Amphibole and phlogopite in “hybrid” metasomatic bands monitor trace element transfer at the interface between felsic and ultramafic rocks (Eastern Alps, Italy)

Abstract

Ultramafic rocks in contact to gneisses in the Mt. Hochwart HP mélange (Eastern Italian Alps) preserve a series of metasomatic mineral zones. A phlogopitite with minor tremolite and accessory zircon and apatite forms close to the gneiss (Zone 1). Zone 2 consists of tremolite, phlogopite and anthophyllite followed by Zone 3 with anthophyllite plus minor chlorite and talc. Zone 3 grades into an amphibole–garnet peridotite lens. This reaction zone has been generated by infiltration of hydrous fluids at T of 660–700 °C and P < 1.2 GPa, which occurred during exhumation of coupled continental crust and mantle peridotites. The reaction zone between a trace element-rich (gneiss) and a trace element depleted reservoir (peridotite) allows assessment of local trace element mobility in aqueous fluids. We present the results of in situ LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis of minerals from the reaction zone. Phlogopite is the main host for Large Ion Lithophile Elements (LILE) and contributes significantly to the Li, Ti, Nb, Ta, Pb and Sc budget. Anthophyllite is the main host for Li whereas all other trace elements including Rare Earth Elements (REE) are preferentially incorporated into tremolite. Combined with the abundance of these minerals over the contact zone, the mineral trace element data suggests that the LILE and REE were mobile on a small scale of a few centimetres only. Limited mobility of Ta, which is generally regarded as barely mobile in fluids, is documented in elevated contents of Ta in anthophyllite coupled with low Nb/Ta. The high Li content in minerals throughout the reaction zone suggests that Li was the most mobile element. The studied metasomatic zones mirror geochemical processes occurring in subduction zones at the slab–mantle interface. Phlogopite crystallization at the slab–mantle interface is an efficient mechanism to filter LILE from the aqueous fluid. Thus, such reaction zones, forming at temperatures < 660–700 °C, likely prevents that the typical slab signature with enriched LILE is transported by aqueous fluids over long distances in the mantle wedge. However, if coupled to the downgoing slab, phlogopite- and tremolite-rich rocks from such reaction zones might be able to act as carriers of trace elements and water into deeper parts of the subduction zone.