ALBERT

Notes: Abstract Microprobe analyses of feldspars in granite mylonites containing flame perthite give compositions that invariably plot as three distinct clusters on a ternary feldspar diagram: orthoclase (Or92–97), albite and oligoclase-andesine. The albite occurs as grains in the matrix, as flame-shaped lamellae in orthoclase, and in patches within plagioclase grains.We present a metamorphic model for albite flame growth in the K-feldspar in these rocks that is related to reactions in plagioclase, rather than alkali feldspar exsolution. Flame growth is attributed to replacement and results from a combination of two retrograde reactions and one exchange reaction under greenschist facies conditions. Reaction 1 is a continuous or discontinuous (across the peristerite solvus) reaction in plagioclase, in which the An component forms epidote or zoisite. Most of the albite component liberated by Reaction 1 stays to form albite in the host plagioclase, but some Na migrates to form the flames within the K-feldspar. Reaction 2 is the exchange of K for Na in K-feldspar. Reaction 3 is the retrograde formation of muscovite (as ‘sericite’) and has all of the chemical components of a hydration reaction of K-feldspar. The Si and Al made available in the plagioclase from Reaction 1 are combined with the K liberated from the K-feldspar, to produce muscovite in Reaction 3. The muscovite forms in the plagioclase, rather than the K-feldspar, as a result of the greater mobility of K relative to Al. The composition of the albite flames is controlled by both the peristerite and the alkali feldspar miscibility gaps and depends on the position of these solvi at the pressure and temperature that existed during the reaction. Using an initial plagioclase composition of An20, the total reaction can be summarized as:20 oligoclase + 1 K-feldspar + 2 H2O = 2 zoisite + muscovite + 2 quartz + 15 albiteplagioclase+ 1 albiteflame.This model does not require that any additional feldspar framework be accreted at replacement sites: Na and K are the only components that must migrate a significant distance (e.g. from one grain to the next), allowing Al to remain within the altering plagioclase grain. The resulting saussuritization is isovolumetric.The temperature and extent of replacement depends on when, and how much, water infiltrates the rock. The fugacity of the water, and therefore the pressure of the fluid, may have been significantly lower than lithostatic during flame growth.

Notes: Abstract In metapelitic schists of the north-eastern Weekeroo Inliers, Olary Block, Willyama Supergroup, South Australia, syn-S1 and syn-S2 assemblages involving staurolite, garnet, biotite and another mineral, most probably cordierite, were overgrown by large syn-S3 andalusite porphyroblasts, owing to isobaric heating from metamorphic conditions that existed during the development of S2. Conditions during the development of S3 probably just reached the andalusite—sillimanite transition. During the development of S4, at somewhat lower temperatures than those that accompanied the development of S3, the following reaction occurred:staurolite + chlorite + muscovite ± biotite + andalusite + quartz + H2O.The amount of retrogression is controlled primarily by the amount of H2O added by infiltration. As the syn-S3 matrix assemblage was stable during the development of S4, but the andalusite porphyroblasts were no longer stable with the matrix when H2O was added, the retrogression is focused in and around the porphyroblasts. With enough H2O available, and if quartz was consumed before biotite in a porphyroblast, then the following reaction occurred:staurolite + chlorite + muscovite + corundum ± biotite + andalusite + H2O.This reaction allowed corundum inclusions in the andalusite to grow, regardless of the presence of quartz in the matrix assemblage.

Notes: Abstract Effects of post-entrapment fluid-inclusion modification are examined with reference to retrogression-related quartz veins from the Caledonian, Øse Thrust, northern Norway. The inclusions occur in secondary trails, and contain high-density hypersaline aqueous fluids. On morphological characteristics, they are subdivided into, Type A: elongate, ellipsoidal and/or irregular inclusions, and Type B: more equant, regular, and/or negative crystal form. With reference to previous research on post-entrapment modification of inclusions in quartz it is proposed that Type A inclusions experienced little or no post-entrapment modification, whereas Type B inclusions show features characteristic of post-entrapment permanent inelastic stretching and/or leakage. This produces increased homogenization temperatures (Th), associated with increased inclusion volume and lowering of density, whilst maintaining constant salinity. The similarity of data for degree of fill and salinity between Type A and Type B inclusions indicates that Type B inclusions have primarily modified by stretch rather than leakage. However, the spread towards slightly larger volume of vapour in Type B inclusions suggests that some leakage has also occurred. Because stretched and/or partially leaked inclusions have increased Th, isochore projections significantly underestimate trapping pressure (Pt) relative to unmodified inclusions. Therefore, recognition of post-entrapment inclusion modification due to overpressure is crucial to avoid misinterpretation of data, but has considerable potential for constraining the detail of P-T trajectories of individual rocks. On this basis, rocks from the Øse Thrust zone, north Norway, are shown to have experienced rapid uplift on a ‘clockwise’P-T-t path during the final stages of Caledonian (Scandian) orogenesis.

Notes: Abstract The Erzgebirge Crystalline Complex (ECC) is a rare example where both‘crustal’eclogites and mantle-derived garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks (GBUs) occur in the same tectonic unit. Thus, the ECC represents a key complex for studying tectonic processes such as crustal thickening or incorporation of mantle-derived material into the continental crust. This study provides the first evidence that high-pressure metamorphism in the ECC is of Variscan age. Sm-Nd isochrons define ages of 333 ± 6 (Grt-WR), 337± 5 (Grt-WR), 360± 7 (Grt-Cpx-WR) (eclogites) and 353 ± 7 Ma (Grt-WR) (garnet-pyroxenite). 40Ar/39Ar spectra of phengite from two eclogite samples give plateau ages of 348 ± 2 and 355 ± 2 Ma. The overlap of ages from isotopic systems with blocking temperatures that differ by about 300 ° C indicates extremely fast tectonic uplift rates. Minimum cooling rates were about 50° C Myr-1. As a consequence, the closure temperature of the specific isotopic system is of minor importance, and the ages correspond to the time of high-pressure metamorphism. Despite textural equilibrium and metamorphic temperatures in excess of 800° C, clinopyroxene, garnet and whole rock do not define a three-point isochron in three of four samples. The metamorphic clinopyroxenes seem to have inherited their isotopic signature from magmatic precursors. Rapid tectonic burial and uplift within only a few million years might be the reason for the observed Sm-Nd disequilibrium. The εNd values of the eclogites (+4.4 to +6.9) suggest the protoliths were derived from a long-term depleted mantle, probably a MORB source, whereas the isotopically enriched garnet-pyroxenite (εNd–2.9) might represent subcontinental mantle material, emplaced into the crust prior to or during collision. The similarity of ages of the two different rock types suggests a shared metamorphic history.