High-Temperature Granite Magmatism, Crust–Mantle Interaction and the Mesoproterozoic Intracontinental Evolution of the Musgrave Province, Central Australia
R.H. SmithiesHeather M. HowardPaul EvinsChristopher L. KirklandDavid E. KelseyMartin HandM.T.D. WingateAlan S. CollinsЕлена Белоусова
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Abstract:
The Musgrave Province lies at the convergence of major structural trends formed during the Proterozoic amalgamation of the North, West and South Australian Cratons prior to c. 1290 Ma. The Musgrave Orogeny, one of three Mesoproterozoic orogenies to affect the province, produced the granites of the Pitjantjatjara Supersuite, which dominate the outcrop. This orogeny was an intracontinental and dominantly extensional event in which ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) conditions persisted from c. 1220 to c. 1120 Ma. The onset of UHT conditions is heralded by a change from low-Yb granites to voluminous Yb-enriched granites, reflecting a rapid decrease in crustal thickness. The Pitjantjatjara granites are ferroan, calc-alkalic to alkali-calcic rocks and include charnockites with an orthopyroxene-bearing primary mineralogy. They were emplaced at temperatures ≥1000°C from c. 1220 to c. 1150 Ma. Their geochemical and Nd and Hf isotopic homogeneity over a scale of >15 000 km2 reflects a similarly homogeneous source. This source included an old enriched felsic crustal component. However, the bulk source was mafic to intermediate in composition. The long-lived UHT regime, and thermal limits on the amount of crust sustainable below the level of intrusion, indicates a significant (>50%) mantle-derived source component. However, a positive correlation between Mg-number and F suggests that many Pitjantjatjara granites formed through the breakdown of F-rich biotite in a crustal granulite. We suggest that under- and intraplated mafic magmas assimilated the limited available felsic crust into lower crustal MASH (melting, assimilation, storage, homogenization) domains. These partially cooled but were remobilized during subsequent under- and intra-plating events to produce the Pitjantjatjara granites. The duration of UHT conditions is inconsistent with a mantle plume. It reflects an intracontinental lithospheric architecture where the Musgrave Province was rigidly fixed at the nexus of three thick cratonic masses. This ensured that any asthenospheric upwelling was focused beneath the province, providing a constant supply of both heat and mantle-derived magma.Keywords:
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Laboratory measurements of compressional and shear wave velocity to confining pressures of 600 MPa for a suite of representative samples collected from the Pikwitonei granulite belt and God's Lake domain, an Archean crustal cross section in the northwestern Superior Province, provide the basis of comparison of these terranes with the seismic characteristics of Archean lower crust. We found that felsic rocks in the Pikwitonei granulite belt and God's Lake domain, which make up the bulk of these terranes, have a similar average compressional wave velocity of 6.5 km/s at 600 MPa, indicating that felsic rocks show little velocity change across the amphibolite–granulite facies transition. Compressional wave velocities for mafic rocks from each terrane are between 7.1 and 7.3 km/s. Apparent Poisson's ratio ranges from 0.24 to 0.26 and 0.26 to 0.28 for felsic and mafic rocks, respectively. These velocity data compare favorably with data for similar lithologies from the Kapuskasing uplift. Using the relative abundances of the constituent lithologies, the weighted average compressional wave velocities of the God's Lake domain and Pikwitonei granulite belt at 600 MPa are 6.56 and 6.63 km/s, respectively. These values, coupled with velocity distribution functions based on the population statistics and relative abundance for each lithology, show that there is no correspondence between the seismic characteristics of the Pikwitonei granulite belt and typical Archean and Proterozoic lower crust. The average properties of the Pikwitonei granulite belt and God's Lake domain, however, correspond well with typical Archean and Proterozoic middle crust. This suggests that either the Pikwitonei granulite belt represents an extreme felsic end member of Archean lower crust or that the deepest levels of the Superior Province crust are not exposed in the Pikwitonei granulite belt. Similar distribution function diagrams for acoustic impedance show that the Pikwitonei granulite belt is characterized by high acoustic impedance contrasts, but the high-impedance component is low in abundance. If the strong reflections observed under the Pikwitonei granulite belt in recent Lithoprobe surveys are not due to other causes, such as favorably oriented bodies of metamorphosed banded iron formation, diabase, or rock units not exposed in this region but present at depth, then they are caused by surprisingly small volumes of mafic metavolcanic rocks.
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Abstract High‐pressure granulites are generally characterized by the absence of orthopyroxene. However, orthopyroxene is reported in a few high‐pressure, felsic–metapelitic granulites, such as the Huangtuling felsic high‐pressure granulite in the North Dabie metamorphic core complex in east‐central China, which rarely preserves the high‐pressure granulite facies assemblage of garnet + orthopyroxene + biotite + plagioclase + K‐feldspar + quartz. To investigate the effects of bulk‐rock composition on the stability of orthopyroxene‐bearing, high‐pressure granulite facies assemblages in the NCKFMASHTO (Na 2 O–CaO–K 2 O–FeO–MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –H 2 O–TiO 2 –Fe 2 O 3 ) system, a series of P – T – X pseudosections based on the melt‐reintegrated composition of the Huangtuling felsic high‐pressure granulite were constructed. Calculations demonstrate that the orthopyroxene‐bearing, high‐pressure granulite facies assemblages are restricted to low X Al [Al 2 O 3 /(Na 2 O + CaO + K 2 O + FeO + MgO + Al 2 O 3 ) < 0.35, mole proportion] or high X Mg [MgO/(MgO + FeO) > 0.85] felsic–metapelitic rock types. This study also reveals that the X Al values in the residual felsic–metapelitic, high‐pressure granulites could be significantly reduced by a high proportion of melt loss. We suggest that orthopyroxene‐bearing, high‐pressure granulites occur in residual overthickened crustal basement under continental subduction–collision zones and arc–continent collision belts.
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A first-order approximation of the lithological make-up of an orogen's middle and lower crust can provide insights into its structure, as well as the tectono-metamorphic and geodynamic processes taking place there. In this study, we investigate the possible lithological and chemical composition of Taiwan's middle and lower crust by matching in situ physical properties measured by the TAIGER tomography data with isotropic wavespeeds, density, and major element composition for a variety of upper amphibolite and granulite facies rocks modelled at ambient pressure and temperature using the AbersHacker Macro. The modelling suggests that Taiwan's middle crust is possibly comprised of some combination of biotite-poor metapelite, garnet-poor felsic granulite, mafic granulite, amphibolite, and marble. The lower crust is likely comprised of mafic granulite, garnet-rich felsic granulite, biotite-free metapelite, and eclogite. Furthermore, the modelling shows that the modal abundance of garnet and/or sillimanite has a significant effect on physical properties, elevating seismic wavespeeds and density of felsic rocks to those of mafic rocks. The modelled wt% major oxide composition suggests that Taiwan's middle and lower crust have a more mafic chemical composition than that of global compilations of the continental crust. Nevertheless, this reflects the choices made when assigning rock types for the lithological mix used to calculate the wt% oxides, since increasing the percentage of garnet-rich metapelite and felsic granulite would result in a more felsic bulk composition.
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