Inclusions In Garnet Research Articles

Relic Oceanic Crust at Sub‐Arc Depth: An Example from UHP Eclogites Enclosed in Serpentinites from the Southwestern Tianshan, China

Ultra‐high pressure (UHP) eclogites that derive from subducted oceanic crust are rarely found at the Earth's surface because they need to be enclosed in a buoyant host rock such as serpentinites that facilitate exhumation (Hermann et al., 2000; Guillot et al., 2001). Under normal subduction geotherms, serpentinites break down just before UHP conditions are reached and therefore most of the exhumed eclogites representing subducted oceanic crust formed under fore‐arc conditions. We investigated eclogite blocks enclosed into serpentinites that occur in the southwestern Tianshan oceanic subduction, China. A previous study proved that the serpentinites derive from altered oceanic crust and experienced UHP metamorphism at low temperatures of 510–530°C (Shen et al., 2015).Three relatively fresh eclogite samples were studied in detail. Sample 129–7 shows the retrograde mineral assemblage of amphibole + biotite + albite + chlorite + minor titanite and peak metamorphic relics of omphacite + garnet ± chlorite. Sample C107‐23 is mainly composed of amphibole + albite + chlorite + zoisite + muscovite + minor titanite as a retrograde assemblage and garnet + phengite as the peak metamorphic relics with omphacite only found as inclusions in garnet. Similar to sample C107‐23, sample C11066 preserves large‐grained euhedral to subhedral garnet relics with omphacite inclusions, and epidote, diopside, amphibole, muscovite, chlorite, albite and biotite are in the matrix belong to the retrograde assemblage. These three retrograde eclogite samples were modelled using thermodynamic calculations in the MnNCKFMSHO (MnO‐Na2O‐CaO‐K2O‐FeO‐MgO‐Al2O3‐SiO2‐H2O‐Fe2O3) system. Based on the peak assemblage of omphacite+garnet and the crossing of the grossular and pyrope isopleths in garnet, peak P‐T conditions of ∼460–470 °C, 28–29 kbar (129–7), 450–500 °C, 28–35 kbar (C107–23), ∼475–505 °C, 26–29 kbar (C11066) were calculated. The retrograde assemblages indicate near isothermal decompression resulting in a clockwise P‐T evolution of these eclogites. The peak metamorphic pressures at 500°C are well within UHP conditions (coesite stability field) and are within error the same as peak conditions of the host serpentinites (Shen et al., 2015). This provides evidence that eclogites and serpentinites shared the same evolution. We infer that the subducted low‐density serpentinites were assembled with the high‐density eclogites during subdution and helped the latter to exhume back to the surface. The studied eclogites thus represent rare examples of relics of oceanic crust that was subducted to sub‐arc depth.

Recovery of an oxidized majorite inclusion from Earth's deep asthenosphere.

Minerals recovered from the deep mantle provide a rare glimpse into deep Earth processes. We report the first discovery of ferric iron-rich majoritic garnet found as inclusions in a host garnet within an eclogite xenolith originating in the deep mantle. The composition of the host garnet indicates an ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic origin, probably at a depth of ~200 km. More importantly, the ferric iron-rich majoritic garnet inclusions show a much deeper origin, at least at a depth of 380 km. The majoritic nature of the inclusions is confirmed by mineral chemistry, x-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, and their depth of origin is constrained by a new experimental calibration. The unique relationship between the majoritic inclusions and their host garnet has important implications for mantle dynamics within the deep asthenosphere. The high ferric iron content of the inclusions provides insights into the oxidation state of the deep upper mantle.

Petrological and zircon evidence for the Early Cretaceous granulite-facies metamorphism in the Dabie orogen, China

An integrated study of petrology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and geochronology was carried out for contemporaneous mafic granulite and diorite from the Dabie orogen. The results provide evidence for granulite-facies reworking of the ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rock in the collisional orogen. Most zircons from the granulite are new growth, and their U-Pb ages are clearly categorized into two groups at 122–127 Ma and 188±2 Ma. Although these two groups of zircons show similarly steep HREE patterns and variably negative Eu anomalies, the younger group has much higher U, Th and REE contents and Th/U ratios, much lower εHf(t) values than the older group. This suggests their growth is associated with different types of dehydration reactions. The older zircon domains contain mineral inclusions of garnet + clinopyroxene ± quartz, indicating their growth through metamorphic reactions at high pressures. In contrast, the young zircon domains only contain a few quartz inclusions and the garnet-clinopyroxene-plagioclase-quartz barometry yields pressures of 4.9 to 12.5 kb. In addition, the clinopyroxene-garnet Fe-Mg exchange thermometry gives temperatures of 738–951 °C. Therefore, the young zircon domains would have grown through peritectic reaction at low to medium pressures. The younger granulite-facies metamorphic age is in agreement not only with the adjacent diorite at 125±1 Ma in this study but also the voluminous emplacement of coeval mafic and felsic magmas in the Dabie orogen. Mineral separates from both mafic granulite and its adjacent diorite show uniformly lower δ18O values than normal mantle, similar to those for UHP eclogite-facies metaigneous rocks in the Dabie orogen. In combination with major-trace elements and zircon Lu-Hf isotope compositions, it is inferred that the protolith of mafic granulites shares with the source rock of diorites, both being a kind of mafic metasomatites at the slab-mantle interface in the continental subduction channel. The spatial and temporal distribution of Early Cretaceous granulite-facies metamorphic rocks in this region is associated with the bimodal magmatism within a short period of 120–130 Ma in the postcollisional stage. This provides a direct link in petrogenesis between the granulitic, migmatic and magmatic rocks in the collisional orogen to active continental rifting, whereby high heat flow was transferred from the asthenospheric mantle into the thinned orogenic lithosphere for partial melting.

Barometric constraints based on apatite inclusions in garnet

Compiled volumetric data for fluor-, chlor-, and hydroxyl-apatite has been fitted to a pressure-volume-temperature ( P-V-T ) equation of state for volume calculation at elevated P and T . The regressions were used to assess the potential of apatite inclusions in garnet for thermobarometric applications, according to the pressurization of inclusions resulting from elastic differences between the inclusion and host minerals. Isomeke contours (lines in pressure temperature space, representing permissible entrapment conditions that yield a given inclusion pressure) were calculated and show that apatite inclusions in garnet are a particularly useful barometer, owing to the large differences in the bulk moduli and similar thermal expansivities between apatite and garnet. Heating experiments were conducted on fluorapatite inclusions in andraditic garnets from the Casting Copper skarn, Nevada, to assess the variation in measured inclusion pressure with heating relative to that predicted with isotropic elastic theory. Negligible departures between theoretical and measured pressurization suggests no significant correction is needed for applying room- T inclusion pressure measurements for barometry constraints.

Intergranular coesite and coesite inclusions in dolomite from the Dabie Shan: Constraints on the preservation of coesite in UHP rocks

AbstractIntergranular coesite is extremely rare in, and bears crucial information on the formation and preservation of, ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) rocks. Here, we report the first occurrence of intergranular coesite in a metasedimentary rock, which occurs in the Ganjialing area in the Dabie Shan, east‐central China, and contains abundant coesite inclusions in both garnet and dolomite. We investigated the content of structural water in these minerals with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Our new results undermine the ubiquity of the “pressure‐vessel” model and highlight the role of reaction kinetics in preserving coesite due to the availability of water in UHP rocks.

Garnet: A Rock-Forming Mineral Petrochronometer

Garnet could be the ultimate petrochronometer. Not only can you date it directly (with an accuracy and precision that may surprise some), but it is also a common rock-forming and porphyroblast-forming mineral, with wide ranging—yet thermodynamically well understood—solid solution that provides direct and quantitative petrologic context. While accessory phase petrochronology is based largely upon establishing links to the growth or breakdown of key rock-forming pressure–temperature–composition ( P–T–X ) indicators (e.g., Rubatto 2002; Williams et al. 2007), garnet is one of those key indicator minerals. Garnet occurs in a great variety of rock types (see Baxter et al. 2013) and is frequently zoned (texturally, chemically) meaning that it contains more than just a snapshot of metamorphic conditions, but rather a semi-continuous history of evolving tectonometamorphic conditions during its often prolonged growth. In this way, garnet and its growth zonation have been likened to dendrochronology: garnet as the tree rings of evolving tectonometamorphic conditions (e.g., Pollington and Baxter 2010). In some ways, the dream of ‘petrochronology’ all started with garnet (Fig. 1). When Atherton and Edmunds (1965) or Hollister (1966) recognized the chemical zonation in garnet, when Rosenfeld (1968) noted the spiral ‘snowball’ of inclusions in rotated garnet, or when Tracy et al. (1976) drew the first 2-D map of garnet chemical zonation, illuminating those ‘tree-rings’ for the first time, they could only imagine what is now a reality decades later—direct zoned garnet geochronology of those concentric rings of growth. Geoscientists soon thereafter attempted the first garnet geochronology (van Breemen and Hawkesworth 1980), though several factors severely limited the development and wider-spread use of garnet geochronology from that point. These factors included 1) contamination of garnet by micro-mineral inclusions, 2) analytical limitations of small sample size, 3) the requirement of anchoring a garnet age analysis with another point on an isochron, and …

Raman spectra of polycrystalline microdiamond inclusions in zircons, and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism of a quartzofeldspathic rock from the Erzgebirge terrane, Germany

ABSTRACTPolycrystalline microdiamonds are rare in ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks worldwide. Among samples collected at Erzgebirge, Germany, we found abundant polycrystalline microdiamonds as inclusions in zircons from a quartzofeldspathic rock. To illuminate their origin and forming age, we investigated morphologies and Raman spectra of 52 microdiamond inclusions, and dated the zircon host. The zircons have low Th/U values (0.03–0.07) and a concordia U/Pb age of 335.8 ± 1.9 Ma. Polycrystalline diamond (10–40 µm) consists of many fine-grained crystals (1.5–3 µm) with different orientations; discrete single diamonds (2–20 µm) are rare. All measured Raman spectra show an intense diamond band at 1332–1328 cm−1 and have a negative correlation with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 5.8–11.3 cm−1. These data combined with previously reported diamond band data (1331–1337 cm−1) are compatible with those of diamond inclusions in various host minerals from other UHP terranes, but are different from those of ureilite diamonds. The Erzgebirge microdiamonds in zircon do not display visible disordered sp3-carbon, but show downshifting of the Raman band from the ideal value (1332 cm−1), and have a broader diamond band (FWHM >3 cm−1) than those of well-ordered diamonds. These features may reflect imperfect ordering due to rapid nucleation/crystallization during UHP metamorphism and rapid exhumation of the UHP terrane. Graphite inclusions in zircon show a typical G-band at 1587 cm−1. Our study together with previously reported C-isotopic compositions (δ13C, −17 to −27‰) of diamond and occurrences of fluid/melt inclusions in diamond and garnet indicates that Erzgebirge microdiamonds are metamorphic, have an organic carbon source, and crystallized from aqueous fluids. Limited long-range ordering suggested by the Raman spectra is a function of the P–T time of crystallization and subsequent thermal annealing on decompression. Combined with regional geology, our work further constrains the tectonic evolution of the Erzgebirge terrane.

The depth of sub-lithospheric diamond formation and the redistribution of carbon in the deep mantle

Most diamonds form in the Earth's lithosphere but a small proportion contain Si-rich majoritic garnet inclusions that indicate formation in the deeper mantle. The compositions of syngenetic garnet inclusions can potential yield information on both the depth and mantle lithology in which the diamonds formed. Pressure dependent changes in garnet compositions have been calibrated using the results of experiments conducted in a multi-anvil apparatus at pressures between 6 and 16 GPa and temperatures of 1000 to 1400 °C. Using the results of these experiments a barometer was formulated based on an empirical parameterisation of the two major majoritic substitutions, referred to as majorite (Maj; Al3+=Mg2++Si4+), and Na-majorite (Na-Maj; Mg2++Al3+=Na++Si4+). Moreover, previously published experimental garnet compositions from basaltic, kimberlite, komatiite and peridotite bulk compositions were included in the calibration, which consequently covers pressures from 6 to 20 GPa and temperatures from 900 to 2100 °C. Experimental pressures are reproduced over these conditions with a standard deviation of 0.86 GPa.The barometer is used to determine equilibration pressures of approximately 500 reported garnet inclusions in diamonds from a range of localities. As the majority of these inclusions are proposed to be syngenetic this allows a detailed picture of diamond formation depths and associated source rocks to be established using inclusion chemistry. Geographic differences in diamond source rocks are mapped within the sub-lithospheric mantle to over 500 km depth. Continuous diamond formation occurs over this depth range within lithologies with eclogitic affinities but also in lithologies that appear transitional between eclogitic and peridotitic bulk compositions, with an affinity to pyroxenites. The geographic differences between eclogitic and pyroxenitic diamond source rocks are rationalised in terms of diamond formation within downwelling and upwelling regimes respectively. Macroscopic diamond formation in rocks with pyroxenite compositions are likely facilitated in the deep mantle by higher average oxidation states and low mineral H2O solubility compared to the surrounding mantle, which aid the mobility of C–O–H volatile species. The apparent lack of inclusions with a peridotite affinity may result from generally low oxygen fugacities in such lithologies, which reduces carbon mobility, and the lack of a suitable oxidising agent to allow diamonds to form from CH4. This glimpse of deep carbon cycle processes implies that heterogeneities in the carbon content, redox state and chemical composition of the mantle may be strongly coupled.

Prograde infiltration of Cl-rich fluid into the granulitic continental crust from a collision zone in East Antarctica (Perlebandet, Sør Rondane Mountains)

Utilizing microstructures of Cl-bearing biotite in pelitic and felsic metamorphic rocks, the timing of Cl-rich fluid infiltration is correlated with the pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) path of upper amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphic rocks from Perlebandet, Sør Rondane Mountains (SRM), East Antarctica. Microstructural observation indicates that the stable Al2SiO5 polymorph changed from sillimanite to kyanite+andalusite+sillimanite, and P-T estimates from geothermobarometry point to a counterclockwise P-T path characteristic of the SW terrane of the SRM. In situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for U–Pb dating of zircon inclusions in garnet yielded ca. 580Ma, likely representing the age of garnet-forming metamorphism at Perlebandet.Inclusion-host relationships among garnet, sillimanite, and Cl-rich biotite (Cl>0.4wt%) reveal that formation of Cl-rich biotite took place during prograde metamorphism in the sillimanite stability field. This process probably predated partial melting consuming biotite (Cl=0.1–0.3wt%). This was followed by retrograde, moderately Cl-bearing biotite (Cl=0.1–0.3wt%) replacing garnet. Similar timings of Cl-rich biotite formation in different samples, and similar f(H2O)/f(HCl) values of coexisting fluid estimated for each stage can be best explained by prograde Cl-rich fluid infiltration. Fluid-present partial melting at the onset of prograde metamorphism probably contributed to elevate the Cl concentration (and possibly salinity) of the fluid, and consumption of the fluid resulted in the progress of dehydration melting. The retrograde fluid was released from crystallizing Cl-bearing partial melts or derived externally. The prograde Cl-rich fluid infiltration in Perlebandet presumably took place at the uppermost part of the footwall of the collision boundary. Localized distribution of Cl-rich biotite and hornblende along large-scale shear zones and detachments in the SRM supports external input of Cl-rich fluids through tectonic boundaries during continental collision.

Oxygen isotope thermometry using quartz inclusions in garnet

AbstractOxygen isotope ratios of quartz inclusions (QI) within garnet from granulite and amphibolite facies gneisses in the Adirondack Mountains, NY were analysed and used to determine metamorphic temperatures. Primary QI for eight of 12 samples have δ18O values significantly lower than matrix quartz (MQ). The primary QI retain δ18O values representative of thermal conditions during garnet crystallization, whereas the δ18O values of MQ were raised by diffusive exchange with other matrix minerals (e.g. mica and feldspar) during cooling. The δ18O differences between QI and MQ show that garnet (a mineral with slow diffusion of oxygen) can armour QI from isotopic exchange with surrounding matrix, even during slow cooling. These differences between δ18O in MQ and QI can further be used to test cooling rates by Fast Grain Boundary diffusion modelling. Criteria for identifying QI that preserve primary compositions and are suitable for thermometry were developed based on comparative tests. Relations between δ18O and inclusion size, distance of inclusion to host–garnet rim, core–rim zonation of individual inclusions, and presence or absence of petrological features (healed cracks in QI, inclusions in contact with garnet cracks lined by secondary minerals, and secondary minerals along the inclusion grain boundary) were investigated. In this study, 61% of QI preserve primary δ18O and 39% were associated with features that were linked to reset δ18O values. If δ18O in garnet is homogeneous and inclusions are removed, laser‐fluorination δ18O values of bulk garnet are more precise, more accurate, and best for thermometry. Intragrain δ18O(Grt) profiles measured in situ by ion microprobe show no δ18O zonation. Almandine–rich garnet (Alm60–75) from each sample was measured by laser‐fluorination mass‐spectrometry (LF‐MS) for δ18O and compared with ion microprobe measurements of δ18O in QI for thermometry. The Δ18O(Qz–Grt) values for Adirondack samples range from 2.66 to 3.24‰, corresponding to temperatures of 640–740 °C (A[Qz–Alm] = 2.71). Out of 12 samples that were used for thermometry, nine are consistent with previous estimates of peak temperature (625–800 °C) based on petrological and carbon–isotope thermometry for regional granulite and upper amphibolite facies metamorphism. The three samples that disagree with independent thermometry for peak metamorphism are from the anorthosite–mangerite–charnockite–granite suite in the central Adirondacks and yield temperatures of 640–665 °C, ~100 °C lower than previous estimates. These low temperatures could be interpreted as thermal conditions during late (post‐peak) crystallization of garnet on the retrograde path.

Constraints from monazite and xenotime growth modelling in the MnCKFMASH‐PYCe system on the P–T path of a metapelite from Shillong‐Meghalaya Plateau: implications for the Indian shield assembly

AbstractThe Palaeo‐Mesoproterozoic metapelite granulites from northern Garo Hills, western Shillong‐Meghalaya Gneissic Complex (SMGC), northeast India, consist of resorbed garnet, cordierite and K‐feldspar porphyroblasts in a matrix comprising shape‐preferred aggregates of biotite±sillimanite+quartz that define the penetrative gneissic fabric. An earlier assemblage including biotite and sillimanite occurs as inclusions within the garnet and cordierite porphyroblasts. Staurolite within cordierite in samples without matrix sillimanite is interpreted to have formed by a reaction between the sillimanite inclusion and the host cordierite during retrogression. Accessory monazite occurs as inclusions within garnet as well as in the matrix, whereas accessory xenotime occurs only in the matrix. The monazite inclusions in garnet contain higher Ca, and lower Y and Th/U than the matrix monazite outside resorbed garnet rims. On the other hand, matrix monazite away from garnet contains low Ca and Y, and shows very high Th/U ratios. The low Th/U ratios (<10) of the Y‐poor garnet‐hosted monazite indicate subsolidus formation during an early stage of prograde metamorphism. A calculated P–T pseudosection in the MnCKFMASH‐PYCe system indicates that the garnet‐hosted monazite formed at <3 kbar/600 °C (Stage A). These P–T estimates extend backward the previously inferred prograde P–T path from peak anatectic conditions of 7–8 kbar/850 °C based on major mineral equilibria. Furthermore, the calculated P–T pseudosections indicate that cordierite–staurolite equilibrated at ~5.5 kbar/630 °C during retrograde metamorphism. Thus, the P–T path was counterclockwise. The Y‐rich matrix monazite outside garnet rims formed between ~3.2 kbar/650 °C and ~5 kbar/775 °C (Stage B) during prograde metamorphism. If the effect of bulk composition change due to open system behaviour during anatexis is considered, the P–T conditions may be lower for Stage A (<2 kbar/525 °C) and Stage B (~3 kbar/600 °C to ~3.5 kbar/660 °C). Prograde garnet growth occurred over the entire temperature range (550–850 °C), and Stage‐B monazite was perhaps initially entrapped in garnet. During post‐peak cooling, the Stage‐B monazite grains were released in the matrix by garnet dissolution. Furthermore, new matrix monazite (low Y and very high Th/U ≤80, ~8 kbar/850–800 °C, Stage C), some monazite outside garnet rims (high Y and intermediate Th/U ≤30, ~8 kbar/800–785 °C, Stage D), and matrix xenotime (<785 °C) formed through post‐peak crystallization of melt. Regardless of textural setting, all monazite populations show identical chemical ages (1630–1578 Ma, ±43 Ma). The lithological association (metapelite and mafic granulites), and metamorphic age and P–T path of the northern Garo Hills metapelites and those from the southern domain of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) are similar. The SMGC was initially aligned with the southern parts of CITZ and Chotanagpur Gneissic Complex of central/eastern India in an ENE direction, but was displaced ~350 km northward by sinistral movement along the north‐trending Eastern Indian Tectonic Zone in Neoproterozoic. The southern CITZ metapelites supposedly originated in a back‐arc associated with subducting oceanic lithosphere below the Southern Indian Block at c. 1.6 Ga during the initial stage of Indian shield assembly. It is inferred that the SMGC metapelites may also have originated contemporaneously with the southern CITZ metapelites in a similar back‐arc setting.

Phase relations of the REE minerals florencite, allanite and monazite in quartzitic garnet–kyanite schist of the Eclogite Zone, Tauern Window, Austria

The three REE phases florencite-(Ce), allanite-(Ce)–Ce-rich epidote solid solution, and monazite-(Ce) are present in two of four mica schists with the assemblage garnet + chloritoid ± kyanite + muscovite + quartz from the Eclogite Zone, Tauern Window, Austria. Prograde peak conditions of ~560–600°, 20–25 kbar are associated with the reaction: chloritoid + quartz = garnet + kyanite + H2O. Florencite-(Ce) inclusions are mostly found in ganet rims and kyanite, but also in the muscovite-quartz matrix, where it has partly broken down to symplectites containing, e.g ., monazite-(Ce) and more rarely apatite. Allanite-(Ce) is mostly restricted to garnet cores and none was found in the matrix of florencite-bearing domains. Pseudosections with preliminary thermodynamic data for florencite and bulk compositions of four mica schists including REE reveal that florencite-(Ce) is stable from the low to the higher P–T regions. Increase in bulk Ca, with all other components unchanged, markedly reduces florencite stability due to a shift to higher pressure, but extends allanite stability. Increase of Al content has a similar, albeit smaller effect, whereas an increase in Fe results in a moderate reversal of this trend. A higher Fe3+/Fetot ratio shifts florencite and allanite stabilities towards higher P–T conditions. The contrasting assemblages of two compositional domains in one sample support the strong influence of Ca: a) the Ca-poor domain bears numerous florencite grains in the matrix and included in garnet, but only a single allanite inclusion in garnet, b) the Ca-rich domain contains no florencite but abundant allanite-(Ce)–epidote as inclusions in garnet and in the matrix. Fractional garnet crystallization has a strong influence and extends florencite stability closer to the “allanite out” line. Florencite stability in the present samples is mainly due to the low bulk-Ca content together with relatively high P .

Two cryptic anatectic events within a syn-collisional granitoid from the Araçuaí orogen (southeastern Brazil): Evidence from the polymetamorphic Carlos Chagas batholith

From the earliest (ca. 630Ma) pre-collisional plutons to the latest (ca. 480Ma) post-collisional intrusions, the Araçuaí orogen (SE Brazil) records an outstanding succession of granite production events in space and time. The Carlos Chagas batholith (CCB) is the largest (~14,000km2) granitic body ascribed to the collisional plutonism (G2 supersuite) in the back-arc region of the Araçuaí orogen, to the east of the Rio Doce magmatic arc. A wide range of monazite and zircon ages (>725Ma to ca. 490Ma) have been found in CCB granites, recording a rich history of crustal recycling and inheritance, magmatic crystallization and anatexis. The CCB includes a dominant granite richer in garnet than in biotite, in which three mineral assemblages can be identified: 1) Qz+Pl+Kfs+Bt+Grt+Ilm±Rt; 2) Qz+Pl+Kfs+Bt+Grt+Ilm+Sil; and 3) Qz+Pl+Kfs+Bt+Grt+Ilm+Sil+Spl. Rocks which contain mineral assemblage 2 and 3 all contain two generations of garnet. Textural evidence for the presence of former melt, recognized in all studied CCB samples, includes: silicate melt inclusions in poikiloblastic garnet, pseudomorphed thin films of melt surrounding both generations of garnet, pseudomorphed melt pools adjacent to garnet and biotite, and plagioclase and quartz with cuspate-lobate shapes occurring among matrix grains. Both generations of garnet crystals (Grt1 and Grt2) are unzoned in terms of major element concentration, contain small rounded inclusions of Ti-rich biotite and, in addition, the Grt2 crystals also contain inclusions of remnant sillimanite needles. Microstructural evidence, in combination with mineral chemistry, indicates that the garnet crystals grew during two distinct metamorphic-anatectic events, as the peritectic products of fluid-absent melting reactions which consumed biotite, quartz and plagioclase, in the case of Grt1, and which consumed biotite, quartz, plagioclase and sillimanite in the case of Grt2. P–T pseudosections calculated via Theriak-Domino, in combination with in situ U–Pb monazite and zircon dating, provide new constraints on the thermal evolution of the back-arc region of the Araçuaí orogen. Data from assemblage 1 suggests P–T conditions for the first granulite-facies metamorphic event (M1) at 790–820°C and 9.5–10.5kbar, while the assemblage 2 records P–T conditions for a second granulite-facies metamorphism (M2) of around 770°C and 6.6kbar. Monazite and zircon within garnets from the different assemblages give age peaks at 570–550Ma (M1) and 535–515Ma (M2), recording two anatectic events in the CCB during a single orogenic cycle. The PT conditions for these metamorphic events can be related to: i) M1, striking crustal thickening, probably involving thrusting of the magmatic arc onto the back-arc region; and ii) M2, decompression related to the gravitational collapse of the Araçuaí orogen.

Diamonds from Dachine, French Guiana: A unique record of early Proterozoic subduction

Diamonds from Dachine, French Guiana, are unique among worldwide diamond populations. The diamonds were transported to the surface in an unusual ultramafic extrusive magma with an affinity to boninite or komatiite, which was emplaced within an arc geological setting at ~2.2Ga. Dachine diamonds have internal and external morphologies indicative of relatively rapid growth from carbon oversaturated fluids or melts, and exhibit internal features consistent with residence in a high-strain environment. On the basis of nitrogen (N) defects the diamonds are categorized as Type Ib–IaA. The unusually low aggregation state of N places severe constraints on the thermal history of the diamonds, effectively ruling out derivation in convecting mantle. The carbon and N isotopic compositions of Dachine diamonds are consistent with a sedimentary source of carbon, with the majority of diamonds having δ13C values <−25‰ and δ15N values >+4‰. The primary carbon was presumably deposited on an early Proterozoic seafloor. Sulphide inclusions have low Ni and Cr and are comparable to lithospheric eclogitic-type sulphide inclusions. Three garnet and one clinopyroxene inclusion are also eclogitic in composition, and one garnet inclusion has a majorite component indicating an origin around 250km depth. The silicate inclusions are highly depleted in many incompatible trace elements (e.g. LREE, Nb, Hf, Zr), and modelling indicates an eclogitic source lithology that contained a LREE-enriched trace phase such as epidote or allanite, and an HFSE-rich phase such as rutile. Four of the five inclusions are unusually enriched in Mn, as well as Ni and Co, and modelling suggests a protolith with a bulk composition of subducted normal MORB plus about 10% ferromanganese crust component. We suggest a model wherein Dachine diamonds precipitated from remobilized sedimentary carbon at the slab–mantle interface from liquids derived ultimately by deserpentinization of slab peridotite at depths of ~200 to 250km. These fluids may also trigger melting in wedge peridotite, resulting in a volatile-rich ultramafic melt that transports the diamonds rapidly to the surface. The process of diamond formation and exhumation from the slab–mantle interface occurred in a Paleoproterozoic subduction zone and over a very limited timespan, likely less than a million years.

Experimental subsolidus phase relations in the system CaCO3–CaMg(CO3)2 up to 6.5 GPa and implications for subducted marbles

The dissociation of dolomite to aragonite + magnesite and the reaction of dolomite + aragonite to Mg-calcite have been experimentally determined by piston cylinder experiments in the range of 650–1000 °C and 2–6.5 GPa. Friction decay within the salt sleeves used as pressure medium was monitored by continuously logging the travel distance of the piston. Piston movement ceased after the first 24 h of the experiment, and all experiments were kept at the steady-state conditions for an additional 24–196 h. The reaction of dolomite to aragonite + magnesite has a positive slope and has been bracketed at 650 °C between 5.1 and 5.8 GPa and at 750 °C between 5.7 and 6.5 GPa. The reaction is sluggish with a 0.6-GPa interval where all three phases coexist. The reaction dolomite + aragonite to Mg-calcite has been determined in 0.5-GPa intervals from 660 °C at 2 GPa to 940 °C at 6.5 GPa. The composition of Mg-calcite at the reaction curve is buffered and changes systematically from X(Ca) of 0.90 at 2 GPa to 0.57 at 6.5 GPa. The solvus between dolomite and Mg-calcite shrinks slightly with increasing pressure, providing evidence for a small negative slope of the critical curve dolomite = Mg-calcite. The degree of disorder in dolomite has been determined in some of the retrieved samples by Rietveld refinement based on X-ray diffraction patterns. The order parameter S decreases gradually from 1 to 0.7 as a function of temperature as the critical curve is approached and then drops dramatically after crossing it. No ordering on quench has been observed. The experimental results permit the construction of a petrogenetic grid for the system dolomite, aragonite, Mg-calcite, and magnesite, which has an invariant point at ~7.5 GPa and 980 °C, representing the maximum pressure stability of dolomite. X(Ca) isopleths of Mg-calcite coexisting with dolomite serve mainly as a thermometer, whereas in the presence of aragonite they are a useful barometer. The experimental results have been applied to diamond-bearing marbles of the Kokchetav Massif, where Mg-calcite inclusions in garnet and zircon with X(Ca) of 0.76 most likely formed during prograde metamorphism close to the graphite–diamond transition.

Melting History of an Ultrahigh-pressure Paragneiss Revealed by Multiphase Solid Inclusions in Garnet, Kokchetav Massif, Kazakhstan

Abundant multiphase solid inclusions (MSI) were found in garnet in an ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) paragneiss from the Kokchetav complex, Kazakhstan. The MSI are composed of mineral associations that include rock-forming and accessory minerals, which crystallized during exhumation. We present experimental and analytical protocols for how such inclusions can be homogenized to glass and analysed for major and trace elements. After homogenization we identified two types of glass. One type is present in garnet porphyroblasts in the melanocratic part of the sample and represents a high-pressure melt formed close to peak conditions of >45 kbar, 1000°C. These inclusions are characterized by high concentrations of light rare earth elements (LREE), Th and U. Extraction of these melts resulted in a pronounced depletion of the Kokchetav gneisses in those elements. Measured partition coefficients of large ion lithophile elements (LILE) between phengite inclusions and melt inclusions are D Rb = 1·9–2·5, D Ba = 1·1–6·9 and D Cs = 0·6–0·8, resulting in limited depletion of these elements during partial melting in the presence of phengite. The Nb concentration in melts (27 ppm) is about double that in the restite (15 ppm), indicating slightly incompatible behaviour during UHP anatexis, despite the presence of residual accessory rutile and phengite. A second type of inclusion occurs in garnet from the leucocratic part of the rock and represents a late-stage melt formed during exhumation at 650–750°C and crustal pressures. These inclusions are characterized by low LREE and Nb and high U. Zircon domains formed during high-temperature melting are characterized by high Ti content (100–300 ppm) and unfractionated Th/U (0·4–0·8), whereas the low-temperature domains display low Ti (10 ppm) and Th/U (0·08). The composition of UHP melts with moderate enrichment in LILE, no depletion in Nb and extreme enrichment in LREE and Th is remarkably different from the trace element signature of arc basalts, arguing against involvement of this type of melting in the generation of arc crust. The composition of the UHP melt inclusions is similar to that of melt inclusions from HP crustal xenoliths from Pamir and also to some shoshonites from Tibet. UHP anatexis, as observed in the Kokchetav massif, might be related to the formation of shoshonitic alkaline igneous rocks, which are common in collisional settings.

Carbonatitic and granitic melts produced under conditions of primary immiscibility during anatexis in the lower crust

Carbonatites are peculiar magmatic rocks with mantle-related genesis, commonly interpreted as the products of melting of CO2-bearing peridotites, or resulting from the chemical evolution of mantle-derived magmas, either through extreme differentiation or secondary immiscibility. Here we report the first finding of anatectic carbonatites of crustal origin, preserved as calcite-rich polycrystalline inclusions in garnet from low-to-medium pressure migmatites of the Oberpfalz area, SW Bohemian Massif (Central Europe). These inclusions originally trapped a melt of calciocarbonatitic composition with a characteristic enrichment in Ba, Sr and LREE. This interpretation is supported by the results of a detailed microstructural and microchemical investigation, as well as re-melting experiments using a piston cylinder apparatus. Carbonatitic inclusions coexist in the same cluster with crystallized silicate melt inclusions (nanogranites) and COH fluid inclusions, suggesting conditions of primary immiscibility between two melts and a fluid during anatexis. The production of both carbonatitic and granitic melts during the same anatectic event requires a suitable heterogeneous protolith. This may be represented by a sedimentary sequence containing marble lenses of limited extension, similar to the one still visible in the adjacent central Moldanubian Zone. The presence of CO2-rich fluid inclusions suggests furthermore that high CO2 activity during anatexis may be required to stabilize a carbonate-rich melt in a silica-dominated system. This natural occurrence displays a remarkable similarity with experiments on carbonate–silicate melt immiscibility, where CO2 saturation is a condition commonly imposed.In conclusion, this study shows how the investigation of partial melting through melt inclusion studies may unveil unexpected processes whose evidence, while preserved in stiff minerals such as garnet, is completely obliterated in the rest of the rock due to metamorphic re-equilibration. Our results thus provide invaluable new insights into the processes which shape the geochemical evolution of our planet, such as the redistribution of carbon and strategic metals during orogenesis.

Eclogite-, amphibolite- and blueschist-facies rocks from Diego de Almagro Island (Patagonia): Episodic accretion and thermal evolution of the Chilean subduction interface during the Cretaceous

Few localities in the Patagonian Andes expose remnants of the Mesozoic Chilean paleo-accretionary complex. We focus on the Diego de Almagro Island high-pressure/low-temperature (HP/LT) Complex, a pluri-kilometer thick sequence comprising metavolcanic rocks with oceanic affinities and metasedimentary rocks. In this study, the deepest segments of the Chilean subduction interface in Patagonia are characterized for the first time. Despite its apparent homogeneity, the complex is actually composed of two tectonic units with distinct ages of metamorphism and thermal evolution: the garnet amphibolite (GA) and the underlying blueschist (BS) units.The GA unit mafic rocks exhibit epidote, phengite, titanite, rutile, chloritoid and paragonite inclusions in prograde garnet I, diopside + albite intergrows replacing omphacite inclusions in garnet II, and relict omphacite (XJd45) included in edenitic-pargasitic amphiboles. Thermobarometric results show that these rocks were buried along a relatively cold prograde path (c. 11°C/km) and reached eclogite-facies near peak pressure conditions (c. 550–600°C, 1.6 GPa). The GA unit underwent a pervasive stage of amphibolitization during decompression at c. 1.3 GPa. Field and petrological observations, together with multi-mineral Rb-Sr dating, indicate that amphibolitization of the GA unit took place along the subduction interface at c. 120Ma in a slightly warmer subduction regime (c. 13–14°C/km), in agreeement with the formation of coetanoeus amphibolites at c. 35km. The underlying BS unit (i) yields four consistent Rb-Sr deformation ages of c. 80Ma, i.e. 40Ma younger than the overlying rocks from the GA unit; (ii) exhibits slightly cooler peak metamorphic conditions (c. 520–550°C, 1.6 GPa) indicating burial along a prograde path of c. 10°C/km (iii) does not show amphibolite-facies overprint as seen in the GA unit. After a long residence time under amphibolite-facies conditions, the amphibolitized rocks of the GA unit partly recrystallized during blueschist-facies deformation at around 80Ma, as shown by silica-richer rims around phengite and glaucophane overgrowths around hornblende.These new results: (i) shed light on the dynamics of the deep Chilean paleo-accretionary wedge, (ii) reveal that the GA unit underwent two stages of exhumation, likely juxtaposed with the BS unit near 40km depth, and (iii) suggest that the subduction thermal gradient on Diego de Almagro Island fluctuated between c. 10–11°C/km and 13–14°C/km during Cretaceous times.

Polycrystalline diamond aggregates from the Mir kimberlite pipe, Yakutia: Evidence for mantle metasomatism

Polycrystalline diamond aggregates (boart, framesites, diamondites) have been widely studied but their origin is poorly understood. We report the results of a study in situ of two polished fragments of fine-grained (40–400μm size of individual diamond grains) dense polycrystalline diamond aggregates from the Mir pipe containing visible multiple interstitial garnet inclusions. They were analyzed for major and trace elements of inclusions and one of them — for δ13C and N abundance and isotopic composition of host diamonds. These aggregates are classified as variety IX by Orlov (1977). No cavities were observed in these samples. Sixty two irregular garnet grains and one clinopyroxene inclusion were detected and analyzed in sample Mr 832. Garnets are homogeneous within single grains but variable in Mg# [100Mg/(Mg+Fe)] from 60 up to 87 and CaO contents (3.3–5.3wt.%) among grains with a trend to negative correlation. Low Cr (550–640ppm) confirms eclogitic (E-type) paragenesis. High Na2O contents (5.2wt.%) of a single pyroxene inclusion are additional evidence of eclogitic nature of this sample. Wide variations in trace elements (ppm) are characteristic for garnet grains: Sr (2.7–25.6), Y (9.7–14.1), Zr (15.6–38.7) and positive Eu anomaly is present. The δ13C of diamonds within studied sample is variable (−6.4÷−9.8 ‰) as well as N abundance (75–1150ppm) and δ15N −27, −38, −58 ‰. The second peridotitic (U/P-type) sample Mr 838 contains eight inclusions of Mg-rich Cr-pyropes (Mg# ~85, Cr2O3 3.2–3.4wt.%) and magnesite inclusion with 4.35wt.% FeO and 1.73wt.% CaO. Trace element content in pyropes is relatively uniform (ppm): Sr (0.4–1.6), Y (13.2–13.4) and Zr (13.0). We conclude that heterogeneous distribution of the trace elements among garnet grains in Mr 832 and magnesite presence in Mr 838 are indicative of the effects of mantle metasomatism and rapid crystallization shortly before the eruption of the kimberlite.

Quartz-in-garnet inclusion barometry under fire: Reducing uncertainty from model estimates

Abstract Quartz inclusions in garnet are suitable for barometry because quartz is highly compressible relative to garnet, and the garnet host can maintain large stress differences generated as pressure-temperature conditions change. However, experimental validation of the quartz-in-garnet approach has been limited, raising questions concerning the accuracy of calculated entrapment pressure. Here we test the results of quartz-in-garnet barometry by conducting in situ Raman analysis of natural inclusions over a range of temperatures (−175 to 600 °C). We assess the temperature (T) dependence of inclusion pressure (Pincl) at 1 bar and compare calculated entrapment pressures derived from measurements at different temperatures. Experiments used two quartz standards (oriented [c] and &amp;lt;a&amp;gt;) and fully encapsulated quartz inclusions from three different terranes, retaining different Pincl at room T (−444, 296, and 755 MPa). The stretched quartz inclusion (Pincl &amp;lt; 0) had the greatest increase in Pincl (+264 MPa, during heating from 25 to 500 °C), whereas the high-P inclusions underwent less change (+138 MPa) in Pincl over the same T interval. The greater T sensitivity of inclusions with low Pincl reflects the greater thermal expansivity of quartz near the α to β quartz transition. While measured Pincl-T trends are consistent with predictions, numerical models tend to overestimate Pincl at elevated T, and calculated entrapment pressures show an unrealistic dependence on reference T. Raman spectroscopic measurements conducted in situ at elevated T provide optimal results. In addition, we have recalibrated the thermal portion of the numerical method based on the present results, and provide new empirical expressions for improved quartz-in-garnet barometry.