Biotite Thermometry Research Articles

Geochemical and geochronological evidences from Cambrian to Ordovician protracted magmatism in the Istranca Massif, NW Türkiye

Plutonic rocks in different ages are cropted out and form the basement rocks in the Istranca Massif. One of the plutons located at the basement is the Cambrian-Ordovician Vize pluton (Vize-Kırklareli) and is distinguished from other plutons by some of its characteristic features. This pluton intruded into the high-grade metamorphic sedimentary rocks, and is unconformably overlay by Triassic low-grade metamorphic rocks and Eocene aged coral reef limestones (Soğucak Formation). Based on new whole rock geochemical and zircon UPb data concentrated in two different ages, it can be said that the Vize pluton was affected by protracted magmatic activity. The igneous minerals and texture of Vize pluton are partly preserved, It has a mylonitic texture, a distinct foliation consisting of light and dark zones. In addition, metagranites contain mafic magmatic enclaves (MMEs) in some places.The Vize pluton is an I-type pluton with predominantly peraluminous and slightly metaluminous character. It is also High-K, calc-alkaline, and reflecting volcanic arc and post-collisional tectonic settings. Mineral chemical analyses show that the mafic minerals in the Vize pluton consist of Fe-biotite and calcic amphibole (hornblende). Ti-in biotite thermometry shows that the temperature of the pluton in the final crystallization temperatures are between 834 and 850 °C (mean = 845 ± 4 °C), while the crystallization temperatures of amphiboles are between 876 and 910 °C (mean = 893 ± 22 °C). Crystallization depths are estimated to be a range of 6.5 to 7.9 km. It can be assumed that the oxygen fugacity of calcic amphiboles (logƒO2) is stabilized between −10.7 and − 11.3 bar (mean = −11.05 ± 0.4 bar). ∆NNO values are between 0.72 and 1.11 (mean = 0.96 ± 0.12) and H2O melt content is between 4.63 % and 5.43 % (mean = 5.04 ± 0.4 %). Oxygen fugacity values are among the typical values of calc-alkaline magma crystallization.The Vize pluton was crystallized in Cambrian to Ordovician times according to zircon UPb dating is concentrated in two different populations as 526.16 ± 3.26 Ma and 452.93 ± 2.76 Ma. All data obtained are consistent with the ages of the magmatism that produced the Vize Pluton in the Balkanides and Istranca Massif of 420–470 Ma (mean 447.17 ± 3.24 Ma) and indicate that it probably formed in the northern Gondwana. It was affected by the magma-mixing processes of coeval felsic and mafic magmas, and anatexis processes. Geochronological and geochemical data indicate the existence of a protracted magmatic activity related to convergent setting (long-lived magmatic arc) that forced the Vize-Pluton to undergo multi-stage melting-crystallization processes.

Continuous thermal structures of the present-day and contact-metamorphic geothermal systems revealed by drill cuttings in the Kakkonda geothermal field, Japan

Assessing the thermal structure of a geothermal reservoir and its history is of critical importance when evaluating the energy potential and heat source of the reservoir. However, the present and past thermal structures of reservoirs are not easily obtained due to temperature perturbations during drilling and/or the sparse sampling of the reservoir in rock cores. We examined drill cuttings collected from Well-20 of the Kakkonda geothermal reservoir that penetrated to a depth of ∼2700 m and into the Quaternary Kakkonda Granite, which is thought to be the heat source of the Kakkonda geothermal reservoir. Here we provide the first comprehensive report on the compositions of minerals from the Kakkonda geothermal reservoir from the Kakkonda Granite into its contact metamorphic aureole. The minimum temperature for each depth obtained by chlorite thermometry systematically changes within a range of 265–369 °C at depths of 1510–2700 m, and the temperatures are consistent with fluid inclusion thermometry and the temperature of the reservoir undisturbed by drilling. Our method provides a rapid, spatially continuous, and simple way of estimating the past or present thermal profile of a reservoir. The maximum temperature for each depth obtained by biotite thermometry shows a continuous thermal profile for the contact metamorphism with temperatures reaching ∼760 °C at the granite/host-rock interface at a depth of ∼2700 m, and gradually decreasing to ∼630 °C at a depth of ∼1700 m. These results suggest that the thermal effect of the Kakkonda Granite on the surrounding lithologies was much larger than estimated previously. Such high contact metamorphic temperatures require effective heat transfer from the Kakkonda Granite, probably enhanced by magma convection in the magma chamber and fluid convection within the supercritical geothermal reservoir.

P–T–t Path of Unusual Garnet–Kyanite–Staurolite– Amphibole Schists, Ellesmere Island, Canada—Quartz Inclusion in Garnet Barometry and Monazite Petrochronology

Abstract Garnet–kyanite–staurolite assemblages with large, late porphyroblasts of amphibole form garbenschists in Ordovician volcaniclastic rocks lying immediately south of the Pearya terrane on northernmost Ellesmere Island, Canada. The schist, which together with carbonate olistoliths makes up the Petersen Bay Assemblage (PBA), displays a series of parallel isograds that mark an increase in metamorphic grade over a distance of 10 km towards the contact with Pearya; however, a steep, brittle Cenozoic strike-slip fault with an unknown amount displacement disturbs the earlier accretionary relationship. The late amphibole growth, probably due to fluid ingress, is clear evidence of disequilibrium conditions in the garbenschist. In order to recover the P–T history of the schists, we construct isochemical phase equilibrium models for a nearby garnet–mica schist that escaped the fluid event and compare the results to quartz inclusion in garnet (QuiG) barometry for a garbenschist and the metapelitic garnet schist. Quartz inclusions are confined to garnet cores and the QuiG results, combined with Ti-in-biotite and garnet–biotite thermometry, delineate a prograde path from 480 to 600°C and 0.7 to 0.9 GPa. This path agrees with growth zoning in garnet deduced from X-ray maps of the spessartine component in garnet. The peak conditions obtained from pseudosection modelling using effective bulk composition and the intersection of garnet rim with matrix biotite and white mica isopleths in the metapelite are 665°C at ≤0.85 GPa. Three generations of monazite (I, II and III) were identified by textural characterization, geochemical composition (REE and Y concentrations) and U–Pb ages measured by ion microprobe. Monazite I occurs in the matrix and as inclusions in garnet rims and grew at peak P–T conditions at 397 ± 2 Ma (2σ) from the breakdown of allanite. Monazite II forms overgrowths on matrix Monazite I grains that are oriented parallel to the main schistosity and yield ages of 385 ± 2 Ma. Monazite III, found only in the garbenschist, is 374 ± 6 Ma, which is interpreted as the time of amphibole growth during fluid infiltration at lower temperature and pressure on a clockwise P–T path that remained in the kyanite stability field. These results point to a relatively short (≈12 Myr) Barrovian metamorphic event that affected the schists of the PBA. An obvious heat source is lacking in the adjacent Pearya terrane, but we speculate it was large Devonian plutons—similar to the 390 ± 10 Ma Cape Woods granite located 40 km across strike from the fault—that have been excised by strike-slip. Arc fragments that are correlative to the PBA are low grade; they never saw the heat and were not directly involved in Pearya accretion.

Petrochemical evaluation of gahnite from volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in Betul belt, Central India: Insight from petrography and in‐situ trace element geochemistry

Gahnite occurs in diverse rock types and metamorphosed mineral deposits. The gahnite geochemistry is being used as an exploration tool for zinc sulfide deposits. In the present study, the geochemistry of gahnite and associated minerals viz. sphalerite, garnet, sillimanite, staurolite, anthophyllite, biotite, ilmenite, and chlorite, and their petrography have been used in studying the genesis, metamorphic evolution, deposit characterization, and exploration significance of seven Palaeoproterozoic volcanogenic massive sulfides (VMS) deposits in the Betul belt in the Central Indian Tectonic Zone, India. Different textural types of gahnites are recognized in the Betul belt. Field investigations of textural and geochemical characteristics suggest that the gahnites were formed by multiple geological processes: desulfidation of sphalerite, breakdown of almandine garnet, and zincian staurolite, and chloritization of zincian biotite corresponding with regional metamorphism. The temperature conditions of gahnite formation are estimated to be ~600–650°C using empirical Ti in biotite thermometry. The elemental concentrations in gahnites vary from Zn/Fe ratio 2–4; Co 1–30 ppm; Ga 14–573 ppm and Mn 126–3422 ppm, indicating that bimodal volcanics and volcano‐sedimentary rocks as protolith. High Mn content in gahnite suggests an influx of magmatic‐hydrothermal fluid in the protolith. Variations of trace elements (Mg vs. Al/V, Ti vs. Co/Mn, Co vs. V/Ga, Mn vs. Zn/Fe) and high‐temperature of gahnite formation attest to sensu stricto VMS type mineralization in Betul belt, which is entirely different from SEDEX, Broken Hill‐type, and non‐sulfide deposits. Principal component analysis of trace elements shows the geochemical variations at a few deposits and reveals that gahnites were formed as a result of the competing effect of fS2‐fO2 and governed by bulk rock composition.

Evolution of the Tepeoba porphyry-skarn Cu-Mo-Au deposit, NW Turkey: New mineralogical and geochemical findings

This study recently investigates the evolution of the Tepeoba porphyry Cu-Mo-Au deposit (Cu ∼ 3 wt%, Mo ∼ 0.16 wt%, Au ∼ 10 ppm) with associated skarn prospects in the Biga Peninsula (NW Turkey) using the geochemical and mineralogical data. Ore-related alteration types which include biotite (±muscovite)-K-feldspar at the center of the mineralization zone, actinolite-albite alteration, and outer chlorite-epidote-calcite mineral facies, are observed in the Tepeoba mine area along the southern contact between the Karakaya Complex (mainly hornfels at the mine area) and porphyry Eybek intrusion. Porphyry style alteration pattern has been detected recognized in the porphyritic microgranite host rock. On the other hand, the calcareous and carbonate as well as the mineralized hornfels refer to the skarn style alteration pattern associated with a porphyritic felsic stock. Sulfide-rich stockwork and mineralized brittle brecciated, and fracture zones are associated with these hydrothermally altered wallrocks. Ore mineralogy includes chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, subordinate cubanite and native gold. These minerals are replaced by marcasite, hematite, and goethite in the oxidized cap rocks. EPMA data of the alteration and sulfide minerals revealed that Cu-, Fe-, Mo-sulfides partially replace biotite ± muscovite-K-feldspar/actinolite-albite and chlorite-epidote-calcite alteration facies. The estimated ore formation conditions returned wide range of temperatures of 546–471 °C (biotite thermometry) to 340–264 °C (chlorite thermometry), at which sulfides had most likely precipitated while the oxygen fugacity of the magmatic-hydrothermal ore fluids was gradually lowered and developed during the stage of retrograde metasomatic reactions. Chalcopyrite and cubanite was likely to have formed via un-mixing of intermediate solid solution (iss) under oxidizing hydrothermal conditions. Under these conditions, thiosulfide complexes could have been responsible for the transport and deposition of gold. This also refers to native gold, which could have been liberated from sulfide ores (i.e., pyrite) in the oxidation zone due to the processes of supergene enrichment.

Petrographic and mineral chemistry evidence for the origin of sulfide mineralization in the Main Sulfide Zone, Sebakwe Subchamber of the Great Dike, Zimbabwe

The Great Dike, one of the largest repositories of platinum-group elements (PGEs) and largest layered mafic intrusions in the world, is currently being exploited for its PGEs. We undertook a petrographic and mineral compositional investigation in the Sebakwe Subchamber to place some constraints on the genesis of its PGEs. Sulfides, which host some of the PGEs, occur either as inclusions within medium-grained euhedral orthopyroxenes or in association with biotite and intercumulus plagioclase. Sulfides which occur as interstitial phases or as inclusions in silicates are consistent with a magmatic origin of PGE sulfide mineralization. However, some sulfides which occur in association with biotite, are consistent with concentration of PGEs by magmatic fluids. Average sample Mg# range from 83.5–80.1 for orthopyroxenes, 93.1–84.4 clinopyroxenes, and 79.2–76.7 for phlogopite, whereas average sample An# for feldspars range from 81.3 to 5.9. Pyroxene thermometry yields temperatures of 837–986 °C that are late magmatic, with biotite thermometry yielding temperatures of 478–645 °C that are interpreted to be consistent with recrystallization of earlier primary biotite during hydrothermal alteration by late- to post-magmatic fluids. Observations from petrographic and backscattered electron images are consistent with these interpretations. Primary, magmatic PGE mineralization is inferred to have been cogenetic with sulfides which occur either as inclusions within, or as intercumulus phases between, orthopyroxenes. Sulfide minerals coexisting with biotite likely represent primary, magmatic sulfides that were remobilized by late- to post-magmatic fluids. The inferred depth of crystallization and hydrothermal alteration of the Sebakwe Subchamber of ∼10 km, is broadly comparable to other Subchambers of the Great Dike, lending support to the view that similar processes operated in the uppermost part of Great Dike ultramafic rocks in all its Subchambers. The involvement of fluid migration in the possible remobilization and concentration of primary magmatic PGE-mineralization in most layered mafic intrusions where it has been documented, must be a more significant process in concentrating PGEs in layered intrusions than currently thought.

Geochemical evolution and timing of uranium mineralization in the Khetri Copper Belt, western India

The Khetri Copper Belt (KCB), located in the northwestern part of the Aravalli-Delhi Fold Belt, western India, is famous for Cu mineralization and known for Au ± Ag ± Co ± Fe ± REE ± U ± P occurrences. The present study conducted in and around the Madan-Kudan-Kolihan-Chandmari Cu deposits of the KCB integrates the mode of occurrence, mineralogical association, textural relation, and chemistry of hydrothermal minerals, and in situ chemical dating of uraninite. We propose that the U mineralization, represented by Type 1 to Type 6 uraninites, has evolved through six successive stages: U-mineralization (Type 1 uraninite) of uncertain origin → U-mineralization (Type 2 uraninite) during Fe-Mg alteration → U-mineralization (Type 3 uraninite) during Ca-Na alteration → Cu-Fe-Co-REE-U mineralization (Type 4 uraninite) during Na-Ca-K alteration → U-mineralization (Type 5 uraninite) during chloritization (Fe-Mg alteration) → Cu-Co-REE-U mineralization (Type 6 uraninite) during K-Fe-Mg alteration. The chemical ages of uraninite suggest that the hydrothermal mineralization associated with Type 2 to Type 5 uraninites formed during a hitherto unknown older event (compared to the previously reported age of the mineralization in the KCB i.e. ~ 850 Ma), which initiated during the second phase of metamorphism of ~ 1.40–1.30 Ga (M2) and terminated well before the third phase of metamorphism of ~ 985–920 Ma (M3). The K-Fe-Mg alteration and the associated mineralization most likely is time-equivalent of the known alteration-mineralization event of ~ 850 Ga. The chlorite and biotite thermometry in tandem with U/Th ratios of uraninite suggest that uraninites crystallized at high temperature (> 390 °C) in all the hydrothermal stages. The common presence of magnetite and ilmenite, the occasional presence of graphite, and the Fe3+/(Fe3++Fe2+) ratios of the co-genetic gangue minerals such as amphibole, biotite, and chlorite suggest reduced environment, below the haematite-magnetite buffer, during the crystallization of uraninite in all the hydrothermal stages. Based on the composition of gangue minerals (apatite, amphibole, biotite, chlorite, and scapolite) in alteration assemblages/veins and physicochemical characters of the fluids, we discuss the possibility of transportation of U as U4+-chloride and -fluoride complexes. The high temperature and reduced nature of the fluids, high Th contents and low U/Th ratios of most of the uraninites, similar age of mineralization (Type 2 to Type 5 uraninite) and M2 metamorphism, and the absence of concomitant magmatic activity collectively suggest that hydrothermal mineralization related to Type 2 to Type 5 uraninites took place from metamorphic fluids. We report, for the first time, a unique uraninite-graphite association in the KCB, which can be best explained by their co-precipitation from a hydrothermal fluid during the earliest Fe-Mg alteration.

Geochemical discrimination of intrusions in the Choran Cu[sbnd]Au deposit, Iran, using silicate chemistry

The Choran CuAu deposit is located 70 km of Bardsir in the southern part of Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt (UDMB). In this area, mineralization is associated with Oligocene –Miocene quartz diorite and granodiorite intrusions emplaced within Eocene volcanic–pyroclastic – sedimentary sequences. Main hydrothermal alterations in the Choran region include sodic-potassic and potassic as well as phyllic, alunite and kaolinite which extended mostly in the granodiorite. Mineralizations at the Choran deposit involve pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, covellite and sphalerite. The composition of the plagioclase in the granodiorite and quartz diorite rocks ranges from albite (66.8 to 48.7) and (64.8 to 51.4) respectively. Also, Al/(Ca + Na + K) ratios of plagioclase in granodiorite samples (average; 1.50) are higher than that of quartz diorite intrusions (average; 1.33) which is analogous to those reported previously for mineralized porphyry systems. All studied primary and re-equilibrated biotites are collectively clustered in the Mg-biotite field. However, based on the log (XMg/XFe) versus log (XF/XOH) of biotite, granodiorite units are associated with I-type moderately crustal contaminated (I-MC) suite, whereas quartz diorite biotites represent I-type weakly crustal contaminated (I-WC) character. Comparison of biotite halogen contents indicates that F and Cl values increase from quartz diorite to granodiorite intrusions. Importantly, biotite thermometry of granodiorite and quartz diorite samples indicate temperatures of <400 °C (quartz diorite; average 340 °C, granodiorite; average 379 °C) which are overlapped with temperature of sulfide mineralization in the porphyry systems (<400 °C). Totally, through assessing the key factors of mineralization using silicate chemistry, it is proved that granodiorite units have higher potential to form porphyry-style sulfide mineralization in the Choran deposit.

Contact metamorphism of the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence, Upper Mustang region, west-central Nepal

AbstractThe Upper Mustang region of west-central Nepal contains exposures of metamorphosed Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence rocks that have been interpreted to reflect either contact metamorphism related to the nearby Mugu pluton or regional metamorphism associated with the North Himalayan domes. New monazite geochronology results show that the Mugu leucogranite crystallized at c. 21.3 Ma, while the dominant monazite age peaks from the surrounding garnet ± staurolite ± sillimanite schists range between c. 21.7 and 19.4 Ma, generally decreasing in age away from the pluton. Metamorphic temperature estimates based on Ti-in-biotite and garnet–biotite thermometry are highest in the specimens closest to the pluton (648 ± 24°C and 615 ± 25°C, respectively) and lowest in those furthest away (578 ± 24°C and 563 ± 25°C, respectively), while pressure estimates are all within uncertainty of one another, averaging 5.0 ± 0.5 kbar. These results are interpreted to be consistent with contact metamorphism of the rocks in proximity to the Mugu pluton, which was emplaced at c. 18 ± 2 km depth after local movement across the South Tibetan detachment system had ceased. While this new dataset helps to characterize the metamorphic rocks of the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence and provides new constraints on the thickness of the upper crust, it also emphasizes the importance of careful integration of metamorphic conditions and inferred processes that may affect interpretation of currently proposed Himalayan models.

Thermal interaction of middle and upper crust during gneiss dome formation: example from the Montagne Noire (French Massif Central)

AbstractThis paper aims to decipher the thermal evolution of the Montagne Noire Axial Zone (MNAZ, southern French Massif Central) gneiss core and its metasedimentary cover through determination of P–T paths and temperature gradients. Migmatitic gneiss from the core of the dome record a clockwise evolution culminating at 725 ± 25 °C and 0.8 ± 0.1 GPa with partial melting, followed by a decompression path with only minor cooling to 690 ± 25° C and 0.4 ± 0.1 GPa. Field structural analyses as well as detailed petrological observations indicate that the cover sequence experienced LP‐HT metamorphism. Apparent thermal gradients within the cover were determined with garnet–biotite thermometry and Raman Spectroscopy on Carbonaceous Matter. High‐temperature apparent gradients (e.g. ∼530 °C km−1 along one transect) are explained by late brittle–ductile extensional shearing evidenced by phyllonites that post‐date peak metamorphism. In areas where normal faults are less abundant and closely spaced, gradients of ∼20 to 50 °C km−1 are calculated. These gradients can be accounted for by a combination of dome emplacement and ductile shearing (collapse of isotherms), without additional heat input. Finally, the thermal evolution of the MNAZ is typical for many gneiss domes worldwide as well as with other LP‐HT terranes in the Variscides.

Peak metamorphic temperature and thermal history of the Southern Alps (New Zealand)

The Southern Alps orogen of New Zealand results from late Cenozoic convergence between the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates and is one of the most active mountain belts in the world. Metamorphic rocks carrying a polymetamorphic legacy, ranging from low-greenschist to high-grade amphibolites, are exhumed in the hanging wall of the Alpine Fault. On a regional scale, the metamorphic grade has previously been described in terms of metamorphic zones and mineral isograds; application of quantitative petrology being severely limited owing to unfavorable quartzofeldspathic lithologies. This study quantifies peak metamorphic temperatures (T) in a 300×20km area, based on samples forming 13 transects along-strike from Haast in the south to Hokitika in the north, using thermometry based on Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM). Peak metamorphic T decreases across each transect from ≥640°C locally in the direct vicinity of the Alpine Fault to less than 330°C at the drainage divide 15–20km southeast of the fault. Thermal field gradients exhibit a degree of similarity from the southernmost to the northernmost transects, are greater in low-grade semischist than high-grade schist, are affected by folding or discontinuous juxtaposition of metamorphic zones, and contain limited information on crustal-scale geothermal gradients. Temperatures derived by RSCM thermometry are slightly (≤50°C) higher than those derived by traditional quantitative petrology using garnet–biotite thermometry and THERMOCALC modeling. The age of RSCM T appears to be mostly pre-Cenozoic over most of the area except in central Southern Alps (Franz Josef–Fox area), where the amphibolite facies schists have T of likely Cenozoic age. The RSCM T data place some constraints on the mode of exhumation along the Alpine Fault and have implications for models of Southern Alps tectonics.

Timing and conditions of peak metamorphism and cooling across the Zimithang Thrust, Arunachal Pradesh, India

The Zimithang Thrust juxtaposes two lithotectonic units of the Greater Himalayan Sequence in Arunachal Pradesh, NE India. Monazite U–Pb, muscovite 40Ar/39Ar and thermobarometric data from rocks in the hanging and footwall constrain the timing and conditions of their juxtaposition across the structure, and their subsequent cooling. Monazite grains in biotite–sillimanite gneiss in the hanging wall yield LA-ICP-MS U–Pb ages of 16 ± 0.2 to 12.7 ± 0.4 Ma. A schistose gneiss within the high strain zone yields overlapping-to-younger monazite ages of 14.9 ± 0.3 to 11.5 ± 0.3 Ma. Garnet–staurolite–mica schists in the immediate footwall yield older monazite ages of 27.3 ± 0.6 to 17.1 ± 0.2 Ma. Temperature estimates from Ti-in-biotite and garnet–biotite thermometry suggest similar peak temperatures were achieved in the hanging and footwalls (~ 525–650 °C). Elevated temperatures of ~ 700 °C appear to have been reached in the high strain zone itself and in the footwall further from the thrust. Single grain fusion 40Ar/39Ar muscovite data from samples either side of the thrust yield ages of ~ 7 Ma, suggesting that movement along the thrust juxtaposed the two units by the time the closure temperature of Ar diffusion in muscovite had been reached. These data confirm previous suggestions that major orogen-parallel out-of-sequence structures disrupt the Greater Himalayan Sequence at different times during Himalayan evolution, and highlight an eastwards-younging trend in 40Ar/39Ar muscovite cooling ages at equivalent structural levels along Himalayan strike.

Footwall dip of a core complex detachment fault: thermobarometric constraints from the northern Snake Range (Basin and Range, USA)

AbstractLow‐angle detachment faults are common features in areas of large‐scale continental extension and are typically associated with metamorphic core complexes, where they separate upper plate brittle extension from lower plate ductile stretching and metamorphism. In many core complexes, the footwall rocks have been exhumed from middle to lower crustal depths, leading to considerable debate about the relationship between hangingwall and footwall rocks, and the role that detachment faults play in footwall exhumation. Here, garnet–biotite thermometry and garnet–muscovite–biotite–plagioclase barometry results are presented, together with garnet and zircon geochronology data, from seven locations within metapelitic rocks in the footwall of the northern Snake Range décollement (NSRD). These locations lie both parallel and normal to the direction of footwall transport to constrain the pre‐exhumation geometry of the footwall. To determine P–T gradients precisely within the footwall, the ΔPT method of Worley &amp; Powell (2000) has been employed, which minimizes the contribution of systematic uncertainties to thermobarometric calculations. The results show that footwall rocks reached pressures of 6–8 kbar and temperatures of 500–650 °C, equivalent to burial depths of 23–30 km. Burial depth remains constant in the WNW–ESE direction of footwall transport, but increases from south to north. The lack of a burial gradient in the direction of footwall transport implies that the footwall rocks, which today define a sub‐horizontal datum in the direction of fault transport, also defined a sub‐horizontal datum at depth in Late Cretaceous time. This suggests that the footwall was not tilted about the normal to the fault transport direction during exhumation, and hence that the NSRD did not form as a low‐angle normal fault cutting down through the lower crust. Instead, the following evolution for the northern Snake Range footwall is proposed. (i) Mesozoic contraction caused substantial crustal thickening by duplication and folding of the miogeoclinal sequence, accompanied by upper greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism. (ii) About half of the total exhumation was accomplished by roughly coaxial stretching and thinning in Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary time, accompanied by retrogression and mylonitic deformation. (iii) The footwall rocks were then ‘captured’ from the middle crust along a moderately dipping NSRD that soled into the middle crust with a rolling‐hinge geometry at both upper and lower terminations.

Garnetites of the Cardigan Pluton, New Hampshire: Evidence for Peritectic Garnet Entrainment and Implications for Source Rock Compositions

The Cardigan Pluton, located in southwestern New Hampshire, USA, is a strongly peraluminous granodiorite that contains distinctive, meter-sized pods consisting of 50–70 modal % garnet (+sillimanite + biotite + plagioclase + quartz). The presence of fibrolitic mats and flat, unzoned major and trace-element garnet profiles provide evidence for prograde metamorphism and single-stage garnet growth from biotite dehydration melting. Melt-depleted, bulk-rock compositions indicate that the garnetites are either fragments of restite or melt-depleted xenoliths. Comparison of the Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of the garnetites and the Cardigan granitic rocks indicates an equilibrium relationship as required in the restite model. Additionally, plagioclase and garnet compositions are the same in the garnetites and the most mafic host rocks, also permissive of a restite origin for the garnetites. Temperature and pressure calculated using garnet–biotite thermometry and garnet–aluminum silicate–quartz–plagioclase (GASP) barometry yield estimates of 800°C and 6–7 kbar. These temperatures are probably lower than the peak melting temperature because major element modeling subtracting a granodiorite composition from an average calc-pelite metasediment requires greater than 45% melting to generate garnetite sample CP-23G. Such high melting percentages require temperatures of ∼900°C, near the biotite-out curve. We infer that the heat required for such high amounts of melting was obtained from asthenospheric upwelling and basaltic underplating. Inherited zircons with 600 Ma U–Pb ages suggest that the Cardigan Pluton does not have a Laurentian source, consistent with thermobarometric calculations that place the depth of melting below the decollement between the basement and the Central Maine Trough metasediments. A peri-Gondwanan basement source is inferred. Calculated ascent rates of >1000 km/yr allowed preservation of restite in the Cardigan Pluton whereas slower rates in other peraluminous plutons could account for the paucity of restite in most peraluminous plutons.

Mineral Associations In The Boussouma Post Birimian Mafic Dyke And Their Petrogenetic Significance (Burkina Faso, West-African Craton)

A systematic electron microprobe analysis, was carried out on constituent mineral phases (olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, plagioclase, micas, opaques) in dolerite, gabbro and pegmatitic suite associated with a mafic dyke of the Boussouma area in Burkina Faso, in order to characterize the magmatic and tectonic affinity of this intrusion. The compositions and microtextures of minerals and their paragenesis led the re- examination of the magmatic origin of this dyke. The mineralogical sequence made up of ferriferous olivine, calcic- plagioclase, orthopyroxene, augite, quartz/ micropegmatite and titano-magnetite, indicates a tholeiitic composition of the parent magma of the dyke. The composition of clinopyroxenes is in agreement with tholeiitic character of this mafic dyke and typical of rocks formed by anorogenic processes in a crustal distension zone. Enrichment in quartz/ micropegmatite and in ferro- titanic oxides from the edge to the centre of the dyke and the corresponding impoverishment of olivine, are compatible with a magmatic fractionation process. The temperature of the magma during crystallization using coexistent augite and orthopyroxene geothermometry, is estimated between 1000 and 1150°C and it progressively decreased to about 600 to 800°C, during the late crystallization stages as revealed by biotite thermometry. The post magmatic evolution of the dyke is marked by the neoformation hydrothermal minerals of dominantly low temperature hydrous phases Keywords : Dolerite, micro-analysis, minerals, tholeiite, distension, geothermometry. Global Journal of Geological Sciences Vol. 6 (2) 2008: pp. 157-174

Controls on hydrothermal Fe oxide–Cu–Au–Co mineralization at the Guelb Moghrein deposit, Akjoujt area, Mauritania

The Guelb Moghrein Fe oxide–Cu–Au–Co deposit, with a total resource of 23.6 Mt at 1.88% Cu, 1.41 g/t Au, and 143 g/t Co, is hosted by an extensive metacarbonate body. However, it is restricted to up to 30-m wide tabular breccia zones developed parallel to discrete shear zones that transect the host metacarbonates. The Fe–Mg clinoamphibole–chlorite schists represent up to 1-m thick interlayer metasediments and localized viscous shearing in these shear zones. Siderite of the metacarbonate body was deformed into a breccia and was replaced by an ore and alteration assemblage comprised of Fe–Mg clinoamphibole, magnetite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, graphite, Fe–Co–Ni arsenides, arsenopyrite, cobaltite, uraninite, and Bi–Au–Ag–Te minerals. In contact with wall rock amphibolites, the metacarbonate body is enveloped by an alteration halo up to 40 m wide, consisting of biotite, actinolite, grunerite, chlorite, calcite, albite, and quartz. The Guelb Moghrein ore body is structurally controlled by shear zones that developed in the footwall of a regional thrust zone. This thrust separates greenschist facies quartz–sericite schists and biotite–garnet–quartz schists of the Sainte Barbe volcanic unit in the hanging wall from amphibolite facies metavolcanic rocks, metacarbonates, and the Guelb Moghrein ore body of the Akjoujt metabasalt unit in the footwall. Peak temperatures of the latter unit are estimated by hornblende–plagioclase thermometry at 580±40°C. Thrusting was retrograde for the Akjoujt metabasalt unit, but prograde for the Sainte Barbe volcanic unit at P–T conditions of about 410±30°C and 2–3 kbar (garnet–biotite thermometry). Structural and petrological evidences suggest that the ore fluids migrated along the shear zones and reacted with the siderite in the metacarbonate. This evolution and the setting of Guelb Moghrein in the fold-and-thrust belt of the Pan-African to Variscan Mauritanides (Mauritania, West Africa) resemble Proterozoic Fe oxide–Cu–Au–Co deposits such as examples from the Tennant Creek and Mount Isa Inliers, Australia.

High temperatures and inverted metamorphism in the schist of Sierra de Salinas, California

New field and thermobarometric work in the Californian Salinian block clarifies current and pre-Tertiary relationships between the schist of Sierra de Salinas and Cretaceous arc-related granitic rocks. The contact is variably preserved as a brittle fault and high-temperature mylonite zone, the Salinas shear zone, which represents the contact between North America and sediments accreted above the Farallon slab between ∼ 76 Ma and ∼ 70 Ma. Near granulite facies, prograde replacement of hornblende with clinopyroxene is associated with deformation of plutonic rocks at the base of the upper plate. In the lower plate, the schist of Sierra de Salinas, garnet–biotite thermometry indicates decreasing temperatures down-section from at least 714 °C to ∼ 575 °C over an exposed thickness of ∼ 2.5 km, consistent with petrologic evidence of an inverted metamorphic gradient. The measured temperatures are significantly higher than observed at shallow levels above subducting slabs or predicted by 2D computational models assuming low shear stresses. Previous workers have called upon shear heating to explain similar observations in the correlative Pelona schist, an unlikely scenario given the results of recent rock deformation experiments which predict that feldspar–quartz–mica aggregates are far too weak to withstand stresses of ∼ 70 MPa required by the shear heating hypothesis. As an alternative, we propose that high temperatures resulted from conductive heating while the leading edge of the schist traveled ∼ 150 km beneath the recently active Salinian continental arc during the initiation of shallow subduction. Weakening of the schist due to high temperatures helped facilitate the collapse of the Salinian arc as the schist was emplaced. Schist emplacement coincided with loss of lower, mafic portions of the arc, and therefore evolution of the Southern California crust towards a more felsic composition.

Calcite–graphite isotope thermometry in amphibolite facies marble, Bancroft, Ontario

AbstractThis study presents calcite–graphite carbon isotope fractionations for 32 samples from marble in the northern Elzevir terrane of the Central Metasedimentary Belt, Grenville Province, southern Ontario, Canada. These results are compared with temperatures calculated by calcite–dolomite thermometry (15 samples), garnet–biotite thermometry (four samples) and garnet–hornblende thermometry (three samples). Δcal‐gr values vary regularly across the area from &gt;6.5‰ in the south to 4.0‰ in the north, which corresponds to temperatures of 525 °C in the south to 650 °C in the north. Previous empirical calibration of the calcite–graphite thermometer agrees very well with calcite–dolomite, garnet–biotite and garnet–hornblende thermometry, whereas, theoretical calibrations compare less well with the independent thermometry. Isograds in marble based on the reactions rutile + calcite + quartz =titanite and tremolite + calcite + quartz = diopside, span temperatures of 525–600 °C and are consistent with calculated temperature–X(CO2) relations. Results of this study compare favourably with large‐scale regional isotherms, however, local variation is greater than that revealed by large‐scale sampling strategies. It remains unclear whether the temperature–Δcal‐gr relationship observed in natural materials below 650 °C represents equilibrium fractionations or not, but the regularity and consistency apparent in this study demonstrate its utility for thermometry in amphibolite facies marble.

Pressure, temperature and cooling rates of granulite facies migmatitic pelites from the southern Adirondack Highlands, New York

AbstractDetailed petrographic analysis was performed on samples from five localities within the southern Adirondacks. Textures and zoning patterns in garnet from all samples provide evidence for dehydration melting of biotite. Zoning of grossular in garnet – providing a record of prograde growth – shows both increasing and decreasing trends in garnet from the same sample. However, Ca concentrations at the garnet rims of most samples are identical (grossular = 3.4%). These observations have been interpreted as evidence for the differential timing of garnet nucleation and growth. All Fe/(Fe + Mg) and some spessartine distributions are consistent between samples, displaying diffusive profiles established largely upon cooling. Only one sample, in which retrogression was minimal, contains garnet with flat Fe/(Fe + Mg) profiles. A general pelitic pseudosection constructed in the system MnNCKFMASH reveals a maximum for Ca in garnet where the plagioclase‐out isopleth intersects the solidus (muscovite = 0). The pseudosection predicts bell‐shaped core‐to‐rim profiles of grossular during anatexis, similar to those observed in the rocks. Garnet–biotite thermometry and GASP barometry indicate peak temperatures of at least 790 °C at about 7–9 kbar, similar to conditions determined for the central Adirondacks. Cooling rates determined from finite difference modelling of spessartine and Fe/(Fe + Mg) diffusional profiles indicate a multi‐stage cooling history in which some period of rapid cooling (&gt;200 °C Myr−1) is required.

Recalibration of mutually consistent garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite geothermometers

Garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite geothermometers have been consistently calibrated, using the results of Fe 2+–Mg cation exchange experiments and utilizing recently evaluated nonideal mixing properties of garnet. Nonideal mixing parameters of biotite (including Fe, Mg, Al VI, and Ti) and of cordierite (involving Fe and Mg) are evaluated in terms of iterative multiple least-square regressions of the experimental results. Assuming the presence of ferric Fe in biotite in relation to the coexisting Fe-oxide phases (Case A), and assuming the absence of ferric Fe in biotite (Case B), two formulae of garnet–biotite thermometer have been derived. The garnet–cordierite geothermometer was constructed using Margules parameters of garnet adopted in the garnet–biotite geothermometers. The newly calibrated garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite thermometers clearly show improved conformity in the calculated temperatures. The thermometers give temperatures that are consistent with each other using natural garnet–biotite–cordierite assemblages within ±50 °C. The effects of ferric Fe in biotite on garnet–biotite thermometry have been evaluated comparing the two calibrations of the thermometer. The effects are significant; it is clarified that taking ferric Fe content in biotite into account leads to less dispersion of thermometric results.