Metapelitic Migmatites from Brattstrand Bluffs, East Antarctica--Metamorphism, Melting and Exhumation of the Mid Crust

Metapelitic migmatites at Brattstrand Bluffs, East Antarctica,preserve granulite assemblages and a complex deformational history.Crystallized granitic melt accounts for 25% of exposed rocks,and was produced by biotite dehydration-melting reactions inthe host metapelite. Variable degrees of melt production andextraction resulted in a range of bulk compositions in the residualmetapelite, from quartz-rich migmatites to restitic quartz-absentpelite. Decompressional reaction textures indicate 11 km ofexhumation after peak metamorphism at P—T conditions of6 kbar and 860C Decompression occurred during a single cycleof partial melting and melt crystallization at 500 Ma, and wassynchronous with tectonic unroofing of the Brattstrand Bluffsmigmatites along ductile shear zones. Exhumation has been proposedas a cause of dehydration melting in the Himalaya and elsewhere,but melting at Brattstrand Bluffs was ultimately driven by thetectonic perturbation and subsequent thermal relaxation responsiblefor high metamorphic temperatures. Exhumation did not drivemelting reactions, but it is likely that the presence of meltfocused deformation in the migmatites and thus promoted exhumation. KEY WORDS: decompression; exhumation; granulite; melting; migmalite ^*Corresponding author.