Yican Liu

New finding of micro-diamonds in eclogites from Dabie-Sulu region in central-eastern China

Micro-diamonds were only found ten years ago in eclogite associated with marble at Xindian in the Dabie Mountains. This paper reports our new finding of micro-diamonds not only in eclogites at Maobei in the Sulu region and at Xindian and Laoyoufang in the south part of the Dabie Mountains (South Dabie), but also in eclogites at Baizhangya and Huangweihe in the northern part of the Dabie Mountains (North Dabie) that has usually been considered not to experience ultrahigh pressure metamorphism. Except the micro-diamond at Huangweihe that was found from the artificial heavy sands of zircons used for isotopic dating, the micro-diamonds from other localities were identified in thin sections of the eclogites. Besides a few interstitial grains, most of the micro-diamond grains in thin sections occur as inclusion in garnet. Three crystals of microdiamond at Maobei in the Sulu region are sized in 120, 60 and 30 μm, respectively. Crystal forms look like octahedron and the composite of octahedron and hexahedron. The largest micro-diamond crystal comes from Xindian, which is measured to be 180 μm in diameter with distinct zonal structure and inclusions. The zonal structure occurs as an inclined octahedron inside rounded by an incomplete hexagonal girdle. A smaller micro-diamond inclusion occurs inside the central octahedron, and a larger graphite inclusion is within the outer zone. The Laoyoufang micro-diamond is partially retrograded to graphite. Micro-diamond from the Baizhangya eclogite in the ultramafic rock belt of North Dabie is an aggregate of 70 μm×90 μm in size. All the micro-diamonds are confirmed by the Raman spectrum analysis. The occurrence of the micro-diamonds from the eclogites in the ultramafic rock belt of North Dabie demonstrates that this region was also subjected to ultrahigh pressure metamorphism as well as the South Dabie did.

Microdiamonds, their classification and tectonic implications for the host eclogites from the Dabie and Su-Lu regions in central eastern China

Abstract We have found >10 in situ microdiamonds in thin sections of eclogites from the Dabie and Su-Lu regions of central eastern China since the first occurrence of microdiamond in eclogites from the Dabie Mountains (DMT) reported in 1992. The microdiamonds are found not only in the central part but also in the northern part of the DMT. Several free crystals have been recovered from the crushed eclogites from the central DMT. Most in situ microdiamonds are inclusions in garnets but a few larger ones are intergranular. Most of the diamondiferous eclogites in the central part of the DMT are associated with coesite. Most importantly, the observation of microdiamonds in northern Dabie lead us to question the supposition that this is a low-P metamorphic terrane. All the diamondiferous eclogites from both the north and central DMT are of continental affinity as demonstrated by their negative ƐNd values. Therefore, both the north and central eclogite belts in the DMT are considered to be from the deep subducted terrane. Five in situ microdiamonds and two free crystals are first reported in this paper. The dimensions of the in situ microdiamonds are 30−180 μm and the free rystals are up to 400−700 μm across. All the microdiamonds are confirmed as such by Raman spectroscopy. The results of an infrared spectroscopic investigation on two larger free crystals and two in situ microdiamonds show that all the microdiamonds from both the Dabie and Su-Lu regions are mixed types IaA and IaB diamonds and there is no indication of any synthetic microdiamonds in our samples because such synthetic microdiamonds are always rich in type Ib.

Discovery of the eclogite and its petrography in the Northern Dabie Mountain

Eclogite from the Northern Dabie Mountain is a new finding by the authors. These eclogites in foliated perdotite are enveloped by banded gneiss and occur in the mafic-ultramafic rock belt. They are mainly composed of omphacite, garnet, diopside, orthopyroxene, amphibole, plagioclase and magnetite, and a small amount of rutile, spinel, olivin and corundum. The mineral association of peak metamorphism of the eclogite is omphacite+garnet+rutile. The existence of eclogite in the Northern Dabie Mountain implies that there was an eclogitic metamorphism prior to the granulitic facies one in the mafic-ultramafic rock belt.

Moissanite in serpentinite from the Dabie Mountains in China

Abstract Although moissanite has been found in various rocks, reliable primary moissanite has been reported only from kimberlites and meteorites. The Dabie Mountain moissanite reported in this paper is the first occurrence of primary moissanite hosted by serpentinite. It differs from synthetic silicon carbide in optical properties, inclusions and infrared spectrum. The biaxiality of the Dabie Mountain moissanite is thought to be the result of intracrystal deformation. In reference to the ultrahigh pressure (7−8 GPa) signature of exsolution of rod-like apatite, clinopyroxene and rutile in garnets, and magnetite lamellae in olivine reported in the Dabieshan, we inferred that the moissanite from the Dabie Mountains was probably generated at a depth of 180 km; and then subducted to a depth of 210−250 km, where the moissanite became biaxial before its exhumation.

Multistage exhumation and partial melting of high-T ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks in continental subduction-collision zones

High-temperature (HT; >850°C) metamorphism in continental collision orogens, particularly for those ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, has become one of the remarkable topics in Earth science. It has bearing on the element and isotope behaviors of UHP rocks, their partial melting and related geodynamic effects during exhumation. In this paper, five representative continental collision orogens with typical HT/UHP rocks, including the Dabie orogen in China, the Kokchetav in Kazakhstan, the Caledonides in Greenland, the Rhodope in Greece, and the Erzgebirge in Germany are introduced, and their HT/UHP metamorphism and evolution processes are summarized. In addition, metamorphic P-T-t paths, multistage exhumation processes, and partial melting and preservation and retrogression of UHP index minerals during exhumation and their possible mechanisms are discussed. On this basis, the forthcoming key fields and scientific subjects of HT/UHP rocks within continental subduction channel are proposed.

THE WHITE SCHIST ASSEMBLAGE IN THE KYANITE QUARTZITE FROM THE ULTRAHIGH-PRESSURE METAMORPHIC BELT, EASTERN DABIE MOUNTAINS

The kyanite quartzite from the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt in the eastern Dabie Mountains is composed mainly of quartz, kyanite, talc and epidote, which contains a typical mineral assemblage of white schist. It suffered an eclogite facies metamorphism ofP = (2.4 ±0.3) GPa andT = 630 ° C together with coexisting eclogite. The protolith may be an aplite replaced by high-pressure fluid of eclogite facies.