Petrology and Metamorphic P-T Paths of Metamorphic Zones in the Huangyuan Group, Central Qilian Block, NW China

Abstract

The Central Qilian Block is a Precambrian block in the Qilian Orogen, which has long drawn international attention for the study of orogeny and continental dynamics. The Huangyuan Group in the Datong area is one of the Precambrian metamorphic basement units in the Central Qilian Block and reflects metamorphism in the Barrovian garnet zone and sillimanite zone from south to north. Based on detailed fieldwork, this study presents a systematic study of petrography, mineral chemistry and phase equilibria of schists and gneisses from the two metamorphic zones. The garnet metamorphic zone is composed of micaschist, garnet-bearing micaschist and felsic leptynite, with interlayered plagioclase amphibolite. The sillimanite metamorphic zone consists of garnet-bearing biotite micaschist, sillimanite-bearing biotite-plagioclase gneiss and felsic leptynite. Garnet from the garnet metamorphic zone shows growth zoning with increasing almandine and pyrope and decreasing spessartine from core to rim. Garnet from the sillimanite metamorphic zone is almost homogeneous. Towards the outer rim, the contents of almandine and pyrope slightly decrease and grossular slightly increase. Biotite in both metamorphic zones is ferro-biotite. Plagioclase is oligoclase in garnet metamorphic zone and andesine in sillimanite metamorphic zone. Phase equilibrium modeling of a sample from garnet metamorphic zone resulted in a clockwise P-T path with a prograde stage (4.5–5.0 kbar, 520–530 °C), a peak P stage (9.8–10.2 kbar, 560–570 °C), a stage of thermal relaxation (8.0–8.5 kbar, 580–590 °C) and finally a retrograde stage (6.8–7.0 kbar, 560–580 °C). Thermodynamic modeling of a sample from the sillimanite metamorphic zone indicates a prograde stage (5.5–6.0 kbar, 540–550 °C) and a peak stage (7.8–8.5 kbar, 660–690 °C). The results indicate that the Huangyuan Group experienced medium-pressure amphibolite-facies metamorphism, which resulted from continental-continental collision between the Qaidam Block and the Central Qilian Block.