Diachronous Redistribution of Hf and Nd Isotopes at the Crystal Scale—Consequences for the Isotopic Evolution of a Poly-Metamorphic Crustal Terrane

In metamorphic rocks, mineral species react over a range of pressure–temperature conditions that do not necessarily overlap. Mineral equilibration can occur at varied points along the metamorphic pressure–temperature (PT) path, and thus at different times. The sole or dominant use of zircon isotopic compositions to constrain the evolution of metamorphic rocks might then inadvertently skew geological interpretations towards one aspect or one moment of a rock’s history. Here, we present in-situ U–Pb/Sm–Nd isotope analyses of the apatite crystals extracted from two meta-igneous rocks exposed in the Saglek Block (North Atlantic craton, Canada), an Archean metamorphic terrane, with the aim of examining the various signatures and events that they record. The data are combined with published U–Pb/Hf/O isotope compositions of zircon extracted from the same hand-specimens. We found an offset of nearly ca. 1.5 Gyr between U-Pb ages derived from the oldest zircon cores and apatite U–Pb/Sm–Nd isotopic ages, and an offset of ca. 200 Ma between the youngest zircon metamorphic overgrowths and apatite. These differences in metamorphic ages recorded by zircon and apatite mean that the redistribution of Hf isotopes (largely hosted in zircon) and Nd isotopes (largely hosted in apatite within these rocks), were not synchronous at the hand-specimen scale (≤~0.001 m3). We propose that the diachronous redistribution of Hf and Nd isotopes and their parent isotopes was caused by the different PT conditions of growth equilibration between zircon and apatite during metamorphism. These findings document the latest metamorphic evolution of the Saglek Block, highlighting the role played by intra-crustal reworking during the late-Archean regional metamorphic event.

Intrapersonal variability in public transport path choice due to changes in service reliability

Uncertainty during the course of a trip is regarded as a particularly disturbing phenomenon by public transport (PT) passengers and has been shown to have a substantial impact on travel behaviour. However, so far there has been little empirical evidence within contemporary research concerning the degree of mid- to long-term adaptation among PT passengers to changes in the principal cause of such uncertainty within PT transport systems: Lack of service departure reliability. While most studies to date have focussed on instantaneous or short-term behavioural responses, this paper presents results from a one-year panel dataset consisting of individuals’ trip itineraries derived from smart card transactions enriched by automatic vehicle location (AVL) data. We measured long-term line route usage and departure reliability, the latter in terms of headway regularity and schedule adherence, in two panel waves. Thus, we aimed for practical indicators that may be associated with specific line routes and origin–destination PT stop pairs used for recurring trips over time. Results from logistic regression indicate a consistent significant impact of changed headway regularity and punctuality change for line routes with relatively high departure frequency. However, there is a relative indifference to long-term reliability change by a significant share of individuals that have actual trade-offs between at least two line route options, possibly indicating satisficing behaviour among PT passengers. Implications on PT path choice forecasting and route planning are discussed.

Determining the speed of intracontinental subduction – preliminary results of zoned garnet geochronology in micaschists from the Schneeberg and Radenthein Complexes, Eastern Alps

<p>In collisional orogens continental crust is subducted to (ultra-)high-pressure (HP/UHP) conditions as constrained by petrologic, tectonic and geophysical observations. Despite a wealth of studies on the subduction and exhumation of UHP rocks, the duration of prograde metamorphism during subduction is still not well constrained.</p><p>We plan to apply Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronology on metamorphic rock samples to date the duration of garnet growth, which represents a major part of prograde metamorphism from the greenschist-facies onward. Micaschist samples from the Schneeberg and Radenthein Units in the Eoalpine high-pressure belt (Eastern Alps) will be used for dating as they contain cm- to dm-sized garnet blasts, which experienced only one subduction-exhumation cycle. With dating different parts of big garnet grains, we test whether (1) it is possible to resolve the duration of garnet growth within single crystals, and (2) Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd systems date the same events in the PT-path or yield complementary information. Additionally, we will perform U-Pb geochronology on titanite in order to obtain the age of the first stages of exhumation; in addition, dating of rutile inclusions as well as matrix rutiles will be used to test Eoalpine prograde age. We will also apply U-Th-Pb monazite dating (EPMA and LA-ICPMS) to some of the samples. Collectively, these data will allow us to compare the duration of subduction and the timing of initial exhumation in a single sample. We then will constrain the PT-path of the dated samples by pseudosection modeling combined with Zr-in-rutile, quartz-in-garnet, and carbonaceous material geothermo(baro)metry. We already have preliminary results for Zr-in-rutile thermometry of rutile inclusions in garnets and matrix rutiles for samples from both locations. We measured Zr content with an EPMA and used the calibrations of Tomkins et al. (2007) and Kohn (2020). The calibration of Kohn (2020) gives overall slightly lower temperatures, but all obtained temperatures lay in a range of c. 500-600 °C in accordance with previously published data. In addition, EPMA, µ-XRF, LA-ICPMS, and µCT will be used to control if garnets preserved major and trace elemental growth zoning and to provide spatial 3D information on inclusion patterns. µCT analyses were already successfully used to obtain the chemical centre of the garnet grains in order to be able to cut them directly through there center. This is important for all in-situ chemical analyses. With dating different parts of single garnet crystals separately with Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronology, we will add tight time constraints to the PT-path and constrain the duration of garnet growth.</p><p>With this contribution we formulate the working hypothesis that prograde subduction together with exhumation is a fast process. The basis for testing the idea of fast prograde metamorphism is that many geochronological studies propose a prograde duration of < 10 Ma and studies using geospeedometry sometimes propose an even shorter duration, which is the impetus for this investigation.</p><p>References:</p><p>Kohn, M.J. (2020). A refined zirconium-in-rutile thermometer. American Mineralogist(105), 963-971.</p><p>Tomkins, H.S., Powell, R. & Ellis, D.J. (2007). The pressure dependence of the zirconium-in-rutile thermometer. Journal of Metamorphic Geology(25), 703-713.</p>

Paleoproterozoic Metamorphism of the Archean Tuntsa Suite, Northern Fennoscandian Shield

The Tuntsa Suite is a polymetamorphic Archean complex mainly consisting of metasedimentary gneisses. At least two strong metamorphic events can be distinguished in the area. The first took place at high temperatures in the Neoarchean at around 2.70–2.64 Ga, indicated by migmatisation and U-Pb ages of metamorphic zircon. During the Paleoproterozoic, metasedimentary gneisses were penetratively deformed and recrystallized under medium pressures producing staurolite, kyanite and garnet-bearing mineral assemblages. The suggested Paleoproterozoic PT path was clockwise where the temperature and pressure first increased to 540–550 °C and 6 kbar, crystallizing high Ca/low Mg garnet cores. The mineral compositions show that commonly garnet core was not in chemical equilibrium with staurolite but crystallized earlier, although garnet-staurolite-kyanite assemblages are common. The temperature and pressure increased to c. 650 °C and 8 kbars where staurolite and kyanite coexist. This was followed by decompression down to c. 550–600 °C and 3–4 kbars, shown by andalusite crystallization and cordierite formed in the breakdown of staurolite and biotite + kyanite. The observed garnet zoning where Mg increases and Ca decreases from the core to the rim was developed with both increasing and decreasing pressure, depending on the effective bulk composition. The U-Pb and Sm-Nd age determinations for monazite and garnet show that the Paleoproterozoic metamorphic cycle took place at 1.84–1.79 Ga, related with thrusting of the Lapland granulites onto the adjacent terranes and subsequent exhumation.

Tectono-Metamorphic Evolution of Serpentinites from Lanzo Valleys Subduction Complex (Piemonte—Sesia-Lanzo Zone Boundary, Western Italian Alps)

In the upper Tesso Valley the folded contact between Piemonte Zone ophiolites and Sesia-Lanzo Zone continental crust is exposed. Here serpentinites, metabasites, calcschists and fine-grained gneisses are deformed by four ductile superposed groups of structures, associated with different mineral assemblages. Different serpentinite lithologies have been recognized and studied in detail. Mylonitic D2 structures are pervasive and mineral assemblages point to re-equilibration at T of 450 ± 50 ∘C and P of 0.8 ± 0.3 GPa, under blueschist/epidote amphibolite-facies conditions. Pre-D2 structures and mineral assemblages are relics within S2 and indicate a re-equilibration under eclogite-facies conditions, at T of 570 ± 50 ∘C and P > 1.8 GPa. Post-D2 occurs under greenschist-facies conditions. Numerical modeling of a subduction zone allows exploration of the geodynamic context in which such PT path could have developed, and to make hypotheses about the possible timing of such a scenario, in agreement with the timing generally proposed for the Alpine subduction and collision. Model predictions indicate that pre-D2 mineral assemblages may have developed during Paleocene at 60–90 km depth and 115–145 km from the trench, or, alternatively, during lower Eocene at ca. 70–90 km depth, and 135–160 km from the trench.

Thermobarometry and Geochemistry of Mantle Xenoliths from Zapolyarnaya Pipe, Upper Muna Field, Yakutia: Implications for Mantle Layering, Interaction with Plume Melts and Diamond Grade

Minerals from mantle xenoliths in the Zapolyarnaya pipe in the Upper Muna field, Russia and from mineral separates from other large diamondiferous kimberlite pipes in this field (Deimos, Novinka and Komsomolskaya-Magnitnaya) were studied with EPMA and LA-ICP-MS. All pipes contain very high proportions of sub-calcic garnets. Zapolyarnaya contains mainly dunitic xenoliths with veinlets of garnets, phlogopites and Fe-rich pyroxenes similar in composition to those from sheared peridotites. PT estimates for the clinopyroxenes trace the convective inflection of the geotherm (40–45 mW·m−2) to 8 GPa, inflected at 6 GPa and overlapping with PT estimates for ilmenites derived from protokimberlites. The Upper Muna mantle lithosphere includes dunite channels from 8 to 2 GPa, which were favorable for melt movement. The primary layering deduced from the fluctuations of CaO in garnets was smoothed by the refertilization events, which formed additional pyroxenes. Clinopyroxenes from the Novinka and Komsomolskaya-Magnitnaya pipes show a more linear geotherm and three branches in the P-Fe# plot from the lithosphere base to the Moho, suggesting several episodes of pervasive melt percolation. Clinopyroxenes from Zapolyarnaya are divided into four groups according to thermobarometry and trace element patterns, which show a stepwise increase of REE and incompatible elements. Lower pressure groups including dunitic garnets have elevated REE with peaks in Rb, Th, Nb, Sr, Zr, and U, suggesting mixing of the parental protokimberlitic melts with partially melted metasomatic veins of ancient subduction origin. At least two stages of melt percolation formed the inclined PT paths: (1) an ancient garnet semi-advective geotherm (35–45 mW·m−2) formed by volatile-rich melts during the major late Archean event of lithosphere growth; and (2) a hotter megacrystic PT path (Cpx-Ilm) formed by feeding systems for kimberlite eruptions (40–45 mW·m−2). Ilmenite PT estimates trace three separate PT trajectories, suggesting a multistage process associated with metasomatism and formation of the Cpx-Phl veinlets in dunites. Heating associated with intrusions of protokimberlite caused reactivation of the mantle metasomatites rich in H2O and alkali metals and possibly favored the growth of large megacrystalline diamonds.

Genesis of felsic and mafic HP granulites from the Moldanubian Zone, Lower Austria

<p><span><span>The granulite occurrences from the Moldanubian zone were extensively studied in the last three decades and their metamorphic overprint at high pressures and at UHT conditions are well constrained. However, there are still some discrepancies regarding the prograde PT-path evolution, the genesis of the granulites and the tectonic processes required to produce the proposed PT-paths. Here we present a comprehensive petrological study where we have investigated more than 300 granulite samples from one of the largest occurrences, the Poechlarn-Wieselburg area - Dunkelsteinerwald. C</span><span>onventional geothermobarometry, garnet zoning pattern, thermodynamic modelling and Zr-in-rutile thermometry on rutile grains enclosed in garnets in felsic and mafic granulites allowed to constrain the prograde as well as the retrograde segments of the PT path. Polycrystalline melt inclusions and high-Ti biotite relics as well as a uniform temperature of approximately 800°C obtained from rutile inclusions (Zr-in-rutile thermometry) in garnet cores disagree with a continuous prograde garnet growth but favour a metastable overstepping of the garnet-in reaction and growth by the peritectic biotite breakdown reaction to garnet and melt within a very narrow PT interval. Subsequent heating to T>1000°C initiated a second stage of garnet growth with a very distinct chemical composition. The preservation of the zoning pattern at these metamorphic conditions clearly document a very short lived process. Diffusion models predict a time span of <5 Ma and cooling rates of 50-60°C/my.</span><span> Zircon U-Pb ages usually cluster around 340 Ma representing the metamorphic peak. However, in mafic granulites zircon ages from approximately 410 Ma to 340 Ma are obtained indicating either an older formation age for the precursor rock of the mafic granulites or just documenting the occurrence of xenocrysts. We applied a series of coupled petrological–thermomechanical tectono-magmatic numerical model to reproduce our deduced PTt-path that evolved from exhumation of subducted lower crust followed by intense heating at the crust-mantle boundary.</span></span></p>

Determining the speed of intracontinental subduction – preliminary results of zoned garnet geochronology in micaschists from the Schneeberg Complex, Eastern Alps.

<p>In collisional orogens continental crust is subducted to (ultra-)high-pressure (HP/UHP) conditions as constrained by petrologic, tectonic and geophysical observations. These (U)HP rocks are exhumed by an extremely fast process (few Ma) as numerous rocks still preserve their high-pressure metamorphic assemblages, which would not be the case if they had time to re-equilibrate at lower pressure conditions. Despite a wealth of studies on the subduction and exhumation of UHP rocks, the duration of prograde metamorphism during subduction is still not well constrained.</p><p>We plan to do Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronology on metamorphic rock samples to date the duration of garnet growth, which represents a major part of prograde metamorphism from the greenschist-facies on. Micaschist samples from the Schneeberg and Radenthein Units in the Eoalpine high-pressure belt (Eastern Alps) will be used for dating as they contain cm- to dm-sized garnets, which experienced only one subduction-exhumation cycle with P-T conditions reaching 600 °C and up to 1 GPa. With dating different parts of big garnet grains we test (1) if it is possible to resolve the duration of garnet growth within single crystals, (2) if both systems, Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd, are needed for better age-constraints, and (3) whether both systems date the same events in the PT-path or give differing information. Additionally we will perform U-Pb geochronology on titanite in order to obtain the age of the first stages of exhumation and on rutile inclusions as well as matrix rutiles to confirm the Eoalpine prograde age with this additional method. Therefore, we will be able to compare the duration of subduction and the timing of initial exhumation in a single sample. We then will constrain the PT-path of the samples that will be dated by pseudosection modeling combined with Zr-in-rutile geothermometer, quartz-in-garnet geobarometer, and carbonaceous material geothermometer. In addition EPMA, µ-XRF, LA-ICPMS, and µCT will be used to control if garnets preserved major and trace elemental growth zoning and to provide spatial 3D information on inclusion patterns. With dating different parts of single garnet crystals separately with Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronology, we will add tight time constraints to the PT-path and constrain the duration of garnet growth.</p><p>With this contribution we formulate the working hypothesis that prograde subduction together with  exhumation is a fast process. The basis for testing the idea of fast prograde metamorphism is that many geochronological studies propose a prograde duration of < 10 Ma and studies using geospeedometry sometimes propose an even shorter duration, which is the impetus for this investigation.</p>