Petrology of Upper Amphibolite Facies Marbles from the East Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA; Evidence for High-Temperature, Retrograde, Hydrous Volatile Fluxes at Mid-Crustal Levels |
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| Authors: | PETERS MARK T; WICKHAM STEPHEN M |
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| Institution: | Department of the Geophysical Sciences and Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 60637 |
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| Abstract: | Petrographic and petrologic investigations of upper amphibolitefacies metacarbonates from the East Humboldt Range core complex,Nevada, provide important constraints on P-T-XCO2 conditionsand fluid flow during metamorphism. Three marble assemblagesare observed (1)dol+cc+bt+cpx+q+ruscapkspamph; (2) cc+bt+cpx+plag+q+sphscapksp;(3) cc+cpx+plag+q+sphscapksp], all of which equilibrated withrelatively CO2-rich fluid compositions, at P-T conditions of 6 kbar and 600–750C. The most recent equilibration eventis recorded in some calcsilicate gneisses where retrograde amphiboleand epidotegarnet replace clinopyroxene and plagioclase, respectively.This is attributed to infiltration of H2O-rich fluids at and/orafter peak metamorphic temperatures, which continued as therocks were cooled and rapidly uplifted after a Tertiary extension-relatedheating event. Likely sources for the retrograde fluids are the abundant pegmatiticleucogranites in the area. Volumetric fluid-rock ratios of 0.02–0.4are required to generate the retrograde assemblage, and observedleucogranite proportions are more than adequate to provide therequired volume of fluid. Estimates of retrograde fluid fluxesrange from 0.25 to 5102 cm3/cm2 for a transient temperaturegradient of 5C/m, to 3103 to 7104 cm3/cm2 for a temperaturegradient of 35C/km. These gradients are characteristic of askarn-type contact metamorphic environment and a regional crustalgeotherm, respectively. They imply different time-scales andlength-scales for the retrograde fluid flow system, with theformer more akin to a contact metamorphic setting with local,meter-scale retrograde fluid flow, and the latter to a regionalmetamorphic setting with regionally high mid- and lower-crustaltemperatures and fluid flow throughout a significant thicknessof the middle crust. Higher gradients are considered more likelygiven the proximity of leucogranites to retrogressed calc-silicategneisses, and the resultant relatively small fluxes are consistentwith a magmatic source. The length-scale of reaction within the retrograde fluid flowsystem was of the order of meters to hundreds of meters andinvolved both pervasive and (later) fracture-controlled down-temperatureflow. Retrograde fluid flow in this terrance, as well as othersdominated by magmatic volatiles, is in the form of multiplediscrete bursts of fluid released in a discontinuous mannerpotentially over long periods of time (1–10 Ma) with locallyvariable thermal gradients along the flow path. |
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