Regional-scale fluid flow and element mobility in Barrow’s metamorphic zones, Stonehaven, Scotland

Abstract

The geochemistry of metamorphic quartz vein formation in Barrow’s index mineral zones north of Stonehaven, Scotland, was investigated in order to assess regional fluid flow and mass transfer. Metamorphic grade in the Dalradian metasediments increases to the north–northwest away from the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF) and associated ophiolitic rocks of the Highland Border Complex (HBC), passing through the Chlorite (Chl), Biotite (Bt), Garnet (Grt), Chloritoid (Cld), and Staurolite (St) zones. Syn-metamorphic fluid infiltration at 462±8.8 Ma (Breeding et al. in Am Mineral 89:1067, 2004) produced considerable quartz veining. Vein abundance varies from about 5 to 15 volume percent of the outcrops; veins tend to be more abundant in metapelitic layers than in metapsammitic ones. Metamorphic veins are surrounded by centimeter- to decimeter-wide zones of chemical and mineralogical alteration (selvages). Porphyroblasts, particularly Bt, Grt, Cld, and St, are typically larger in selvages than in wallrocks distal to veins. The altered selvages underwent fluid-driven addition of Na, Ca, and Sr, and loss of K, Rb, and Ba. Alteration is most intense within ∼750 m of the HBF, but is still very significant at the northern end of the field area some 2 km away. Mg/FeT (FeT=total iron) was either unchanged or increased due to alteration. Silica was added at some Chl and Bt zone localities near the HBF. Pb mass transfer was variable although Pb was added at a number of locations. Rare Earth elements (REE) were generally immobile, but light REE and possibly heavy REE were lost at one field site. The gain of Na and Ca and loss of K promoted the growth of plagioclase at the expense of micas (particularly muscovite) in selvages and wallrock inclusions throughout the field area and, probably, some calcite and/or dolomite growth directly adjacent to the HBF. The Ca gains were also critical for epidote production in the Bt zone. Gains of Ca and increases in Mg/FeT helped to stabilize Grt at the expense of Cld and St in some selvages. Hornblende and cummingtonite were discovered in strongly altered metapelitic rocks at one Cld zone locality. The metasomatism puts important constraints on the processes of mass transfer and suggests two models for regional fluid flow. In the first model, fluid flow in a direction of increasing temperature downward along the HBF added Na and Ca, and removed K from the Dalradian. In the second model, fluid flow upward from the HBC transported Na and Ca into the overlying Dalradian and, at the same time, stripped out K. The latter model is favored because it can most readily account for silica addition near the HBF, but neither model can be ruled out at present. In either case, the veins represent fractures that transmitted very large time-integrated fluid fluxes of at least ∼104 m3 (fluid)/m2 (rock). Consequently, the veins were conduits for regional fluid flow that caused considerable open-system chemical and mineralogical alteration during metamorphism.