Fluid activity during exhumation of deep-subducted continental plate

It is well known that a great deal of fluid wasreleased during subduction of oceanic crust, resulting in arcmagmatism, quartz veining and metamorphic mineralizationof syn-subduction. In contrast, the process of continentalsubduction is characterized by the relative lack of fluid andthus no arc magmatism has been found so far. During exhu-mation of deep-subducted continental crust, nevertheless,significant amounts of aqueous fluid became available fromthe decomposition of hydrous minerals, the decrepitation ofprimary fluid inclusions, and the exsolution of structuralhydroxyls. This kind of metamorphic fluid has recently at-tracted widespread interests and thus been one of the mostimportant targets in deciphering the geological processesconcerning metamorphism, magmatism and mineralizationin collisional orogens. A large number of studies inlvolvingstable isotopes, fluid inclusions and petrological phase rela-tionships have been accomplished in past a few years withrespect to the mobility and amount of met     

Detachment within subducted continental crust and multi-slice successive exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks: Evidence from the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt

Although tectonic models were presented for exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure （UHP） metamorphic rocks during the continental collision, there is increasing evidence for the decoupling between crustal slices at various depths within deeply subducted continental crust. This lends support to the multi-slice successive exhumation model of the UHP metamorphic rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogen. The available evidence is summarized as follows： （1） the low-grade metamorphic slices, which have geotectonic affinity to the South China Block and part of them records the Triassic metamorphism, occur in the northern margin of the Dabie-Sulu UHP metamorphic zone, suggesting decoupling of the upper crust from the underlying basement during the initial stages of continental subduction; （2） the Dabie and Sulu HP to UHP metamorphic zones comprise several HP to UHP slices, which have an increased trend of metamorphic grade from south to north but a decreased trend of peak metamorphic ages correspondingly; and （3） the Chinese Continental Science Drilling （CCSD） project at Donghai in the Sulu orogen reveals that the UHP metamorphic zone is composed of several stacked slices, which display distinctive high and low radiogenic Pb from upper to lower parts in the profile, suggesting that these UHP crustal slices were derived from the subducted upper and middle crusts, respectively. Detachment surfaces within the deeply subducted crust may occur either along an ancient fault as a channel of fluid flow, which resulted in weakening of mechanic strength of the rocks adjacent to the fault due to fluid-rock interaction, or along the low-viscosity zones which resulted from variations of geotherms and lithospheric compositions at different depths. The multi-slice successive exhumation model is different from the traditional exhumation model of the UHP metamorphic rocks in that the latter assumes the detachment of the entire subducted continental crust from the underlying mantle lithosphere and its subsequent exhumation as a whol     

U-Pb zircon age of the foliated garnet-bearing granites in western Dabie Mountains, Central China

U-Pb zircon dating on two foliated garnet-bearing granite samples in the western Dabie ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metamorphic unit yields concordant ages of (234±4) Ma and (227±5) Ma, respectively. These ages, following the UHP peak metamorphism, represent the magma emplacement ages for the foliated garnet-bearing granites. This, for the first time, shows that there are the Triassic granites in the Dabie Mountains. The foliated garnet-bearing granites resemble A-type granite in geochemical characteristics, indicating that they were formed in extensional geodynamic setting. The magma formation reflects a reheating event in the Dabie orogenic belt and it enhances the transfer of tectonic regime from collision into extension and promotes the rapid exhumation into lower crust for the UHP metamorphic rocks.     

A huge oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belt in southwestern Tianshan, China: Peak metamorphic age and P-T path

Recent progress in the study of the UHP metamorphic belt in southwestern Tianshan, China, is summarized in this paper. This about 80-kin-long and over 10-km-wide UHP belt has been recognized by the discovery of coesite, coesite pseudomorphs and other UHP minerals. It is the largest oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belt reported so far. It has formed due to northward subduc- tion of the Tianshan Paleo-Ocean. U-Pb dating of metamorphic rims of zircons from a coesite-bearing garnet-phengite schist yields a peak UHP metamorphic ages of 320±3.7 Ma. Combined with ages of 233-226 Ma obtained from rims of zircons from retrograded eclogites, a long retrograde metamorphic evolution （〉70 Ma） has been revealed. According to phase equilibria mod- eling, the P-T paths of both coesite-bearing eclogites and garnet-phengite schists are characterized by thermal relaxation, i.e., the metamorphic temperature peak lags behind the pressure peak, indicating that the UHP rocks experienced slow and long heating and decompression during exhumation in the subduction channel. On the basis of the field observation that a small amount of eclogite lenses is wrapped in large volumes of metapelites, and the similar P-T paths of both rock types, we propose that the ex- humation of the UHP eclogites from southwestern Tianshan, China, may have resulted from the exhumation of large volumes of low-density metapelites, which carried the denser eclogites to the Earth＇s surface.     

A perspective view on ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and continental collision in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt

The study of continental deep-subduction has been one of the forefront and core subjects to advance the plate tectonics theory in the twenty-first century. The Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt in China crops out the largest lithotectonic unit containing ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks in the world. Much of our understanding of the world＇s most enigmatic processes in continental deep-subduction zones has been deduced from various records in the Dabie-Sulu rocks. By taking these rocks as the natural laboratory, earth scientists have made seminal contributions to understanding of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and continental collision. This paper outlines twelve aspects of outstanding progress, including spatial distribution of the UHP metamorphic rocks, timing of the UHP metamorphism, timescale of the UHP metamorphism, the protolith nature of deeply subducted continental crust, subduction erosion and crustal detachment during continental collision, the possible depths of continental subduction, fluid activity in the continental deep-subduction zone, partial melting during continental collision, element mobility in continental deep-subduction zone, recycling of subducted continental crust, geodynamic mechanism of postcollisional magmatism, and lithospheric architecture of collision orogen. Some intriguing questions and directions are also proposed for future studies.     

Geochemical characteristics and tectonic implications of HP-UHP eclogites and blueschists in southwestern Tianshan, China

Four rock assemblages in correspondence with two different tectonic settings have been recognized in the NEE-SWW extending HP-UHP metamorphic belt in southwestern Tianshan, northwest China. Eclogite assemblage EC1 is geochemically akin to alkaline within-plate oceanic island basalt (OIB). EC2 shows affinity to enriched mid-oceanic ridge basalt (EMORB). Rare earth element (REE) and other immobile trace element characteristics of blueschist assemblage BS1 resemble those of normal mid-oceanic ridge basalt (NMORB). These three assemblages are likely formed on a seamount setting, and the prevalent presence of carbonate minerals and omphacite quartzite stripes/gobbets suggests ancient pelagic sediments including marls are probably developed upon the basaltic seamount. Whereas the geochemical characteristics of BS2 assemblage are of volcanic arc basalt-type. The seamount with the pelagic sediments on it is brought into the subduction zone, and volcanic arc basalts formed on the active continental margin and trench sediments are eroded and enwrapped in the subducting mass, they are altogether subjected to high to ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and subsequent exhumation towards surface. The HP-UHP metamorphic belt is thus interpreted as a subduction-accretionary complex formed by tectonic juxtaposition and imbrication of seamount, seafloor, trench and volcanic arc sequences during oceanic crust subduction.     

The Dabie-Sulu UHP rocks belt: review and prospect

The new results in the studies of the Dabie-Sulu UHP rocks belt during the past 5 years were summarized and discussed. The discussion included the following key points: ( i ) UHP eclogite has two kinds of country rocks, with one being UHP eclogite facies rocks and the other non-UHP granitic gneiss. ( ii ) The FeTiO₃ in olivine indicated exsolution at depth of 300–400 km. However, the key point is to prove the peridotite in which the FeTlO₃ in olivine was found once had been subducted down that depth. ( iii ) UHP hydrous phase evidenced that fluids had taken part in the UHP metamorphism, while the meter-scale inhomogeneous distribution of O-, C-isotope indicated no fluid activity in the deep subduction environment. ( IV ) No agreement has been arrived on many problems related to the tectonic background of the UHP rocks, such as “whether or not ophiolitic rocks there exist now?”, “when did UHP metamorphism proceed?”, “what is the subdution polarity?”, etc. ( V ) How did the UHP rocks exhume from mantle depth? The future studies will focus on the following three subjects: ( i ) thermal dynamics of the UHP metamorphism, ( ii ) relationship between UHP metamorphism and collision orogeny, as well as their geodynamics, and ( iii ) interactions between crust and mantle, and between continental lithosphere and asthenosphere during the collision orogenic process, as well as their constraints to the evolution of continental lithosphere.     

Whole-rock Ar-Ar dating for low-grade metavolcanics within the Dabie orogen and its geological significance

Greenschist-facies metasedimentary and metaigne- ous rocks are frequently found to occur continuously along convergent plate margins where high pressure (HP) or ultrahigh pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks also crop out[1-7]. Geological investigations of co…     

Petrology, geochemistry and geodynamics of basic granulite from the Altay area, North Xinjiang, China

The basic granulite of the Altay orogenic belt occurs as tectonic lens in the Devonian medium- to lower-grade metamorphic beds through fault contact. The Altay granulite (AG) is an amphibole plagioclase two-pyroxene granulite and is mainly composed of two pyroxenes, plagioclase, amphibole and biotite. Its melano-minerals are rich in Mg/(Mg Fe^2 ),and its amphibole and biotite are rich in TiO2. The AG is rich in Mg/(Mg Fe^2 ), Al2O3 and depletion of U, Th and Rbcontents. The AG has moderate ∑REE and LREE-enriched with weak positive Eu anomaly. The AG shows island-arc pattern with negative Nb, P and Ti anomalies, reflecting that formation of the AG may be associated with subduction. Geochemical and mineral composition data reflect that the protolith of the AG is calc-alkaline basalt and formed by granulite facies metamorphism having peak P-T conditions of 750℃-780℃ and 0.6-0.7 Gpa. The AG formation underwent two stages was suggested. In the early stage of oceanic crustal subduction, calc-alkaline basalt with island-arc environment underwent granulite facies metamorphism to form the AG in deep crust, and in the late stage, the AG was thrust into the upper crust.     

Subduction age of Neo-Tethys oceanic crust in southwest Yunnan, China: Laser micro-area40Ar-39Ar dating

The basic granulite, which is considered to be the MORE based on geochemistry and isotopic characteristics[1], has been discovered recently as the enclaves in the Yingjiang island-arc magmatic suite on the border of Burma and west Yunnan, east of Myitkyina suture in the eastern Burma. The laser micro-area 40Ar-39Ar technique is used to date the age of garnet and cliopyroxene that is the result of the early metamorphic event. The isochron outcome is -74.4 Ma which is induced to be the age of the suduction event of the Myitkyina oceanic crust on the basis of the Cenozoic lithosphere tectonic evolution, tectonic thermal events and the age of deformation and metamorphism. The discovery of the high-grade or high-pressure metamophic rocks in the island-arc magmatic suite by the way of studying its P-T-t paths can provide a good way to study the age and process of oceanic crust subduction, slab break-off, metamorphic terrain exhumation and the evolution of paleoocean basin.     

Exsolution microstructures in ultrahigh-pressure rocks: Progress, controversies and challenges

Exsolution microstructures in minerals of rocks from orogenic belts played an important role in recognition of ultrahigh-pressure （UHP） metamorphism in their host rocks by defining the subduction depth and improving our understanding of the dynamics during the subduction and exhumation of UHP rocks. However, it is a challenging scientific topic to distinguish the ＇exsolution microstructures＇ from the ＇non-exsolution microstructures＇ and decipher their geological implications. This paper describes the subtle differences between the ＇exsolution microstructures＇ and the ＇non-exsolution microstructures＇ and summarizes the progress in studies of exolution microstructures from UHP rocks and mantle rocks of ultra-deep origin. We emphasize distinguishing the ＇exsolution microstructures＇ from the ＇non-exsolution microstructures＇ based on their geometric topotaxy and chemistry. In order to decipher correctly the exsolution microstructures, it is crucial to understand the changes of chemistry and habits of host minerals with pressure and temperature, Therefore, it is important to combine observations of exsolution microstructure in natural rocks with experimental results at high pressure and temperature and results of micro-scale analyses. Such studies will improve our understanding of the UHP metamorphism and cast new lights on solid geoscience issues such as deep subduction of continental crusts and crust-mantle interactions.     

Discovery of super-silicic and super-titanic garnets in garnet-pyroxenite in Zhaheba and its geological significance

Super-silicic garnet which exists stably at more than 5 GPa is a typical ultra-high pressure mineral. The super-silicic garnet and super-titanic garnet were discovered for the first time in garnet-pyroxenlte of early Paleozoic Zhaheba-Aermantai orogenic belt in north Xinjiang. Our study indicates that these su per-silicic garnets as well as super-Utanic garnets were formed at a depth of at least 300 km. Their host rock-garnet-pyroxenite is one kind of ultra-pressure metamorphic rocks which is related to the ultra-deep subduction of the oceanic crust. Thus, the early Paleozoic Zhaheba-Aermantai orogenic belt is related to the ultra-deep aubduction of the Paleo-Aaian oceanic crust.     

Diachroneity of continental subduction and exhumation: Constraints from the Permian-Triassic HP metamorphic terrane in the Tongbai orogen, central China

High-pressure （HP） metamorphic terrane in the Tongbai orogen comprises two HP slices （I and II） and a tectonic m61ange zone in the northeast and a blueschist-greenschist zone in the southwest. HP slice I is represented by the northern and southern eclogite zones on the two sides of the Tongbaishan antiform. HP slice II is represented by retrograded eclogite-bearing metamorphic en- claves in Cretaceous gneissic granites in the Tongbai Complex. U-Pb, Lu-Hf, Rb-Sr and 4Ar/39Ar multichronometric data indi- cate that the peak metamorphism of HP slice I took place at -255 Ma, whereas the metamorphic ages of HP slice II are as young as 232-220 Ma. By contrast, the tectonic melange zone near the suture was metamorphosed at -256 Ma. Such a diachroneity of dif- ferent slices across the direction of the orogen in the Hong＇an-Dabie-Sulu HP/UHP terrane is ubiquitous, and it can be interpreted by a syn-subduction detachment/exhumation model. Furthermore, the metamorphic age of HP slice I in the Tongbai orogen is older than that of the equivalent HP slice in the Hong＇an orogen by ~15 Ma, suggesting that the diachroneity may have also ex- isted along the direction of the orogen. A seesaw-type subduction/exhumation model is proposed to explain this age disparity and the subduction of the South China Block becomimg shallower towards the west.     

Evolution of the Archaean crust by delamination and shallow subduction

The Archaean oceanic crust was probably thicker than present-day oceanic crust owing to higher heat flow and thus higher degrees of melting at mid-ocean ridges. These conditions would also have led to a different bulk composition of oceanic crust in the early Archaean, that would probably have consisted of magnesium-rich picrite (with variably differentiated portions made up of basalt, gabbro, ultramafic cumulates and picrite). It is unclear whether these differences would have influenced crustal subduction and recycling processes, as experiments that have investigated the metamorphic reactions that take place during subduction have to date considered only modern mid-ocean-ridge basalts. Here we present data from high-pressure experiments that show that metamorphism of ultramafic cumulates and picrites produces pyroxenites, which we infer would have delaminated and melted to produce basaltic rocks, rather than continental crust as has previously been thought. Instead, the formation of continental crust requires subduction and melting of garnet-amphibolite--formed only in the upper regions of oceanic crust--which is thought to have first occurred on a large scale during subduction in the late Archaean. We deduce from this that shallow subduction and recycling of oceanic crust took place in the early Archaean, and that this would have resulted in strong depletion of only a thin layer of the uppermost mantle.The misfit between geochemical depletion models and geophysical models for mantle convection (which include deep subduction) might therefore be explained by continuous deepening of this depleted layer through geological time.     

Subduction and collision processes in the Central Andes constrained by converted seismic phases

The Central Andes are the Earth's highest mountain belt formed by ocean-continent collision. Most of this uplift is thought to have occurred in the past 20 Myr, owing mainly to thickening of the continental crust, dominated by tectonic shortening. Here we use P-to-S (compressional-to-shear) converted teleseismic waves observed on several temporary networks in the Central Andes to image the deep structure associated with these tectonic processes. We find that the Moho (the Mohorovici? discontinuity--generally thought to separate crust from mantle) ranges from a depth of 75 km under the Altiplano plateau to 50 km beneath the 4-km-high Puna plateau. This relatively thin crust below such a high-elevation region indicates that thinning of the lithospheric mantle may have contributed to the uplift of the Puna plateau. We have also imaged the subducted crust of the Nazca oceanic plate down to 120 km depth, where it becomes invisible to converted teleseismic waves, probably owing to completion of the gabbro-eclogite transformation; this is direct evidence for the presence of kinetically delayed metamorphic reactions in subducting plates. Most of the intermediate-depth seismicity in the subducting plate stops at 120 km depth as well, suggesting a relation with this transformation. We see an intracrustal low-velocity zone, 10-20 km thick, below the entire Altiplano and Puna plateaux, which we interpret as a zone of continuing metamorphism and partial melting that decouples upper-crustal imbrication from lower-crustal thickening.     

25 years of continental deep subduction

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the discovery of coesite in metamorphic rocks of supracrustal origin. This initiated a revolution of the plate tectonics theory due to intensive studies of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and continental deep subduction. The occurrence of coesite was first reported in 1984 by two French scientists, C. Chopin and D.C. Smith,     

LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating for high-pressure basic granulite from North Qinling and its geological significance

Inrecentyears,discoveriesofhightoultrahighpressuremetamorphicrocksatthenorthandsouthsidesoftheQinlingGroupinthenorthernpartoftheQinlingMountains(hereafterNorthQinling)haveattractedfocusattentionofgeologistsworldwide.Thenorthhigh-pressure(HP)metamorphicbelt,distributedintheareafromGuanpotoShuanghuaishunorthwardtoShizipin,LushCountyinHenanProvince,consistsmainlyofeclogiteoutcroppedaslenticularmassesofdifferentsizesinthegneissesoftheQinlingGroupclosetothesouthsideofZhuyangguan-Xiaguanfault…     

Breakdown of lawsonite subsequent to peak UHP metamorphism in the Dabie terrane and its implication for fluid activity

Abundant occurrences of quartz vein within eclogites in the Dabie-Sulu orogen provide us an opportunity to study metamorphic fluid flow during subduction and exhumation of continental crust. It is, however, usually short of petrological constraints on pressure and temperature of vein formation. This study focuses on kyanite-quartz veins within Iow-T/high-P eclogite in the Dabie terrane that contain unique polycrystalline aggregates, interpreted as pseudomorphs after porphyroblasts of lawsonite. Coesite pseudomorphs were found for the first time in garnet from eclogite, resulting in a revised estimate of peak P-T conditions at 670℃ and 3.3 GPa for the eclogite. This indicates a stability field at graphite/diamond transition, thus upgrading the HP unit to a UHP unit. Neither foliation texture, undulose extinction of quartz nor coesite were observed in quartz veins,although the peak P-T conditions were estimated the same as that in host eclogite in light of thermodynamic calculation based on mineral assemblage in kyanite-quartz veins.Therefore, the formation of the kyanite-quartz veins as wellas the breakdown of lawsonlte into the kyanite-quartz-zoisite assemblage took place during exhumation subsequent to the peak UHP conditions. In this regard, the continental subduction not only brought the water of water-bearing mineral such as lawsonite into the deep mantle, but also released the water from the mineral during exhumation.     

Eclogites in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau and their geodynamic implications

Eclogites have been recently reported in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau, including in the central Qiangtang metamorphic belt, in the Basu metamorphic massif of the eastern Bangong-Nujiang suture zone, and at Songdo and Pengco in the eastern Lhasa terrane. Some typical ultrahigh-pressure （UHP） metamorphic phenomena, e.g., garnet exsolution from clinopyroxene, were documented in the Basu and Pengco eclogites. The UHP metamorphism in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau marked by these eclogites generally took place in the Early Mesozoic. Along with exhumation of these eclogites, （post-） collision-related magmatism extensively occurred around the central Qiangtang belt, the eastern Bangong-Nujiang suture zone, and the eastern Lhasa terrane. The occurrence of these Early Mesozoic eclogites manifests an out-of-sequence evolution of the Tethys, and they could be a product of diachronous collision between the eastern Qiangtang terrane and the irregular continental margin of the united western Qiangtang-Lhasa plate, along the linked eastern Bangong-Nujiang-central Qiangtang zone. The collision-related magmatic rocks could have been originated from lithospheric thickening, melting, or detachment due to the collision. The presence of UHP metamorphic rocks in central Qiangtang and Basu implies likely continental deep-subduction, and the denudation of these two metamorphic zones could have served as the source of the Triassic turbidites in the Songpan-Garze complex and the Jurassic turbidites in the western Bangong-Nujiang zone, respectively. However, studies of the eclogites in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau just began, and many principal aspects still remain to be explored, such as their distributions, typical lithologies and minerals, temperature-pressure conditions, timing of formation and exhumation, protoliths and tectonic setting, and relationship with the evolution of the Tethys and large-scale basins in Tibet.     

The possible subduction of continental material to depths greater than 200 km

Determining the depth to which continental lithosphere can be subducted into the mantle at convergent plate boundaries is of importance for understanding the long-term growth of supercontinents as well as the dynamic processes that shape such margins. Recent discoveries of coesite and diamond in regional ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks has demonstrated that continental material can be subducted to depths of at least 120 km (ref. 1), and subduction to depths of 150-300 km has been inferred from garnet peridotites in orogenic UHP belts based on several indirect observations. But continental subduction to such depths is difficult to trace directly in natural UHP metamorphic crustal rocks by conventional mineralogical and petrological methods because of extensive late-stage recrystallization and the lack of a suitable pressure indicator. It has been predicted from experimental work, however, that solid-state dissolution of pyroxene should occur in garnet at depths greater than 150 km (refs 6-8). Here we report the observation of high concentrations of clinopyroxene, rutile and apatite exsolutions in garnet within eclogites from Yangkou in the Sulu UHP metamorphic belt, China. We interpret these data as resulting from the high-pressure formation of pyroxene solid solutions in subducted continental material. Appropriate conditions for the Na2O concentrations and octahedral silicon observed in these samples are met at depths greater than 200 km.