G. R. Ravindra Kumar

Arrested charnockite formation in southern India and Sri Lanka

Arrested prograde charnockite formation in quartzofeldspathic gneisses is widespread in the high-grade terrains of southern India and Sri Lanka. Two major kinds of orthopyroxene-producing reactions are recognized. Breakdown of calcic amphibole by reaction with biotite and quartz in tonalitic/granitic “gray gneiss” produced the regional orthopyroxene isograd, manifest in charnockitic mottling and veining of “mixed-facies” exposures, as at Kabbal, Karnataka, and in the Kurunegala District of the Sri Lanka Central Highlands. Chemical and modal analyses of carefully chosen immediately-adjacent amphibole gneiss and charnockite pairs show that the orthopyroxene is produced by an open system reaction involving slight losses of CaO, MgO and FeO and gains of SiO2 and Na2O. Rb and Y are depleted in the charnockite. Another kind of charnockitization is found in paragneisses throughout the southern high-grade area, and involves the reaction of biotite and quartz±garnet to produce orthopyroxene and K-feldspar. Although charnockite formation along shears and other deformation zones at such localities as Ponmudi, Kerala is highly reminiscent of Kabbal, close pair analyses are not as suggestive of open-system behavior. This type of charnockite formation is found in granulite facies areas where no prograde amphibole-bearing gneisses exist and connotes a higher-grade reaction than that of the orthopyroxene isograd. Metamorphic conditions of both Kabbaltype and Ponmudi-type localities were 700°–800° C and 5–6 kbar. Lower P(H2O) in the Ponmudi-type metamorphism was probably the definitive factor.CO2-rich fluid inclusions in quartz from the Kabbaltype localities support the concept that this type of charnockite formation was driven by influx of CO2 from some deep-seated source. The open-system behavior and high oxidation states of the metamorphism are in accord with the CO2-streaming hypothesis. CO2-rich inclusions in graphitebearing charnockites of the Ponmudi type, however, commonly have low densities and compositions not predictable by vapor-mineral equilibrium calculations. These inclusions may have suffered post-metamorphic H2 leakage or some systematic contamination.Neither the close-pair analyses nor the fluid inclusions strongly suggest an influx of CO2 drove charnockite formation of the Ponmudi type. The possibility remains that orthopyroxene and CO2-rich fluids were produced by reaction of biotite with graphite without intervention of fluids of external origin. Further evidence, such as oxygen isotopes, is necessary to test the CO2-streaming hypothesis for the Ponmudi-type localities.

Geochemistry of high-grade supracrustal rocks from the Kerala Khondalite Belt and adjacent massif charnockites, South India

Abstract The Kerala Khondalite Belt (KKB) comprises a suite of supracrustal rocks of probable Proterozoic age that was metamorphosed to the granulite facies. The KKB consists of an interlayered sequence of: (1) garnet-biotite ± orthopyroxene ± graphite gneisses; (2) khondalites (graphite-garnet-biotite-sillimanite ± cordierite gneisses); and (3) cordierite gneisses (garnet-biotite-cordierite ± orthopyroxene), as well as less abundant mafic granulites, calc-silicates and quartzites. Petrologic and geochemical data suggest that these rocks were originally arkosic and argillaceous sediments (possibly accompanied by felsic volcanic rocks), along with minor intercalations of basalts, carbonates and quartz-rich sandstones. The REE patterns of the metasediments are typically LREE enriched with large negative Eu anomalies, indicating a continental provenance. The major- and trace-element compositions of some of the arkosic rocks of the KKB resemble those of the massif charnockites that bound the KKB to the north which suggests that the massif charnockites may have been the source of some of the KKB sediments. Modern-day analogues of the pelite-arkose lithologic association observed in the KKB occur in intracratonic rifts and rifted continental margins. This association is clearly distinct from the graywacke-mafic volcanic association found in the southern Indian greenstone belts and many other lower-grade Archean sedimentary sequences. The KKB supracrustals show both lithologic and chemical similarities to many Proterozoic supracrustal successions.

MnNCKFMASH phase relations in cordierite-orthopyroxene migmatitic gneisses, southern india: implications for low-pressure crustal melting under granulite-facies

Cordierite-orthopyroxene migmatitic gneisses exposed in Achankovil unit of the Kerala Khondalite Belt, southern India show evidences of melting, melt extraction and in-situ crystallization of melt under granulite-facies conditions. The sequential mineral assemblages garnet + biotite + orthopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz (± melt) in the mesosomes and garnet + biotite + orthopyroxene + cordierite + plagioclase + K-feldspar + quartz + melt in the melanosomes makes the Achankovil cordierite-orthopyroxene migmatitic gneisses a good example of anatectic rocks, where substantial melt fractions remained in-situ during decompression and cooling. Therefore, the rocks provide an opportunity to investigate deep crustal processes and record of rheological (thermal and mechanical) reequilibration prevailed during the final stages of orogeny.The significance of cordierite formation and its possible relationship with melt formation are investigated applying theoretical calculations in the MnO-Na2O-CaO-K2O-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O (MnNCKFMASH) system. Results of numerical modelling of the mineral assemblages in pressure-temperature-composition (P-T-X) pseudosections using Perple_X infer that the sequence of reactions involving formation of cordierite-orthopyroxene-melt assemblage is consistent with an isothermal decompression (with a pressure drop of >1.5 kbars) at high temperatures (>800 °C), forming leucosomes. Biotite dehydration melting reactions, occurring above 4.5 kbars constrain prograde arm of the P-T trajectory and is interpreted as a product of crustal thickening, which was followed by rapid decompression. The final stage of exhumation is characterized by rehydration of cordierites in the melanosome by melt-solid interactions at exceptionally low-pressure (∼3.2 kbars) conditions. The high-temperature isothermal decompression inferred from the mineral reactions and P-T-X pseudosections constitute a clockwise P-T path for the exhumation of the lower crust. This clockwise P-T path is consistent with the common tectonic model accepted for the genesis of granulite-facies migmatites during crustal thickening and later unroofing, accompanied with arc-continent collision. Our conclusions indicate low-P metamorphism and anatexis can be traced to convergent setting, where melt buoyancy considerably decreases density of the lithosphere and modifies rheology leading to rapid exhumation of the lower crust. Therefore, the crustal evolution in the Kerala Khondalite Belt is correlated with two stage processes: (i) thickening of the crust in relation to a continental-arc setting, followed by (ii) exhumation along a high-temperature stable geotherm with sufficient pressure release associated with syn- to post-convergence transpression and transtension.

The petrology and geochemistry of massif anorthosites and gabbros of the Bavali fault zone, North Kerala

The massif anorthosites and gabbros occurring in the north Kerala region are localised along the Bavali fault. Several other bodies of granophyres and syeites also occupy this fault. All these bodies are considered to be a continuous graduating igneous series. This paper aims at delineating the field relations, petrochemistry and origin of massif anorthosites and gabbros occurring in the vicinity of the fault.Anorthosites (An 70-55) are nonlayered and highly deformed with no igneous structure present. Gabbros show relict poikilitic texture with a mineralogy of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, hornblende and biotite. Geochemical study suggests dominantly calc-alkaline characteristics for both anorthosites and gabbros. However, their chemical variation is not transitional to indicate evolution by continuous differentiation from a single parent magma. The rock types seem to be chemically unrelated and appear to have evolved independently from discreet magma sources and the magma migration might have only been promoted by the Bavali lineament.

Natural radioactivity distribution studies in Trivandrum district, Kerala, India

The distribution pattern of radioactive minerals in Trivandrum district of Kerala has been investigated. The surface radioactivity was measured employing a jeep-mounted four-channel gamma-ray spectrometer coupled to a high volume Na I (T1) crystal detector. The distribution of radioactivity has been correlated with the corresponding litho-units and major structures of the study area. The total countrate from sedimentaries including beach sands and pegmatite rich zones (∼ 3,500 CPS) are significantly higher than that of the laterites and gneisses which are substantiated by laboratory studies.