Controls on P–T–t deformation path from amphibole zonation during progressive metamorphism of basic rocks (estuary of the River Vilaine, South Brittany, France)

Abstract Edenite/tremolite and edenite/magnesio-hornblende in equilibrium with plagioclase, chlorite, epidote, quartz and vapour involve several types of reactions for which K _D can be related to T and P. Thermodynamic calculation of these equilibria leads to isopleth systems. Given knowledge of the progressive changes of end-member activities in zoned Ca–Mg amphiboles (based on microprobe analyses), it is possible to construct precise pressure–temperature–time paths ( P–T–t paths) which have been followed by metabasites during polyphase metamorphism. When applied to basic rocks from the River Vilaine area, this method allows us to construct a P–T–t path that can be compared directly to the P–T–t path constructed from interbedded acid rocks (aluminous micaschists) in the same structural unit. Through time, both basic and acid rocks underwent the same complex deformation history that can be described conveniently in the L–S fabric system of Flinn. This allows us to construct a P–T–t deformation path for this structural unit.
These paths are interpreted in terms of an under/overthrusting continental collision belt (the Hercynian belt), and represent an illustration of the time delay caused by stacking of more than two crustal units.