Evidence for polymetamorphic garnet growth in the Çine (southern Menderes) Massif, Western Turkey

Abstract

Garnet-based thermobarometry is often used to develop models for the evolution of the Menderes Massif, a key Aegean metamorphic core complex. Here we present X-ray element maps and high-contrast backscattered electron (BSE) and cathodoluminescence (CL) images from a garnet-bearing rock from the Çine (southern Menderes) Massif. The images document a polymetamorphic history as plagioclase and garnet grains show distinct cores and rims. The sample contains matrix monazite in reaction with allanite. The garnet in the sample is likely not in equilibrium with its matrix minerals. This is evidenced by BSE images that document compositional variability in both core and rim zoning and tracks of bright streaks extending from rim to core. We propose that some garnet that is now present in the Menderes Massif formed due to collision during Cambro-Ordovician and may have recrystallized during subsequent collisional and extensional events. These processes led to non-equilibrium compositions and can result in spurious pressure-temperature (P-T) calculations. To establish the feasibility of the P-T estimates of rocks from the Çine Massif for input into tectonic models for the region, more than one sample from single outcrops should be analyzed. Rocks within the Çine Massif have been suggested to display inverted metamorphism, an increase in T towards structurally higher levels. Based on the garnet documented here, we propose that the inverted metamorphism may be a consequence of apparent P-T rather than a real phenomenon.