Disequilibrium in co-existing clinopyroxene and garnet from blueschist-facies Fe-rich eclogites, Voltri Group, Italy

Abstract Clinopyroxenes and garnets from 11 blueschist-facies Fe-rich eclogite samples from the Voltri Group show a wide range of chemical compositions. Detailed analyses of single pyroxene and garnet grains show wide and scattered chemical inhomogeneity, the K_D(K_D= (Fe₂₊/Mg)^Gt/(Fe²⁺/Mg)^Cpx) ranges from 20 to 87 based on rim analyses only. The data obtained indicate that the mineral pairs never attained equilibrium under uniform P-T conditions and that the compositions of the metamorphic minerals were influenced mainly by the composition of the pre-metamorphic minerals and by topotactical reactions.     

Low temperature eclogite facies metamorphism in Western Tianshan, Xinjiang

According to the field occurrences and petrological study, the low temperature eclogite facies metamorphic rocks in Western Tianshan of Xinjiang can be divided into five types: (i) massive glaucophane-epidote eclogites and glaucophane-paragonite eclogites; (ii) schistose or gneissic mica eclogites; (iii) banded calcite eclogites; (iv) pillow glaucophane eclogites; (v) garnet-omphacite quartzites. Their eclogite facies metamorphism has undergone four stages of evolution: (i) pre-peak lawsonite-blueschist facies stage,T = 350–4000°C,P = 0.7–0.9 GPa; (ii) peak eclogite facies stage,T = 530 ± 20°C,P = 1.6–1.9 GPa; (iii) retrograde epidote-blueschist facies stage, T=500–530°C,P = 0.9–1.2 GPa and (iv) retrograde blueschist-greenschist facies stage,T= 450–550°C,P= 0.7–0.8 GPa. The metamorphic PT path of Western Tianshan eclogites is characterized by clockwise ITD resulting from the subduction of Tarim plate northward to Yili-Central Tianshan plate followed by fast uplift to the surface. But there were at least two stages of blueschist facies retrograde metamorphism overprinted during their uplift.     

Constraints on the duration of high-pressure metamorphism in the Tauern Window from diffusion modelling of discontinuous growth zones in eclogite garnet

An eclogite sample from the Grossgockner region of the Hohe Tauern, Austria contains garnet with a pronounced compositional discontinuity between a Mn‐rich core and an Fe‐rich rim. This jump in composition was caused by a garnet‐consuming reaction followed by growth of the garnet rim + omphacite and marks the prograde transition from epidote–amphibolite to eclogite facies metamorphism. Garnet growth ended at peak metamorphic conditions of 570 °C, 17 kbar, but intracrystalline diffusion continued until about 450 °C, 4 kbar on the retrograde path. This garnet overgrowth texture represents a natural diffusion couple and a time span of 1 Myr was calculated from the diffusion profile developing out of the original sharp compositional step. For typical crustal densities, this time corresponds to a minimum average velocity in the range 4.6–7.4 cm yr^?1 (for vertical movement), which is one of the fastest exhumation rates reported. The diffusion of all divalent cations of four profiles was modelled, both analytically and numerically. Both approaches gave comparable results, but the times computed for each element were always discrepant up to a factor of 2. Variations of diffusion coefficients within 2 in analytical calculations remedied this and gave consistent upper time limits. Numerical modelling does not require the simplifications introduced in the analytical approach. On the other hand, error propagation was computationally unfeasible with this method.     

Stable isotopic and trace element evidence for restricted fluid migration in 2 GPa eclogites

Mineral stable isotopic and trace element studies in 2 GPa banded eclogites of the Tauern Window, eastern Alps, record mm- to cm-scale heterogeneities that reflect compositional variations in the accompanying metamorphic fluids. A close correlation between dolomite mode and dolomite δ¹⁸O is consistent with equilibrium partitioning among coexisting minerals and fluids. Small variations in dolomite δ¹³C values correspond with δ¹⁸O variations, but an overall decrease in dolomite δ¹³C by c. 1%o across a 12-cm sample is a relict feature that pre-dates eclogite equilibration. Garnet, omphacite, and clinozoisite rims show little systematic mineral-mineral partitioning behaviour for Ti, V, Cr, Y, Sr, or Zr; major elements, however, are well equilibrated among these same minerals. Despite the apparent lack of mineral-mineral trace element equilibration, most of the trace elements vary systematically with water activity calculated in each layer. Trace element behaviour during the eclogite metamorphism thus appears to have been controlled largely by mineral-fluid interactions along grain boundaries. Shallow structural levels in other subduction complexes (c. 10-45 km) typically exhibit fracture-controlled permeability and extensive metasomatism, but there is no field or geochemical evidence for extensive fluid advection during high-pressure metamorphism in the Tauern eclogites. Because most dewatering and devolatilization during tectonic burial occurs prior to eclogite conditions, the volumetric fluid/rock ratio in eclogites should generally be low. Low fluid/rock ratios, coupled with the possible non-wetting nature of the fluids, permits the production and preservation of fine-scale chemical heterogeneities in deeply subducted eclogites and associated fluids. However, the eventual breakdown at greater depth of volatile-bearing dolomite, phengite, clinozoisite, zoisite, or amphibole could lead to renewed fracture-controlled fluid release from the subducted rocks to regions appropriate for arc magma generation.     

From granulites to eclogites in the Sesia zone (Italian Western Alps): a record of the opening and closure of the Piedmont ocean

The Sesia zone (Italian Western Alps) offers one of the best preserved examples of pre-Alpine basement reactivated, under eclogite facies conditions, during the Alpine orogenesis. A detailed mineralogical study of eclogitized acid and basic granulites, and related amphibolites, is presented. In these rare weak to undeformed rocks microstructural investigations allow three main metamorphic stages to be distinguished.
(a) A medium- to low- P granulite stage giving rise to the development of orthopyroxene + garnet + plagioclase + brown amphibole + ilmenite ± biotite in basic granulites and garnet + K-feldspar + plagioclase + cordierite + sillimanite + biotite + ilmenite in acid granulites.
(b) A post-granulite re-equilibration, associated with the development of shear zones, producing discrete amphibolitization of the basic granulites and widespread development of biotite + sillimanite + cordierite + spinel in the acid rocks.
(c) An eo-Alpine eclogite stage giving rise to the crystallization of high- P and low- T assemblages.
In an effort to quantify this evolution, independent well-calibrated thermobarometers were applied to basic and acid rocks. For the granulite event, P-T estimates are 7–9 kbar and 700–800° C, and for subsequent retrograde evolution, P-T was 4–5 kbar and 600° C. For the eo-Alpine eclogite metamorphism, pressure and temperature conditions were 14–16 kbar and 550° C.
The inferred P-T path is consistent with an uplift of continental crust produced by crustal thinning prior to the subduction of the continental rocks. In the light of the available geochronological constraints we propose to relate the pre-Alpine granulite and post-granulite retrograde evolution to the Permo-Jurassic extensional regime. The complex granulite-eclogite transition is thus regarded as a record of the opening and of the closure of the Piedmont ocean.     

Isotopic Geochronological Evidence for the Caledonian Xiongdian Eclogite in the Northwestern Dabie Mountains,China

A typical HP/MT (high pressure/medium temperature) eclogite from Xiongdian, northwestern Dabie Mountains, has been geochronologically studied using the single-zircon U-Pb, 40Ar-39Ar and Sm-Nd methods. Prismatic zircons occurring as inclusions within garnets define a minimum crystallization age of 399.5±1.6 Ma. 40Ar-39Ar dating on amphibole gives a plateau age.of 399.2 ± 4 Ma, which is interpreted as a retrogression age of amphibolite facies. This integrated study enables us to conclude that the age of high-pressure metamorphism is older than 399.5 ± 1.6 Ma, suggesting Caledonian collision between the North China and Yangtze plates. Round zircon within the aggregate of quartz and muscovite gives a concordant age of 301± 2 Ma, reflecting a later retrogression event. An age profile of post-eclogite metamorphism is documented, including amphibolite facies metamorphism at 399.2 Ma shortly after eclogitization and later retrogressive metamorphism at 301 Ma. Sm-Nd mineral isochron of garnet+omphacite gives     

大别山桐城地区雷庄低温高压榴辉岩的增温退变P-T轨迹及其构造含义

早期的研究显示大别山东段(安徽部分)出露的榴辉岩均为中温榴辉岩,并没有其他类型榴辉岩存在.本研究通过对桐城地区雷庄附近的榴辉岩野外地质调查、岩相学、矿物成分化学以及热力学分析表明,该地区榴辉岩为低温高压榴辉岩.榴辉岩的P-T演化特征研究区分了5个变质阶段,展示了一个"发卡式"增温退变轨迹.Ⅰ-阶段的变质温压为T=390～411℃,P=0.89～1.40GPa;Ⅱ-阶段为T=527～544℃,P=1.95～2.34GPa.该阶段为峰期变质,代表了板片俯冲最大深度;Ⅲ-阶段为T=501～519℃,P=1.74～2.14GPa;Ⅳ-阶段为T=630和P=1.22GPa;Ⅴ-阶段为T=350℃,P=0.20GPa.由Ⅲ-阶段至Ⅳ-阶段随着压力的降低,温度明显增加,反映了一个退变增温的演化趋势.这种增温可能是由于低温榴辉岩对温度变化的敏感,以及榴辉岩板片在折返至地壳某一深度停滞时间较长,北大别热穹隆和地温梯度的恢复是导致增温的热源.     

The timing of stabilisation and the exhumation rate for ultra-high pressure rocks in the Western Gneiss Region of Norway

New petrographic evidence and a review of the latest radiometric age data are taken to indicate that formation of the ultra‐high pressure (UHP) eclogites within the Western Gneiss Region of Norway probably occurred within the 400–410 Ma time frame. Thus, this event took place significantly later than the previous, widely accepted age of c. 425 Ma for the timing of the high pressure metamorphism in this part of the Scandinavian Caledonides. Garnet growth under UHP (coesite‐stable) conditions is recognised as a discrete, younger event following on from earlier garnet formed under firstly amphibolite facies then quartz‐stable, eclogite facies conditions. Currently, the best constrained and most precise age, specifically for UHP mineral growth, is the 402 ± 2 Ma U–Pb age for metamorphic zircon (some of which retain coesite inclusions) from the Hareidland eclogite. Exhumation must have followed shortly thereafter and, based on synoptic pressure–temperature and depth–time curves, must have been very fast. Our data and those of others indicate an initial fast exhumation to about 35 km depth by about 395 Ma at a mean rate of about 10 mm a^?1. This rapid exhumation rate may have been driven by the appreciable residual buoyancy of the deeply subducted continental crustal slab due to incomplete eclogitization of the dominant Proterozoic orthogneisses during the short‐lived UHP event. Subsequent exhumation to 8–10 km depth by about 375 Ma occurred at a much slower mean rate of about 1.3 mm a^?1 with the late‐stage extensional collapse of the Caledonian orogen playing an increasingly important role, especially in the final unroofing of the Western Gneiss Region with some remarkably preserved UHP rocks.     

榴辉岩套的类型及其地质意义

根据全球榴辉岩的分布、相关岩石组合、成岩物理化学条件和区域构造特征,将榴辉岩套分为两种类型:1)高温榴辉岩套(H型),形成于陆—陆碰撞造山带下部的高温超高压环境,是陆壳俯冲—推覆构造作用的标志;2)低温榴辉岩套(L型),形成于洋—陆碰撞带下部的低温高压环境,是洋壳俯冲—推覆构造作用的标志。     

海南洋壳型高温榴辉岩:基本特征及待解问题

榴辉岩常产于汇聚板块的边界,是鉴别古板块缝合带的重要标志之一。最近,这种特征的变质岩石在海南岛北部被第四系严重覆盖的木栏头地区被发现,其基本特征总结如下:(1)榴辉岩孤立地出露于潮滩鼻潮间-潮下带,主体露岩区域分布的总面积约1.8km~2,由片麻理构成的优势构造走向为北东至近东西;(2)榴辉岩经历了顺时针变质演化,从绿帘角闪岩相(620～680℃、0.87～1.11GPa)、榴辉岩相/榴辉岩-高压麻粒岩过渡相(820～860℃、1.70～1.82GPa)、角闪岩相(700～730℃、0.71～0.85GPa)到绿片岩相;(3)榴辉岩的主体(占分析样品总数的65%)具有正常洋中脊玄武岩(N-MORB)属性,少数具有富集洋中脊玄武岩(E-MORB)和火山弧玄武岩(VAB)属性,初始Sr-Nd同位素成分表明他们来自于亏损的软流圈地幔;(4)榴辉岩原岩形成于355Ma之前,进变质和峰期-退变质的时代分别约为340～330Ma和310～300Ma,冷却至金红石U-Pb体系封闭温度的时代为292±6Ma。所以,海南榴辉岩主要是大洋(少数岛弧)玄武岩在石炭纪经高温高压变质作用的产物。由这种特殊的洋壳型高温榴辉岩自身及其引申出的科学问题包括:(1)海南榴辉岩是单体榴辉岩还是榴辉岩集合体?如果是单体,那将是国内出露规模最大的榴辉岩体;(2)海南榴辉岩到底是榴辉岩相岩石还是榴辉岩-高压麻粒岩过渡相岩石?榴辉岩相峰期变质的压力到底有多高?遍布的深熔作用是发生在温压峰期还是在减压过程中的温度峰期?(3)原岩形成于洋盆还是弧后盆地?其与同时代的金沙江-哀牢山-马江洋和邦溪-晨星弧后盆地具有怎样的联系?(4)榴辉岩起因于大洋热俯冲/增生还是大陆俯冲/碰撞环境?以其为代表的古板块缝合带(可称木栏头或潮滩鼻缝合带)向哪里延伸?(5)东、西古特提斯构造域的早期演化有无相似之处?海南陆块或其北部或西部地体是否在石炭纪就已与华南陆块碰撞对接在一起?显然,海南榴辉岩对重构全球古特提斯构造带的早期演化具有重要的科学意义,值得进一步深入研究。