Succession de subfacies métamorphiques en Vanoise méridionale (Savoie)

The Southern Vanoise is localized in the internal part of the Western Alps, in the Briançonnais zone. In Vanoise the following units can be distinguished (Fig. 1): a pre-hercynian basement (micaschists, glaucophanites, basic rocks), a permian cover (micaschists) and a mesozoic-paleocene cover (carbonate rocks). This area has been affected by the alpine metamorphic event characterized here by high and intermediate pressure facies. The rocks paragenesis are often unbalanced.The paleozoic rocks (Table 1) contain mainly: quartz, albite, paragonite, phengite, blue amphibole, chlorite, green biotite, garnet (Table 2). These minerals were analysed by an electron microprobe (Tables 3, 4 and 5). Mineral composition is highly variable: glaucophane is zoned (Table 5), white micas are more or less substituted with phengite (3.22O₃/FeO + MgO)<0.53] whereas the Al rich chlorites (Al₂O₃/FeO + MgO)>0.6] are associated with the less substituted white micas (Si=3.2) (Tables 3 and 4). The phengites with a Si content 3.2 occur in rocks where the retromorphic evolution is the most pronounced and penetrative. A metamorphic evolution is characterized by the disappearance of glaucophane which corresponds to the appearance of Al rich chlorite and to the decrease of phengitic substitution.The samples analysis are plotted in the tetraedric diagram: K₂O-Al₂O₃-Na₂O, Al₂O₃-FeO, MgO, on which a special mathematical treatment was applied. This method calculates the location of rocks composition in the four minerals space. This location is internal when the per cent amounts of all four relevant minerals are positive, if any of them is negative, the point is external (Tables 6–9).In Southern Vanoise micaschists, 2 subfacies are successively present (Fig. 3):Subfacies I: glaucophane-chlorite-phengite (Si⁴⁺ 3.5)-paragonite. Then subfacies II: chlorite-albite-phengite (Si⁴⁺ 3.2)-paragonite.In basic rocks is found essentially: Subfacies III: glaucophane-garnet-phengite-paragonite or IV: glaucophane-garnet-phengite-albite. Then subfacies V: green biotite-chlorite-albite-paragonite.The assemblages I and II proceed through reaction: 2 glaucophane +1 paragonite+2 H₂O4.2 albite + 1 chlorite.The assemblage V appears with reactions: 1.8 glaucophane +2 phengite0.4 chlorite+2 green biotite + 3.6 albite +0.4 H₂O or 2 glaucophane +2 phengite +0.5 garnet+ 6 H₂O2 green biotite +1 chlorite+4 albiteThese reactions are controlled by hydratation: the composition variation of phengite and associated chlorite during the metamorphic evolution determines the stability of some minerals (particularly the glaucophane in Na₂O poor rocks).In same rocks the results of mathematical treatment is not consistent with the data (Tables 2, 6–9). This discrepancy corresponds to a desequilibrium between chlorite and phengite.These results imply a continuous metamorphic evolution between two stages (Fig. 6): a first stage (1) at 8 kb, 350 ° C; a second stage (2) at 2 to 3 kb, 400–450 ° C.