Hornblende barometry of the Galway batholith, Ireland: an empirical test

Abstract

The application of four hornblende geobarometers, two empirical and two experimental, to the 400 Ma Galway Granite, Ireland gives a pressure of crystallization of the zoned hornblende cores in the western parts of the granite of 2.62 ± 1.2 kb falling to < 1.53 ±1.02 kb at the hornblende rims whereas in the more eastern part of the batholith the value of 4.30 ± 0.70 kb is obtained from unzoned hornblendes. These results are consistent with field and petrographic evidence which indicates a much deeper level of early crystallization of the granite in the central and eastern area with larger K-feldspar phenocrysts (up to 6 cm). Although some of the uplift is related to late upward faulting, the main uplift of the centre of the granite in the east was due to late magmatic differential slip against the marginal granite which became vertically foliated. In the west the crystallization of hornblende started and completed at lower pressures than in the east with final hornblende crystallization at the limit of the field of igneous hornblende and at depth of < 5 km. Hornblende geobarometry reveals: (1) that different parts of some batholiths crystallized at very different pressures (and therefore depths) and have been juxtaposed at the present level of erosion (2) that at least the early part of the crystallization of some granites took place at significantly greater depths than the final crystallization and emplacement position; (3) in zoned hornblendes crystallization occurred during magma movement.