Pitfalls in geothermobarometry of eclogites: Fe3+ and changes in the mineral chemistry of omphacite at ultrahigh pressures

The relatively low-variance mineral assemblage of a talc-kyanite eclogite from Dabie Shan enabled application of both conventional geothermobarometers (garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometer and the garnet-omphacite-phengite geobarometer) and a multi-equilibrium method to determine peak P-T conditions (THERMOCALC, average PT). The results were highly discrepant: 840 °C / 31.1 kbar vs. 590 °C / 29.8 kbar. Mössbauer spectroscopy showed that Fe³⁺/Fe_total in omphacite was significantly higher than the value obtained from standard formula recalculation. When the activities were corrected for Fe endmembers, geothermobarometry gave consistent results (606 °C / 31.3 kbar vs. 585 °C / 30.8 kbar). These are close to those obtained earlier by average PT, confirming the robustness of the multi-equilibrium approach. The high Fe³⁺ concentration in omphacite is best explained using a Ca-eskola endmember Ca_0.5[]_0.5AlSi₂O₆and allowing corresponding vacancies in the omphacite structure.Editorial responsibility: W. Schreyer