Gisella Rebay

Emplacement at granulite facies conditions of the Sesia–Lanzo metagabbros: an early record of Permian rifting?

The evolution of the pre-Alpine Corio and Monastero metagabbros points to strong chemical and mineralogical similarities with that of other Permian gabbro bodies of the Alps, which are concentrated in the Southalpine and Austroalpine domains. The structural and metamorphic pre-Alpine evolution of these gabbros records a re-equilibration following the emplacement in the deep crust (P=0.6–0.9 GPa and T=850±70 °C), exhumation through amphibolite facies conditions (P=0.5–0.35 GPa and T=570–670 °C), followed by a greenschist facies imprint (0.25≤P≤0.35 GPa and T<550 °C). This retrograde P–T evolution suggests that the exhumation occurred in a high thermal gradient regime, such as that induced by upwelling of an asthenospheric plume during continental rifting. This would be consistent with the crustal thinning known to have occurred in both the Southalpine and Austroalpine domains during Permian times. The gabbros and their country acid granulites are spatially associated with the serpentinised subcontinental mantle of the Lanzo Massif. This lithologic association and the metamorphic evolution is similar to that of the Fedoz gabbro (Austroalpine Domain of the Central Alps) and completely different from that observed in passive margins, where no remnants of the lower crust occur and the upper granitic crust directly overlies the serpentinized lherzolites. The location of Permian gabbro bodies in the Austroalpine and Southalpine domains and their absence in the Helvetic domain is evidence for asymmetric rifting.

The transition from Variscan collision to continental break-up in the Alps: insights from the comparison between natural data and numerical model predictions

Abstract Records of Variscan structural and metamorphic imprints in the Alps indicate that before Pangaea fragmentation, the continental lithosphere was thermally and mechanically perturbed during Variscan subduction and collision. A diffuse igneous activity associated with high-temperature (HT) metamorphism, accounting for a Permian–Triassic high thermal regime, is peculiar to the Alpine area and has been interpreted as induced either by late-orogenic collapse or by lithospheric extension and thinning leading to continental rifting. Intra-continental basins hosting Permian volcanic products have been interpreted as developed either in a late-collisional strike-slip or in a continental rifting setting. Two-dimensional finite element models have been used to shed light on the transition between the late Variscan orogenic evolution and lithospheric thinning that, since Permian–Triassic time, announced the opening of Tethys. Comparison of model predictions with a broad set of natural metamorphic, structural, sedimentary and igneous data suggests that the late collisional gravitational evolution does not provide a thermo-mechanical outline able to justify mantle partial melting, evidenced by emplacement of huge gabbro bodies and regional-scale high-temperature metamorphism during Permian–Triassic time. An active extension is required to obtain model predictions comparable with natural data inferred from the volumes of the Alpine basement that were poorly reactivated during Mesozoic–Tertiary convergence.

Interplay between deformation and metamorphism during eclogitization of amphibolites in the Sesia–Lanzo Zone of the Western Alps

Interactions of fabric evolution and chemical parameters driving reaction progress during the amphibolite-to-eclogite transition were investigated in eclogitized amphibolites of the Western Alps. In the Sesia–Lanzo Zone (SLZ), mafic rocks ranging from eclogitized hornblendites to true eclogites occur as layers and boudins within micaschists and are characterized by different modal amounts of amphibole, omphacite, zoisite, garnet, and phengite, constituting the Alpine HP assemblage. Across narrow zones, this array of lithologies displays gradients in planar fabrics characterized by coronitic, S-tectonitic, and mylonitic textures with different extents of eclogitization. Eclogitic parageneses are controlled not only by the bulk rock composition of the protoliths but also by the degree of fabric evolution. This is the case for omphacite occurrence, which is constrained by plagioclase composition and modal amount (NK parameter) in the protoliths, whereas the increase in modal omphacite and the concomitant decrease in modal amphibole in rocks with high NK are controlled by the strain rate. Protoliths with a low NK content develop the amphibole + garnet + epidote assemblage in eclogitized hornblendites. In protoliths with higher NK values, the co-existence of amphibole with garnet, omphacite, and epidote occurs only for low-to-medium strain textures (e.g. coronites and S-tectonites), whereas an amphibole-free assemblage defines a mylonitic foliation; in this case, amphibole relics are present exclusively as armoured inclusions in garnets and omphacite porphyroclasts. Thus, amphibole persists in the eclogitic assemblage at pressures exceeding the experimentally determined amphibole stability field. Values of confining pressure under which Sesia–Lanzo mafic rocks re-equilibrated during Alpine subduction were estimated, through equilibrium assemblage modelling, at 2.2–2.7 GPa. The amphibole-bearing eclogites of the SLZ show that large volumes of amphibole-bearing rocks can be exhumed from a depth exceeding 75 km without dehydration reactions running to completion. Petrological estimates in orogenic zones may help constrain geological and tectonic conclusions when selection of laboratory samples is assisted even by simple microstructural evaluation of planar fabric development.

Sulfur isotope evolution in sulfide ores from Western Alps: assessing the influence of subduction-related metamorphism

Sulfides entering subduction zones can play an important role in the release of sulfur and metals to the mantle wedge and contribute to the formation of volcanic arc-associated ores. Fractionation of stable sulfur isotopes recorded by sulfides during metamorphism can provide evidence of fluid-rock interactions during metamorphism and give insights on sulfur mobilization. A detailed microtextural and geochemical study was performed on mineralized samples from two ocean floor-related sulfide deposits (Servette and Beth-Ghinivert) in high-pressure units of the Italian Western Alps, which underwent different metamorphic evolutions. The combination of microtextural investigations with δ34S values from in situ ion probe analyses within individual pyrite and chalcopyrite grains allowed evaluation of the effectiveness of metamorphism in modifying the isotopic record and mobilizing sulfur and metals and have insights on fluid circulation within the slab. Textures and isotopic compositions inherited from the protolith are recorded at Beth-Ghinivert, where limited metamorphic recrystallization is attributed to limited interaction with metamorphic fluids. Isotopic modification by metamorphic processes occurred only at the submillimeter scale at Servette, where local interactions with infiltrating hydrothermal fluid are recorded by metamorphic grains. Notwithstanding the differences recorded by the two deposits, neither underwent intensive isotopic reequilibration or records evidence of intense fluid-rock interaction and S mobilization during metamorphism. Therefore, subducted sulfide deposits dominated by pyrite and chalcopyrite are unlikely to release significant quantities of sulfur to the mantle wedge and to arc magmatism sources at metamorphic grades below the lower eclogite facies.

Taking advantage of petrostructural heterogeneities in subduction-collisional orogens, and effect on the scale of analysis

Since the beginning of the last century, tectonic history of polyphase metamorphic tectonites of orogenic basement complexes is often related to primary links with metasediments, of presumably known origin, and location of their original basins. However such history is worth to be compared with results of an alternative, independent investigation that pursues: i) an objective reconstruction of the evolutionary steps modifying the lithostratigraphic setting and of its deformation-metamorphism interactions during plate-scale events, and ii) a privileged reconstruction of the rock memory for the structural and metamorphic correlation of crystalline basement units. Interpretative merging of data gathered from these affine rock properties made interpretations of orogenic zones more actualistic and based on recognition of tectonic trajectories of units through evolving geodynamic contexts. In this account a refinement of the analytical approach to inferring deformation and metamorphic paths and constructing geological histories of basements in axial zones of orogenic belts is presented and examples are synthesized from the Western Alps and the Canadian Cordillera, based on detailed structural and lithostratigraphic mapping in harmony with macro- and micro- structural techniques of analysis, are reported from the two belts.

Fluid rock interactions as recorded by Cl-rich amphiboles from continental and oceanic crust of italian orogenic belts.

A number of samples of Cl-rich amphiboles coming from oceanic and sub-continental gabbro bodies has been studied in order to compare their microstructural and compositional peculiarities and to investigate the fluid-rock interactions in different geodynamic contexts. The development of a first group of amphiboles outcropping in the Northern Apennines was the result of an hydration event that has been ascribed to oceanic metamorphism. The second group was found in a slice of continental crust subducted during Alpine collision, in a subcontinental metagabbro from the Sesia-Lanzo Zone of Western Italian Alps. Their development has been ascribed to a hydrothermal event that took place after the exhumation of the metagabbro during pre-Alpine lithospheric extension. The Cl-amphiboles are either found in veins, as granoblastic aggregates in different microstructures or as rims of zoned amphiboles, where brown-amphibole cores (sometimes Ti-rich), and successive green amphibole, are rimmed by the Cl-rich amphibole. All amphiboles show edembergite to pargasite compositions up to glaucophane and crossites when reequilibrated under HP conditions, with a direct correlation between Fe and Na (A) vs. Cl content, and inverse correlation of Mg and Na (M4) vs. Cl. A comparison with other Cl-amphiboles that have been observed both in oceanic and continental settings, allow inferring the role played by Cl-rich fluids infiltration both in oceanic and continental crust, during lithospheric extension. The large variations in Si, Al IV , Al VI , Fe, Mg, K and Cl may be related to the combination of different factors, such as Cl-content and related cristal-chemical constraints, whole rock composition, PT conditions of reequilibration, the microdomains where the amphibole grows and the variable a HCl/fluid /a H2O/fluid ratio of the fluid in equilibrium with the amphiboles at various stages of the metamorphic evolution. Amphiboles that locally contain extremely high Cl contents (up to 4% wt) could have been in equilibrium with a locally enriched Cl-fluid. As suggested by the fact that the Cl content of amphibole into the veins is generally lower than in amphibole rims far from the veins, these equilibrium conditions probably were reached at places where the system was locally closed. In addition, hydration reaction consumed the H 2 O component of the fluid, leading to a re-equilibration of the crystallising amphibole with the remaining Cl-enriched fluid. Equilibration temperatures up to 350°C can be attributed to the Apennines amphiboles, and up to 550°C to the ones from the Sesia-Lanzo Zone.

The Monviso massif and the Cottian Alps as symbols of the Alpine chain and geological heritage in Piemonte, Italy.

In order to promote geosite conservation in the project entitled ‘PROactive management of GEOlogical heritage in the PIEMONTE Region’, we propose a comprehensive study involving the Monviso Massif (MM) geothematic area, one of the most outstanding symbols of the Alps and particularly of the Cottian Alps. Specifically, at the MM, the inventory of a number of different geosites whose conservation and development require different geologic and some additional non-geological expertise is considered: (1) some of the best preserved ophiolites in the Alps and the associated Cu–Fe mineralizations; (2) the lithostructural units in the Germanasca Valley; (3) the first primary source of jade in the Alps at the MM and its importance in terms of Neolithic to Bronze Age-polished stone implements; (4) the world-famous minerals such as coesite and giant pyrope, as well as type localities for new minerals (including carlosturanite); (5) the area, now buried under a debris flow, where Hannibal is thought to have regrouped his army while crossing the Alps; and (6) the biodiversity of lichens, microfungi and cyanobacteria colonizing the ophiolites, which can give additional value for the environmental assessment and evaluation of the MM outcrops. Following geodiversity identification, further stages will be devoted to develop appropriate plans for geodiversity conservation in this area.

UHP Ti-chondrodite in the Zermatt-Saas serpentinite: Constraints on a new tectonic scenario

Abstract We focus on the key role of different Ti-humite minerals in subducted serpentinites as possible indicators of extreme pressure conditions. The occurrence of Ti-chondrodite and/or Ti-clinohumite assemblages in the eclogitized serpentinites of the Zermatt-Saas Zone (ZSZ) of the Western Alps allows the recrystallization of such rocks at UHP conditions (P = 2.8–3.5 GPa, T = 600–670 °C) to be determined. Such conditions are similar to those registered by the nearby Cignana unit, a main Alpine area for UHP metamorphism, where coesite and microdiamond have been found. In ZSZ serpentinites, the new UHP assemblage predates the previously recognized HP-UHP paragenesis, which was recently dated at 65 Ma. This finding opens up a new interpretation for the petrologically and structurally well-constrained HP/ UHP records, especially because all other ages for HP-UHP metamorphism in the ZSZ are much younger, and for the size of UHP units. Our findings suggest that ophiolites in the axial zone of collisional belts are a mosaic of oceanic lithosphere slices that recorded contrasted thermal and mechanical evolutions during their physical trajectories in the subduction wedge.

Superposed syn-metamorphic structures of the Alpine and pre-Alpine convergent cycles in the Southalpine basement of the Orobic Alps (Northern Italy)

New detailed maps of two key areas of the Southalpine basement unravel the superposition of pre-Alpine deformation stages associated with different metamorphic imprints, and distinguish Alpine thrust and fold structures involving basement and Permian-Mesozoic sedimentary cover. Basement rocks consist of metasediments (micaschists, quartzites and paragneisses) and metagranitoids and cover rocks comprise Permian volcanics and sediments. The boundaries between two tectono-metamorphic units have been distinguished at the map scale, thanks to the integrated use of structural and petrological analyses, on the basis of foliation trajectories supported by metamorphic assemblages. Two different pre-Alpine metamorphic evolutions characterise a basement portion that seemingly appears as a monotonous sequence dominantly affected by a greenschist-facies imprint. The volcano-sedimentary sequence of Permian age has been used as the time marker that separates Alpine from pre-Alpine superposed structures; Alpine deformation consists of two superposed groups of structures, the first of which is locally associated with a very low-grade metamorphic imprint and related at the regional scale to a south-verging thrust system.

Iron Age silicate slags from Val Malenco (Italy): the role of textural and compositional studies in the reconstruction of smelting conditions

A petrographic study of silicate smelt-slags from several localities of Val Malenco (Italy) provides a key for unravelling the technologies used in reduction of copper ores during the Iron Age. Thick “tap type” slags with “rope surface” structures and thin, flat slags, were analysed. All slags are made of olivine (up to 60%), oxides, sulphides, minor interstitial Fe-rich pyroxenes (esseneite and augite) and glass. Olivine is zoned, with Mg-rich cores, Fe-rich inner rims and thin Ca-rich outer rims. Mesh textures, the composition of olivine cores and relic minerals, such as Cr-rich spinel, suggest that the mineralised levels of the Malenco ophiolitic complex were the source of the exploited ore. Ca-rich olivine rims and Ca-rich interstitial phases suggest a Ca-rich material was supposedly added during smelting to lower the melting point of the ore. The material used for this task could have been marbles or calcschists of ophicarbonates outcropping nearby Lanzada. Based on petrological considerations, the smelting conditions were constrained to a furnace in which, for temperatures around 1080-1200°C, oxygen fugacity was 10 -14 -10 -9 atm.