Tomokazu Hokada

Feldspar thermometry in ultrahigh-temperature metamorphic rocks: Evidence of crustal metamorphism attaining ~1100 °C in the Archean Napier Complex, East Antarctica

Abstract Ultrahigh metamorphic temperatures attained in the mid- to lower-crust have been assessed by examining the mineral chemistry of ternary feldspars with relatively coarse exsolution lamellae from the Archean Napier Complex, East Antarctica. Chemical compositions of re-integrated perthitic, mesoperthitic and antiperthitic feldspars are calculated from the modal proportions and the chemical analyses of host and lamellar domains formed through exsolution. Based on ternary feldspar solvus models, re-integrated compositions of feldspars from a variety of rock types yield the minimum equilibrium temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1110 °C (0.8 GPa). These data confirm the suggestion that the regional thermal conditions of the Napier Complex reached or exceeded 1100 °C. As feldspar is one of the common constituents of the crustal rocks, this approach could be applicable to a wide variety of rocks in which feldspar represents exsolution textures

Geochronological constraints on the Late Proterozoic to Cambrian crustal evolution of eastern Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica: a synthesis of SHRIMP U–Pb age and Nd model age data

Abstract In eastern Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica, there are several discrete, isolated magmatic and high-grade metamorphic regions. These are, from west (c. 20°E) to east (c. 50°E), the Sør Rondane Mountains (SRM), Yamato–Belgica Complex (YBC), Lützow-Holm Complex (LHC), Rayner Complex (RC) and Napier Complex (NC). To understand this region in a Gondwanan context, one must distinguish between Pan-African and Grenvillian aged magmatic and metamorphic events. Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb zircon ages and Nd model ages for metamorphic and plutonic rocks are examined in conjunction with published geological and petrological studies of the various terranes. In particular, the evolution of the SRM is examined in detail. Compilation of Nd model ages for new and published data suggests that the main part of eastern Dronning Maud Land, including the SRM, represents juvenile late Mesoproterozoic (c. 1000–1200 Ma) crust associated with minor fragments of an older continental component. Evidence for an Archaean component in the basement of the SRM is lacking. As for central DML, 1100–1200 Ma extensive felsic magmatism is recognized in the SRM. Deposition of sediments during or after magmatism and possible metamorphism at 800–700 Ma is recognized from populations of detrital zircon in metasedimentary rocks. The NE Terrane of the SRM, along with the YBC, was metamorphosed under granulite-facies conditions at c. 600–650 Ma. The SW and NE Terranes of the SRM were brought together during amphibolite-facies metamorphism at c. 570 Ma, and share a common metamorphic and magmatic history from that time. High-grade metamorphism was followed by extensive A-type granitoid activity and contact metamorphism between 560 and 500 Ma. In contrast, TDM and inherited zircon core ages suggest that the LHC is a collage of protoliths with a variety of Proterozoic and Archaean sources. Later peak metamorphism of the LHC at 520–550 Ma thus represents the final stage of Gondwanan amalgamation in this section of East Antarctica.

Terrane correlation between Antarctica, Mozambique and Sri Lanka; comparisons of geochronology, lithology, structure and metamorphism and possible implications for the geology of southern Africa and Antarctica

Abstract Analysis of new lithological, structural, metamorphic and geochronological data from extensive mapping in Mozambique permits recognition of two distinct crustal blocks separated by the Lurio Belt shear zone. Extrapolation of the Mozambique data to adjacent areas in Sri Lanka and Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica permits the recognition of similar crustal blocks and allows the interpretation that the various blocks in Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Antarctica were once part of a mega-nappe, forming part of northern Gondwana, which was thrust-faulted c. 600 km over southern Gondwana during amalgamation of Gondwana at c. 590–550 Ma. The data suggest a deeper level of erosion in southern Africa compared with Antarctica. It is possible that this thrust domain extends, through the Zambezi Belt or Valley, as far west as the Damara Orogen in Namibia with the Naukluft nappes in Namibia, the Makuti Group, the Masoso Suite in the Rushinga area and the Urungwe klippen in northern Zimbabwe, fitting the mega-nappe pattern. Erosional products of the mountain belt are now represented by 700–400 Ma age detrital zircons present in the various sandstone formations of the Transantarctic Mountains, their correlatives in Australia, as well as the Urfjell Group (western Dronning Maud Land) and probably the Natal Group in South Africa.

High fluorine pargasites in ultrahigh temperature granulites from Tonagh Island in the Archean Napier Complex, East Antarctica

Abstract Pargasites (F/(F+Cl+OH) ratio ( X F ) of up to 0.48) from Tonagh Island in Enderby Land, East Antarctica are closely associated with typical high-grade minerals such as orthopyroxene in quartzo-feldspathic, mafic, and ultramafic granulites, and is regarded as a stable mineral at the peak metamorphic conditions (>1100 °C) calculated for the ultrahigh-temperature Archean Napier Complex. Although experimental investigations have suggested that the upper thermal stability limit of F-free pargasite is below 1050 °C, thermodynamic calculations for the present pargasite+quartz assemblage indicate that the thermal stability limit of pargasite with X F =0.5 is about 150 °C higher than that of the hydroxyl end member. Fluorine substitution in the pargasite therefore allowed the mineral to survive the ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism at Tonagh Island. A positive correlation between the F content of pargasite and coexisting biotite indicates that the minerals approach chemical equilibrium in terms of F–OH distribution. Although the fluorine composition of pargasites ( X F =0.12–0.48) and bulk rock (300–2500 ppm) varies widely, the log( f H 2 O / f HF ) values calculated for these rocks are relatively constant (3.2–3.7), which is consistent with infiltration of an F-bearing fluid during prograde metamorphism. The infiltration of such a fluid is also supported by the higher bulk F content of most of the analyzed samples compared to those of continental and oceanic basaltic rocks, that is, F had been added from an external source. A positive correlation between bulk MgO and F content suggests that F may have been selectively trapped in high- X Mg pargasite in MgO-rich rocks.

Earth's youngest exposed granite and its tectonic implications: the 10-0.8 Ma Kurobegawa Granite.

Although the quest for Earths oldest rock is of great importance, identifying the youngest exposed pluton on Earth is also of interest. A pluton is a body of intrusive igneous rock that crystallized from slowly cooling magma at depths of several kilometers beneath the surface of the Earth. Therefore, the youngest exposed pluton represents the most recent tectonic uplift and highest exhumation. The youngest exposed pluton reported to date is the Takidani Granodiorite (~ 1.4 Ma) in the Hida Mountain Range of central Japan. Using LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating methods, this study demonstrates that the Kurobegawa Granite, also situated in the Hida Mountain Range, is as young as ~ 0.8 Ma. In addition, data indicate multiple intrusion episodes in this pluton since 10 Ma with a ~ 2-million-year period of quiescence; hence, a future intrusion event is likely within 1 million years.

SHRIMP Zircon U-Pb Dating of Sapphirine-Bearing Granulite and Biotite-Hornblende Gneiss in the Schirmacher Hills, East Antarctica: Implications for Neoproterozoic Ultrahigh-Temperature Metamorphism Predating the Assembly of Gondwana

We applied SHRIMP zircon U-Pb age dating to ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) sapphirine-bearing orthopyroxene garnet (SOG) granulite and biotite-hornblende (Bt-Hbl) gneiss in the Schirmacher Hills, East Antarctica. In the Bt-Hbl gneiss, concordant ages of and Ma were obtained from zircon overgrowth rims and zircon cores, with oscillatory and irregular zoning, respectively. The zircon overgrowth rims ( Ma) with low Th/U ratios from the Bt-Hbl gneiss are interpreted as having a metamorphic origin. Oscillatory-zoned and/or irregularly zoned zircon cores may have crystallized during an igneous event at Ma; 800-Ma igneous events have not previously been recognized in central Dronning Maud Land (DML) inland nunatak. Zircons in the SOG granulite yielded a concordant age of Ma, using analyses of sector-zoned and simple-zoned grains. These zircons have relatively high Th/U ratios with a narrow range, and they occur in association with garnet breaking down to form cordierite. The -Ma age obtained from these zircons is interpreted as the timing of crystallization from a high-Th/U partial melt soon after peak metamorphism. The combination of a ca. 800-Ma igneous age and 660–640-Ma metamorphic ages obtained from Schirmacher Hills is different from that of other neighboring parts of central DML. In addition, a metamorphic PT path involving ultrahigh temperatures at early and subsequent isobaric cooling (IBC) stages at around 650 Ma has not previously been known in the central DML nunatak region. The ca. 650-Ma UHT metamorphic event probably occurred in a back-arc tectonic setting and predates the main collisional event of central DML (ca. 550–500 Ma).

Geodynamic evolution of Mt. Riiser-Larsen, Napier Complex, East Antarctica, with reference to the UHT mineral associations and their reaction relations

Abstract Mt. Riiser-Larsen is the largest outcrop in the Archaean–early Proterozoic Napier Complex, East Antarctica. The area is structurally divided into the Main and the Western Blocks by the subvertical Riiser-Larsen Main Shear Zone (RLMSZ) of about 200 m width composed of mylonite and pseudotachylite. Mineral parageneses including sapphirine+quartz and osumilite, diagnostic of ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism, are found in Mg-rich aluminous, siliceous and quartzo-feldspathic gneiss layers in both the Main and the Western Blocks of the Mt. Riiser-Larsen area. Some of the sapphirine–quartz associations are accompanied by retrograde reaction textures, which include growth of cordierite and/or garnet between sapphirine and quartz in the Main Block, and of orthopyroxene+sillimanite in the Western Block. These textures indicate the reaction 1 and 2 in the Main Block and 3 in the Western Block. Phase equilibria and P–T pseudosections for sapphirine+quartz-bearing associations suggest that these three reactions took place during a temperature drop from 1100 °C to 1000 °C at pressures of 0.6–0.8 GPa in the Main Block and 0.8–0.9 GPa in the Western Block. The geological structure and distribution of the UHT rocks provide an insight into the vertical extent of the>1000 °C UHT metamorphic zone: a minimum thickness of 4–5 km of the UHT-metamorphosed layers, which become deeper towards the west in the Main Block. The Western Block represents a c. 0.1–0.3 GPa (c. 3–10 km) deeper structural level than the Main Block. In addition to the extent of the horizontal distribution of UHT metamorphism in the Napier Complex, our results on the vertical component provide new constraints for modelling the heat source and tectonic process of the unusually high-temperature regional metamorphism in the late Archaean–early Proterozoic. Electron microprobe monazite U–Th–Pb dating for hydrated and mylonitized sapphirine–quartz gneiss gave a wide spectrum of monazite age distribution between 2300 and 800 Ma, suggesting the tectonic uplift and juxtaposition of the two blocks in the Mt. Riiser-Larsen area later than the mid–late Proterozoic.

Carbonic fluids in ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism: Evidence from Raman spectroscopic study of fluid inclusions in granulites from the Napier complex, East Antarctica

Abstract We report the first quantitative compositional data on fluid inclusions in ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) granulites from the Napier Complex of Enderby Land, East Antarctica. Fluid inclusions in various high-grade minerals such as garnet, orthopyroxene and sapphirine from three UHT localities in the Amundsen Bay area were studied in terms of petrography and microthermometry as well as laser Raman spectroscopy. Measured melting temperatures of inclusions from all the three localities indicate that the trapped fluid phase is dominantly carbonic. Raman analyses confirmed a near pure CO2 composition with only minor dilutants such as N2 (<6.0 mol%), CH4 (<0.3 mol%), and H2O (<0.1 mol%). CH4-bearing fluid associated with sapphirine granulites suggests low oxygen fugacity ( fO2) conditions for the rocks, whereas CH4 was not detected from fluid inclusions in magnetite-bearing high-f O2 garnet granulite. The range of CO2 isochores computed from density measurements in fluid inclusions from the granulites pass through the peak P–T conditions of the Napier metamorphism (T= 1050–1150 °C, P=9–11 kbar) indicating synmetamorphic nature of the fluids. Inclusions in garnet from Bunt Island coexist with carbonate minerals (magnesite) and graphite along with dense CO2-rich fluid, indicating probable derivation from deep-seated primary magmatic sources. The ubiquitous association of carbonic fluids in the UHT mineral assemblages suggests CO2 influx during extreme crustal metamorphism of the Napier Complex. The carbonic fluid probably played an important role in transporting heat from mantle or mantle-derived magmas and in stabilizing the dry mineral assemblages.

Geosciences research in East Antarctica (0°E–60°E): present status and future perspectives

Abstract In both palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical studies, Antarctica plays a unique role in our understanding of the history of the Earth. It has maintained a unique geographical position at the South Pole for long periods. As the only unpopulated continent, the absence of political barriers or short-term economic interests has allowed international collaborative science to flourish. Although 98% of its area is covered by ice, the coastal Antarctic region is one of the well-studied regions in the world. The integrity and success of geological studies lies in the fact that exposed outcrops are well preserved in the low-latitude climate. The continuing programme of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition focuses on the geology of East Antarctica, especially in the Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land regions. Enderby Land preserves some of the oldest Archaean rocks on Earth, and the Mesoproterozoic to Palaeozoic history of Dronning Maud Land is extremely important in understanding the formation and dispersion of Rodinia and subsequent assembly of Gondwana. The geological features in this region have great significance in defining the temporal and spatial extension of orogenic belts formed by the collision of proto-continents. Present understanding of the evolution of East Antarctica in terms of global tectonics allows us to visualize how continents have evolved through time and space, and how far back in time the present-day plate-tectonic regime may have operated. Although several fundamental research problems still need to be resolved, the future direction of geoscience research in Antarctica will focus on how the formation and evolution of continents and supercontinents have affected the Earths environment, a question that has been addressed only in recent years.

Early Proterozoic Tectonothermal Events in the Napier Complex, East Antarctica: Implications for the Formation of East Gondwana

Abstract Sm-Nd internal isochron ages involving retrograde garnet determined from three ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) gneisses taken from Tonagh Island, the western part of the Napier Complex, East Antarctica gave 1870±82 Ma, 1897±50 Ma and 1557±35 Ma. These ages are younger than the late Archaean timing of UHT metamorphism in the Napier Complex. The ca. 1900 Ma age is considered to reflect an important tectonothermal event in the Napier Complex including a tholeiite dyke intrusion. On the other hand, the ca. 1600 Ma age represents a thermal modification lacking signs of deformational events, and separates from the ca. 1900 Ma event. The related East Gondwana fragments such as the Rayner Complex in Antarctica and the Eastern Ghats Belt in India record extensive tectonothermal event of ca. 1400-1600 Ma, and rare indications of ca. 1900-2000 Ma. It is stressed that the assembly of East Gondwana including the Napier Complex, the Rayner Complex, and the Eastern Ghats Belt, if it existed, should be before ca. 1600 Ma, and may be traced back to ca. 2000 Ma of the supercontinent “Columbia” era.