Showing papers on "Granulite published in 2014"

4.21 – One View of the Geochemistry of Subduction-Related Magmatic Arcs, with an Emphasis on Primitive Andesite and Lower Crust

Abstract: This chapter has four main aims. Provide a comprehensive picture of the composition of volcanic rocks from subduction-related magmatic arcs. Review evidence in favor of the existence of andesitic, as well as basaltic primary magmas in arcs. Present new data on the composition of arc lower crust, based mainly on our work on the Talkeetna arc section in southcentral Alaska. Summarize evidence from arc lower crustal sections that a substantial proportion of the dense, lower crustal pyroxenites and garnet granulites produced by crystal fractionation are missing.

Multi-stage crustal growth and cratonization of the North China Craton

Abstract: The North China Craton (NCC) has a complicated evolutionary history with multi-stage crustal growth, recording nearly all important geological events in the early geotectonic history of the Earth. Our studies propose that the NCC can be divided into six micro-blocks with >∼3.0–3.8 Ga old continental nuclei that are surrounded by Neoarchean greenstone belts (GRB). The micro-blocks are also termed as high-grade regions (HGR) and are mainly composed of orthogneisses with minor gabbros and BIF-bearing supracrustal beds or lenses, all of which underwent strong deformation and metamorphism of granulite- to high-grade amphibolite-facies. The micro-blocks are, in turn, from east to west, the Jiaoliao (JL), Qianhuai (QH), Ordos (ODS), Ji'ning (JN) and Alashan (ALS) blocks, and Xuchang (XCH) in the south. Recent studies led to a consensus that the basement of the NCC was composed of different blocks/terranes that were finally amalgamated to form a coherent craton at the end of Neoarchean. Zircon U-Pb data show that TTG gneisses in the HGRs have two prominent age peaks at ca. 2.9–2.7 and 2.6–2.5 Ga which may correspond to the earliest events of major crustal growth in the NCC. Hafnium isotopic model ages range from ca. 3.8 to 2.5 Ga and mostly are in the range of 3.0–2.6 Ga with a peak at 2.82 Ga. Recent studies revealed a much larger volume of TTG gneisses in the NCC than previously considered, with a dominant ca. 2.7 Ga magmatic zircon ages. Most of the ca. 2.7 Ga TTG gneisses underwent metamorphism in 2.6–2.5 Ga as indicated by ubiquitous metamorphic rims around the cores of magmatic zircon in these rocks. Abundant ca. 2.6–2.5 Ga orthogneisses have Hf-in-zircon and Nd whole-rock model ages mostly around 2.9–2.7 Ga and some around 2.6–2.5 Ga, indicating the timing of protolith formation or extraction of the protolith magma was from the mantle. Therefore, it is suggested that the 2.6–2.5 Ga TTGs probably represent a coherent event of continental accretion and major reworking (crustal melting). As a distinct characteristic, nearly all GRBs in the NCC underwent amphibolite-facies metamorphism. Zircon U-Pb ages of metamorphosed GRB mafic rocks mainly show two peak ranges at ∼2.6–2.5 and 2.8–2.7 Ga. The mafic rocks are commonly believed to be derived from metabasalts, it is therefore possible that the ages represent the time of metamorphism. The tectonic settings of the GRBs are still a problem. Their geochemical characteristics are, respectively, similar to back-arc basins, rifts, island arcs or suggest imprints of mantle plumes. BIFs occur in all GRBs but also in the HGRs. This metallogenic specificity is quite different from all Phanerozoic geotectonic settings. The ∼2.5 Ga metamorphic-magmatic event is stronger than in most other cratons in the world. How to understand the geological significance of the 2.5 Ga event? The following points are emphasized: (1) nearly all old rocks >2.5 Ga underwent metamorphism at ∼2.52–2.5 Ga; (2) Archean basement rocks in the NCC experienced strong partial melting and migmatization; (3) granitoid rocks derived from partial melting include potassium granites, TTG granites and monzonites. These granitoids rocks intruded both the Archean greenstone belts and micro-blocks; (4) ∼2.5 Ga mafic dikes (amphibolites), granitic dikes (veins) and syenitic-ultramafic dykes are also developed. Therefore, we suggest an assembly model that all micro-blocks in the NCC were welded together by late Archean greenstone belts at the end of the late Neoarchean. We also propose that the various micro-blocks were surrounded by small ocean basins, and the old continental crust and the oceanic crust were hotter than today. Subduction and collision were on much smaller scales as compared to the Phanerozoic plate tectonic regime, although the tectonic style and mechanisms were more or less similar. The formation of crustal melt granites is one of the processes of cratonization, inducing generation of stable upper and lower crustal layers. This process also generated an upper crust of more felsic composition and a lower crust of more mafic composition, due to molten residual materials and some underplated gabbros.

Behaviour of zircon and monazite during crustal melting

Abstract: Ages retrieved from accessory minerals in high-grade metamorphic rocks place important constraints on the timing of events and the rates of tectonometamorphic processes operating in the deep crust. In suprasolidus rocks, the dissolution and growth of zircon and monazite are strongly dependent on the P–T conditions of metamorphism and the chemistry and quantity of anatectic melt present. Along a clockwise P–T path, prograde heating above the solidus leads to episodic melt loss and changes in melt chemistry that have important implications for the dissolution and growth of zircon and monazite. In this study, phase equilibria modelling of open-system melting is coupled with experimental data on zircon and monazite solubility to evaluate the stability of these minerals at suprasolidus conditions along several schematic clockwise P–T paths. In migmatite melanosomes and residual granulites, some zircon is expected to survive heating to peak temperature and subsequent isothermal decompression, whereas monazite may be completely consumed, consistent with the observation that inherited cores are less common in monazite than in zircon. After decompression, during cooling to the solidus, new zircon and monazite growth from melt trapped along grain boundaries in melanosomes and residual granulites is expected to be limited. By contrast, leucosomes in migmatites and anatectic granites are predicted to contain mostly newly formed zircon and monazite with minimal inherited components, unless significant entrainment of these minerals from the source occurs. The preservation of cores inside newly formed zircon, as observed in many anatectic granites, demonstrates that segregation, ascent and emplacement is commonly fast enough to limit dissolution of these inherited grains.

Himalayan Metamorphism and Its Tectonic Implications

Abstract: The Himalayan range exposes a spectacular assemblage of metamorphic rocks from the mid- and deep crust that have fostered numerous models of how the crust responds to continental collisions. Recent petrogenetically based petrologic and geochronologic studies elucidate processes with unprecedented resolution and critically test models that range from continuum processes to one-time events. The pronounced metamorphic inversion across the Main Central Thrust reflects continuum thrusting between ca. 15 and 20 Ma, whereas exposure of ultrahigh-pressure rocks in northwestern massifs and syntaxis granulites reflects singular early (≥45 Ma) and late (≤10 Ma) exhumation events. Multiple mechanisms including wedge collapse and flow of melt-weakened midcrust are debated to explain pressure-temperature trajectories, patterns of thinning, and thermal overprinting. A geochronologic revolution is under way in which spatially resolved compositions and ages of accessory minerals are combined in a petrogenetically valid co...

Thermal control on the modes of crustal thinning leading to mantle exhumation. Insights from the Cretaceous Pyrenean hot paleomargins.

Abstract: The pre-rift Mesozoic sequences of the Cretaceous passive margins fossilized in the North Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) are characterized by high temperature deformation in relation with thinning of the continental basement. Our compilation of chronological and geological data confirms a clear correlation between the distribution of the highest paleotemperatures in the pre-rift sedimentary cover and the loci of extreme crustal stretching. Geological evidences such as the occurrence of peridotite bodies directly underlying metamorphic pre-rift sediments indicate an early attenuation of the rifted continental crust. This leads us to propose a mechanism of rifting involving boudinage of the continental crust. The lateral extraction of the Paleozoic basement occurred under the pre-rift cover that is decoupled on the Triassic clays and evaporates. The thermal conditions allowing coeval ductile deformation of the crust and of the pre-rift sediments leaded to the widening of basins devoid of large faulted blocks. We discuss the implications on the origin and significance of the granulites and the relations between flysch deposition and high temperature metamorphism of the pre-rift sediments. In the NPZ, Albian-Cenomanian flysch sequences were deposited synchronously with the syn-metamorphic ductile deformation of the pre-rift sequences. Since the base of the flysch deposits also recorded locally the high-temperature tectonic event, we propose an original mechanism for the evolution of the basins involving continuous deformation of the pre-rift metamorphic sediments. At the scale of the Pyrenean domain, our results suggest a strong lateral variability in the tectonic style of passive margins, in direct link with their thermic pattern

Paleoproterozoic crustal evolution of the Hengshan–Wutai–Fuping region, North China Craton

Abstract: An arguable point regarding the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic crustal evolution of the North China Craton (NCC) is whether the tectonic setting in the central belt during the mid-Paleoproterozoic (2.35–2.0 Ga) was dominated by an extensional regime or an oceanic subduction–arc regime. A review of the mid-Paleoproterozoic magmatism and sedimentation for the Hengshan–Wutai–Fuping region suggests that a back-arc extension regime was dominant in this region. This conclusion is consistent with the observation that the 2.35–2.0 Ga magmatism shows a typical bimodal distribution where the mafic rocks mostly have arc affinities and the acidic rocks mainly comprise highly-fractioned calc-alkaline to alkaline (or A-type) granites, and that this magmatism was coeval with development of extensional basins characteristic of transgressive sequences with volcanic interlayers such as in the Hutuo Group. Although the final amalgamation of the NCC was believed to occur at ∼1.85 Ga, recent zircon U–Pb age dating for mica schist in the Wutai Group suggests a collisional event may have occurred at ∼1.95 Ga. The metamorphic ages of ∼1.85 Ga, obtained mostly from the high-grade rocks using the zircon U–Pb approach, most probably indicate uplifting and cooling of these high-grade terranes. This is because (i) phase modeling suggests that newly-grown zircon grains in high-grade rocks with a melt phase cannot date the age of peak pressure and temperature stages, but the age of melt crystallization in cooling stages; (ii) the metamorphic P–T paths with isobaric cooling under 6–7 kb for the Hengshan and Fuping granulites suggest their prolonged stay in the middle–lower crust; and (iii) the obtained metamorphic age data show a continuous distribution from 1.95 to 1.80 Ga. Thus, an alternative tectonic scenario for the Hengshan–Wutai–Fuping region involves: (i) formation of a proto-NCC at ∼2.5 Ga; (ii) back-arc extension during 2.35–2.0 Ga resulting in bimodal magmatism and sedimentation in rifting basins on an Archean basement; (iii) a crustal thickening event in the extended region resulting in a kyanite-type metamorphism at ∼1.95 Ga, and (iv) uplifting and cooling of the thickened crust from 1.93 to 1.80 Ga.

Zoned Monazite and Zircon as Monitors for the Thermal History of Granulite Terranes: an Example from the Central Indian Tectonic Zone

Abstract: The growth and dissolution behaviour of detrital, metamorphic and magmatic monazite and zircon during granulite-facies anatexis in pelitic and psammo-pelitic granulites and in garnetiferous granite from the southern margin of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) have been investigated using reconstructed metamorphic reaction history, monazite electron microprobe dating and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon geochronology. Whereas the pelitic granulites record medium-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism (BM1 stage), the psammo-pelitic granulite reached ultrahigh temperatures (TMax > 880°C at 8·7 kbar). The meta-psammite additionally records two stages of granulite-facies recrystallization (BM2 and BM3). Irrespective of variations in the bulk-rock compositions and peak metamorphic conditions, monazite is highly reactive during the BM1 event, producing complex, chemically zoned crystals. Textural, compositional and chemical ages of these grains indicate the stability of six compositional domains (CD1 to CD6 in the paragenetic sequence), of which CD1 represents pre-metamorphic detrital cores of Paleoproterozoic age. CD2 and CD3 (combined mean age of 1612 ± 14 Ma) mark two stages of recrystallization of detrital monazite cores during prograde events. Rims of CD4 monazite (ages between 1615 ± 14 and 1586 ± 14 Ma) on partially to completely equilibrated cores indicate melt crystallization at, or immediately following, peak BM1P metamorphism. CD5 monazite (age of 1574 ± 7 Ma) is restricted to the psammo-pelitic granulites, and marks final melt crystallization at the solidus during post-peak cooling (BM1R stage, where R represents retrograde metamorphism). The metamorphic rim of CD6 monazite (age of 1539 ± 24 Ma) around partially resorbed CD5 domains is linked to the decomposition of BM1 garnet during the terminal hydration event as part of a granulite-facies recrystallization event. Compositionally homogeneous monazite and rims of chemically zoned monazite grains in granite together record a magmatic crystallization age of 1604 ± 9 Ma. SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of the psammo-pelitic granulite and garnetiferous granite indicates detrital or inherited cores of Paleo- to Neoarchean age (3584 ± 3 to 2530 ± 3 Ma), which have been variously recrystallized and overgrown by new zircon: (1) at 1658 ± 12 Ma; (2) between 1595 ± 5 and 1590 ± 6 Ma; (3) at 1574 ± 9 Ma. These zircon dates are correlated with the timing of the following: (1) the protoliths of precursor sediments of the metasedimentary granulites, deposited between 2530 and 1658 Ma; (2) a short-lived high-grade event ∼65–70 Myr before the culmination of the BM1 granulite-facies event; (3) a high-T anatectic event, corresponding to the peak BM1P metamorphism at TMax > 900°C; (4) final crystallization of anatectic melt at the solidus (cf. BM1R metamorphic stage). These chronological constraints from monazite and zircon, when integrated with the metamorphic reaction history and published geochronological data, allow recognition of three episodes of granulite-facies metamorphism in the CITZ at 1658 Ma (pre-BM1 event), between 1612 and 1574 Ma (BM1 event), and between 1572 and 1539 Ma (combined BM2 and BM3 events), as part of a latest Paleoproterozoic to Early Mesoproterozoic orogenic event. This orogeny is linked to the growth of the Proto-Greater Indian Landmass.

The hot back-arc zone of the Araçuaí orogen, Eastern Brazil : from sedimentation to granite generation.

Abstract: This article presents new lithochemical and geochronological data obtained from gneisses and granites occurring in the region located to the east of the Rio Doce calc-alkaline arc (630 - 580 Ma), which corresponds to the back-arc basin of the Aracuai orogen. The Nova Venecia Complex, represents the most fertile source of peraluminous granitic melts in the studied back-arc zone. It mostly consists of migmatitic Al-rich paragneisses, ranging from biotite-rich gneisses to biotite-free cordierite-rich granulites, whose main protoliths were graywacky sediments. An EW-oriented section across the northern back-arc region reveals a zone rich in cordierite granulites of the Nova Venecia Complex at the base, followed by migmatites that gradually pass to the Ataleia foliated granites rich in metasedimentary enclaves, which in turn lay beneath the Carlos Chagas batholith. To the south of the Carlos Chagas batholith, orthopyroxene-bearing rocks often occur in both the Nova Venecia Complex and the Ataleia Suite, suggesting a deeper crustal level. Our U-Pb data suggest that melting processes started on the Nova Venecia Complex during the late development of the Rio Doce arc, around 590 Ma, forming autochthonous peraluminous melts related to the Ataleia Suite. Progressive anatexis and melt accumulation attained the climax around 575 Ma, leading to the development of the syn-collisional Carlos Chagas batholith. Around 545 - 530 Ma, a late to post-collisional anatectic episode formed garnet-cordierite leucogranites, mostly from the re-melting of the Ataleia and Carlos Chagas granites. A remarkable post-collisional plutonism caused widesperead re-heating of the back-arc domain from ca. 520 Ma to 480 Ma. This long lasting history (ca. 110 Ma) of granite generation in the back-arc zone requires distinct heat sources, such as asthenosphere ascent under the back-arc region in the pre-collisional stage, thrust stacking of the hot arc onto the back-arc, radiogenic heat release from the collisional thickened crust and, finally, asthenosphere uprising during the gravitational collapse of the Aracuai orogen.

Post-peak, fluid-mediated modification of granulite facies zircon and monazite in the Trivandrum Block, southern India

Abstract: The quarry at Kottavattom in the Trivandrum Block of southern India contains spectacular examples of fluid-assisted alteration of high-grade metamorphic rocks. Garnet-biotite gneiss has undergone a change in mineral assemblage to form submetre scale orthopyroxene-bearing patches, later retrogressed to form an amphibole-bearing lithology. These patches, often referred to as arrested or incipient charnockite, crosscut the original metamorphic foliation and are typically attributed to passage of a low aH2O fluid through the rock. Whilst this conversion is recognised as a late stage process, little detailed chronological work exists to link it temporally to metamorphism in the region. Zircon and monazite analysed from Kottavattom not only record metamorphism in the Trivandrum Block but also show internal, lobate textures crosscutting the original zoning, consistent with fluid-aided coupled dissolution-reprecipitation during formation of the orthopyroxene-bearing patches. High-grade metamorphism at the quarry occurred between the formation of metamorphic monazite at ~585 Ma and the growth of metamorphic zircon at ~523 Ma. The fluid-assisted alteration of the garnet-biotite gneiss is poorly recorded by altered zircon with only minimal resetting of the U–Pb system, whereas monazite has in some cases undergone complete U–Pb resetting and records an age for fluid infiltration at ~495 Ma. The fluid event therefore places the formation of the altered patches at least 25 Myr after the zircon crystallisation in the garnet-biotite gneiss. The most likely fluid composition causing the modification and U–Pb resetting of zircon and monazite is locally derived hypersaline brine.

The off-crust origin of granite batholiths

Abstract: Granitod batholiths of I-type features (mostly granodiorites and tonalites), and particularly those forming the large plutonic associations of active continental margins and intracontinental collisional belts, represent the most outstanding magmatic episodes occurred in the continental crust. The origin of magmas, however, remains controversial. The application of principles from phase equilibria is crucial to understand the problem of granitoid magma generation. An adequate comparison between rock compositions and experimental liquids has been addressed by using a projected compositional space in the plane F(Fe + Mg)–Anorthite–Orthoclase. Many calc-alkaline granitoid trends can be considered cotectic liquids. Assimilation of country rocks and other not-cotectic processes are identified in the projected diagram. The identification of cotectic patterns in batholith implies high temperatures of magma segregation and fractionation (or partial melting) from an intermediate (andesitic) source. The comparison of batholiths with lower crust granulites, in terms of major-element geochemistry, yields that both represent liquids and solid residues respectively from a common andesitic system. This is compatible with magmas being formed by melting, and eventual reaction with the peridotite mantle, of subducted melanges that are finally relaminated as magmas to the lower crust. Thus, the off-crust generation of granitoids batholiths constitutes a new paradigm in which important geological implications can be satisfactorily explained. Geochemical features of Cordilleran-type batholiths are totally compatible with this new conception.

Grain-scale pressure variations and chemical equilibrium in high-grade metamorphic rocks

Abstract: In the classical view of metamorphic microstructures, fast viscous relaxation (and so constant pres- sure) is assumed, with diffusion being the limiting factor in equilibration. This contribution is focused on the only other possible scenario - fast diffusion and slow viscous relaxation - and brings an alter- native interpretation of microstructures typical of high-grade metamorphic rocks. In contrast to the pressure vessel mechanical model applied to pressure variation associated with coesite inclusions in various host minerals, a multi-anvil mechanical model is proposed in which strong single crystals and weak grain boundaries can maintain pressure variation at geological time-scales in a polycrystalline material. In such a mechanical context, exsolution lamellae in feldspar are used to show that feldspar can sustain large differential stresses (>10 kbar) at geological time-scales. Furthermore, it is argued that the existence of grain-scale pressure gradients combined with diffusional equilibrium may explain chemical zoning preserved in reaction rims. Assuming zero net flux across the microstructure, an equilibrium thermodynamic method is introduced for inferring pressure variation corresponding to the chemical zoning. This new barometric method is applied to plagioclase rims around kyanite in fel- sic granulite (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic), yielding a grain-scale pressure variation of 8 kbar. In this approach, kinetic factors are not invoked to account for mineral composition zoning preserved in rocks metamorphosed at high grade.

Earth’s youngest known ultrahigh-temperature granulites discovered on Seram, eastern Indonesia

Abstract: Episodes of ultrahigh-temperature (UHT, ≥900 °C) granulite metamorphism have been recorded in mountain belts since the Neoarchean. However, evidence for the tectonic mechanisms responsible for the generation of such extreme thermal conditions is rarely preserved. Here we report the discovery of 16 Ma UHT granulites—the youngest identified at the Earth’s surface—from the Kobipoto Mountains of Seram in eastern Indonesia. UHT conditions were produced by a modern tectonic system in which slab rollback–driven lithospheric extension caused core complex–style exhumation of hot subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Overlying continental crust, heated and metamorphosed by exhumed lherzolites, developed spinel + quartz and sapphirine-bearing residual assemblages, shown by phase equilibria modeling to have required temperatures of ∼950 °C at ∼8 kbar pressure. Seram is therefore a possible modern analogue for ancient orogens that incorporate UHT granulites.

Permian–Carboniferous arc magmatism in southern Mexico: U–Pb dating, trace element and Hf isotopic evidence on zircons of earliest subduction beneath the western margin of Gondwana

Abstract: Undeformed felsic to mafic igneous rocks, dated by U–Pb zircon geochronology between 311 and 255 Ma, intrude different units of the Oaxacan and Acatlan metamorphic complexes in southwestern Mexico. Rare earth element concentrations on zircons from most of these magmatic rocks have a typical igneous character, with fractionated heavy rare earths and negative Eu anomalies. Only inherited Precambrian zircons are depleted in heavy rare earth elements, which suggest contemporaneous crystallization in equilibrium with metamorphic garnet during granulite facies metamorphism. Hf isotopic signatures are, however, different among these magmatic units. For example, zircons from two of these magmatic units (Cuanana pluton and Honduras batholith) have positive eHf values (+3.8–+8.5) and depleted mantle model ages (using a mean crustal value of 176Lu/177Hf = 0.015) (TDMC) ranging between 756 and 1,057 Ma, whereas zircons from the rest of the magmatic units (Etla granite, Zaniza batholith, Carbonera stock and Sosola rhyolite) have negative eHf values (−1 to −14) and model ages between 1,330 and 2,160 Ma. This suggests either recycling of different crustal sources or, more likely, different extents of crustal contamination of arc-related mafic magmas in which the Oaxacan Complex acted as the main contaminant. These plutons thus represent the magmatic expression of the initial stages of eastward subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the western margin of Gondwana, and confirm the existence of a Late Carboniferous–Permian magmatic arc that extended from southern North America to Central America.