Bénédicte Cenki-Tok

Strain partitioning along the anatectic front in the Variscan Montagne Noire massif (southern French Massif Central)

We decipher late-orogenic crustal flow characterized by feedback relations between partial melting and deformation in the Variscan Montagne Noire gneiss dome. The dome shape and finite strain pattern of the Montagne Noire Axial Zone (MNAZ) result from the superimposition of three deformations (D1, D2 and D3). The early flat-lying S1 foliation is folded by D2 upright ENE-WSW folds and transposed in the central and southern part of the MNAZ into steep D2 high-strain zones consistent with D2 NW-SE horizontal shortening, in bulk contractional coaxial deformation regime that progressively evolved to noncoaxial dextral transpression. The D2 event occurred under metamorphic conditions that culminated at 0.65 ± 0.05 GPa and 720 ± 20°C. Along the anatectic front S1 and S2 foliations are transposed into a flat-lying S3 foliation with top-to-NE and top-to-SW shearing in the NE and SW dome terminations, respectively. These structures define a D3 transition zone related to vertical shortening during coaxial thinning with a preferential NE-SW to E-W directed stretching. Depending on structural level, the metamorphic conditions associated with D3 deformation range from partial melting conditions in the dome core to subsolidus conditions above the D3 transition zone. We suggest that D2 and D3 deformation events were active at the same time and resulted from strain partitioning on both sides of the anatectic front that may correspond to a major rheological boundary within the crust.

Redistribution of REE, Y, Th, and U at high pressure: Allanite-forming reactions in impure meta-quartzites (Sesia Zone, Western Italian Alps)

Abstract Accessory phases are important hosts of trace elements; allanite may contain >90% of the REE in a bulk rock. The mobility and redistribution of several trace elements, notably HREE, Th, U, and Y is thus controlled by reactions involving allanite and other REE phases, as well as several rock-forming minerals. As these elements are commonly concentrated in mature clastic sediments, a suite of impure quartzite was studied. Two eclogite facies samples from the Monometamorphic Cover Complex of the Sesia Zone (Western Italian Alps) are presented in some detail, as they reveal a remarkably rich spectrum of reaction relationships that involve REE phases. Two allanite-forming reactions were inferred from textures and phase compositions (1) monazite + Ca-silicate(?) + fluid → allanite + apatite + thorite; (2) monazite + thorite + Ca-silicate(?) + fluid → Th-rich allanite + auerlite ± apatite. Petrographic observations and thermodynamic models suggest that allanite entered the HP assemblage at ~530 °C and 17-18 kbar during prograde metamorphism. In one sample, allanite is rimmed by epidote rich in Y and HREE that grew at the expense of xenotime. Two net transfer reactions were derived (3) xenotime + allanite + fluid → Y-rich epidote + apatite + thorite; (4) xenotime + allanite + fluid → Y-rich epidote + aeschynite + thorite + (phosphate?). Textural relationships and trace element analyses of coexisting allanite/monazite and xenotime/ Y-rich epidote reveal systematic partitioning of the REE. Partition coefficients for the HREE are compatible with equilibrium fractionation, whereas those for the LREE show patterns that seem to be inherited from the precursor phases, in this case zircon with variable LREE composition.

Geochemical and petrological characterization of gem opals from Wegel Tena, Wollo, Ethiopia: opal formation in an Oligocene soil

Gem opals from Wegel Tena, Wollo Province, Ethiopia, occur in Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites. They display a unique geochemistry, with some samples yielding the highest Ba concentrations ever recorded. They are generally much richer in chemical impurities than opals from other localities. For example, the sum Al+Fe or the sum Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba are often higher. These geochemical features make them easy to distinguish from other opals worldwide. We observed strong geochemical variations and some good positive correlations in our samples, such as Al+Fe vs. Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba, Al vs Ca, or Ba vs Ca. This shows that the crystallography of opal has controlled, at least in part, the incorporation of chemical impurities, although opal is not well-crystallized. In addition, the multimodal distributions of several chemical impurities (e.g. U vs Sr, Al vs Ca, Ba vs Ca, etc.) suggest at least two origins of silica: weathering of feldspars and weathering of volcanic glass. In addition, opals from Wegel Tena contain numerous well-preserved microscopic plant fossils. Moreover, their host rock exhibits features typical of pedogenesis (abundant clays, desiccation cracks, and grain size sorting). We propose that the opals at Wegel Tena formed during the Oligocene period when volcanic emissions stopped for a time long enough to allow weathering of ingimbrites and therefore liberation of silica. This accompanied the formation of soil and development of plant life, and some plants were trapped in opal. Supplementary Material: The totality of the chemical analyses is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18519.