Deducing source rock lithology from detrital rutile geochemistry: An example from the Erzgebirge, Germany

Abstract

This study evaluates the applicability of rutile trace element geochemistry to provenance studies. The study area is the Erzgebirge in eastern Germany, where metamorphic rocks ranging from lower greenschist facies conditions up to granulite facies conditions are exposed. We collected sand and rock samples from small catchment areas for a comparative analysis of rutile geochemistry using wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe. Our results show that rutile geochemistry is a powerful tool in provenance studies, allowing for the identification of source lithologies and an evaluation of the host orogen's metamorphic history. The log (Cr/Nb) ratio has proven to be decisive in discriminating between mafic and metapelitic lithologies. It is also useful for identifying different source rocks when plotted versus a third element or proxy. Furthermore, our results suggest that rutile thermometry can be applied to a much wider range of lithologies than previously assumed. A quantification of temperature populations within single sand samples shows that at high-grade metamorphic conditions, such as those found in the Erzgebirge, more than 65% of rutiles do not re-equilibrate during retrograde metamorphism and thus retain their peak temperature chemistry. Such samples, which have equilibrated at recent metamorphic conditions, can be identified by their 2- σ standard deviations of less than 120 °C. Below 550–600 °C, no complete equilibration is reached. Rutiles from greenschist facies and lower metamorphic conditions in the Erzgebirge still inherit relict temperatures from a former metamorphic cycle. They partly record very high temperatures > 950 °C and supposedly derive from erosion of the west African craton in Ordovician time.