Resetting of Nd and Sr whole-rock isochrons from polymetamorphic granulites, northeastern Alberta

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 992-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Burwash ◽  
J. Krupicka ◽  
A. R. Basu ◽  
P. A. Wagner

At Mountain Rapids on the Slave River, mafic xenoliths are enclosed by a granodiorite host, which is, in turn, surrounded by a granitic migmatite complex. The mafic and granodioritic rocks are both metamorphosed to the hornblende granulite facies, and the migmatite has been metamorphosed to the upper amphibolite facies. The banding of the mafic granulites is truncated by sharply defined boundaries with the felsic granulites. The felsic granulites contain K-feldspar, the mafic rocks almost none. The mineral assemblages are otherwise identical: plagioclase–hypersthene–quartz–biotite–magnetite.A whole-rock Sm–Nd isochron of one felsic and six mafic granulites gives 2436 ± 44 Ma [Formula: see text]. This time is significantly younger than the Sm–Nd model ages. The same mafic samples give a Rb–Sr age of 1898 ± 5 Ma. These are interpreted as the times of reequilibration and closure of the Rb–Sr isotopic systems within the Mountain Rapids Granulite enclave. From cordierite–garnet barometry the indicated pressure of the younger event is 5.5 ± 0.7 kbar (550 ± 70 MPa). By analogy with hornblende granulite assemblages elsewhere, the older event probably occurred in the intermediate crust (~25–30 km depth). This event apparently effectively reset the Sm–Nd isotopic system; subsequent cooling closed it. Once established this system withstood the later, lower pressure event that reset the Rb–Sr geochronometer on a regional scale.

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 1117-1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris G. Couëslan ◽  
David R.M. Pattison

The Thompson Nickel Belt is a ca. 35 km × 400 km northeast-trending segment of the northwest margin of the Archean Superior craton in Manitoba, bounded to the west by the Paleoproterozoic Reindeer Zone. The belt was metamorphosed and deformed during the Trans-Hudson orogeny (ca. 1.9–1.7 Ga). Mineral assemblages in metamorphosed pelite, aluminous greywacke, mafic igneous rock, iron formation, and ferruginous wacke define regional metamorphic domains, separated by mineral isograds, that are subparallel to the strike of the belt and to regional-scale D3 structures. An elongate, ca. 5 km × 73 km, central zone of middle amphibolite-facies rocks is characterized by the following: muscovite-bearing mineral assemblages in pelites containing combinations of staurolite, andalusite, and sillimanite; muscovite-free, staurolite + cordierite + garnet-bearing mineral assemblages in greywackes; hornblende-bearing mineral assemblages in mafic metaigneous rocks; and grunerite-bearing mineral assemblages in iron formation. Pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions of the middle amphibolite-facies zone are ca. 550–620 °C and 3.0–5.0 kbar (1 kbar = 100 MPa), with pressure increasing to the northeast. The middle amphibolite-facies zone is bordered to the east and west by an upper amphibolite-facies zone, ca. 5 km wide on the east and ca. 3–5 km on the west. The upper amphibolite-facies zone is characterized by variably migmatitic K-feldspar + sillimanite-bearing mineral assemblages in pelites; migmatitic, garnet + cordierite + sillimanite-bearing mineral assemblages in greywackes; orthopyroxene-free, hornblende-bearing mineral assemblages in mafic rocks; and orthopyroxene-bearing mineral assemblages in iron formations. Pressure–temperature conditions of the upper amphibolite-facies zone are ca. 640–710 °C and 3.0–5.5 kbar in the southeast, and 675–755 °C and 4.5–6.0 kbar in the northwest. The outermost metamorphic zone is of the granulite facies, characterized by migmatitic garnet + cordierite + K-feldspar-bearing assemblages in pelites and greywackes, orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene ± garnet-bearing mineral assemblages in mafic rocks, and orthopyroxene + K-feldspar-bearing mineral assemblages in iron formation in which biotite is unstable. Pressure–temperature conditions of the granulite-facies zone are ca. 775–830 °C and 5.0–7.0 kbar. The P–T paths in the Thompson Nickel Belt appear to be broadly clockwise, except for some domains where they are close to isobaric. The peak P–T conditions, combined with local but widespread development of andalusite, imply relatively steep geothermal gradients of ca. 33–51 °C/km during metamorphism. Regional bathozones (domains of uniform peak-metamorphic pressure) correspond in general but not in detail with the metamorphic-facies zones. They reveal an increase in pressure towards the northeast, suggesting greater degrees of postmetamorphic exhumation in that region. Microstructural analysis suggests that peak metamorphism coincided with, and possibly outlasted, the D2 deformation event. Metamorphic isograds were deformed by D3–D4 structures. These features are consistent with a tectonic model in which the Superior craton moved in a northwest or west-northwest direction relative to the Reindeer Zone, with greatest convergence and tectonic burial occurring at the Thompson promontory.


Author(s):  
Jie Dong ◽  
Chunjing Wei

Abstract The South Altyn ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt is claimed to host the deepest subducted continental crust based on the discovery of former stishovite, and thus can provide unique insights into the tectonic evolution from deep continental subduction and exhumation to arc–backarc extension. In this paper, we present detailed studies of petrography, mineral chemistry, phase equilibria modelling and zircon U-Pb dating for three representative samples involving garnet amphibolite (A1531 & A1533) and associated garnet-biotite gneiss (A1534) from the UHP belt. Three phases of metamorphism are inferred for the rocks. The first phase high pressure (HP)–UHP-type eclogite facies is represented by the mineral assemblages of garnet and phengite inclusions in zircon and garnet cores with the high grossular (XGrs = 0.33–0.34). The Si contents of 3.40–3.53 and 3.24–3.25 p.f.u. in phengite inclusions yield pressure conditions of >1.7–2.3 GPa for A1533 and 2.5–2.55 GPa for A1534 at a fixed temperature of 770 °C. The second phase medium-pressure (MP)-type overprinting of garnet amphibolite facies shows P–T conditions of 0.8–1.2 GPa/750–785 °C based on the stability fields of corresponding mineral assemblages, the measured isopleths of Ti contents in biotite and amphibole cores, and XGrs in garnet. The third phase low-pressure (LP) type overprinting includes early-stage heating to peak granulite facies followed by cooling towards a late-stage amphibolite facies. The peak granulite facies is represented by the high Ti amphibole mantle, high Zr titanite and the intergrowths of clinopyroxene + ilmenite in A1533 & A1531, with P–T conditions of 800–875 °C/0.80–0.95 GPa. The late-stage is defined by the solidus assemblages, giving P–T conditions of 0.5–0.7 GPa/720–805 °C. U-Pb geochronology on metamorphic zircons from A1533 and A1534 gives three ages of c. 500 Ma, c. 482 Ma and c. 460 Ma. They are interpreted to represent the HP–UHP, MP and LP types of metamorphism respectively, based on cathodoluminescence images, mineral inclusions and trace element patterns. Combining the regional geology and metamorphic evolution from the Altyn Orogen, a tectonic model is inferred, including the following tectonic scenarios. The small Altyn Microcontinent was subducted to great mantle depths with dragging of the surrounding vast oceanic lithosphere to undergo the HP–UHP eclogite facies metamorphism during the early subduction stage (c. 500 Ma) of the Proto-Tethys Ocean. Then, the subducted slabs were exhumed to a thickened crust region to be overprinted by the MP-type assemblages at c. 482 Ma. Finally, an arc–backarc extension was operated within the thickened crust region due to the retreat of subduction zones. It caused evident heating and the LP-type metamorphic overprinting at c. 460 Ma, with a fairly long interval of 30–40 Myr after the HP–UHP metamorphism, distinct from the short interval of <5–10 Myr in the Bohemian Massif.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanghoon Kwon ◽  
Vinod O. Samuel ◽  
Yungoo Song ◽  
Sung Won Kim ◽  
Seung-Ik Park ◽  
...  

AbstractEquilibrium omphacite-garnet-bearing mafic rocks have been classified as eclogites, either pristine or retrogressed, that were formed at great depths in the lithosphere. Here we report a unique natural example of eclogite resembling assemblage in disequilibrium formed through fluid-induced metasomatic reactions under the amphibolite to granulite facies. Primarily, the amphibolized protolith experienced a garnet-amphibolite facies metamorphism at ~ 500–700 °C and ~ 0.8–1 GPa. Subsequently, CO2 fluid induced fracturing and dissolution-reprecipitation reactions occurred at peak metamorphic conditions of ~ 700 °C and ~ 1 GPa. Occasional omphacite-albite assemblage, which gradually replace diopside-oligoclase symplectite adjacent to albite veins along fractures, indicates fluid-induced coupled dissolution-reprecipitation disequilibrium reactions. Here the albite-omphacite assemblage is in local equilibrium at least on 1 mm length scale, during cooling, below ~ 600 ºC and ~ 1 GPa, within the amphibolite facies conditions. The results from this study clearly suggest that disequilibrium garnet-omphacite assemblage in mafic rocks could be formed by crustal reworking processes below granulite facies conditions, and their textural equilibrium is an important criterion while defining eclogite facies.


1968 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Katz

SUMMARYThe Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Grenville province of south-west Quebec in the Mont Tremblant Park area consists of granulites and associated gneisses formed under granulite facies conditions which are intruded by members of an anorthosite suite. At the contacts of these intrusives especially the late-stage members, the granulites and gneisses were found to be retrograded into rocks with mineral assemblages typical of the amphibolite facies. The transformation of the granulite facies rocks into rocks of lower amphibolite grade can be attributed to local introduction of water which was supplied during the emplacement and crystallization of this late-stage, volatile-enriched magma of the anorthosite suite.


1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Kinny ◽  
L. P. Black ◽  
J. W. Sheraton

The application of zircon U-Pb geochronology using the SHRIMP ion microprobe to the Precambrian high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Rauer Islands on the Prydz Bay coast of East Antarctica, has resulted in major revisions to the interpreted geological history. Large tracts of granitic orthogneisses, previously considered to be mostly Proterozoic in age, are shown here to be Archaean, with crystallization ages of 3270 Ma and 2800 Ma. These rocks and associated granulite-facies mafic rocks and paragneisses account for up to 50% of exposures in the Rauer Islands. Unlike the 2500 Ma rocks in the nearby Vestfold Hills which were cratonized soon after formation, the Rauer Islands rocks were reworked at about 1000 Ma under granulite to amphibolite facies conditions, and mixed with newly generated felsic crust. Dating of components of this felsic intrusive suite indicates that this Proterozoic reworking was accomplished in about 30–40 million years. Low-grade retrogression at 500 Ma was accompanied by brittle shearing, pegmatite injection, partial resetting of U-Pb geochronometers and growth of new zircons. Minor underformed lamprophyre dykes intruded Hop and nearby islands later in the Phanerozoic. Thus, the geology of the Rauer Islands reflects reworking and juxtaposition of unrelated rocks in a Proterozoic orogenic belt, and illustrates the important influence of relatively low-grade fluid-rock interaction on zircon U-Pb systematics in high-grade terranes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Xu Kong ◽  
Xueyuan Qi ◽  
Wentian Mi ◽  
Xiaoxin Dong

We report zircon U–Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopic data from two sample of the retrograded eclogite in the Chicheng area. Two groups of the metamorphic zircons from the Chicheng retrograded eclogite were identified: group one shows characteristics of depletion in LREE and flat in HREE curves and exhibit no significant Eu anomaly, and this may imply that they may form under eclogite facies metamorphic condition; group two is rich in HREE and shows slight negative Eu anomaly indicated that they may form under amphibolite facies metamorphic condition. Zircon Lu-Hf isotopic of εHf from the Chicheng eclogite has larger span range from 6.0 to 18.0, which suggests that the magma of the eclogite protolith may be mixed with partial crustal components. The peak eclogite facies metamorphism of Chicheng eclogite may occur at 348.5–344.2 Ma and its retrograde metamorphism of amphibolite fancies may occur at ca. 325.0 Ma. The Hongqiyingzi Complex may experience multistage metamorphic events mainly including Late Archean (2494–2448 Ma), Late Paleoproterozoic (1900–1734 Ma, peak age = 1824.6 Ma), and Phanerozoic (495–234 Ma, peak age = 323.7 Ma). Thus, the metamorphic event (348.5–325 Ma) of the Chicheng eclogite is in accordance with the Phanerozoic metamorphic event of the Hongqiyingzi Complex. The eclogite facies metamorphic age of the eclogite is in accordance with the metamorphism (granulite facies or amphibolite facies) of its surrounding rocks, which implied that the tectonic subduction and exhumation of the retrograded eclogite may cause the regional metamorphism of garnet biotite plagioclase gneiss.


1982 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 55-57
Author(s):  
A.A Garde ◽  
V.R McGregor

Previous geological work on the 1:100000 map sheet 64 V.l N (fig. 15) includes published maps of smaller areas by Berthelsen (1960, 1962) and Lauerma (1964), mapping by Kryolitselskabet Øresund A/S (Bridgwater et al., 1976) and mapping by GGU geologists for the 1:500000 map sheet Frederikshåb Isblink - Søndre Strømfjord (Allaart et al., 1977, 1978). The Amltsoq and Niik gneisses and Malene supracrustal rock units south and east of Godthåbsfjord have not so far been correlated with rocks in the Fiskefjord area. Godthåbsfjord separates the granulite facies gneisses in Nordlandet from amphibolite facies Nûk gneisses on Sadelø and Bjørneøen; the granulite facies metamorphism occurred at about 2850 m.y. (Black et al., 1973), while no published isotopic age determinations from the Fiskefjord area itself are available.


1987 ◽  
Vol 51 (361) ◽  
pp. 409-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Warren ◽  
B. J. Hensen

AbstractSpecimens collected from a small lens of phlogopite-rich rock in the granulite-facies terrain of the Arunta Block, central Australia, have unusual bulk compositions and mineral assemblages. One sample consists of phlogopite enclosing blue spinel (mg 96) with minute granules of corundum and sapphirine at the margins; a second of phlogopite enclosing porphyroblasts of corundum and peraluminous sapphirine. In the first the sapphirine is close to the 7 : 9 : 3 composition; in the other it is markedly peraluminous, e.g. (Mg1.628Fe0.028)Al4.714Si0.636O10, intermediate between the 7 : 9 : 3 and 3 : 5 : 1 members. The texture suggests that this sapphirine is a stable phase in equilibrium with eastonitic phlogopite and corundum. The very potassic, very magnesian bulk composition of the rocks is attributed to potassium metasomatism of a protolith consisting of magnesian chlorite and quartz.


1993 ◽  
Vol 57 (387) ◽  
pp. 273-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. L. Friend ◽  
A. S. Janardhan ◽  
N. Shadakshara Swamy

AbstractWithin amphibolite facies Peninsular gneisses in the south of the Dharwar craton, units of Sargur supracrustal rocks contain ultrabasic enclaves. One of these enclaves is an orthopyroxenite which comprises bronzite, spinel and minor phlogopite preserving coarse-grained, relic textures of probable igneous origin. After incorporation into the gneisses the enclave evolved through several distinct stages, elucidation of which allow an assessment of its metamorphic history.Firstly, deformation during closed system, anhydrous recrystallisation caused the coarse-grained textures to be partially overprinted by similar mineral assemblages but with a granoblastic texture. Secondly, open system hydration caused retrogression of the bronzite to alumino-gedrite at the margins of the enclave. Subsequently, the penetration of these fluids along grain boundaries caused reactions between spinel and bronzite to produce reaction pockets carrying assemblages of peraluminous sapphirine associated with cordierite and talc. The differences in the mineral assemblages in each pocket coupled with slight variations in their chemistry, suggest that equilibrium did not develop over the outcrop. Because sapphirine + magnesite is present in some pockets, it is evident that CO2 was also a component of the fluid.Phase relations from the MASH portion of the FMASH system, to which the chemistry of the reaction pockets approximates, suggest that the hydrous metamorphism causing the changes depended upon the assemblage enstatite + spinel + vapour which exists at PT conditions above the position of I16, ∼760°C at 3 kbar and below I21 at ∼765°C at 5.6 kbar (Seifert, 1974, 1975), where sapphirine is replaced by kornerupine. The suggested path of reaction occurred between I18 and I21. Subsequent reactions related to I20 cause the formation of cordierite. Talc formation has to be modelled in a different reaction grid.The metamorphism recorded by these reactions is thus at a maximum of amphibolite facies and is interpreted to have formed during the uplift and cooling history of the gneiss complex when hydrous fluids were free to migrate. Given the complex high-grade metamorphic history of this part of the Dharwar craton this event is likely to be late Archaean or Palaeoproterozoic in age.


1991 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Passchier ◽  
R. F. Bekendam ◽  
J. D. Hoek ◽  
P. G. H. M. Dirks ◽  
H. de Boorder

AbstractThe presence of polyphase shear zones transected by several suites of dolerite dykes in Archaean basement of the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, allows a detailed reconstruction of the local structural evolution. Archaean and early Proterozoic deformation at granulite facies conditions was followed by two phases of dolerite intrusion and mylonite generation in strike-slip zones at amphibolite facies conditions. A subsequent middle Proterozoic phase of brittle normal faulting led to the development of pseudotachylite, predating intrusion of the major swarm of dolerite dykes around 1250 Ma. During the later stages and following this event, pseudotachylite veins were reactivated as ductile, mylonitic thrusts under prograde conditions, culminating in amphibolite facies metamorphism around 1000–1100 Ma. This is possibly part of a large-scale tectonic event during which the Vestfold block was overthrust from the south. In a final phase of strike-slip deformation, several pulses of pseudotachylite-generating brittle faulting alternated with ductile reactivation of pseudotachylite.


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