Evolution of Low-Al Orthopyroxene in the Horoman Peridotite, Japan: an Unusual Indicator of Metasomatizing Fluids

Unusually alumina-poor orthopyroxene is found in a spinel peridotitefrom the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Japan. Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃ andCaO contents in the low-Al orthopyroxene (named Low-Al OPX hereafter)are <0·25 wt %, <0·04 wt % and <0·3wt %, respectively, and are distinctively lower than those inorthopyroxene porphyroclasts. The Low-Al OPX occurs in two modes,both at the margin of olivine. The first mode of occurrenceis as the rim of a large orthopyroxene porphyroclast in contactwith olivine. This type of Low-Al OPX occurs only locally (15µm x 45 µm), and the orthopyroxene rim in contactwith olivine more commonly has normal Al₂O₃ contents (>2wt %). In the second mode of occurrence, the Low-Al OPX occursas a thin film, 5 µm x 50 µm in dimension, at agrain boundary between olivine and clinopyroxene. Trace elementcompositions of porphyroclast clinopyroxene in the sample indicatethat the sample having the Low-Al OPX underwent metasomatismalthough there are no hydrous minerals around the Low-Al OPX.Petrographic observations and trace element compositions ofclinopyroxene combined with an inferred P–T history ofthe Horoman peridotite suggest that the Low-Al OPX was formedthrough a very local reaction between peridotite and invasivefluids, probably formed by dehydration of a subducted slab,in a late stage of the history of the Horoman peridotite. Crystallizationof orthopyroxene, representing addition of silica to mantlelherzolite via a CO₂ + H₂O-bearing fluid phase, is a mechanismfor metasomatic alteration of mantle wedge peridotite. KEY WORDS: Horoman Peridotite Complex; low-Al orthopyroxene; metasomatism; mantle wedge     

Remnants of an ancient forest on the continental shelf of northwest Japan

Tree stumps in a standing position have been discovered in 20 to 40 meters of water in Toyama Bay, Japan. Radiocarbon dated samples from two of these stumps yielded ages of 8.480±70 and 9.060±80 years B.P., indicating that the stumps are remnants of a forest that existed during thc early Holocene.     

Dunite--Harzburgite--Chromitite Complexes as Refractory Residue in the Sangun--Yamaguchi Zone, Western Japan

Dunite, harzburgite and chromitite of alpine-type ultramaficcomplexes emplaced in the Paleozoic sediments in the Sangun—Yamaguchizone, western Japan, are massive and almost lacking in layeredstructure. Constituent minerals are more or less deformed andequilibrated at a relatively low temperature, about 700 °Cor lower. Chromian spinels in ultramafic rocks from dunite—harzburgite—chromititecomplexes in the Sangun—Yamaguchi zone are characterizedby the uniformity of the Cr/Cr + Al ratio, around 0.5, regardlessof locality and rock type, which is in contrast to the widevariation of the ratio of chromian spinel from the ordinaryalpine-type dunite—harzburgite complex. Mg/Mg + Fe" ratioof chromian spinel, on the other hand, is variable in parallelto the volume per cent of chromian spinel in ultramafic rocks.Olivine in ultramafic rocks is uniform in chemical composition,from Fo₈₈ to Fo₉₂, except for that in chromitite, of which itis Fo₉₅ to Fo₉₇. Primary chemical compositions (especially the Mg/Mg + Fe" ratio)of the constituent minerals have been modified to some extentby element redistribution at low temperature (700 °C orlower), the degree of modification depending on the volume ratioof the minerals. For example, the Mg/Mg + Fe" ratio of chromianspinel in peridotitic rocks has been lowered substantially,and inversely, that of olivine in chromitite has been raised.Primary Mg/Mg + Fe" ratios of olivine and chromian spinel canbe estimated, assuming a certain value of high temperature,e.g. 1200 °C, and the partition coefficient between olivineand chromian spinel at that temperature. As a result, the Mg/Mg+ Fe" ratio of olivine (0.88 to 0.92), and that of chromianspinel (0.78 to 0.80) were uniform, irrespective of rock typeand locality, at the high-temperature stage. Dunite—harzburgite—chromitite complexes in the Sangun—Yamaguchizone were accumulated as refractory residue after the relativelylarge-scaled partial fusion of some primordial peridotites,which resulted in the chemical uniformity of the residual minerals.They may have initially constituted the lowest part of an ophioliticsuite as ultramafic tectonite and been emplaced as dismemberedportions after the disruption of the parent body.     

Petrogenesis of Corundum-Bearing Mafic Rock in the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Japan

A corundum-bearing Type II mafic rock, within the Horoman peridotite,Japan, was petrologically examined in detail to obtain the P–Tpaths of the mafic rock as well as of the host peridotite. Ofall the mafic rocks documented from the Horoman complex, onlythe corundum-bearing mafic rock has preserved, at least partly,its high-pressure mineralogy; all of the others have been completelyrecrystallized at low pressures. The Type II mafic rocks wereinitially formed at <1·0 GPa as cumulates of olivine,plagioclase and clinopyroxene. Corundum was then formed by metamorphismand/or partial melting of the Type II protolith at higher pressures(>1·5 GPa) than the initial condition of formation.Corundum reacted with clinopyroxene during exhumation of theHoroman peridotite down to the plagioclase stability field.The field and petrographical observations of the Type II maficrocks (± corundum) coupled with published isotopic datasuggest a complicated spiral-like P–T trajectory for theHoroman peridotite. The Type II protolith was formed at lowpressure within the peridotite at the time of initial formationof the Horoman peridotite as a residue from primitive mantleat     

Possible Non-melted Remnants of Subducted Lithosphere: Experimental and Geochemical Evidence from Corundum-Bearing Mafic Rocks in the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Japan

We report experimental results and whole-rock trace-elementcharacteristics of a corundum-bearing mafic rock from the Horomanperidotite complex, Japan. Coronitic textures around corundumin the sample suggest that corundum was not stable in maficrock compositions during the late-stage P–T conditionsrecorded in the complex (P < 1 GPa, T < 800°C). Basedon the experimental results, corundum is stable in aluminousmafic compositions at pressures of 2–3 GPa under dry conditions,suggesting that the corundum-bearing mineral assemblages developedunder upper-mantle conditions, probably within the surroundingperidotite. Variations in the trace-element compositions ofthe corundum-bearing mafic rock and related rocks can be controlledby modal variations of plagioclase, clinopyroxene and olivine,suggesting that they formed as gabbroic rocks at low-pressureconditions, and that the corundum-bearing mafic rock was derivedfrom a plagioclase-rich protolith. A complex P–T trajectory,involving metamorphism of the plagioclase-rich protolith ata pressure higher than that at which it was first formed, isneeded to explain the origin of the corundum-bearing mafic rocks.They show no evidence for partial melting after their formationas low-pressure cumulates. The Horoman complex is an exampleof a large peridotite body containing possible remnants of subductedoceanic lithosphere still retaining their original geochemicalsignatures without chemical modification during subduction andexhumation. KEY WORDS: Horoman; mafic rock; corundum; experiment; P–T history; recycling     

Denudation history of the Kiso Range,central Japan,and its tectonic implications: Constraints from low‐temperature thermochronology

Fission‐track (FT) and (U–Th–Sm)/He (He) analyses are used to constrain the denudation pattern and history of the Kiso Range, a Japanese fault‐block mountain range which has been uplifted since ca 0.8 Ma. We obtained nine zircon FT ages ranging 59.3–42.1 Ma, 18 apatite FT ages ranging 81.9–2.3 Ma, and 13 apatite He ages ranging 36.7–2.2 Ma. The apatite FT and He ages are divided into an older group comparable to the zircon FT age range and a younger group of <18 Ma. The younger ages are interpreted as a reflection of uplift of the Kiso Range because they were obtained only to the east of the Seinaiji‐touge Fault, and the event age estimated from apatite FT data is consistent with the timing of the onset of the Kiso Range uplift. On the basis of the distribution of the younger ages, we propose westward tilting uplift of the Kiso Range between the boundary fault of the Inadani Fault Zone and Seinaiji‐touge Fault, which implies a model of bedrock uplift that is intermediate between two existing models: a pop‐up model in which the Kiso Range is squeezed upward between the two faults and a tilted uplift model which assumes that the Kiso Range is uplifted and tilted to the west by the Inadani Fault Zone. The original land surface before the onset of uplift/denudation of the Kiso Range is estimated to have been uplifted to an elevation of 2700–4900 m. We estimated denudation rates at 1.3–4.0 mm/y and maximum bedrock uplift rates at 3.4–6.1 mm/y since ca 0.8 Ma. The Seinaiji‐touge fault is interpreted as a back thrust of the west‐dipping Inadani Fault Zone. The older group of apatite FT and He ages is interpreted to reflect long‐term peneplanation with a probable denudation rate of <0.1 mm/y.