Amphibolization of the Tso Morari UHP eclogites: a record of fluid
infiltration at amphibolite-facies during uplift in the subduction
channel
Abstract
Ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphism of the Tso Morari
coesite-eclogite during burial in NW Himalaya has been intensively
studied over the past several decades. However, amphibolite-facies
metamorphism and accompanying metasomatism occurring at lower-crustal
depths in the Tso Morari terrane are less well-constrained. In this
study, we characterize the eclogite amphibolization and related
metasomatic fluids by systematically sampling and analyzing the
eclogites at the core of an eclogite boudin and the amphiblolized
eclogite (amphibolite) at the rim. Integrated techniques including modal
mineralogy, mineral chemistry, whole-rock geochemistry, Mössbauer
spectroscopy, and thermodynamic modelling are used to constrain the
fluid-induced eclogite amphibolization and associated fluid behaviors.
Petrographic observations show that infiltration of an external fluid
caused complete amphibolite-facies overprinting of the eclogites at the
boudin rim. This is recorded petrographically as increased modal
proportions of amphibole, biotite, epidote, plagioclase, and calcite in
the amphibolites. The infiltrating fluid caused increased
K2O and CO2 concentrations and higher
bulk-rock Fe3+/ΣFe ratio for the amphibolites, as well
as increased LILE (e.g., K, Rb, Cs, Sr, Ba) and ratios of Ba/Rb and
Cs/Rb. Phase equilibria modelling using P–T–M(H2O)
pseudosections on the amphibolite and the surrounding gneiss indicate
that the fluid infiltration occurred at 9.0–12.5 kbar and
~608 °C with >2.6–3.1 mol %
H2O infiltration. The abrupt increase of bulk-rock
Fe3+/ΣFe ratio from 0.192 to 0.395 near the boudin rim
indicate that this phase of fluid most likely derived from the mixing of
dehydrated host orthogneiss and/or metasediments during uplift at the
amphibolite-facies zone in the subduction channel. This study also
demonstrates the need for using careful petrographic observations and
geochemical analysis in parallel with thermodynamic modelling to achieve
realistic results.