Assemblages and Textural Evolution of UHP Eclogites from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Main Hole

Abstract

Coesite-bearing eclogite samples from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling main hole (100-2000 m) were examined. Three major evolutionary stages are distinguished from mineral assemblages and textural relations. (1) The pre-peak stage is indicated by inclusion assemblages in rutile eclogite such as amphibole and paragonite, with pre-peak P-T conditions of ~13 kbar and ~910°C. (2) The peak ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic stage is characterized by the mineral assemblage garnet-omphacite-phengite-rutile-apatite-coesite/quartz pseudomorph ± kyanite; P-T conditions reached ~910°C and ~37 kbar for rutile eclogite, and ~850°C and ~35 kbar for phengite eclogite. (3) The retrograde stage produced decompression textures via back reactions, such as thin coronas of amphibole or zoisite on garnet, fine-grained amphibole-plagioclase symplectites on omphacite and biotite-plagioclase, or K-feldspar-albite on phengite, ilmenite or titanite on rutile, at P-T conditions of 530-560°C and 7-9 kbar. The presence of K-feldspar-albite symplectite on phengite and minor interstitial K-feldspar implies that post-peak decompressional partial melting occurred locally during rapid exhumation of the subducted UHP slab. Two alternative P-T paths may be constructed: (1) the first possesses a different pre-peak stage but similar peak UHP to post-peak decompression cooling for rutile and phengite eclogite; (2) the second shows a consistent evolution from a pre-peak stage via peak UHP stage to a post-peak stage of near-isothermal decompression, followed by near-isobaric cooling for both rutile and phengite eclogite. We prefer the first P-T path, because the inferred paths show a clear increase in pressure and temperature from near-peak to peak UHP stage, and this may be associated with subductionrelated tectonism as a result of continental collision between the North China and Yangtze blocks. Rapid subduction and fast retrograde exhumation is likely responsible for preservation of some pre-peak inclusion assemblages and prograde mineral growth zoning.