Microstructural records of multiple retrograde local H2O supplement in the pelitic gneiss, Lützow-Holm Complex at Akarui Point, East Antarctica

The alkali-feldspar and biotite in the sillimanite-biotite-garnet gneiss from East Antarctica preserves characteristic microstructural evidence of multi-stage H2O supplement during the retrograde metamorphism. The first microstructural evidence is the "zoned feldspar, " in which the mesoperthitic zone, the anti-perthitic zone, and lamella-free plagioclase zone coexist within a single crystal. They are occasionally found next to biotite, and are always depleted in orthoclase (Or) component toward the biotite. The formation process of this microstructure could be explained by the diffusion that oversteps the solvus. The second microstructural evidence is the serrate boundary between alkali-feldspar and biotite. The projections of biotite are selectively developed next to Or lamellae of alkali-feldspar every 3–5 μm. These two microstructures would have formed as the biotite grew by consuming potash in alkali-feldspar when H2O-bearing fluid locally passed through the grain boundaries. The former microstructure was formed at 825–900 °C before lamella formation, and the latter microstructure was formed after the lamella formation. These microstructures are the indicators of fluid pathways formed under two different temperature conditions. The common coexistence of these microstructures implies that the fluid used similar pathways during the retrograde metamorphism

Origin of the Tongbai-Dabie-Sulu Neoproterozoic low-δ18O igneous province, east-central China

Zircons from 71 diverse rocks from the Qinling-Tongbai-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt in east-central China and, for comparison, eight from adjoining areas in the South China and North China blocks, have been analyzed for in situ 18O/16O ratio and/or U–Pb age to further constrain the spatial distribution and genesis of Neoproterozoic low-δ 18O magmas, that is, δ 18O(zircon) ≤4 ‰ VSMOW. In many metaigneous rock samples from Tongbai-Dabie-Sulu, including high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure eclogites and associated granitic orthogneisses, average δ 18O values for Neoproterozoic “igneous” zircon cores (i.e., 800–600 Ma) vary from −0.9 to 6.9 ‰, and from −9.9 to 6.8 ‰ for Triassic metamorphic rims (i.e., 245–200 Ma). The former extend to values lower than zircons in primitive magmas from the Earth’s mantle (ca. 5–6 ‰). The average Δ 18O (metamorphic zircon − “igneous” zircon) values vary from −11.6 to 0.9 ‰.The large volume of Neoproterozoic low-δ 18O igneous protoliths at Tongbai-Dabie-Sulu is matched only by the felsic volcanic rocks of the Snake River Plain hotspot track, which terminates at the Yellowstone Plateau. Hence, the low-δ 18O values at Tongbai-Dabie-Sulu are proposed to result from shallow subcaldera processes by comparison with Yellowstone, where repeated caldera-forming magmatism and hydrothermal alteration created similar low-δ 18O magmas. However, the possibility of involvement of meltwaters from local continental glaciations, rather than global Neoproterozoic glaciations, cannot be precluded. Our data indicate that Neoproterozoic low-δ 18O magmas that are either subduction- or rift-related are present locally along the western margin of the South China Block (e.g., Baoxing Complex). It appears that Neoproterozoic 18O-depletion events in the South China Block as the result of hydrothermal alteration and magmatism affected a much larger area than was previously recognized