From partial melting to retrogression in the Pointe Geologie migmatitic complex: a history of heterogeneous distribution of fluids

In the Pointe Géologie area (66°40 S; 140°00 E; Terre Adélie, East Antarctica), the Paleoproterozoic basement consists in a migmatitic complex of metasedimentary origin. Metasediments underwent a thermal event, leading to the high-grade amphibolite facies assemblages biotite–cordierite–sillimanite and to dehydration melting reactions at 4–6 kbar and 700±50 °C, followed by retrogression in greenschist facies.

In most of the archipelago, K-feldspar gneisses (KFG) are characterized by a Sil+Crd+Kfs+Bt assemblage and many K-feldspar-rich leucosomes. Locally, a spectacular rock type occurs as North dipping bands of about 10 m thick and consists in nodular gneisses (NG) that display less abundant, K-feldspar-poor leucosomes.

Commonly, the retrograde imprint facies is quite weak in KFG and only expressed by sporadic Bt–Ms±And equilibrium assemblage, whereas it developed more extensively in NG. A pseudosection calculated at constant P=4 kbar shows that the differences between NG and KFG assemblages can be considered to be mainly driven by difference in H₂O proportions and much less by differences in FeO/MgO or K₂O/MgO ratios. The hydrated assemblage (Bt–Ms nodules) in NG requires at least 10–20% more H₂O than the Crd+Kfs+Sil/And assemblage does in KFG. Parageneses and mineral compositions indicate that this difference in H₂O occurred early in the history, at least as early as the anatectic stage. Therefore, differences between NG and KFG are related to the variation in partial melting features (water distribution, proportion of melt extraction), which appears to be spatially controlled by cryptic tectonic structures. The particular shape and orientation of NG bands are interpreted as a complex history of melt extraction in the Pointe Géologie area which could involve a two stage melting process.