Thermodynamic modelling of carbonate-silicate rocks from the Sakar unit, Sakar-Strandzha zone, SE Bulgaria

The P-T evolution of carbonate-bearing metasedimentary rocks from the Sakar unit (Sakar-Strandzha Zone, SE Bulgaria) has been obtained using Perple_X modelling and conventional geothermometry. The metamorphic conditions vary from greenschist facies (250–350 °C/2–4 kbar) in the Klokotnitsa village area to amphibolite facies (550–650 °C/4.5–6.5 kbar) in the Topolovgrad town area, confirming a general increase of the metamorphic grade at east-west direction.

Metamorphism and the P-T History of Alpine Schist from the Newton Range, Southern Alps, New Zealand

<p>Metamorphic rocks have the potential to record in their mineral assemblages, mineral compositional zoning, and textures, information about geological changes and processes that occur during tectonic events. Interpretations of metamorphic pressure-temperature (P-T) records have traditionally relied on results of geothermobarometry studies, but that approach is not suitable in every case. Metamorphosed greywacke, which makes up ~95% of the New Zealand Southern Alps, has long proven problematic for traditional geothermobarometry because it develops intractable mineral compositions and/or assemblages, especially at relatively low temperature (greenschist facies) conditions. An alternative forward modelling approach using the computer program THERMOCALC was recently used to extract the first detailed P-T history (P-T path) from such previously intractably difficult "greyschist" rocks from a single site in the New Zealand Southern Alps. The present study is the first attempt to apply those new methods to rocks from another study area, and is the first detailed geological study of the Newton Range in the New Zealand Southern Alps. The Newton Range is a ~15 km-long, east-west trending range located ~30 km southeast of the town of Hokitika, ~110 km northeast of the Franz Josef-Fox Glacier region, and immediately to the east of the Alpine Fault in the Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand. The rocks in the Newton Range are mainly derived from Torlesse Terrane accretionary prism greywacke and argillite (Alpine Schist, greyschist), together with a large pods of ultramafic rock (part of the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt (PUB)) and minor associated metabasic layers (greenschist), all metamorphosed to greenschist facies conditions. The dominant mineral assemblage in the greyschist (Qtz + Ms+ Bt ± Chl ± Ep ± Pl ± Ilm ± Ttn ± Grt ± Zrn ± Tur ± Ap ± Cal), much like that found elsewhere in the Southern Alps. As elsewhere in the Southern Alps, the dominant high-grade metamorphic mineral assemblages in the Alpine Schist in the Newton Range are inherited. The mineral assemblages, compositions, and some textures thus record evidence of processes that took place during tectonic events, presumably mainly in Cretaceous time, prior to the formation of the modern Southern Alps, which are forming today by the ongoing oblique continent-continent collision of the Pacific Plate against the Australian Plate at the Alpine Fault. Compositional zoning in garnet from the greyschist is an important record of the metamorphic P-T path traversed by the host rock as the garnet grew. Occasionally, garnet from the study area contains an inmost core (stage 0) of unusual (anomalously high- or low-MnO) composition. The cores with extremely low MnO are possibly detrital in origin, and those with extremely high MnO may perhaps have grown in the early tectonic episode that formed the Otago Schist. Typically, garnet shows the following core- to rim zoning sequence. Stages 1 & 2 show a progressive decrease in MnO and increase in FeO from core to rim, with higher MnO cores present in rocks with higher whole-rock MnO compositions. Stage 3 is characterised by a gradual decrease in CaO and signifies the growth of Ca-bearing oligoclase late in the garnet growth history. Stage 4 is a discontinuous overgrowth characterised by an abrupt increase in CaO. Such overgrowths have in the past been attributed to garnet growth accompanying the development of the Alpine Fault mylonite zone in the late Cenozoic. In the Newton Range they were only observed on garnet adjacent to the main outcrop of the PUB at ~4.5km from the Alpine Fault, far from the mylonite zone, so local element availability during decompression (and possibly fluid flow and/or metasomatism) may have played a part in the growth of these rims. A P-T path for Alpine Schist from the Newton Range has been estimated using detailed garnet composition data measured along core-to-rim transects across individual garnets, together with predicted garnet compositions and P-T pseudosection results calculated using THERMOCALC. The P-T path starts at ~3.5kbar/400°C, where both garnet and albite coexist, and increases in pressure and temperature to ~6.5bar/500°C where garnet coexists with both albite and oligoclase. The estimated peak metamorphic conditions probably correspond to peak metamorphic pressures, unlike in the Franz Josef-Fox Glacier region where peak conditions (~9.2kbar and 620°C) probably coincided with peak metamorphic temperatures.</p>

Metamorphism and the P-T History of Alpine Schist from the Newton Range, Southern Alps, New Zealand

<p>Metamorphic rocks have the potential to record in their mineral assemblages, mineral compositional zoning, and textures, information about geological changes and processes that occur during tectonic events. Interpretations of metamorphic pressure-temperature (P-T) records have traditionally relied on results of geothermobarometry studies, but that approach is not suitable in every case. Metamorphosed greywacke, which makes up ~95% of the New Zealand Southern Alps, has long proven problematic for traditional geothermobarometry because it develops intractable mineral compositions and/or assemblages, especially at relatively low temperature (greenschist facies) conditions. An alternative forward modelling approach using the computer program THERMOCALC was recently used to extract the first detailed P-T history (P-T path) from such previously intractably difficult "greyschist" rocks from a single site in the New Zealand Southern Alps. The present study is the first attempt to apply those new methods to rocks from another study area, and is the first detailed geological study of the Newton Range in the New Zealand Southern Alps. The Newton Range is a ~15 km-long, east-west trending range located ~30 km southeast of the town of Hokitika, ~110 km northeast of the Franz Josef-Fox Glacier region, and immediately to the east of the Alpine Fault in the Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand. The rocks in the Newton Range are mainly derived from Torlesse Terrane accretionary prism greywacke and argillite (Alpine Schist, greyschist), together with a large pods of ultramafic rock (part of the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt (PUB)) and minor associated metabasic layers (greenschist), all metamorphosed to greenschist facies conditions. The dominant mineral assemblage in the greyschist (Qtz + Ms+ Bt ± Chl ± Ep ± Pl ± Ilm ± Ttn ± Grt ± Zrn ± Tur ± Ap ± Cal), much like that found elsewhere in the Southern Alps. As elsewhere in the Southern Alps, the dominant high-grade metamorphic mineral assemblages in the Alpine Schist in the Newton Range are inherited. The mineral assemblages, compositions, and some textures thus record evidence of processes that took place during tectonic events, presumably mainly in Cretaceous time, prior to the formation of the modern Southern Alps, which are forming today by the ongoing oblique continent-continent collision of the Pacific Plate against the Australian Plate at the Alpine Fault. Compositional zoning in garnet from the greyschist is an important record of the metamorphic P-T path traversed by the host rock as the garnet grew. Occasionally, garnet from the study area contains an inmost core (stage 0) of unusual (anomalously high- or low-MnO) composition. The cores with extremely low MnO are possibly detrital in origin, and those with extremely high MnO may perhaps have grown in the early tectonic episode that formed the Otago Schist. Typically, garnet shows the following core- to rim zoning sequence. Stages 1 & 2 show a progressive decrease in MnO and increase in FeO from core to rim, with higher MnO cores present in rocks with higher whole-rock MnO compositions. Stage 3 is characterised by a gradual decrease in CaO and signifies the growth of Ca-bearing oligoclase late in the garnet growth history. Stage 4 is a discontinuous overgrowth characterised by an abrupt increase in CaO. Such overgrowths have in the past been attributed to garnet growth accompanying the development of the Alpine Fault mylonite zone in the late Cenozoic. In the Newton Range they were only observed on garnet adjacent to the main outcrop of the PUB at ~4.5km from the Alpine Fault, far from the mylonite zone, so local element availability during decompression (and possibly fluid flow and/or metasomatism) may have played a part in the growth of these rims. A P-T path for Alpine Schist from the Newton Range has been estimated using detailed garnet composition data measured along core-to-rim transects across individual garnets, together with predicted garnet compositions and P-T pseudosection results calculated using THERMOCALC. The P-T path starts at ~3.5kbar/400°C, where both garnet and albite coexist, and increases in pressure and temperature to ~6.5bar/500°C where garnet coexists with both albite and oligoclase. The estimated peak metamorphic conditions probably correspond to peak metamorphic pressures, unlike in the Franz Josef-Fox Glacier region where peak conditions (~9.2kbar and 620°C) probably coincided with peak metamorphic temperatures.</p>

Thorium, uranium and rare earth mineralization in rocks of the Ugakhan gold deposit, Bodaibo ore region (Irkutsk oblast)

The paper reports on the results of studies of ore-bearing rocks of the Ugakhan gold deposit (Bodaybo district): metasandstones, metasiltstones and carbonaceous shales. The rocks consist of quartz, feldspar (albite, orthoclase), Fe-Mg chlorite, mica (muscovite, sericite) and carbonates (calcite, dolomite, anker-ite) and accessory titanite, rutile, tourmaline, zircon and apatite. All rocks contain fragments of microfossils exhibiting striking concentric zonation with alternated dark (carbonaceous matter) and light (carbonate-mica material) layers. In a range from metasandstones to carbonaceous shales, the rocks exhibit an increase in mica amount and the content (up to 3%) of carbonaceous matter, as well as the formation of regeneration rims around relict tourmaline and zircon. The REE mineralization includes silicates (REE-bearing epidote, thorite), fuorocarbonates (bastnesite) and phosphates (monazite, xenotime, ankylite), which are closely related to U minerals (uraninite, cofnite). Bastnesite, ankylite and thorite formed due to the decomposition of earlier REE-bearing epidote, whereas monazite and xenotime are the products of decomposition of apatite. Uraninite formed during lithifcation of matrix of carbon-bearing rocks and is replaced by cofnite. The thermal analysis of carbonaceous matter and the formation temperature of chlorite calculated using chlorite geothermometer (296–371 °С) indicate the transformation of rocks under conditions of sericite-chlorite subfacies of greenschist facies of metamorphism.

Contrasting metamorphic and post-metamorphic evolutions within the Algyő basement high (Tisza Mega-unit, SE Hungary). Consequences for structural history

The Algyő High (AH) is an elevated crystalline block in southeastern Hungary covered by thick Neogene sediments. Although productive hydrocarbon reservoirs are found in these Neogene sequences, numerous fractured reservoirs also occur in the pre-Neogene basement of the Pannonian Basin. Based on these analogies, the rock body of the AH might also play a key role in fluid storage and migration; however, its structure and therefore the reservoir potential is little known. Based on a comprehensive petrologic study in conjunction with analysis of the spatial position of the major lithologies, the AH is considered to have been assembled from blocks with different petrographic features and metamorphic history. The most common lithologies of garnet-kyanite gneiss and mica schist associated with garnetiferous amphibolite are dominant in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the AH. The first regional amphibolite facies metamorphism of the gneiss and mica schist was overprinted by a contact metamorphic (metasomatic) event during decompression in the stability field of kyanite. Garnet-bearing amphibolite experienced amphibolite facies peak conditions comparable with the host gneiss. Regarding the similarities in petrologic features, the northwestern and southeastern parts of the area represent disaggregated blocks of the same rock body. The central part of the AH area is characterized by an epidote gneiss-dominated block metamorphosed along with a greenschist-facies retrograde pathway as well as a chlorite schist-dominated block formed by greenschist-facies progressive metamorphism. The independent evolution of these two blocks is further confirmed by the presence of a propylitic overprint in the chlorite schists. The different metamorphic blocks of the northwestern, southeastern and central parts of the AH probably became juxtaposed along post-metamorphic normal faults developed due to extensional processes. The supposed brittle structural boundaries between the blocks could have provided hydrocarbon migration pathways from the adjacent over-pressured sub-basins, or could even represent suitable reservoirs.

Quantifying the diagenetic impact in the late Ediacaran and Early Palaeozoic of the Avalon Peninsula using illite “crystallinity”

The Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada, defined as the type zone of Avalonia is believed to have been impacted by several orogenetic and deformation events since the Neoproterozoic. Previous studies determined the lowest degree of metamorphism reached in the successions was of the prehnite-pumpellyite or greenschist facies. We sampled and measured thirteen clastic sedimentary sections ranging from the late Ediacaran to the Early Ordovician and analysed the illite “crystallinity” of 331 samples using the Kübler index. Our results show diagenetic zones occur related to lithology, age and burial depth, respectively, and regional setting. Samples adjacent to the fault zones bounding the Holyrood Horst experienced among the highest degree of metamorphism (anchizone) in the study area. The lowest degree of thermal alteration occurs in the high stratigraphic sections at the centre of the horst structure where shallow diagenetic conditions are preserved. Fault zones, most probably active during the Acadian Orogeny, may have served as potential paths for hot fluids in bounding areas of the horst, whereas the centre of the horst remained almost unaffected by any metamorphic overprint. The thermal impact decreases from the Bonavista Peninsula to the study area from greenschist facies to anchizonal and diagenetic. The study area experienced lower metamorphic conditions than major regions of Avalonia south of the study area on the mainland of New Brunswick and Maine and eastwards in Europe. The thermal impact is in part consistent with a few other areas of Avalonia, such as the Mira terrane and the Antigonish Highlands in Nova Scotia.

Boron isotope systematics of Higashi-akaishi mantle wedge peridotites (Sanbagawa belt, Japan): implications for fluid recycling in subduction zones

&lt;p&gt;Boron provides an efficient tracer of fluids in subduction zones, due to its high concentration in surface reservoirs, low concentration in the mantle, and large isotope fractionation. The Higashi-akaishi peridotite body in Sanbagawa UHP belt, Japan, is composed of partially serpentinised dunites and harzburgites, which are interpreted to be exhumed mantle wedge peridotites. Compositions of olivine (Fo90-94, NiO 0.28-0.48 wt%, MnO 0.10-0.16 wt%) and chromite (Cr# &gt;0.7, TiO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;0.4 wt%) confirm its origin as highly refractory fore-arc mantle. Several generations of olivine and serpentine can be recognised in the samples, and were analysed in-situ for their B content and B isotopic composition by SIMS. Coarse-grained primary mantle olivine has low [B] (1-3 &amp;#181;g/g), but is still significantly B-enriched compared to typical mantle olivine, and has &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B of -10 to -3 &amp;#8240;. Lower B contents in olivine cores compared to rims suggests diffusive incorporation of B from slab-derived fluids at high temperature. &amp;#160;Later fine-grained olivine neoblasts, products of dynamic recrystallization, have higher [B] (3-11 &amp;#181;g/g) and higher &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B (-7 to +2&amp;#8240;). Platy antigorite associated with the olivine neoblasts have similar [B] (4-12 &amp;#181;g/g) but higher &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B (-4 to +6&amp;#8240;). Late-stage greenschist-facies overprint resulted in lizardite veining with high [B] (18-52 &amp;#181;g/g) and a narrow range of &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B (-2 to -1&amp;#8240;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We envisage the following scenario. Coarse-grained mantle olivine acquired B from slab-derived fluids when the peridotites were dragged down by mantle corner flow and positioned near the slab-mantle interface. The values of &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B (-10 to -3&amp;#8240;) are consistent with fluids from dehydrating slab at ca. 110-150 km depth, but are potentially affected by diffusion-controlled kinetic isotope fractionation. High temperatures (&gt; 650-700&amp;#176;C) prevented the peridotites from serpentinisation. Subsequently the rocks were down-dragged in a subduction channel where olivine neoblasts formed first and platy antigorite crystallized later when temperature dropped below 650&amp;#176;C. Both phases show heavier &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B than coarse-grained olivine; the values are consistent with fluids from dehydrating slab at ca. 70-100 km depth. Finally, the peridotites were exposed to crust-derived B-rich fluids with low &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;B during exhumation and amalgamation with crustal units, forming lizardite veining during greenschist-facies overprint.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study shows that mantle olivine may scavenge significant amounts of B from percolating fluids by diffusive re-equilibration or dynamic recrystallisation, lowering the B content of such fluids and potentially modifying their B isotopic composition.&lt;/p&gt;

Deformation mechanisms in natural dolomite mylonites from a detachment system (Mt. Hymittos, Greece)

&lt;p&gt;Microstructures may be used to determine the processes, conditions and kinematics under which deformation occurred. For a given set of these variables, different microstructures are observed in various materials due to the material&amp;#8217;s physical properties. Dolomite is a major rock forming mineral, yet the mechanics of dolomite are understudied compared to other ubiquitous minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and calcite. Our new study uses petrographic, structural and electron back scatter diffraction analyses on a series of dolomitic and calcitic mylonites to document differences in deformation styles under similar metamorphic conditions. The Attic-Cycladic Crystalline Complex, Greece, comprises a series of core complexes wherein Miocene low-angle detachment systems offset and juxtapose a footwall of high-pressure metamorphosed rocks against a low-grade hanging wall. This recent tectonic history renders the region an excellent natural laboratory for studying the interplay of the processes that accommodate deformation. The bedrock of Mt. Hymittos, Attica, preserves a pair of ductile-then-brittle normal faults dividing a tripartite tectonostratigraphy. Field observations, mineral assemblages and observable microstructures suggests the tectonic packages decrease in metamorphic grade from upper greenschist facies (~470 &amp;#176;C at 0.8 GPa) in the stratigraphically lowest package to sub-greenschist facies in the stratigraphically highest package. Both low-angle normal faults exhibit cataclastic fault cores that grade into the schists and marbles of their respective hanging walls. The middle and lower tectonostratigraphic packages exhibit dolomitic and calcitic marbles that experienced similar geologic histories of subduction and exhumation. The mineralogically distinct units (calcite vs. dolomite) of the middle package deformed via different mechanisms under the same conditions within the same package and may be contrasted with mineralogically similar units that deformed under higher pressure and temperature conditions in the lower package. In the middle unit, dolomitic rocks are brittlely deformed. Middle unit calcitic marble are mylonitic to ultramylonitic with average grain sizes ranging from 30 to 8 &amp;#956;m. These mylonites evince grain-boundary migration and grain size reduction facilitated by subgrain rotation. Within the lower package, dolomitic and calcitic rocks are both mylonitic to ultramylonitic with grain sizes ranging from 28 to 5 &amp;#956;m and preserve clear crystallographic preferred orientation fabrics. Calcitic mylonites exhibit deformation microstructures similar to those of the middle unit. Distinctively, the dolomitic mylonites of the lower unit reveal ultramylonite bands cross-cutting and overprinting an older coarser mylonitic fabric. Correlated missorientation angles suggest these ultramylonites show evidence for grain size reduction accommodated by microfracturing and subgrain rotation. In other samples the dolomitic ultramylonite is the dominant fabric and is overprinting and causing boudinage of veins and relict coarse mylonite zones. Isolated interstitial calcite grains within dolomite ultramylonites are signatures of localized creep-cavitation processes. Following grain size reduction, grain boundary sliding dominantly accommodated further deformation in the ultramylonitic portions of the samples as indicated by randomly distributed correlated misorientation angles. This study finds that natural deformation of dolomitic rocks may occur by different mechanisms than those identified by published experiments; notably that grain-boundary migration and subgrain rotation may be active in dolomite at much lower temperatures than previously suggested.&lt;/p&gt;