Nitrogen in fluids effecting retrogression of granulite facies gneisses: a debatable mantle connection

The abundance patterns of nitrogen, and chlorine in retrogressed granulite facies gneisses from southern East Greenland exhibit strong enrichment in the vicinity of small-scale shear zones. Sulfur in the shear zones occurs at the same concentration levels as in the adjacent country rock, but is depleted in the transition zone between shear zone and country rock. Within the shear zone sulfur occurs as sulfate, whereas in the country rock granulites it occurs as sulfide. Recrystallization of rock in the shear zone to scapolite-bearing, hornblende-absent assemblages, along with changes in the major element chemistry, demonstrates that these zones define migration pathways of chemically reactive fluids. Consideration of the computed fluid compositions, and of the mass ratios of chlorine/sulfur and nitrogen/sulfur demonstrate that the fluid equilibrated with continental crust prior to its passage through gneisses in the study area. Previous suggestions have been made that the mantle may act as a source region for nitrogen-rich fluids. However, equilibration of these S-, N- and Cl-rich fluids with crustal material precludes the use of element abundances to identify a mantle signature; the bulk of these fluid constituents must be considered crustal derived.