Petrologic and thermal constraints on the origin of leucogranites in collisional orogens

Author(s):  
Peter I. Nabelek ◽  
Mian Liu

ABSTRACTLeucogranites are typical products of collisional orogenies. They are found in orogenic terranes of different ages, including the Proterozoic Trans-Hudson orogen, as exemplified in the Black Hills, South Dakota, and the Appalachian orogen in Maine, both in the USA, and the ongoing Himalayan orogen. Characteristics of these collisional leucogranites show that they were derived from predominantly pelitic sources at the veining stages of deformation and metamorphism in upper plates of thickened crusts. Once generated, the leucogranite magmas ascended as dykes and were emplaced within shallower parts of their source sequences. In these orogenic belts, there was a strong connection between deformation, metamorphism and granite generation. However, the heat sources needed for partial melting of the source rocks remain controversial. Lack of evidence for significant intrusion of mafic magmas necessary to cause melting of upper plate source rocks suggests that leucogranite generation in collisional orogens is mainly a crustal process.The present authors evaluate five types of thermal models which have previously been proposed for generating leucogranites in collisional orogens. The first, a thickened crust with exponentially decaying distribution of heat-producing radioactive isotopes with depth, has been shown to be insufficient for heating the upper crust to melting conditions. Four other models capable of raising the crustal temperatures sufficiently to initiate partial melting of metapelites in thickened crust include: (1) thick sequences of sedimentary rocks with high amounts of internal radioactive heat production; (2) decompression melting; (3) thinning of mantle lithosphere; and (4) shear-heating. The authors show that, for reasonable boundary conditions, shear-heating along crustal-scale shear zones is the most viable process to induce melting in upper plates of collisional orogens where pelitic source lithologies are usually located. The shear-heating model directly links partial melting to the deformation and metamorphism that typically precede leucogranite genera

2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter I. Nabelek

AbstractLeucogranites are a characteristic feature of collisional orogens. Their generation is intimately related to crustal thickening and the active deformation and metamorphism of metapelites. Data from Proterozoic to present day orogenic belts show that collisional leucogranites (CLGs) are peraluminous, with muscovite, biotite and tourmaline as characteristic minerals. Isotopic ratios uniquely identify the metapelitic sequences in which CLGs occur as sources. Organic material in pelitic sources results in fO2 in CLGs that is usually below the fayalite–magnetite–quartz buffer. Most CLGs form under vapour-poor conditions with melting involving a peritectic breakdown of muscovite. The low concentrations of Mg, Fe and Ti that characterize CLGs are largely related to biotite–melt equilibria in the source rocks. Concentrations of Zr, Th and rare earth elements are lower than expected from zircon and monazite saturation models because these minerals often remain enclosed in residual biotite during melting. Melting involving muscovite may limit the temperatures achieved in the source regions. A lack of nearby mantle heat sources in thick collisional orogens has led to thermal models for the generation of CLGs that involve flux melting, or large amounts of radiogenic heat generation, or decompression melting or shear heating, the last one emphasizing the link of leucogranites and their sources to crustal-scale shear zone systems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjørn Jamtveit ◽  
Kristina G. Dunkel ◽  
Arianne Petley-Ragan ◽  
Fernando Corfu ◽  
Dani W. Schmid

<p>Caledonian eclogite- and amphibolite-facies metamorphism of initially dry Proterozoic granulites in the Lindås Nappe of the Bergen Arcs, Western Norway, is driven by fluid infiltration along faults and shear zones. The granulites are also cut by numerous dykes and pegmatites that are spatially associated with metamorphosed host rocks. U-Pb geochronology was performed to constrain the age of fluid infiltration and metamorphism. The ages obtained demonstrate that eclogite- and amphibolite-facies metamorphism were synchronous within the uncertainties of our results and occurred within a maximum time interval of 5 Myr, with a mean age of ca. 426 Ma.  Caledonian dykes and pegmatites are granitic rocks characterised by a high Na/K-ration, low REE-abundance and positive anomalies of Eu, Ba, Pb, and Sr. The most REE-poor compositions show HREE-enrichment. Melt compositions are consistent with wet melting of plagioclase- and garnet-bearing source rocks. The most likely fluid source is dehydration of Paleozoic metapelites, located immediately below the Lindås part of the Jotun-Lindås microcontinent, during eastward thrusting over the extended margin of Baltica. Melt compositions and thermal modelling suggest that short-lived fluid-driven metamorphism of the Lindås Nappe granulites was related to shear heating at lithostatic pressures in the range 1.0-1.5 GPa. High-P (≈2 GPa) metamorphism within the Nappe was related to weakening-induced pressure perturbations, not to deep burial. Our results emphasize that both prograde and retrograde metamorphism may proceed rapidly during regional metamorphism and that their time-scales may be coupled through local production and consumption of fluids.</p>


Author(s):  
M. P. Searle ◽  
J. M. Cottle ◽  
M. J. Streule ◽  
D. J. Waters

ABSTRACTIndia–Asia collision resulted in crustal thickening and shortening, metamorphism and partial melting along the 2200 km-long Himalayan range. In the core of the Greater Himalaya, widespread in situ partial melting in sillimanite+K-feldspar gneisses resulted in formation of migmatites and Ms+Bt+Grt+Tur±Crd±Sil leucogranites, mainly by muscovite dehydration melting. Melting occurred at shallow depths (4–6 kbar; 15–20 km depth) in the middle crust, but not in the lower crust. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of leucogranites are very high (0·74–0·79) and heterogeneous, indicating a 100 crustal protolith. Melts were sourced from fertile muscovite-bearing pelites and quartzo-feldspathic gneisses of the Neo-Proterozoic Haimanta–Cheka Formations. Melting was induced through a combination of thermal relaxation due to crustal thickening and from high internal heat production rates within the Proterozoic source rocks in the middle crust. Himalayan granites have highly radiogenic Pb isotopes and extremely high uranium concentrations. Little or no heat was derived either from the mantle or from shear heating along thrust faults. Mid-crustal melting triggered southward ductile extrusion (channel flow) of a mid-crustal layer bounded by a crustal-scale thrust fault and shear zone (Main Central Thrust; MCT) along the base, and a low-angle ductile shear zone and normal fault (South Tibetan Detachment; STD) along the top. Multi-system thermochronology (U–Pb, Sm–Nd, 40Ar–39Ar and fission track dating) show that partial melting spanned ̃24–15 Ma and triggered mid-crustal flow between the simultaneously active shear zones of the MCT and STD. Granite melting was restricted in both time (Early Miocene) and space (middle crust) along the entire length of the Himalaya. Melts were channelled up via hydraulic fracturing into sheeted sill complexes from the underthrust Indian plate source beneath southern Tibet, and intruded for up to 100 km parallel to the foliation in the host sillimanite gneisses. Crystallisation of the leucogranites was immediately followed by rapid exhumation, cooling and enhanced erosion during the Early–Middle Miocene.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirtikumar Randive ◽  
Tushar Meshram

AbstractCarbonatites are carbonate-rich rocks of igneous origin. They form the magmas of their own that are generated in the deep mantle by low degrees of partial melting of carbonated peridotite or eclogite source rocks. They are known to occur since the Archaean times till recent, the activity showing gradual increase from older to younger times. They are commonly associated with alkaline rocks and be genetically related with them. They often induce metasomatic alteration in the country rocks forming an aureole of fenitization around them. They are host for economically important mineral deposits including rare metals and REE. They are commonly associated with the continental rifts, but are also common in the orogenic belts; but not known to occur in the intra-plate regions. The carbonatites are known to occur all over the globe, majority of the occurrences located in Africa, Fenno-Scandinavia, Karelian-Kola, Mongolia, China, Australia, South America and India. In the Indian Subcontinent carbonatites occur in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka; but so far not known to occur in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. This paper takes an overview of the carbonatite occurrences in the Indian Subcontinent in the light of recent data. The localities being discussed in detail cover a considerable time range (>2400 Ma to <0.6 Ma) from India (Hogenakal, Newania, Sevathur, Sung Valley, Sarnu-Dandali and Mundwara, and Amba Dongar), Pakistan (Permian Koga and Tertiary Pehsawar Plain Alkaline Complex which includes Loe Shilman, Sillai Patti, Jambil and Jawar), Afghanistan (Khanneshin) and Sri Lanka (Eppawala). This review provide the comprehensive information about geochemical characteristics and evolution of carbonatites in Indian Subcontinent with respect to space and time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 1299-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire E Bucholz ◽  
Christopher J Spencer

Abstract Strongly peraluminous granites (SPGs) form through the partial melting of metasedimentary rocks and therefore represent archives of the influence of assimilation of sedimentary rocks on the petrology and chemistry of igneous rocks. With the aim of understanding how variations in sedimentary rock characteristics across the Archean–Proterozoic transition might have influenced the igneous rock record, we compiled and compared whole-rock chemistry, mineral chemistry, and isotope data from Archean and Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic SPGs. This time period was chosen as the Archean–Proterozoic transition broadly coincides with the stabilization of continents, the rise of subaerial weathering, and the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), all of which left an imprint on the sedimentary rock record. Our compilation of SPGs is founded on a detailed literature review of the regional geology, geochronology, and inferred origins of the SPGs, which suggest derivation from metasedimentary source material. Although Archean and Proterozoic SPGs are similar in terms of mineralogy or major-element composition owing to their compositions as near-minimum melts in the peraluminous haplogranite system, we discuss several features of their mineral and whole-rock chemistry. First, we review a previous analysis of Archean and Proterozoic SPGs biotite and whole-rock compositions indicating that Archean SPGs, on average, are more reduced than Proterozoic SPGs. This observation suggests that Proterozoic SPGs were derived from metasedimentary sources that on average had more oxidized bulk redox states relative to their Archean counterparts, which could reflect an increase in atmospheric O2 levels and more oxidized sedimentary source rocks after the GOE. Second, based on an analysis of Al2O3/TiO2 whole-rock ratios and zircon saturation temperatures, we conclude that Archean and Proterozoic SPGs formed through partial melting of metasedimentary rocks over a similar range of melting temperatures, with both ‘high-’ and ‘low-’temperature SPGs being observed across all ages. This observation suggests that the thermo-tectonic processes resulting in the heating and melting of metasedimentary rocks (e.g. crustal thickening or underplating of mafic magmas) occurred during generation of both the Archean and Proterozoic SPGs. Third, bulk-rock CaO/Na2O, Rb/Sr, and Rb/Ba ratios indicate that Archean and Proterozoic SPGs were derived from partial melting of both clay-rich (i.e. pelites) and clay-poor (i.e. greywackes) source regions that are locality specific, but not defined by age. This observation, although based on a relatively limited dataset, indicates that the source regions of Archean and Proterozoic SPGs were similar in terms of sediment maturity (i.e. clay component). Last, existing oxygen isotope data for quartz, zircon, and whole-rocks from Proterozoic SPGs show higher values than those of Archean SPGs, suggesting that bulk sedimentary 18O/16O ratios increased across the Archean–Proterozoic boundary. The existing geochemical datasets for Archean and Proterozoic SPGs, however, are limited in size and further work on these rocks is required. Future work must include detailed field studies, petrology, geochronology, and constraints on sedimentary source ages to fully interpret the chemistry of this uniquely useful suite of granites.


Strain measurements have been made to help quantify the intensity of deformation and amount of displacement across Archaean greenstone belts in Rhodesia and Botswana and across the gneisses of the Limpopo mobile belt. The area has been divided into three domains based on the orientation of the finite strain fabric and the orientation of the maximum extension direction in associated shear zones. The domains are considered to have different movement patterns and to be similar to small orogenic belts. Early deformation within the greenstone belts accompanied the intrusion of the diaipric granites, but there was also bulk translation and rotation of greenstone belt and gneiss leading to imbrication of the stratigraphic pile and the formation of large nappes of overturned rock. This was followed by regional phases of deformation which affected all the greenstone belts and the gneisses of the Limpopo belt. Detailed strain measurements show a variation in amount of shortening during this phase, from under 30 % across the Shabani-Bellingwe belt in central Rhodesia, to over 60 % across the Tati and Matsitama belts in northern Botswana. Many local variations in intensity of deformation occur within large ductile shear zones and deviations from plane strain may be partly due to such rotational deformation. The regional deformation pattern suggests that there was movement of the Rhodesian craton approximately 200 km to the southwest relative to the gneisses of the Limpopo belt, producing a dominantly flattening deformation in the southwest of Rhodesia, but dominantly simple shear with a nearly horizontal sinistral movement, in the southeast.


Author(s):  
Michel Pichavant ◽  
Tahar Hammouda ◽  
Bruno Scaillet

ABSTRACT:The current underlying assumption in most geochemical studies of granitic rocks is that granitic magmas reflect their source regions. However, the mechanisms by which source rocks control the intensive and compositional parameters of the magmas remain poorly known. Recent experimental data are used to evaluate the ‘source rock model’ and to discuss controls of (1) redox states and (2) the Sr isotopic compositions of granitic magmas.Experimental studies have been performed in parallel on biotite-muscovite and tourmaline-muscovite leucogranites from the High Himalayas. Results under reducing conditions ( = FMQ – 0·5) at 4 kbar and variable suggest that the tourmaline-muscovite granite evolved under progressively more oxidising conditions during crystallisation, up to values more than four log units above the FMQ buffer. Leucogranite magmas thus provide an example of the control of redox conditions by post-segregation rather than by partial melting processes.Other experiments designed to test the mechanisms of isotopic equilibration of Sr during partial melting of a model crustal assemblage show that kinetic factors can dominate the isotopic signature in the case of source rocks not previously homogenised during an earlier metamorphic event. The possibility is therefore raised that partial melts may not necessarily reflect the Sr isotopic composition of their sources, weakening in a fundamental way the source rock model.


Author(s):  
Peng Gao ◽  
Yong-Fei Zheng ◽  
Matthew Jason Mayne ◽  
Zi-Fu Zhao

Himalayan leucogranites of Cenozoic age are generally attributed to partial melting of metasedimentary rocks at low temperatures of &lt;770 °C. It is unknown what the spatial distribution and characteristics of high-temperature (&gt;800 °C) leucogranites are in the Himalayan orogen. The present study reports the occurrence of such leucogranites in the collisional orogen. We use the Ti-in-zircon thermometry in combination with the thermodynamically calibrated relationships of T-aSiO2-aTiO2 to retrieve crystallization temperatures of Miocene (ca. 17 Ma) two-mica granites from Yalaxiangbo, in the eastern Himalaya, SE Tibet. The results give the maximum temperature as high as ∼850 °C for granite crystallization, providing a significant constraint on the nature of thermal sources. Phase equilibrium modeling using metasedimentary rocks as the source rocks indicates that felsic melts produced at ∼850 °C and 6−10 kbar can best match the target leucogranites in lithochemistry. In this regard, the anatectic temperatures previously obtained for the production of Himalayan leucogranites would probably be underestimated to some extent. Such high temperatures are difficult to explain purely by the internal heating of the thickened orogenic crust. Instead, they require an extra heat source, which would probably be provided by upwelling of asthenospheric mantle subsequent to thinning of the orogenic lithospheric mantle by foundering along the convergent plate boundary. Therefore, the Himalayan leucogranites of Miocene age would be derived from partial melting of the metasedimentary rocks in the post-collisional stage.


2019 ◽  
Vol 764 ◽  
pp. 62-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Willis ◽  
Gregory A. Houseman ◽  
Lynn Evans ◽  
Tim Wright ◽  
Andrew Hooper

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 1409-1436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue-Ming Yang ◽  
Derek Drayson ◽  
Ali Polat

Detailed field observations indicate that Neoarchean S-type granites were emplaced along and (or) proximal to some terrane (tectonic) boundary zones in the western Superior Province, southeastern Manitoba. These S-type granites are characterized by the presence of at least one diagnostic indicator mineral, such as sillimanite, cordierite, muscovite, garnet, and tourmaline. They are medium- to high-K calc-alkaline, moderately to strongly peraluminous (ANKC >1.1), and contain >1% CIPW normative corundum. Compared with more voluminous, older I-type granitoids in tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite suites in the region, the S-type granites occur as relatively small intrusions and have high (SiO2 >72 wt.%) contents with a small silica range (SiO2 = 72.2–81.2 wt.%), but a large range of Zr/Hf (17.1–43.8) and Nb/Ta (0.3–16.0) ratios. These geochemical characteristics suggest that the S-type granites were derived from partial melting of heterogeneous sedimentary rocks deposited as synorogenic flysch that underwent burial and crustal thickening during terrane collision. Although the S-type granites display geochemical variations in individual and between different plutons, their low Sr (<400 ppm) and Yb (<2 ppm) contents and low Sr/Y (<40) and La/Yb (<20) ratios are consistent with a partial melting process that left a granulite-facies residue consisting of plagioclase, pyroxene, and ± garnet. The S-type granites display low zircon saturation temperatures (mostly <800 °C) and low emplacement pressures (<300 MPa), similar to strongly peraluminous leucogranites formed in the Himalayas. Therefore, we propose that the Neoarchean S-type granites in the western Superior Province, whose source rocks were deposited between colliding tectonic blocks between 2720 and 2680 Ma, may serve as a geological marker of some Archean terrane boundary zones.


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