Aureoles of Songshugou Alpine-type ultramafic massif

Abstract

The Songshugou Alpine-type ultramafic massif intruded into the surrounding plagioclase-amphibole schists where high-temperature aureoles are found well exposed but not distroyed. From the outer part inwards, four aureoles are recognized: the oligoclase-hornblende zone, the andesine-hornblende zone, the garnet zone and the pyroxene zone. Toward the massif, systematic variations are noticed in the rocks from one zone to another, i.e., the rocks vary from fine-grained, fibrous, crystalloblastic texture to medium coarse-grained, granular, crystalloblastic texture and from schistose structure to massive structure; hornblende varies from blue-green to brofn; plagioclases vary in composition from An12–17 to An37, even to An60 near the contact; garnet and pyroxene become more and more abundant; sphene is replaced progressively by titanomagnetite; and Na(K), Al and Ti in the hornblende tend to increase near the contact.Studies have shown that the typical rocks in the four contact metamorphic zones are generally similar in major and trace elements. But different mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry indicate that the rocks were formed under different physical conditions.