Fluid Inclusions Associated with Exsolved Quartz Needles in Omphacite of UHP Eclogites, Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Main Drill Hole

Abstract

Primary and exsolution fluid inclusions are recognized in omphacite of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites from the main hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Program, located in the southern Sulu orogenic belt. These oriented fluid inclusions occur as tubes, and coexist with exsolved quartz needles in the cores of host omphacite. Most complex primary fluid inclusions contain a gas bubble, a liquid phase, and one to several solids, such as quartz, halite, calcite, and opaque and unknown minerals, having compositions in the system of NaCl-CaCl2-CO2-H2O-SiO2 with possibly trace Fe and Mg; in contrast, simple fluid inclusions contain a gas, an aqueous liquid, and sometimes a calcite. We suggest that the complex fluid inclusions were trapped during the omphacite growth, whereas the simple aqueous inclusions and quartz needles exsolved from OH--rich supersilicic omphacite during early uplift of the UHP metamorphic rocks. Omphacite is one of the major fluid carriers during subduction of continental crust to mantle depths.