Petrology of an Andalusite-Type Regional Metamorphic Terrane, Panamint Mountains, California

The terrane in the Panamint Mountains, California, was regionallymetamorphosed under low-pressure conditions and subsequentlyunderwent retrograde metamorphism. Prograde metamorphic isogradsthat mark the stability of tremolite + calcite, diopside, andsillimanite indicate a westward increase in grade. The studywas undertaken to determine the effects of the addition of Caon the types of assemblages that may occur in pelitic schists,to contribute to the understanding of the stability limits inP – T – aH₂O – X_Fe of the pelitic assemblagechlorite + muscovite + quartz, and to estimate the change inenvironment from prograde to retrograde metamorphism. Peliticassemblages are characterized by andalusite + biotite + stauroliteand andalusite + biotite + cordierite. Within a small changein grade, chlorite breaks down over nearly the entire rangein Mg/(Mg + Fe) to biotite + aluminous mineral. Chlorite withMg/(Mg + Fe) = 0.55 is stable to the highest grade, and thegeneralized terminal reaction is chlorite + muscovite + quartz= andalusite + biotite + cordierite + H₂O. Calcic schists arecharacterized by the assemblage epidote + muscovite + quartz+ chlorite + actinolite + biotite + calcite + plagioclase atlow grades and by epidote + muscovite + quartz + garnet + hornblende+ biotite + calcite + plagioclase at high grades. Epidote doesnot coexist with any AFM phase that is more aluminous than garnetor chlorite. Lithostatic pressure ranged from 2.3 kb to 3.0kb. During prograde-metamorphism temperatures ranged from lessthan 400° to nearly 700°C, and X_H2O (assuming P_H2O +P_CO3 = P_total) is estimated to be 0.25 in siliceous dolomite,0.8 in pelitic schist, and 1.0 in calcic schist. Temperatureduring retrograde metamorphism was 450° ± 50°C,and all fluid were H₂O-rich. A flux of H₂O-rich fluid duringfolding is believed to have caused retrograde metamorphism.The petrogenetic grid of Albee (1965b) is modified to positionthe (A, Cd) invariant point relative to the aluminosilicatetriple point, which allows the comparison of facies series thatinvolve different chloritoid-reactions.     

Carbon isotope exchange during polymetamorphism in the Panamint Mountains, California, USA

Carbon isotope fractionations between calcite and graphite in the Panamint Mountains, California, USA, demonstrate the importance of mass balance on carbon isotope values in metamorphosed carbon-bearing minerals while recording the thermal conditions during peak regional metamorphism. Interbedded graphitic marbles and graphitic calcareous schists in the Kingston Peak Formation define distinct populations on a δ¹³C_(gr)–δ¹³C_(cc) diagram. The δ¹³C values of both graphite and calcite in the marbles are higher than the values of the respective minerals in the schists. δ¹³C values in both rock types were controlled by the relative proportions of the carbon-bearing minerals: calcite, the dominant carbon reservoir in the marble, largely controlled the δ¹³C values in this lithology, whereas the δ¹³C values in the schists were largely controlled by the dominant graphite. This is in contrast to graphite-poor calcsilicate systems where carbon isotope shifts in carbonate minerals are controlled by decarbonation reactions. The marbles record a peak temperature of 531±30 °C of a Jurassic low-pressure regional metamorphic event above the tremolite isograd. In the schists there is a much wider range of recorded temperatures. However, there is a mode of temperatures at c. 435 °C, which approximately corresponds to the temperatures of the principal decarbonation metamorphic reactions in the schists, suggesting that the carbon exchange was set by loss of calcite and armouring of graphite by newly formed silicate minerals. The armouring may explain the relatively large spread of apparent temperatures. Although the modal temperature also corresponds to the approximate temperature of the Cretaceous retrograde event, retrograde exchange is thought less likely due to very slow exchange rates involving well-crystallized graphite, armouring of graphite by silicates during the earlier event, and because of other barriers to retrograde carbon exchange. Thus, only the calcite–graphite carbon isotope fractionations recorded by the marbles demonstrate the high-temperature conditions of the low-pressure Jurassic metamorphic event that was associated with the emplacement of granitic plutons to the west of the Panamint Mountains.     

The Garnet+Hornblende Isograd in Calcic Schists from an Andalusite-Type Regional Metamorphic Terrain, Panamint Mountains, California

Calcic schists in the andalusite-type regional metamorphic terrainin the Panamint Mountains, California, contain the low-varianceassemblage quartz+epidote+muscovite+biotite+calcic amphibole+chlorite+plagioclase+spheneat low grade. Near the sillimanite isograd, chlorite in thisassemblage is replaced by garnet. The low variance in many calcicschists allows the determination of the nature of the reactionthat resulted in the coexistence of garnet+hornblende. A graphicalanalysis of the mineral assemblages shows that the reactioncan not be of the form biotite+epidote+chlorite+plagioclase+quartz=garnet+hornblende+muscovite+sphene+H₂Obecause garnet+chlorite never coexisted during metamorphismand the chlorite-bearing and garnet-bearing phase volumes donot overlap. The compositions of the minerals show that withincreasing grade amphibole changed from actinolite to pargasitichornblende with no apparent miscibility gap, the partitioningof Fe and Mg between chlorite and hornblende changed from K_D(Mg/Fe, chl&amp) < 1 to K_D > 1, the partitioning betweenbiotite and hornblende changed from K_D (Mg/Fe, bio/amp) <1 in chlorite-zone samples to K_D > 1 in garnet + hornblende-zonesamples, and the transition to the garnet-bearing assemblageoccurred when the composition of plagioclase was between An₅₅and An₈₀. Both the graphical analysis and an analytical analysisof the compositions of the minerals using simplified componentsderived from the natural mineral compositions indicate thatat the garnet+hornblende isograd the composition of hornblendewas colinear with that of plagioclase and biotite, as projectedfrom quartz, epidote, muscovite, and H₂O. During progressivemetamorphism, chlorite+biotite+epidote+quartz continuously brokedown to form hornblende+muscovite+sphene until the degeneracywas reached. At that point, tie lines from hornblende couldextend to garnet without allowing garnet to coexist with chlorite.Thus, the garnet+hornblende isograd was established throughcontinuous reactions within the chlorite-grade assemblage ratherthan through a discontinuous reaction. In this type of isograd,the low-grade diagnostic assemblage occurs only in Mg-rich rocks;whereas the high-grade assemblage occurs only in Fe-rich rocks.This relation accounts for the restricted occurrence of garnet+hornblendeassemblage in low-pressure terrains. In Barrovian terrains,garnet+chlorite commonly occurs, and the first appearana ofgarnet+hornblende can simply result from the continuous shiftof the garnet+chlorite tie line to Mg-rich compositions.     

Stable Isotope Evidence for the Role of Diffusion, Infiltration, and Local Structure on Contact Metamorphism of Calc-Silicate Rocks at Noth Peak, Utah

The effects of infiltration, diffusion, and local structureon the contact metamorphism of the Cambrian Weeks Formation,a calcareous argillite located in western Utah, were examinedusing stable isotope systematics and mineral mass-balance considerations.The emplacement of the Jurassic Notch Peak granitic stock resultedin metamorphism characterized with increasing proximity to theintrusion by phlogopite, diopside, and wollastonite isograds.The isograds are generally concentric around the stock, withdiopside and wollastonite isograds {small tilde}600 and 400m from the contact, respectively, but are deflected near a pre-intrusionfault where the wollastonite isograd is 1. 5 km from the contact.Where the isograds are concentric, the wollastonite isogradmarks an isotopic front with whole-rock ¹⁸O values approachingthe 9.5% value of the stock. In contrast, the ¹⁸O values inthe unmetamorphosed to diopside-grade rocks range from 16.3to 20.2%. Near the fault the isotopic front extends throughthe diopside zone, suggesting that the fault was a major conduitfor magmatic water. Water—rock ratios for the diopside- and wollastonite-gradesamples determined from mineralogic mass balance are nearlyone order of magnitude larger than ‘one-box’ closed-systemratios determined from shifts in stable isotope ratios. Chromatographicmodels for isotopic exchange and propagation of isograds showthat one-dimensional infiltration of magmatic water throughpore spaces would lead to an isotopic front at 50 m from thestock and the wollastonite isograd would be only 8 km from thestock. These distances are significantly smaller than observed.It is suggested that most of the magmatic water flowed throughfractures or thin permeable layers, with the extent of isotopicexchange between the magmatic water in these conduits and theadjacent rocks being controlled by the extent of reaction progressin the rocks. Considerations of CO₂—H₂O interdiffusivitiesin fluids indicate that removal of CO₂ from the reaction frontstoward the intrusion or the fault was sufficiently rapid tocontrol the geometry of the isograds.