the aureole.     

Late Caledonian sinistral strike-slip displacement across the Leannan Fault system,northwest Ireland

The Leannan Fault of north-west Ireland is a sinistral strike-slip fault system which juxtaposes Dalradian metasediments of differing structural trends and metamorphic grades. It probably represents a south-west splay of the Great Glen Fault of Scotland. The recognition and tracing of the Foyle Synform across the fault zone, together with the correlation of regional Dalradian strike swings, lateral sedimentary facies variation and metamorphic grades, suggest a sinistral displacement of 34 km across the fault. Members of the Leannan Fault system displace a Lower Devonian (about 397 Ma) granite, but are overlain by Viséan (about 352 Ma) sandstones, thus constraining major late Caledonian sinistral motions to the Middle to Upper Devonian.     

Cleaved clasts in Dalradian conglomerates: possible evidence for Neoproterozoic compressional tectonism in Scotland and Ireland?

Cleaved metasedimentary clasts are present in stratigraphically and geographically distinct conglomerates in the Argyll and Southern Highland Groups of the Neoproterozoic Dalradian succession in the SW Scottish Highlands and NW Ireland. The significance and relationships of these clasts are that: (1) they were unequivocally reworked and deposited by sedimentary processes; (2) their internal foliation is probably due to contractional deformation that pre‐dates regional Caledonian fabrics; and (3) most of the cleaved clasts are only moderately deformed psammites and pelites and thus cannot be construed as having been derived from extensional mylonites. These conclusions, coupled with the generally accepted inferences that the Dalradian succession post‐dates Grenville deformation (c. 1100–1000 Ma) and pre‐dates early Palaeozoic Caledonian deformation (c. 470 Ma) and that the lowermost exposed Dalradian rocks, the Grampian Group, are truncated by a c. 806 Ma shear zone, imply that the clasts must have been foliated during an episode of mid‐Neoproterozoic contractional deformation. The clasts may thus represent further evidence in support of the contentious c. 870–800 Ma Knoydartian orogeny and thereby further render as equivocal interpretations that the Neoproterozoic tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Scottish Highlands and NW Ireland is a record of long‐lived ‘episodic’ extensional tectonism. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The clew bay group: A displaced terrane of highland border group rocks (Cambro-ordovician) in Northwest Ireland

Marine turbidites, tuffs, black mudstones and conglomerates of the Cambro-Ordovician Clew Bay Group, were deposited in the E–W elongate transtensional Clew Bay Graben that is centred on Clew Bay, NW Ireland. The group is characterized by extensive sedimentary deformation and mass movement on slides; olistostromes, autoclastic breccias and course proximal turbidites are interbedded with apparently less disturbed but often overturned sediments. The Clew Bay Group lies structurally above serpentinized dunite/harzburgite breccias, schistose carbonate peridotites, and other basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks that have ophiolitic geochemical affinities; the sediments may have been in part deposited upon oceanic crust. Ophiolites and sediments that now rest on the Clew Bay Thrust abut Silurian shallow water strata in which the main tectonothermal history, associated with sinistral transcurrent faulting along the thrust zone, is dated at about 410 Ma. The sole thrust dips northward and coalesces with a major deep structure along the Fair Head-Clew Bay Line (FCL) that is the western continuation of the Highland Border Fault of Scotland. Blueschist relics in the Dalradian immediately to the north of the FCL indicate that subduction was active early in the history of the late Cambrian–early Ordovician Grampian orogeny. The Clew Bay Thrust was a sinistral, transpressional shear zone late in its history, but it probably originated as an obduction complex. The Clew Bay Group cannot be traced into sedimentary, metamorphic or structural continuity with the adjacent Dalradian to the north or Ordovician and Silurian rocks in the South Mayo Trough to the south. It should be considered as a distinct terrane (Clew bay Terrane) or a subterrane of Highland Border-type rocks along the southern margin of the Grampian Terrane.     

The low-pressure partial-melting behaviour of natural boron-bearing metapelites from the Mt. Stafford area,central Australia

This study has examined the ~300 MPa partial melting behaviour of four metapelites collected from the highest grade rocks occurring below the anatectic zone of the Mt. Stafford area, Arunta Inlier, central Australia. In this area, metasediments are interpreted to have undergone partial melting within the andalusite stability field; possibly as a result of a lowering of the metapelite solidus by the presence of boron in the rocks. Two of the samples were two mica metapelites (MTS70 and MTS71). These both contained significant quantities of tourmaline and were thus boron enriched. The other two samples are biotite metapelites. One of these rocks contains only a trace of tourmaline (MTS8) and the other is tourmaline free (MTS7). Despite expectations that muscovite in the two mica samples would break down via a subsolidus reaction, muscovite was stable to above 750°C due to the incorporation of Ti, phengitic and possibly F components into its structure. Between 750 and 800°C, muscovite melted out completely via a coupled muscovite + biotite fluid-absent incongruent reaction. Tourmaline was partially consumed in this reaction, with the elbaitic component being preferentially consumed. In the most mica-rich sample this reaction produced ~60% melt at 800°C. In the biotite metapelites, biotite melting began at a temperature below 800°C and was accompanied by very modest melt production at this low temperature. In contrast to the two mica metapelites, the main pulse of melt production in these samples occurred at a temperature between 850 and 950°C. In both these samples biotite + melt coexisted over a temperature range in excess of 150°C, and in MTS8, biotite was still in the run products at 950°C. The very refractory nature of these evolved biotite compositions is most likely a consequence of both the presence of a Ti buffering phase in the assemblage (ilmenite) and the essentially plagioclase-free nature of the starting compositions. Under the fluid-absent conditions of this study, tourmaline is clearly a reactant in the partial melting process, but does not appear to shift the fluid-absent incongruent melting reactions markedly. In the tourmaline-rich two mica metapelites, tourmaline only disappears from the run products at a temperature above 850°C, where it coexisted with a substantial melt proportion. This appears to coincide with the point of maximum boron concentration in the melts.

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Regression Modelling of Metamorphic Reactions in Metapelites, Snow Peak, Northern Idaho

The second of two periods of regional metamorphism that affectedpelitic rocks near Snow Peak caused complete re-equilibrationof mineral assemblages and resulted in a consistent set of metamorphicisograds. Metamorphic chlorite and biotite occur in the lowestgrade rocks. With increasing grade, garnet, staurolite, andkyanite join the assemblage, resulting in a transition zonecontaining all the above phases. At higher grade, chlorite,and finally staurolite disappear. Mass balance relations at isograds and among minerals of low-varianceassemblages have been modelled by a non-linear least-squaresregression technique. The progressive sequence can be describedin terms of schematic T-X_H2O relations among chlorite, biotite,garnet, staurolite, and kyanite at P_total above the KFMASH invariantpoint involving those phases. The first appearance of garnetwas the result of an Fe-Mg-Mn continuous reaction. As temperaturerose, the garnet zone assemblage encountered the stauroliteisograd reaction, approximated by the model reaction: 3?0 chlorite + 1?5 garnet + 3?3 muscovite + 05 ilmenite = 1?0staurolite + 3?1 biotite + 1?5 plagioclase + 3?3 quartz + 10?3H₂O. The staurolite zone corresponds to buffering along this reactionto the intersection where chlorite, biotite, garnet, staurolite,and kyanite coexist. The transition zone assemblage formed byreaction at this T–X _H2O intersection which migrates towardmore H2O-rich fluid composition with progressive reaction. Thenet reaction at the intersection is approximated by the transitionzone reaction: 1?0 chlorite +1?1 muscovite + 0?2 ilmenite = 2?7 kyanite + 1?0biotite + 0?4 albite + 4?2 H₂O. Chlorite was commonly the first phase to have been exhaustedand the remaining assemblage was buffered along a staurolite-outreaction, represented by the model reaction: 1?0 staurolite + 3?4 quartz + 0?4 anorthite + 1?4 garnet + 0?1ilmenite + 7?9 kyanite + 2?0 H₂O. Consumption of staurolite by this reaction resulted in the highestgrade assemblage, which contains kyanite, garnet, biotite, muscovite,quartz, plagioclase, ilmenite, and graphite.     

Oxygen isotope geochemistry of the Omeo Metamorphic Complex,Victoria: Implications for metamorphic fluid flow,mineralisation and anatexis

Metamorphosed turbidites from the Omeo Metamorphic Complex show only minor changes in δ¹⁸O values with increasing metamorphic grade from 13.4 ± 1.7% in the chlorite and biotite zones to 12.3 ± 1.0% in the sillimanite + K‐feldspar zone. Rocks within 5 km of the S‐type granite at Hume Dam have δ¹⁸O values of 6.8–8.1% that probably reflect interaction with heated meteoric‐igneous fluids. Interaction with igneous fluids has also occurred close to other I‐ and S‐type granites in this region. However, pervasive metamorphic fluid‐rock interaction in this terrain did not occur, which limits the region's potential for hydrothermal mineralisation. Anatexis at high grades was probably via dehydration‐melting reactions that consumed muscovite and biotite, which is consistent with there being little fluid present during metamorphism. Small (kilometre scale or less) S‐type granites in the sillimanite + K‐feldspar zone have δ¹⁸O values similar to those of the surrounding metasediments and probably formed by melting of those rocks. By contrast, larger (tens of kilometres scale) Ca‐rich, peraluminous, S‐type granites have lower δ¹⁸O values than the surrounding metasediments, and may represent melts of underlying middle to lower crust.     

Phase relations of biotite and stilpnomelane in the greenschist facies

Phase relations of biotite and stilpnomelane and associated silicate minerals have been studied in rocks of the greenschist facies, chiefly from Otago, New Zealand and western Vermont, but also from Scotland, Minnesota-Michigan iron range, and northwest Washington. That stilpnomelane in the greenschicht facies crystallizes initially with nearly all iron in the ferrous state is indicated by chemical analyses, high p-T experiments, and phase relationships. Alteration of stilpnomelane after metamorphism not only oxidizes iron but leaches potassium; corrections for both effects must be made in using analyses of brown stilpnomelane in studies of phase relations. Two discontinuous reactions which produce biotite at the biotite isograd have been identified:

1. muscovite+stilpnomelane+actinolite→ biotite+chlorite+epidote
2. chlorite+microcline→ biotite+muscovite. Biotite produced by the first of these reactions has a limited range of variation in Fe/Mg. As grade advances within the biotite zone more magnesian and ferruginous biotites become stable in consequence of the two continuous reactions:
3. muscovite+actinolite+chlorite→ biotite (Mg-rich)+epidote
4. muscovite+stilpnomelane→ biotite (Fe-rich)+chlorite.

Stilpnomelane is stable in muscovite-free rocks throughout the biotite zone, and even up to the grade at which hornblende becomes stable. Phengitic muscovite is stable throughout the biotite zone in New Zealand and thus apparently does not contribute to the formation of biotite until a higher grade is reached.     

The metamorphic rocks of the southern part of the Mainland of Shetland

The paper presents a one mile to the inch geological map of the southern part of the Mainland of Shetland (excluding areas underlain by Old Red rocks) and an account of the metamorphic rocks occurring there. The metasediments mostly belong to the East Mainland Succession which is about 14 km thick. They dip vertically and strike north-south. The metasediments in the west were originally laminated sandstones devoid of current bedding and grading and composed of poorly weathered material. They include several limestones up to half a kilometer thick. In the east the metasediments were originally gritty quartzites and sandstones together with shales which are usually finer grained and composed of more weathered material than those to the west. On two occasions the deposition of these rocks was interrupted by outpourings of spilites. The rocks show signs of four metamorphisms. The first metamorphism was accompanied by a penetrative deformation causing elongation of the rocks in a north-south direction, shortening in an east-west direction and elongation and shortening in different areas in a vertical direction. As a result of this metamorphism the pelitic rocks over the whole area became schists containing such minerals as biotite, chlorite, muscovite, quartz and feldspar, and possibly garnet. In a later metamorphism a belt of these rocks a kilometer or so wide became gneissified, probably due to the passage of high temperature fluids. In various parts of the area such minerals as biotite, chlorite, garnet, staurolite, chloritoid, and kyanite grew as porphyroblasts in a series of episodes referred to collectively as the porphyroblast metamorphism. After these metamorphisms the area was intruded, 400 m.y. ago, by a number of granites. In places these have produced extensive thermal aureoles containing such minerals as staurolite, chloritoid, andalusite, kyanite, sillimanite, garnet, muscovite, biotite and chlorite in pelitic rocks. The emplacement of one of the granites was accompanied by large and small scale folding. Several major faults are described including the Nesting tear fault with a 16 km dextral displacement and a mélange zone beneath a nappe.     

Regional metamorphism of some Dalradian pelites in the Buchan area,N.E. Scotland

Regional metamorphic zones, based on mineral assemblages in pelites, are presented for the Dalradian rocks of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire, in the type area of Buchan metamorphism; electron microprobe analyses of cordierite (C), staurolite (S), chlorite (Chl), biotite (B) and white mica (Ms) are reported for rocks from the classic sections of the Banffshire coast and the valley of the Ythan.A low grade biotite zone, separates two NE-SW trending sets of higher grade zones, in which the sequence s defined by the entry of cordierite, andalusite (A) and (in the west only) staurolite. The zones are characterised by the assemblages (with quartz and muscovite) B-Chl, C-B-Chl, A-C-B and S-A-B.The western sequence contains a transition towards higher pressure, Barrovian type, metamorphism. The isograds arise from continuous reactions affecting rocks of restricted bulk composition (M/FM). With increasing grade, there is a regular trend towards more magnesian ranges of composition for the assemblages C-B-Chl, A-C-B and finally (as P increases in the west), S-A-B. The isograds form when these assemblages intersect the most Fe⁺⁺-rich rock compositions present which occurs in each case when the biotite M/FM=40. A complex of divariant equilibria, derived for the system KFMASH, is used to model the natural reactions.     

Tschermak Substitution in Low- and Middle-grade Pelitic Schists

In low- and middle-grade pelitic metamorphic rocks, the extentsof Tschermak substitution in muscovite, chlorite and biotitechange regularly with bulk-rock composition and external conditions.This paper gives a theoretical analysis of the changes. From equipotential lines for Al₂O₃ plotted on AFM diagrams,we have derived a series of Thompson-type muscovite compositiondiagrams, which show how the celadonite content of muscovitevaries with the associated ferromagnesian minerals or with thebulk-rock composition under constant external conditions. Thedistribution coefficient of the exchange reaction for Tschermaksubstitution between muscovite and chlorite varies greatly notonly with temperature but also with the extent of this substitutionin the two minerals because of their strong deviation from ideality.Muscovites with a high celadonite content (phengites) occurin low-temperature rocks in any of the high-, medium- and low-pressuretypes of metamorphism, probably because the exchange equilibriumfor Tschermak substitution between muscovite and chlorite isnot sensitive to pressure. When both Mg-Fe and Tschermak substitutionoccur in muscovite and some other silicates, a metapelite containingthree AFM phases together with muscovite and quartz has at leasttwo independent net-transfer reactions that take place sideby side with changing external conditions. The mass balancerequirement in the rock is imposed on a linear combination ofthe two reaction equations, leading to a constraint on the stoichiometricequations among phase components and the progressive compositionalchanges of muscovite, chlorite and biotite. From such a viewpoint,we examine reactions and progressive mineralogical changes inmetapelites, beginning with K-feldspar-bearing low-grade metapeliticrocks, in which biotite appears by reaction of K-feldspar withchlorite at a temperature lower than that of the biotite isograddefined for K-feldspar-free pelitic rocks. When both Mg-Fe and Tschermak substitution occur in muscoviteand some other silicates, a metapelite containing three AFMphases together with muscovite and quartz has at least two independentnet-transfer reactions that take place side by side with changingexternal conditions. The mass balance requirement in the rockis imposed on a linear combination of the two reaction equations,leading to a constraint on the stoichiometric equations amongphase components and the progressive compositional changes ofmuscovite, chlorite and biotite. From such a viewpoint, we examinereactions and progressive mineralogical changes in metapelites,beginning with K-feldspar-bearing low-grade metapelitic rocks,in which biotite appears by reaction of K-feldspar with chloriteat a temperature lower than that of the biotite isoerad definedfor K-feldsoar-free oelitic rocks. The equations for the reactions that produce biotite or biotite? garnet in K-feldspar-free metapelites have been derived. Combinedwith the composition relations of coexisting muscovite, chlorite,biotite and garnet, they lead to the inference that progressof these reactions with rising temperature causes a decreaseof the celadonite content of muscovite, the antigorite contentof chlorite and the phlogopite content of biotite in the metapelitesof the chlorite, biotite and lower garnet zones, and that thistrend may not continue into the staurolite zone. This inferencehas been verified by examination of the analytical data of mineralsin four progressive metamorphic terranes covering the high-,medium- and low-pressure types. The composition of chlorite is buffered by the garnet-producingreaction so that chlorites in garnet-bearing metamorphic rocksdevelop (Mg ? Fe)/Al₂ ratios close to that of almandine at elevatedtemperatures. The maximum possible celadonite content in muscoviteunder given external conditions is realized in K-feldspar-bearingrocks, and decreases with rising temperature.     

Progressive sequence of reactions of the Ryoke metamorphism in the Yanai district, southwest Japan: the formation of cordierite

The compositions of biotite and muscovite were examined in terms of the paragenesis and the metamorphic grade in low- to medium-grade pelitic rocks of the Ryoke metamorphism in the Yanai district, southwest Japan. The biotite and muscovite that coexist with K-feldspar have a higher K component in an A'KF diagram than those in rocks lacking K-feldspar. This fact reflects an increase in the K₂O content in muscovite, but in biotite it reflects an increase of not only the K₂O content but also of the octahedral vacancy.
At higher metamorphic grade beyond the cordierite isograd, where cordierite coexists with neither chlorite nor K-feldspar, the biotite shows an increase in illite, K Aliv □xii−1 Si−1, and Tschermak components, Alvi Aliv R+−1 Si−1, where □xii and R+ denote the interlayer vacancy and (Fe+Mg+Mn), respectively. A reaction to define the cordierite isograd is proposed by treating this chemical change as being responsible for the first appearance of cordierite, i.e. K,Al-poor biotite+phengitic muscovite=K,Al-rich biotite+cordierite+quartz+water .By treating this as a key reaction in medium-grade metamorphism, a set of reaction in a progressive metamorphism is established for the Ryoke metamorphism, a typical low-pressure type metamorphism. Some textures in one of the high-grade areas, the K-feldspar-cordierite zone, suggest that a further two prograde reactions have taken place, i.e. andalusite+biotite+quartz=cordierite+K-feldspar+water
and   andalusite=sillimanite.quartz=cordierite+K-feldspar+water
This implies that this zone probably has a P–T  path involving isobaric heating.     

Oxygen isotope study of metamorphic and granitic rocks of the Yanai district in the Ryoke belt,Japan

¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios have been obtained for 134 whole-rocks and minerals from metamorphic and granitic rocks of the Yanai district in the Ryoke belt, Southwest Japan. The ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of pelitic rocks of the marginal metamorphic zone decrease progressively with increasing metamorphic grade. In the gneiss-granite complex (zone of migmatite [1]), the most characteristic feature of the rocks is that oxygen isotopic homogenization proceeds on both local and regional scales in parallel with “granitization” or chemical homogenization. Granitic rocks of various origin are fairly uniform in isotopic composition with δ ¹⁸O of quartz of 12 to 14‰ (SMOW) and δ ¹⁸O of biotite of 7 to 9‰ and are about 3 to 4‰ enriched in ¹⁸O compared to other Cretaceous granites of non-metamorphic terranes in Japan. The high ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of granitic rocks of this district were discussed in relation to the ¹⁸O-depletion in metasediments. Oxygen isotopic fractionations among coexisting minerals from various rock-types of the gneiss-granite complex indicate that these minerals were formed under near isotopic equilibrium at a temperature of about 600 to 700° C. Some abnormal fractionations of quartz-biotite pairs also were obtained for rocks which had undergone a progressive ¹⁸O-depletion or ¹⁸O-enrichment. This is due to high resistivity of quartz and contrastive susceptibility of biotite to isotopic exchange during metamorphism and “granitization”.     

Dating slate belts using 40Ar/39Ar geochronology and zircon ages from crosscutting plutons: A case study from east-central Maine,USA

We report the ages of cleavage development in a normally intractable lower greenschist facies slate belt, the Central Maine-Aroostook-Matapedia belt in east-central Maine. We have attacked this problem by identifying the minimum ages of muscovite in a regional Acadian cleavage (S₁) and in a local ductile fault zone cleavage (S₂) using ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology and the ages of crosscutting plutons. Our success stems from the regional low-grade metamorphism of the rocks in which each crystallization event preserves a⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar crystallization age and not a cooling age. Evidence for recrystallization via a pressure solution mechanism comes from truncations of detrital, authigenic, and in some rocks S₁ muscovite and chlorite grains by new cleavage-forming muscovite and chlorite grains. Low-blank furnace age spectra from meta-arkosic and slaty rocks climb from moderate temperature Devonian age-steps dominated by cleavage-forming muscovite to Ordovician age-steps dominated by a detrital muscovite component. S₁- and S₂-cleaved rocks were hornfelsed by granitoids of ∼407 and 377 Ma, respectively. The combination of these minimum ages with the maximum metamorphic crystallization ages establishes narrow constraints on the timing of these two cleavage-forming events, ∼410 Ma (S₁) and ∼380 Ma (S₂). These two events coincide in time with a change in the plate convergence kinematics from the arrival of the Avalon terrane (Acadian orogeny), to a right-lateral transpression arrival of the Meguma terrane in the Neoacadian orogeny.     

Microstructural controls and the role of graphite in matrix/ porphyroblast exchange during synkinematic andalusite growth in a granitoid aureole

Abstract In the contact metamorphic aureole of the Tinaroo Batholith (north Queensland, Australia), mylonitic rocks were metamorphosed during a regional folding/crenulation event (D₂) synchronous with the emplacement of muscovite-bearing granitoids. Prismatic and skeletal andalusite porphyoblasts grew in carbonaceous schists, mainly from the dissolution of staurolite. Muscovite, quartz and biotite played a dual role in this reaction, acting in a catalytic capacity as well as reactants or products. Staurolite was replaced by coarse-grained muscovite ± biotite, whereas andalusite locally replaced quartz ± muscovite ± biotite, with diffusion of H, Al, Si, Mg, Fe and K ionic species linking sites of dissolution and growth. Graphite contributed to the reaction mechanism in a number of ways. Accumulations of graphite in front of advancing andalusite crystal faces led to skeletal growth and the formation of chiastolite structure, where incremental growth occurred on adjacent {110} faces, with subsequent filling in and inclusion of graphite along the diagonal zones. The presence of graphite in some layers in the schist matrix prevented recrystallization of strained muscovite grains. The muscovite grains in these layers, in contrast to adjacent thin non-graphitic layers, were preferentially replaced by quartz. This resulted in muscovite-depletion haloes in graphitic layers around andalusite porphyroblasts. Somewhat arcuate zones of graphite, concentrated during dissolution of quartz along a crenulation cleavage, occur on some andalusite faces. Reactivation of the mylonitic foliation during the formation of D₂ crenulations led to a preferential dissolution of quartz in zones of progressive shearing localized near andalusite porphyroblasts and hence the accumulation of graphite. Lack of deflection of the pre-existing mylonitic foliation and anastomosing of the axial planes of D₂ crenulations around andalusite porphyroblasts demonstrate not only the timing of growth, but also that growing porphyroblasts do not push aside existing foliations.