Raman-based geobarometry of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks: applications, problems, and perspectives

Raman-based geobarometry has recently become increasingly popular because it is an elegant way to obtain information on peak metamorphic conditions or the entire pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) path of metamorphic rocks, especially those formed under ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) conditions. However, several problems need to be solved to get reliable estimates of metamorphic conditions. In this paper we present some examples of difficulties which can arise during the Raman spectroscopy study of solid inclusions from ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks

How large are departures from lithostatic pressure? Constraints from host-inclusion elasticity

Minerals trapped as inclusions within other host minerals will develop non-lithostatic pressures during both prograde and retrograde metamorphism because of the differences between the thermo-elastic properties of the host and inclusion phases. There is only a single possible path in P-T space, the entrapment isomeke, along which no residual pressure would be developed in a host/inclusion system; non-lithostatic pressures are developed in inclusions as a result of the external pressure and temperature deviating from the isomeke that passes through the entrapment conditions. With modern equation of state and elasticity data for minerals now available it is possible to perform precise calculations of the isomekes for mineral pairs. These show that isomeke lines are not straight lines in P-T space at metamorphic conditions. We show that silicate inclusions in silicate hosts tend to have flat isomekes, with small values of dP/dT(isomeke), because of the small range of thermal expansion coefficients of silicate minerals. As a consequence, the general behaviour under decompression is for soft silicate inclusions in stiffer hosts to develop excess pressures, whereas a stiff silicate inclusion in a softer matrix will experience lower pressures than lithostatic pressure. The opposite effects occur for compression after entrapment on the prograde path. The excess pressures in inclusions, including allowance for mutual elastic relaxation of the host and inclusion, are most easily calculated by using the isomeke as a basis. Analysis of the simplest possible model of a host-inclusion system indicates that deviations from lithostatic pressure in excess of 1 GPa can be readily produced in quartz inclusions within garnets in metamorphic rocks. For softer host minerals such as feldspars the pressure deviations are smaller, because of greater elastic relaxation of the host. The maximum pressure deviation from lithostatic pressure in the host phase around the inclusion is one-third of the pressure deviation in the inclusion. Routines for performing these calculations have been added to the EosFit7c software package

Nature and origin of fluids in granulite facies metamorphism

The various models for the nature and origin of fluids in granulite facies metamorphism were summarized. Field and petrologic evidence exists for both fluid-absent and fluid-present deep crustal metamorphism. The South Indian granulite province is often cited as a fluid-rich example. The fluids must have been low in H2O and thus high in CO2. Deep crustal and subcrustal sources of CO2 are as yet unproven possibilities. There is much recent discussion of the possible ways in which deep crustal melts and fluids could have interacted in granulite metamorphism. Possible explanations for the characteristically low activity of H2O associated with granulite terranes were discussed. Granulites of the Adirondacks, New York, show evidence for vapor-absent conditions, and thus appear different from those of South India, for which CO2 streaming was proposed. Several features, such as the presence of high-density CO2 fluid inclusions, that may be misleading as evidence for CO2-saturated conditions during metamorphism, were discussed

Geochemical characteristics of charnockite and high grade gneisses from Southern Peninsular Shield and their significance in crustal evolution

Presented here are the results of detailed investigations encompassing externsive structural mapping in the charnockite-high grade gneiss terrain of North Arcot district and the type area in Pallavaram in Tamil Nadu supported by petrography, mineral chemistry, major, minor and REE distribution patterns in various lithounits. This has helped in understanding the evolutionary history of the southern peninsular shield. A possible tectonic model is also suggested. The results of these studies are compared with similar rock types from parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Sri Lanka, Lapland and Nigeria which has brought about a well defined correlation in geochemical characteristics. The area investigated has an interbanded sequence of thick pile of charnockite and a supracrustal succession of shelf type sediments, layered igneous complex, basic and ultrabasic rocks involved in a complex structural, tectonic, igneous and metamorphic events

Theoretical petrology

The central issues in petrology have remained remarkably unchanged in the last 50 years. In igneous petrology, the focus is on understanding the nature and cause of diversity in igneous rocks: on identifying primary magma types and constraints on the compositional and mineralogical characteristics, the physical conditions, and the evolutions of their source regions and on establishing the processes by which derivative magmas evolve from primary magmas. In metamorphic petrology, the major concern is with understanding the conditions and processes experienced by a rock in reaching its present state. In both igneous and metamorphic petrology, the ultimate goal is the integration of petrological constraints with those from other branches of earth science into regional and global theories of earth history. What has changed over the years, however, is the framework within which these issues are addressed: the backdrop provided by plate tectonics and geophysical constraints, the growing sophistication of chemical and physical models of rock systems, the ever increasing inputs from trace element and isotopic geochemistry, the sophistication and complexity of experimental approaches to petrological problems, and the growing body of detailed petrological studies of specific rock suites and associations from all over the world. What I will attempt in this report is to pinpoint and briefly review those areas of growing interest and emphasis in American efforts in petrology during the 1975–1978 quadrennium and the ways in which they were shaped by this framework

EarthScope

EarthScope applies modern observational, analytical, and telecommunications technologies to investigate the structure and evolution of the North American continent and the physical processes controlling earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Imaging the crust and mantle at an unprecedented scale, EarthScope integrates new observations from cutting-edge land and space based technologies to measure deformation in real-time at continental scales. These observations, integrated with geologic data, yield a comprehensive time-integrated picture of continental evolution and link surface features with their structures at depth. The site houses a number of original data sources (such as real-time seismic data and maps), a gateway to current seismic news and events, and Earth sciences related community event calendars. Educational levels: Graduate or professional, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division

Geochemistry and geobarometry of Eocene dykes intruding the Ladakh Batholith

We present further distinguishing characteristics among Eocene dykes found along the Southern margin of the Ladakh batholith (NW-India). Coupled evidence from field structures and Nd-Sr isotope data showed that there are two broad dyke provinces extending over 50 km: between Leh and Tunglung, an 'eastern', ENE-trending family with higher crustal assimilation; between Tunglung and Hemis Shugpachan, the ...postprin

U-Pb SHRIMP zircon dating of Grenvillian metamorphism in Western Sierras Pampeanas (Argentina) : correlation with the Arequipa-Antofalla craton and constraints on the extent of the Precordillera Terrane

The Sierras Pampeanas of Argentina, the largest outcrop of pre-Andean crystalline basement in southern South America, resulted from plate interactions along the proto-Andean margin of Gondwana, from as early as Mesoproterozoic to Late Paleozoic times (e.g., Ramos, 2004, and references therein). Two discrete Paleozoic orogenic belts have been recognized: the Early Cambrian Pampean belt in the eastern sierras, and the Ordovician Famatinian belt, which partially overprints it to the west (e.g., Rapela et al., 1998). In the Western Sierras Pampeanas, Mesoproterozoic igneous rocks (ca. 1.0–1.2 Ga) have been recognized in the Sierra de Pie de Palo (Fig. 1) (McDonough et al., 1993 M.R. McDonough, V.A. Ramos, C.E. Isachsen, S.A. Bowring and G.I. Vujovich, Edades preliminares de circones del basamento de la Sierra de Pie de Palo, Sierras Pampeanas occidentales de San Juán: sus implicancias para el supercontinente proterozoico de Rodinia, 12° Cong. Geol. Argentino, Actas vol. 3 (1993), pp. 340–342.McDonough et al., 1993, Pankhurst and Rapela, 1998 and Vujovich et al., 2004) that are time-coincident with the Grenvillian orogeny of eastern and northeastern North America (e.g., Rivers, 1997 and Corrievau and van Breemen, 2000). These Grenvillian-age rocks have been considered to be the easternmost exposure of basement to the Precordillera Terrane, a supposed Laurentian continental block accreted to Gondwana during the Famatinian orogeny (Thomas and Astini, 2003, and references therein). However, the boundaries of this Grenvillian belt are still poorly defined, and its alleged allochthoneity has been challenged (Galindo et al., 2004). Moreover, most of the Grenvillian ages so far determined relate to igneous protoliths, and there is no conclusive evidence for a Grenvillian orogenic belt, other than inferred from petrographic evidence alone (Casquet et al., 2001). We provide here the first evidence, based on U–Pb SHRIMP zircon dating at Sierra de Maz, for a Grenville-age granulite facies metamorphism, leading to the conclusion that a continuous mobile belt existed throughout the proto-Andean margin of Gondwana in Grenvillian times