Experimental study on dehydration melting of natural biotite-plagioclase gneiss from High Himalayas and implications for Himalayan crust anatexis

Here we present the results of dehydration melting, melt morphology and fluid migration based on the dehydration melting experiments on natural biotite-plagioclase gneiss performed at the pressure of 1.0–1.4 GPa, and at the temperature of 770–1028°C. Experimental results demonstrate that: (i) most of melt tends to be distributed along mineral boundaries forming “melt filmrd even the amount of melt is less than 5 vol%; melt connectivity is controlled not only by melt topology but also by melt fraction; (ii) dehydration melting involves a series of subprocesses including subsolidus dehydration reaction, fluid migration, vapor-present melting and vapor-absent melting; (iii) experiments produce peraluminous granitic melt whose composition is similar to that of High Himalayan leucogranites (HHLG) and the residual phase assemblage is Pl+Qz+ Gat+Bio+Opx±Cpx+Ilm/Rut±Kfs and can be comparable with granulites observed in Himalayas. The experiments provide the evidence that biotite-plagioclase gneiss is one of source rocks of HHLG and dehydration melting is an important way to form HHLG and the granulites. Additionally, experimental results provide constraints on determining the P-T conditions of Himalayan crustal anatexis.