Zhang Lifei

High-pressure granulite from Western Kunlun, northwestern China: Its metamorphic evolution, zircon SHRIMP U-Pb ages and tectonic implication

High-pressure mafic granulites occurring as lenticular bodies within garnet-amphibolites in Kangxiwar Fault have been first reported in this paper. The P-T conditions of two metamorphic stages were obtained using calibrated geothermal barometers and ThermoCalc Program. The peak metamorphic condition of these high-pressure granulites is about 760–820°C, 1.0–1.2 GPa and the retrograde metamorphic condition is about 620–720°C, 0.7–0.8 GPa. The petrological studies show that they have a near-isobaric cooling P-T path which suggests that the Western Kunlun underwent initial crustal thickening, subsequent exhumation and cooling. The SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating gives two groups of ages for high-pressure granulites. One is 177±6 Ma which is obtained from the rim of the zircon. We consider this age should be the metamorphic age. And the other is 456±30 Ma which is obtained from the core of the zircon and should be the protolith age. The formation of these high-pressure granulites in western Kunlun is closely correlated with the evolution of the Paleo-Tethys and has important implications for the research on Tethys and Paleo-Asian tectonic zone.

Differential Evolution of High‐Pressure and Ultrahigh‐Pressure Metapelites from Habutengsu, Chinese Western Tianshan: Phase Equilibria Modelling and 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology

Metapelite is one of the predominant rock types in the high-pressure–ultrahigh-pressure(HP–UHP) metamorphic belt of western Tianshan, NW China; however, the spatial and temporal variations of this belt during metamorphism are poorly understood. In this study, we present comparative petrological studies and 40Ar/39 Ar geochronology of HP and UHP pelitic schist exposed along the Habutengsu valley. The schist mainly comprises quartz, white mica, garnet, albite and bluish amphibole. In the Mn O–Na2O–Ca O–K2O–Fe O–Mg O–Al2O3–Si O2–H2O(Mn NCKFMASH) system, P–T pseudosections were constructed using THERMOCALC 333 for two representative pelitic schists. The results demonstrate that there was a break in the peak metamorphic pressures in the Habutengsu area. The northern schist has experienced UHP metamorphism, consistent with the presence of coesite in the same section, while the southern one formed at lower pressures that stabilized the quartz. This result supports the previous finding of a metamorphic gradient through the HP–UHP metamorphic belt of the Chinese western Tianshan by the authors. Additionally, phengite in the northern schist was modelled as having a Si content of 3.55–3.70(a.p.f.u.) at the peak stage, a value much higher than that of oriented matrix phengite(Si content 3.32–3.38 a.p.f.u.). This indicates that the phengite flakes in the UHP schist were subjected to recrystallization during exhumation, which is consistent with the presence of phengite aggregates surrounding garnet porphyroblast. The 40Ar/39 Ar age spectra of white mica(dominantly phengite) from the two schists exhibit similar plateau ages of ca. 315 Ma, which is interpreted as the timing of a tectonometamorphic event that occurred during the exhumation of the HP–UHP metamorphic belt of the Chinese western Tianshan.

Electron microprobe monazite Th-Pb dating and its constraints on multi-stage metamorphism of low-pressure pelitic granulite from the Jingshan Group in the Jiaobei terrane

Monazites from low-pressure pelitic granulite of the Jingshan Group in the Jiaobei terrane were dated by the electron microprobe method. Three stages of metamorphic age at 1720±15 Ma, 1687±16 Ma and 1568±15 Ma were yielded by constructing age mapping for zoned monazites and PbO-ThO2* isochron diagram for unzoned monazites, respectively. The first age was interpreted as the age of an early amphibolite-facies metamorphism, the second age as the peak granulite-facies, and the last age as uplifting of the granulite unit. These ages are the first geochronologic data for the low-pressure pelitic granulites in the Jingshan Group, and thus are of important significance when discussing the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Jiaobei terrane.