The use of oxygen isotope geothermometry on the granulites and related intrusives,Musgrave Ranges,central Australia

Oxygen isotope equilibration involving quartz, feldspar and magnetite has taken place within the granulites of the metamorphic aureole of the intrusive charnockitic Ernabella Adamellite, and a temperature of approximately 550° C is indicated by ¹⁸O/¹⁶O values from quartz-magnetite and plagioclase-magnetite pairs. Pyroxene-magnetite fractionations are larger than equilibrium fractionations at this temperature, and demonstrate that caution is necessary in assigning estimates of temperature to highly metamorphosed rocks.The intrusive adamellite and related fine-grained and pegmatitic phases appear to have attained oxygen isotope equilibrium with the granulites at a similar temperature (approx. 550° C) which is here regarded as a late metamorphic equilibration temperature rather than the maximum temperature (estimated to be about 780° C) reached within the aureole.Oxygen was extracted from the minerals by means of bromine pentafluoride, and the isotopes were successfully measured without the normal prior conversion of oxygen to carbon dioxide.