Integrated models of diamond formation and craton evolution

Two decades of diamond research in southern Africa allow the age, average N content and carbon composition of diamonds, and the dominant paragenesis of their syngenetic silicate and sulfide inclusions to be integrated on a cratonwide scale with a model of craton formation. Individual eclogitic sulfide inclusions in diamonds from the Kimberley area kimberlites, Koffiefontein, Orapa and Jwaneng have Re–Os isotopic ages that range from circa 2.9 Ga to the mid-Proterozoic and display little correspondence with the prominent variations in the P-wave velocity (±1%) that the mantle lithosphere shows at depths within the diamond stability field (150–225 km). Silicate inclusions in diamonds and their host diamond compositions for the above kimberlites, Finsch, Jagersfontein, Roberts Victor, Premier, Venetia, and Letlhakane show a regional relationship to the seismic velocity of the lithosphere. Mantle lithosphere with slower P-wave velocity relative to the craton average correlates with a greater proportion of eclogitic vs. peridotitic silicate inclusions in diamond, a greater incidence of younger Sm–Nd ages of silicate inclusions, a greater proportion of diamonds with lighter C isotopic composition, and a lower percentage of low-N diamonds. The oldest formation ages of diamonds support a model whereby mantle that became part of the continental keel of cratonic nuclei first was created by middle Archean (3.2–3.3 Ga or older) mantle depletion events with high degrees of melting and early harzburgite formation. The predominance of eclogitic sulfide inclusions in the 2.9 Ga age population links late Archean (2.9 Ga) subduction–accretion events to craton stabilization. These events resulted in a widely distributed, late Archean generation of eclogitic diamonds in an amalgamated craton. Subsequent Proterozoic tectonic and magmatic events altered the composition of the continental lithosphere and added new lherzolitic and eclogitic diamonds to the already extensive Archean diamond suite. Similar age/paragenesis systematics are seen for the more limited data sets from the Slave and Siberian cratons.     

Microstructures, petrofabrics and seismic properties of ultra high-pressure eclogites from Sulu region, China: implications for rheology of subducted continental crust and origin of mantle reflections

Ultra high-pressure (UHP) eclogites from Sulu region (China) represent mafic components of the continental crust, which were first subducted to mantle depths greater than 100 km and then exhumed to the earth's surface. Detailed investigation of microstructures, chemical compositions, petrofabrics and seismic properties of the UHP eclogites can provide important information on the operating deformation mechanisms and rheology of subducted continental crust and on the origin of seismic reflections within the upper mantle. We present here results from field, optical and TEM observations, electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements and numerical computations of the seismic properties of UHP eclogites collected from fresh surface outcrops at the drill site (Maobei, Donghai County, Jiangsu Province) of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Program (CCSD). Two types of eclogites have been distinguished: Type-1 (coarse-grained) eclogites deformed by recovery-accommodated dislocation creep at the peak metamorphic conditions, and Type-2 (fine-grained) eclogites which are composed of reworked Type-1 materials during recrystallization-accommodated dislocation creep in shear zones which were active during the exhumation of the UHP metamorphic rocks. Both garnet and omphacite in these eclogites deformed plastically and the flow strength contrast between these two constituent minerals is apparently much less than an order of magnitude under the UHP metamorphic conditions. Plasticity of eclogites under UHP conditions can effectively facilitate channeled flow along the interplate shear zone. The preservation of the relict crustal materials within the continental lithosphere may produce regionally extensive, strong, seismic reflections in the upper mantle. This may explain the origin of mantle reflections observed in many areas of the world.     

苏北青龙山超高压变质榴辉岩流体包裹体特征与流体演化

根据青龙山超高压变质榴辉岩中流体包裹体的化学成分、矿物中的分布特征将岩石中的流体包裹体分为五类,即富N2包裹体、高盐度(22.4-略大于23.2wt%NaCl)的NaCl CaCl2 H2O体系流体包裹体、中高盐度(12.6-16.0wt%NaCl)的含Mg2 或Fe2 的NaCl H2O体系流体包裹体、中等盐度(6.4-10.5wt%NaCl)水溶液包裹体和低盐度(3.3-0.2wt%NaCl)的水溶液包裹体。富N2包裹体形成于超高压变质峰期阶段,高盐度的流体包裹体形成于超高压变质岩折返早期固体出溶体出溶阶段,中高盐度的流体包裹体形成于高压变质重结晶作用阶段,中等盐度的流体包裹体形成于角闪岩相变质重结晶作用阶段,低盐度的流体包裹体形成于折返晚期的绿片岩退变质作用阶段。超高压变质峰期阶段和折返早期的高盐度流体和中高盐度的流体主要来自继承原岩中的流体(如含NH4 矿物分解或片麻岩原岩中的有机质分解,名义上无水矿物中羧基水的出溶),晚期角闪岩相退变质阶段的中等盐度的流体除名义上无水矿物中羟基水的出溶外还有外来流体的加入,绿片岩相退变质作用阶段的流体主要为外来流体。     

大别超高压变质带的进变质、超高压和退变质时代的准确限定:以双河大理岩中榴辉岩锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年为例

在大别超高压变质带的双河地区存在一种特殊类型的榴辉岩,该类榴辉岩主要以似层状、条带状以及不规则透镜体赋存于大理岩中。矿物组成主要为石榴石、绿辉石以及少量的金红石、白云石、菱镁矿等。沿石榴石和绿辉石边缘常退变为角闪石+斜长石等,有的岩石完全退变为斜长角闪岩。激光拉曼和阴极发光综合分析表明,该类榴辉岩中的锆石可划分为两种类型:继承性碎屑锆石和变质锆石。继承性碎屑锆石十分少见,阴极发光图象具有明显的双层结构,即强发光的核和弱发光的边,核部和边部的包体矿物分别为Pl+Ap和Qtz+Pl。SHRIMP U-Pb定年结果表明。继承性碎屑锆石核部记录的207Pb／206Pb年龄为2701±15Ma,Th/U比值明显偏高为1．05,稀土元素配分模式显示重稀土明显富集,具有典型岩浆结晶锆石的特点;边部记录的207Pb／206Pb年龄为1801±12Ma-1753±22Ma,Th／U比值则明显偏低,为0．19-0．22之间,稀土元素配分模式显示重稀土相对平坦,具有典型变质锆石的特点。上述特征表明该类继承性碎屑锆石可能来源于太古代的基底,并经历了早元古代变质热事件的改造。新生的变质锆石无论是矿物包体还是阴极发光图象均与继承性碎屑锆石存在明显差异。有的变质增生锆石具有弱发光的核(阴极发光图象呈灰色)和强发光的边(阴极发光图象呈白色)。核部包体矿物组合为Qtz +Grt+Omp+Phe+Dol+Ap,具有典型石英榴辉岩相矿物组合特征,而边部则保存含柯石英的超高压包体矿物组合Coe+Grt +Omp+Mgs+Arg+Ap,表明该类锆石的核部和边部分别形成于俯冲进变质阶段和超高压变质阶段。另一部分变质增生锆石具有强发光的核(阴极发光图象呈白色)和弱发光的边(阴极发光图象呈黑色)。核部保存的标志性超高压包体矿物组合为Coe+Grt+Omp+Mgs+Arg+Ap,边部则保存Qtz+Cal等退变矿物组合,有的则缺乏矿物包体,表明该类锆石自超高压变质阶段开始生长,并经历了后期退变质作用的改造。从不同微区矿物包体组合的性质及其转变特征可以明显看出,自石英榴辉岩相进变质阶段到超高压峰期变质阶段存在下列转变反应:Qtz→Coe和Dol→Mgs+Arg;而自超高压峰期变质阶段到后期退变质阶段则存在下列退变反应:Coe→Qtz和Arg→Cal。SHRIMP U-Pb定年结果表明,含石英榴辉岩相矿物包体的锆石微区记录的206Pb／238U年龄为249-241Ma,加权平均值为244±4Ma,代表了深俯冲石英榴辉岩相进变质阶段的变质年龄;含柯石英等超高压矿物包体的锆石微区记录的206Pb／238U年龄为239-231Ma,加权平均值为234±3Ma,代表超高压阶段的峰期变质年龄;而含石英和方解石的退变边记录的206Pb／238U年龄为219-211Ma,加权平均值为216±6Ma,应代表后期折返阶段的角闪岩相退变质年龄。上述两类变质增生锆石微区的Th／U比值和稀土元素配分模式十分相似,Th／U比值变化于0．02- 0．18之间,稀土元素配分模式显示重稀土相对平坦,稀土元素总量明显低于继承性碎屑锆石,具有典型变质锆石的特点。根据锆石微区矿物包体的化学成分,采用Grt-Omp和Grt-Omp-Phe温压计,结合前人的变质反应实验资料的综合分析,确定榴辉岩的原岩在深俯冲过程的石英榴辉岩相进变质阶段的变质温压条件为T=588-668℃,P=1．7-1．8GPa;超高压峰期阶段的温压条件为T=784-849℃,P>5．5GPa;而构造折返过程中角闪岩相退变质阶段的温压条件为T=550-720℃,P=0．8～1．4GPa。由此可见,大别超高压变质岩的原岩——元古代(部分可能为太古代)的陆壳物质在早三叠纪发生俯冲至55- 60km深处,并经历了石英榴辉岩相变质作用。随后这些变质岩石继续深俯冲至165～175km的地幔深处,于中三叠纪发生了超高压变质作用,石英榴辉岩相矿物组合转变为超高压榴辉岩相矿物组合。最后这些超高压变质岩石发生构造折返,至晚三叠纪抬升到约30km的中下地壳深度,并经历了角闪岩相退变质作用的改造,超高压榴辉岩相矿物组合退变为角闪岩相矿物组合。由此推断,大别超高压变质带俯冲和折返速率分别为11-12km Myr-1和7．5-8．1km Myr-1。该项成果不仅确定了大别超高压变质地体的石英榴辉岩相进变质-超高压榴辉岩相峰期变质-角闪岩相退变质的年代谱系,而且对于重塑大别超高压变质地体的快速俯冲-折返的动力学模式有着重要的科学意义。     

Petrology of highly aluminous xenoliths from kimberlites of Yakutia

Highly aluminous xenoliths include kyanite-, corundum- and coesite-bearing eclogites, grospydites and alkremites. These xenoliths are present in different kimberlites of Yakutia but have most often been found in Udachnaya and other pipes of the central Daldyn–Alakitsky region. Kimberlites of this field also contain eclogite-like xenoliths with kyanite and corundum that originate in the lower crust or the lower crust–upper mantle transition zone. Petrographic study shows that two rock groups of different structure and chemistry can be distinguished among kyanite eclogites: fine- to medium-grained with mosaic structure and coarse-grained with cataclastic structure. Eclogites with mosaic structure are characterized by the occurrences of symplectite intergrowths of garnet with kyanite, clinopyroxene and coesite; only in this group do grospydites occur. In cataclastic eclogites, coarse-grained coesite occurs, corresponding in size to other rock-forming minerals. Highly aluminous xenoliths differ from bimineralic eclogites in their high content of Al₂O₃ and total alkali content. Coesite-bearing varieties are characterized by low MgO content and higher Na/K and Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratios, as well as high contents of Na₂O. Geochemical peculiarities of kyanite eclogites and other rocks are exhibited by a sloping chondrite-normalized distribution of rare earth elements (REE) in garnets and low Y/Zr ratio, in contrast to bimineralic rocks. Coesite is found in more than 20 kyanite eclogites and grospydites from Udachnaya. Grospydites with coesite from Zagadochnaya pipe are described. Three varieties of coesite in these rocks are distinguished: (a) subhedral grains with size of 1.0–3.0 mm; (b) inclusions in the rock-forming minerals; (c) sub-graphic intergrowths with garnet. The presence and preservation of coesite in eclogites indicate both high pressure of formation (more than 30 kbar) and set a number of constraints on the timing of xenolith cooling during entrainment and transport to the surface. Different ways of formation of the highly aluminous eclogites are discussed. Petrographic observations and geochemistry suggest that some highly aluminous rocks have formed as a result of crystallization of anorthosite rocks in abyssal conditions. δ¹⁸O-estimations and other petrologic evidence point out the possible origin of some of these xenoliths as the result of subduction of oceanic crust. Diamondiferous samples have been found in all varieties except alkremites. Usually these eclogites contain cubic or coated diamonds. However, two sample corundum-bearing eclogites with diamonds from the Udachnaya pipe contain octahedra that show evidence of resorption.     

Pressure dependence and anisotropy of P-wave velocities in ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks from the Dabie–Sulu orogenic belt (China): Implications for seismic properties of subducted slabs and origin of mantle reflections

The compressional wave velocities (Vp), pressure derivatives (Vp′) and anisotropy (A) of three types of eclogites and country rocks from the Dabie–Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt, China, have been measured under confining pressures up to 800 MPa. Type-1 eclogites, which are coarse-grained and subjected to almost no retrograde metamorphism, experienced recovery-accommodated dislocation creep at peak metamorphic conditions (in the diamond stability field). Type-2 eclogites are fine-grained reworked Type-1 materials that experienced recrystallization-accommodated dislocation creep under quartz/coesite boundary conditions during the early stage of exhumation. Type-3 eclogites are retrogressed samples that were overprinted by significant amphibolite facies metamorphism during a late stage of exhumation within the crust. Type-1 eclogites are richer in Al₂O₃ and MgO but poorer in SiO₂ and Na₂O than Type-2 and Type-3 eclogites. Anisotropy of Type-1 and Type-2 eclogites is generally low (<4%) because volumetrically important garnet is elastically quasi-isotropic, while Type-3 eclogites can exhibit high anisotropy (>10%) due to the presence of strongly anisotropic retrograde minerals such as amphibole, plagioclase and mica. The transition of the pressure dependence of velocity from the poroelastic to elastic regimes occurs at a critical pressure (P_c), which depends mainly on the density and distribution of microcracks and in turn on the exhumation history of rocks. The Vp–pressure relationship can be expressed by Vp=a(lnP)²+blnP+c (P≤P_c) and Vp=V₀+DP (P≥P_c), where P is the confining pressure, a and b are constants describing the closure of microcracks below P_c, c is the velocity when P is equal to one (MPa), V₀ is the projected velocity of a crack-free sample at room pressure, and D is the intrinsic pressure derivative above P_c. When data are curve-fit, pressure derivatives and anisotropy as functions of pressure are determined. The average Vp of the eclogites in the linear regime is 8.42+1.41×10⁻⁴P for Type-1, 7.80+1.58×10⁻⁴P for Type-2, and 7.33+2.04×10⁻⁴P for Type-3, where Vp is in km/s and P in MPa. The decrease in V₀ and increase in D from Type-1 to Type-3 eclogites are attributed to a decrease in garnet content and an increase in retrograde minerals. The NE–SW trending, NW-dipping, slab-like high Vp anomaly (8.72 km/s at a depth of 71 km) which extends from the Moho to at least 110 km beneath the Dabie–Sulu region, can be interpreted as the remnant of a subducted slab which is dominated by Type-1 eclogites and has frozen in the upper mantle since about 200–220 Ma. Such relic crustal materials, subducted and preserved as eclogite layers intercalated with felsic gneiss, garnet–jadeite quartzite, marble and serpentinized peridotite, could be responsible for regionally observed seismic reflectors in the upper mantle.     

两类榴辉岩的石榴石变形特征差异——来自TEM研究的证据

大陆碰撞造山带中超高压榴辉岩从变形程度上通常可以分为面理化榴辉岩和块状榴辉岩两类。本文利用透射电子显微镜对中国大陆科学钻探主孔岩心中面理化榴辉岩和块状榴辉岩的石榴石变形特征进行了比较研究。结果表明:(1)面理化榴辉岩中石榴石的位错密度比块状榴辉岩中石榴石的位错密度高大约3个数量级,位错密度达1.2×1010/cm2。并且有水分子团与高密度位错共存,表明主导石榴石发生强烈塑性变形的机制为水弱化的位错滑移。(2)块状榴辉岩中石榴石的位错密度低,没有观察到水分子团,虽然在局部发现有位错网,但总体上仍呈刚性。(3)两类榴辉岩的石榴石中占主导地位的位错滑移系都是1/2<111>{110},其次为<100>{010}。本文对变形石榴石晶体中水的赋存状态、水弱化机制及变形石榴石形态优选方位与晶格优选方位不协调问题进行了讨论:(1)水在石榴石晶体中有三种可能赋存状态:第一种是吸附于位错管道中的极化水分子;第二种是通过晶体表面以及位错管道扩散进入晶格的间隙水分子;第三种是以4OH-替代SiO44-形式的结构水。(2)石榴石水弱化机制有两种可能:一种是水弱化促进的位错滑移机制,在面理化榴辉岩石榴石的塑性变形中起主导作用;另一种是水弱化促进的扩散和颗粒边界滑移机制,在面理化榴辉岩石榴石的塑性变形中只起次要作用。(3)变形石榴石不产生明显的LPO是由其晶体结构本身特征所决定的,并不能排除其主导变形机制仍然是位错滑移的可能性。     

Geology and petrology of the Austroalpine Châtillon slice,Aosta valley,western Alps

Slices of continental crust pertinent to the lower Austroalpine domain of the western Alps, crop out within the ophiolitic Piemonte Zone. Among them, the Châtillon slice was studied in detail. The slice consists of orthogneiss with subordinate metabasics and very minor paraschist. The garnet-phengite-epidote-albite orthogneiss is characterised by polyphase garnet porphyroclasts. Metabasics consist of prasinite lenses and eclogite relics. Phengite-clinozoisite eclogite is characterised by small garnet idioblasts with prograde zoning; jadeite content in omphacite increases towards the rim; Si content in phengite decreases towards the rim. Garnet-glaucophane-phengiteparagonite micaschist is characterised by polymetamorphic garnet porphyroclasts, and small Alpine garnet idioblasts. A pre-Alpine amphibolite-facies metamorphism is inferred for the polymetamorphic rocks of the Châtillon slice. Paragneiss and micaschist probably derive from pre-Alpine “kinzigites”; the orthogneiss protolith was a late-Variscan porphyritic granitoid. Thermobarometry in the eclogite constrains the metamorphic peak at T ≤ 560 °C and P = 16 kbar. The HP minerals were partly retrogressed to greenschist-facies assemblages during the late Alpine tectono-metamorphic recrystallisation. The inferred Alpine P-T conditions are consistent with those for other Penninic and Austro-Alpine nappes of the northwestern internal Alps. The Châtillon slice is very similar to the Eclogitic Micaschists Complex of the Sesia-Lanzo Zone and to the other eclogite-facies Austroalpine slices of the Dent Blanche Nappe, but it could also represent a portion of the Sesia-Lanzo Zone basement, which experienced a somewhat different subduction depth. The tectonic position of the Châtillon slice within the Piemonte Zone is essential to reconstruct the geometric relationships in the Austroalpine-Piemonte nappe stack of the northwestern internal Alps.     

Scales of deformation partitioning during exhumation in a continental subduction channel: A petrofabric study of eclogites and gneisses from NW Spain (Malpica‐Tui Allochthonous Complex)

Deformation partitioning is identified as the fingerprint of late Palaeozoic continental subduction that affected various lithologies whose field relationship, thermobarometric and petrofabric features are closely related. Different modes of deformation partitioning can be identified within medium temperature, high‐P eclogite lenses, between them and the host gneisses, and within the latter. Development of foliations and lineations with a coherent attitude in all these rocks and their related structural petrology demonstrate that eclogite enclosures and their country rocks underwent a common, pervasive deformational event. The published P–T stability fields of the eclogite phases that define the microscopic fabric are used to define the metamorphic conditions prevailing during the deformation event and relate it to the subduction process. The mineral equilibria of the gneisses (ortho‐ and paragneisses) fail to record the full range of those P–T conditions, but the field relationships show that eclogites were originally basic dykes emplaced in acid igneous rocks and demonstrate that the eclogites and gneisses shared a common tectonometamorphic evolution. Deformation partitioning within the latter occurred at variable scales and involved (1) meso macroscale preservation of virtually undeformed metagranite bodies, surrounded by (2) pervasively foliated and lineated gneisses, and (3) the simultaneous microscale operation in the latter of ductile and brittle–ductile mechanisms at conditions above 500°C and below 1.5 GPa. A subduction channel tectonic setting is proposed to explain the subduction of upper to mid‐crustal igneous rocks and exhumation subsequent to high‐P metamorphism. Its currently accessible dimensions, and its organization into several lithotectonic units mapped as nappes support tectonic amalgamation of units several km³ in volume. Maximum burial in the subduction channel likely reached depths shallower than the lithostatic pressure implied by geobarometric calculations, possibly conditioned by a sudden pressure drop during the initial retrogression stages accompanying exhumation.