Composition of plagioclase and associated minerals in some schists from Vermont,U.S.A., and South Westland,New Zealand,with inferences about the peristerite solvus

Two suites of regionally metamorphosed semi-pelitic schists were studied in order to investigate the paragenesis of low temperature plagioclase, from which something may be inferred as to the nature of the peristerite solvus at the temperatures and pressures of formation of these rocks: one from the Gile Mountain Formation in the Hanover and Mt. Cube quadrangles, eastern Vermont, U.S.A.; the other from the Alpine schists along the Haast River, South Westland, New Zealand. Plagioclase, muscovite, biotite, chlorite, carbonate, and garnet compositions were determined with an ARL EMX electron probe microanalyzer. The variation in plagioclase composition with increasing grade in the Vermont schists suggests that the peristerite solvus is asymmetrical with a near vertical albite-rich side and a sloping oligoclase-rich side. The top of the solvus appears to lie slightly above the temperature expressed by the almandine isograd in these schists. The compositions of the coexisting albite and oligoclase in the New Zealand rocks suggest a lower geothermal gradient than in Vermont, creating a different pattern of variation in plagioclase composition. Distribution diagrams of Mg, Ti, and Al^IV for muscovite-biotite and chlorite-biotite pairs in both suites of rocks support the hypothesis that the plagioclase relations observed represent equilibrium.