Multi-stage Melting in the Lower Crust of the Serre (Southern Italy)

The lower-crustal section exposed in the Serre, southern Italy,consists mainly of Al-rich metasediments, which underwent granulite-faciesmetamorphism, partial melting and melt extraction. The paperconsiders the formation of melts in metapelites and metagreywackes.Leucosomes and host rocks have been studied to investigate themelting process. Biotite-rich and biotite-free melanosomes withscarce felsic components are present; the biotite-rich typesare widespread in the upper part of the section and the twotypes may occur side by side in the lower part. Na-rich andK-rich leucosomes including residual phases are interspersedwithin the metasediments; on the whole they do not show geochemicalsignatures suggestive of magmatic fractionation. Leucotonalitictypes prevail among the sampled leucosomes, which generallyare rare earth element (REE) depleted with positive Eu anomalieswhereas the host rocks are REE enriched with overall negativeEu anomalies. Melanosomes and migmatites show restitic chemistries.The precursor metagreywackes underwent depletion in Na₂O andenrichment in K₂O. The precursor metapelites document generaldepletion in Na₂O and they may be enriched or depleted in K₂O.All the characteristics of the migmatites and of their componentsreflect a two-stage melting: (1) H₂O-present melting, involvingmainly plagioclase, and (2) dehydration melting of micas. Allthe metasediments underwent H₂O-present melting, forming mostlysodic melts which, owing to their removal from the source asfast as they formed, did not accumulate in such proportionsas to allow migration and mostly remained within the lower-crustalmetasediments; metapelites also underwent variable dehydrationmelting, depending on chemical features and physical conditions,forming larger volumes of mobile granitic melts, most of whichmigrated far from the source. Extractions of 57–66 vol.% of total melts (sodic + potassic) from the most residual metapeliticmelanosomes and of about 27–44 vol. % of potassic meltsfrom metapelitic migmatites have been calculated. Higher volumesof the extracted melts have been calculated for the metapelitesof the lower part of the section; the most depleted metagreywackesunderwent melt extraction of about 9–13 vol. %. The two-stagemelting occurred during the prograde metamorphism and continuedduring the isothermal decompression. KEY WORDS: Calabria; lower crust; multi-stage melting