Very low-grade metamorphism of Rheno-Hercynian allochthons (Variscides, Germany): facts and tectonic consequences

Abstract

The Horre Belt in the SE part of the Rhenish Massif has been regarded as autochthonous because of the apparent lack of metamorphic inversion. We have performed a K-white mica study using powder X-ray diffraction derived Kubler Index (KI) and K-white mica b cell dimension, and the spectrally derived wavelength of the 2,200 nm absorption feature (“2200wvl”) of supposedly allochthonous units and the underlying par-autochthon. KI reveals a slight, but significant inversion of metamorphic grade, which shows that the Horre Belt and the Hessische Schieferserie adjacent to the South were emplaced by thrusting after they had acquired peak metamorphism (M 1) in deeper parts of the orogenic wedge. Only in the westernmost part of the study area, the par-autochthon and the allochthon show the same grade of anchizonal metamorphism. This observation, together with K-white mica b cell dimensions <9.000 A and 2200wvl <2,204 nm, suggests a second, low-pressure metamorphism M 2 subsequent to the emplacement of the allochthon. This is supported by an anomaly of published conodont alteration index data. Our results expand the original width of the Rheno-Hercynian passive margin to at least 580, more probably to 670 or even 750 km. Palinspastic restoration also reveals that the Givetian to Early Carboniferous volcanic belt of the Lahn/Dill area is not only younger than the Emsian MORB-type lavas of the Rheno-Hercynian ocean, but was also separated, from the latter, by a largely non-volcanic belt of at least c. 220 km width. Apparently, the Givetian to Early Carboniferous volcanic episodes were unrelated to the Rheno-Hercynian drift stage.