Serpentinite textural evolution related to tectonically controlled solid‐state intrusion along the Kurosegawa Belt, northwestern Kanto Mountains, central Japan

Abstract

Abstract Serpentinite bodies in the Kurosegawa Belt are mapped along fault boundaries between the Cretaceous Sanchu Group (forearc basin‐fill sediments) and the rocks of the Southern Chichibu Belt (Jurassic to Early Cretaceous accretionary prism) in the northwestern Kanto Mountains, central Japan. The serpentinites were divided into three types based on microtextures and combinations of serpentine minerals: massive, antigorite and chrysotile serpentinites. Massive serpentinite retains initial pseudomorphic textures without any deformation after serpentinization. Antigorite serpentinite exhibits shape‐preferred orientation of antigorite replacing the original lizardite and/or chrysotile to form pseudomorphs. It has porphyroclasts of chromian spinel, and is characterized by ductile deformation under relatively high‐pressure–temperature conditions. Chrysotile serpentinite shows evidence for overprinting of pre‐existing serpentinite features under shallow, low‐temperature conditions. It exhibits unidirectional development of chrysotile fibers. Foliations in antigorite and chrysotile serpentinites strike parallel to the elongate direction of the serpentinite bodies, suggesting a continuous deformation during solid‐state intrusion along the fault zones after undergoing complete serpentinization at deeper levels (lower crust and upper mantle).