ISSN:
1525-1314
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
Phase analysis in the model K2O-poor aluminous rock system (FMASH) illustrates the following sequence of reactions during retrograde metamorphism in the Botswanan Limpopo Central Zone:Opx+Sil+Qtz=Crd ,Opx+Sil=Spr+Crd ,Grt+Qtz=Opx+Crd ;Opx+Crd+W=Ged+Qtz ,Grt+Opx+Crd+W=Ged ;andGrt+Qtz+W=Ged+Crd .A quantitative petrogenetic grid with phase relations shows that sapphirine results from nearly isothermal decompression in the quartz-undersaturated portions of the grid, and that gedrite formation by reactions (4)–(6) records isobaric cooling from high temperature (c. 800° C) after the decompression. Conditions for hydration in the western part of the area were 700–800° C and c. 6 kbar, based on microthermometric data and the available garnet–cordierite geothermometer. On the basis of these conditions and predicted thermodynamic properties of gedrite, phase relations in T–XMg space were constructed to investigate the isobaric cooling event. The results are in good agreement with the hydration P–T path. Further, the T–XMg topologies show that hydration of orthopyroxene in the central part of the area (reaction 4) occurred at about 800° C and c. 5 kbar. Therefore, we conclude that the Botswanan Limpopo Central Zone has suffered isothermal decompression, similar to the Central Zone in South Africa and Zimbabwe, followed by isobaric cooling. The isobaric cooling event in the western (at c. 6 kbar) and central (at c. 5 kbar) parts of the area commenced at nearly the same temperature (c. 800° C), and appear to be consistent with a tectonic model that involved westward movement (thrusting) of the Central Zone.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1314.1996.05857.x
