metamorphism melting and extension age constraints from the high himalayan slab of southeast zanskar and northwest lahaul abstract we present evidence for two distinct stages of tertiary metamorphism m1 and m2 in the high himalayan slab of southeast zanskar and northwest lahaul as well as evidence for an older pre himalayan metamorphism pre m1 the m1 was a regional barrovian type event related to crustal shortening and thickening of the indian plate margin while m2 was associated with crustal melting and the emplacement of the gumburanjon leucogranite into the zanskar shear zone at the top of the slab u pb dating of metamorphic and magmatic accessory phases constrains the timing of m1 between 30 and 37 ma and the crystallization and emplacement age of the gumburanjon leucogranite at 21 22 ma inherited accessory phases in metamorphic and magmatic samples suggest that the protoliths of the slab are at least lower paleozoic in age and that they experienced a major pre m1 thermal perturbation at ca 450 500 ma whether this was associated with a regional barrovian type metamorphism or whether it was a thermal event rel

effect of partial melting on rock deformation experimental and natural evidences on rocks of granitic compositions abstract deformation tests at constant strain rate 10 5 s 1 at 210 250 mpa confining pressure and at 560 900 c are performed on an aplite with varying water contents the mechanical behaviour is correlated with the microstructure after a stage of plastification depending on the temperature and on the water content the rock strength falls dramatically under such confining pressures before melting and before straining the pores of the wet rocks burst as the thermal expansion of water develops a local high pore pressure which causes cracking and fracturing in our opinion this pore bursting will increase the effects of thermal cracking due to the differential expansion of the minerals the rocks exhibit a uniform crack network with increasing temperature melting occurs in the cataclased rock the crack development and melting depend on the initial water content the loss of cohesion obtained either by cracking or by cracking and melting provokes a dramatic weakening axial shortening induces cracking parallel to 1 and melt transfer into extensional regions deformation is concentrated in dilatant shear bands at the highest temperature 900 c a melt film network is rapidly established and induces a very low flow stress melt effects in naturally deformed gneisses suggest that biotite breakdown furnishes a silicate fluid which induces hydraulic fracture and melt dispersion

contact metamorphism and depth of emplacement of the manaslu granite central nepal implications for himalayan orogenesis abstract the manaslu massif central nepal provides a well exposed example of a deeply eroded pluton its contact aureole can be followed from the base to the top along medium to low grade mesozonal to anchizonal tethyan metasediments contact metamorphic mineral assemblages and thermobarometric estimations suggest that the granite was emplaced at 18 21 km for the base and 9 13 km for the roof calculated temperatures within the aureole at 550 40 c are compatible with the intrusion temperature of a leucogranitic magma microstructural evidence shows that the temperature remained high 500 c at the base of the massif during and after granite emplacement whereas towards the top of the granite deformation proceeded rapidly at lower temperature heating of the abundant calcareous rocks in the contact aureole released a local co2 rich fluid whereas a h2o and boron rich fluid seems to have pervaded the whole zone this fluid is probably exsolved from the granitic melt during its crystallization the depth of emplacement of the massif has an important implication for the reconstruction of the himalayan geodynamic evolution implying a burial of the tethyan metasediments by a major refolding of the sedimentary cover or more probably by extensive development of the north himalayan nappes towards the south for more than 70 km before granite emplacement i e before the miocene the young age of the granite and its depth of emplacement suggest a rapid tectonic denudation in the order of 1 mm a 1 probably by normal faulting north of the massif during its cooling

phase equilibrium constraints on the viscosity of silicic magmas 1 volcanic plutonic comparison by using recently determined experimental phase equilibria we show that the viscosity of granitic magmas emplaced at upper crustal levels is approximately constant at 104 5 pa s irrespective of their temperature and level of emplacement magmas crystallizing as granitic plutons are not water poor and thus not more viscous than their extrusive equivalents instead comparison between pre eruption magma viscosities of extrusive silicic intermediate and intrusive granitic magmas shows that the former are on average slightly more viscous given the typical strain rates in silicic magma chambers magma rheological behavior is expected to be dominantly newtonian bubbles having a minor rheological influence at depth although exceptions can exist thus whether a silicic intermediate magma is erupted or frozen at depth depends primarily on the rheological properties of surrounding terranes or on external tectonic factors but not on the rheology of the magma itself however preemptive viscosities of extrusive magmas rarely exceed 106 pa s which suggests that crystal melt mushes with higher viscosities cannot leave the magma storage regions beneath volcanoes the narrow range of viscosities displayed by silicic intermediate magmas results from both the strong control that pressure exerts on volatile solubilities in silicate melts and thermal limitations required to produce acid magmas considerations of the relationships between magma crystallinities bulk sio2 and preemptive melt h2o contents show that the higher the melt h2o content is the higher the maximum crystallinity that a given magma will be while still being potentially erupted an empirical correlation is proposed that enables us to estimate preemptive melt h2o contents of erupted magmas by knowing their crystallinity and bulk sio2

shisha pangma leucogranite south tibetan himalaya field relations geochemistry age origin and emplacement the shisha pangma pluton forming most of the xixabangma 8027 m massif in south tibet is one of the 20 larger leucogranite intrusives that mark the highest structural levels of the himalayan metamorphic core the pluton occurs immediately below the shisha pangma detachment a strand of the south tibetan detachment std system a low angle 30 north dipping normal fault placing paleozoic black slates atop sillimanite grade pelites and calc silicate rocks k feldspar augen gneisses containing fibrolite and sillimanite paragneisses along the footwall show strong internal s c fabrics indicative of down to the north extension the shisha pangma leucogranite is a heterogeneous polyphase intrusion with an earlier foliated biotite rich phase and a later tourmaline muscovite rich phase typically containing the assemblage kfs pl qtz ms tur gt bt sil ap the highly peraluminous granites have high 87sr 86sr ratios 0 738 0 750 typical of pelite derived anatectites nd depleted mantle model

mantle dynamics uplift of the tibetan plateau and the indian monsoon convective removal of lower lithosphere beneath the tibetan plateau can account for a rapid increase in the mean elevation of the tibetan plateau of 1000 m or more in a few million years such uplift seems to be required by abrupt tectonic and environmental changes in asia and the indian ocean in late cenozoic time the composition of basaltic volcanism in northern tibet which apparently began at about 13 ma implies melting of lithosphere not asthenosphere the most plausible mechanism for rapid heat transfer to the midlithosphere is by convective removal of deeper lithosphere and its replacement by hotter asthenosphere the initiation of normal faulting in tibet at about 8 3 ma suggests that the plateau underwent an appreciable increase in elevation at that time an increase due solely to the isostatic response to crustal thickening caused by india s penetration into eurasia should have been slow and could not have triggered normal faulting another process such as removal of relatively cold dense lower lithosphere must have caused a supplemental uplift of the surface folding and faulting of the indo australian plate south of india the most prominent oceanic intraplate deformation on earth began between about 7 5 and 8 ma and indicates an increased north south compressional stress within the indo australian plate a tibetan uplift of only 1000 m if the result of removal of lower lithosphere should have increased the compressional stress that the plateau applies to india and that resists india s northward movement from an amount too small to fold oceanic lithosphere to one sufficient to do so the climate of the equatorial indian ocean and southern asia changed at about 6 9 ma monsoonal winds apparently strengthened northern pakistan became more arid but weathering of rock in the eastern himalaya apparently increased because of its high altitude and lateral extent the tibetan plateau provides a heat source at midlatitudes that should oppose classical symmetric hadley circulation between the equator and temperate latitudes and that should help to drive an essentially opposite circulation characteristic of summer monsoons for the simple case of axisymmetric heating no dependence on longitude of an atmosphere without dissipation theoretical analyses by hou lindzen and plumb show that an axisymmetric heat source displaced from the equator can drive a much stronger meridianal monsoonlike circulation than such a source centered on the equator but only if heating exceeds a threshold whose level increases with the latitude of the heat source because heating of the atmosphere over tibet should increase monotonically with elevation of the plateau a modest uplift 1000 2500 m of tibet already of substantial extent and height might have been sufficient to exceed a threshold necessary for a strong monsoon the virtual simultaneity of these phenomena suggests that uplift was rapid approximately 1000 m to 2500 m in a few million years moreover nearly simultaneously with the late miocene strengthening of the monsoon the calcite compensation depth in the oceans dropped plants using the relatively efficient c4 pathway for photosynthesis evolved rapidly and atmospheric co2 seems to have decreased suggesting causal relationships and positive feedbacks among these phenomena both a supplemental uplift of the himalaya the southern edge of tibet and a strengthened monsoon may have accelerated erosion and weathering of silicate rock in the himalaya that in turn enhanced extraction of co2 from the atmosphere thus these correlations offer some support for links between plateau uplift a downdrawing of co2 from the atmosphere and global climate change as proposed by raymo ruddiman and froehlich mantle dynamics beneath mountain belts not only may profoundly affect tectonic processes near and far from the belts but might also play an important role in altering regional and global climates

vertical extrusion and horizontal channel flow of orogenic lower crust key exhumation mechanisms in large hot orogens a large database of structural geochronological and petrological data combined with a bouguer anomaly map is used to develop a two stage exhumation model of deep seated rocks in the eastern sector of the variscan belt an early sub vertical fabric developed in the orogenic lower and middle crust during intracrustal folding followed by the vertical extrusion of the lower crustal rocks these events were responsible for exhumation of the orogenic lower crust from depths equivalent to 18 20 kbar to depths equivalent to 8 10 kbar and for coeval burial of upper crustal rocks to depths equivalent to 8 9 kbar following the folding and vertical extrusion event sub horizontal fabrics developed at medium to low pressure in the orogenic lower and middle crust during vertical shortening fabrics that record the early vertical extrusion originated between 350 and 340 ma during building of an orogenic root in response to se directed saxothuringian continental subduction fabrics that record the later sub horizontal exhumation event relate to an eastern promontory of the brunia continent indenting into the rheologically weaker rocks of the orogenic root indentation initiated thrusting or flow of the orogenic crust over the brunia continent in a north directed sub horizontal channel this sub horizontal flow operated between 330 and 325 ma and was responsible for a heterogeneous mixing of blocks and boudins of lower and middle crustal rocks and for their progressive thermal re equilibration the erosion depth as well as the degree of reworking decreases from south to north pointing to an outflow of lower crustal material to the surface which was subsequently eroded and deposited in a foreland basin indentation by the brunia continental promontory was highly noncoaxial with respect to the se oriented saxothuringian continental subduction in the early visean suggesting a major switch of plate configuration during the middle to late visean

multiple magmatic fabrics in the sazava pluton bohemian massif czech republic a result of superposition of wrench dominated regional transpression on final emplacement abstract the sazava pluton 354 ma of the central bohemian plutonic complex was emplaced syntectonically into the upper crustal neo proterozoic and lower paleozoic host rock along the se margin of the tepla barrandian zone bohemian massif czech republic the host rock is characterized by transpressional fabric dominated by steep se nw dipping foliations and subhorizontal ne sw stretching lineations associated with flattening to a plane strain ellipsoid the strain intensity degree of oblateness and temperature conditions of deformation increase in the host rock towards the pluton margin in the pluton quartz microfabric indicates progressive cooling of the syntectonically emplaced magma the ams method revealed multiple magmatic fabrics and lateral variations in the shapes of the ams ellipsoid and the magnetic fabric intensity in the pluton the central part of the pluton yields prolate shapes of the ams ellipsoid and a low degree of anisotropy with preserved steep magnetic lineations whereas along the pluton margins oblate ams ellipsoids are associated with a high degree of anisotropy we interpret the multiple fabrics and the partially decoupled fabric pattern between the host rock and the pluton as being a result of superposition of regional tectonic strain during highly oblique transpression on emplacement related intrusive strain where outer solidified and more rigid edges of the pluton enabled preservation of older steep fabrics in its interior

strain distribution and fabric development modeled in active and ancient transpressive zones 1 a model based on kinematics of transpression allows the measurable internal parameters simultaneous strain fabric and vertical elevation to be simulated in relation to the macroscopically determined external parameters of transpressive zones i e zone width velocity angle of convergence and zone depth we present a diagram of convergence angle against time for homogeneous transpression where isolines of strain intensity d strain symmetry k and vertical elevation of rock samples are superposed however the distribution of internal strain parameters is sensitive to three types of strain partitioning 1 discrete partitioning results in general decrease of finite strain accumulations and in increase of pure shear component 2 ductile partitioning splits the transpressional domain into a pure shear zone where strain accumulations decreases and in a wrench dominated zone where strain accumulations increases and 3 viscosity partitioning is marked by different strain rates in zones of different viscosity and therefore by different strain parameters

tectono metamorphic evolution of the karakorum metamorphic complex dassu askole area ne pakistan exhumation of mid crustal ht mp gneisses in a convergent context the south karakorum margin east of the himalayan syntaxis consist of an e w elongated zone of young 10 3 ma high grade metamorphic rocks m2 and related migmatitic domes this late tectono metamorphic event post dates the palaeogene 55 37 ma phase of thickening of the belt featured by nw se structures and associated m1 amphibolite facies metamorphism 0 7 gpa 700 c this m2 metamorphism is characterised by low pressure high temperature conditions coeval with migmatite formation in response to a thermal increase of c 150 c compared to m1 culminating at a temperature of c 770 c and a pressure of 0 5 0 6 gpa rapid exhumation of migmatitic domes at a rate of 5 mm yr 1 was accommodated by vertical extrusion in the core of e w crustal scale folds these crustal scale folds formed in response to n s syn collisional shortening and were enhanced by thermal weakening of the migmatised continental crust m2 metamorphism is spatially and temporarily associated with granitoids showing a mantle affinity firmly suggesting that this could be the advective heat source for the granite and syenite generation and the subsequent migmatisation of the mid crustal level such relationships between a mantle related magmatism and a high temperature metamorphism in a convergent shortening context are suggestive of the breakoff of the subducted indian slab since 20 ma

crustal evolution of the hercynian belt of western europe evidence from lower crustal granulitic xenoliths french massif central abstract granulite facies lower crustal xenoliths scavenged by the tertiary basaltic pipes of bournac and roche pointue massif central france have been analysed for major and trace elements and radiogenic sr nd isotope ratios they display wide variations in major elements rare earth elements and isotopes 87 sr 86 sr 0 7041 0 7216 nd 11 9 to 1 5 which tend to correlate with the three different rock types encountered basic and acidic meta igneous and metasediments the basic liquids are of calc alkaline affinity and cumulates are abundant there is a gap in silica content between the basic and acid meta igneous xenoliths the isotopic compositions suggest mixing of old pre existing continental crust represented by the metasediments and mantle derived basic melts which represent juvenile addition to the crust during the hercynian orogeny the basic meta igneous rocks have been contaminated during their emplacement into the crust whereas the surrounding metasediments have suffered partial fusion and contamination by the same liquid producing the hercynian granitoids which have nd and sr initial ratios identical to those of the lower crustal xenoliths the residue from melting may be represented by the acid meta igneous rocks some of which have positive eu anomalies these results indicate that an important basaltic underplating event occurred during the evolution of hercynian orogenic belt although the exact timing of the underplating requires further constraint

migmatites granites and orogeny flow modes of partially molten rocks and magmas associated with melt solid segregation in orogenic belts abstract this paper presents a model for the genesis of migmatites and granites during orogenic evolution based on the analysis of several phanerozoic crustal segments and a review of the physical properties of partially molten rocks and magmas this model inventories the modes of bulk flow of partially molten rocks and magmas and the mechanisms of melt solid segregation for each mode partial melting of rocks is associated with a strength decrease of two to three orders of magnitude leading to strain partitioning expressed by channel flow driven either by forces related to plate tectonics vertical channel flow or by the gravity force associated with lateral variations of crustal thicknesses horizontal channel flow although the structural characteristics of migmatites indicate that deformation plays a role in melt migration the emplacement of laccoliths of leucogranites above migmatites attests to the efficiency of the buoyancy force another decrease in apparent strength of about ten orders of magnitude is associated with the loss of continuity of the solid framework marking the transition from partially molten rocks to magmas the breakdown of the solid framework also allows for settling of the solid in suspension increasing the buoyancy of the remaining magma accordingly domes cored by diatexites former heterogeneous magmas and mantled by metatexites former partially molten rocks are interpreted as gravitational instabilities driven by the relative buoyancy of the magma and permitted by the weakness of the partially molten rocks this model provides a first order framework to elucidate the development of a crustal scale horizontal layering during the evolution of orogenic belts that are affected by partial melting in this case the middle crust is dominated by migmatites with domes cored by diatexites and mantled by metatexites that correspond to a partially molten and magmatic zone respectively the granitic dikes and sills and the associated laccoliths of leucogranites correspond to an intrusive zone overlying the partially molten zone the refractory lower crust is potentially in part formed by accumulation of solids segregated from the overlying heterogeneous magmas

two mica and tourmaline leucogranites from the everest makalu region nepal tibet himalayan leucogranite genesis by isobaric heating in the higher himalaya of the region from cho oyu to the arun valley northeast of makalu the miocene leucogranites are not hosted only in the upper high himalayan crystallines hhc a network of dykes also cuts the lower hhc and the lesser himalayan crystallines lhc the plutons and dykes are mainly composed of two mica muscovite biotite tourmaline cordierite andalusite sillimanite leucogranite with tourmaline 2 6 and biotite 1 5 modal and tourmaline muscovite tourmaline biotite sillimanite garnet kyanite andalusite spinel corundum leucogranite with tourmaline 2 2 and biotite 1 5 modal both leucogranite types were produced by partial melting in the andalusite sillimanite facies series under lp ht conditions constrained by the occurrence of peritectic andalusite and cordierite the geochemical features of the leucogranites suggest that tourmaline leucogranite was produced by muscovite dehydration melting in muscovite rich metapelites at p 350 mpa and t 640 c whereas two mica leucogranite was produced by biotite dehydration melting in biotite rich metapelites at p 300 mpa and t 660 710 c melting in fertile muscovite rich metapelites of the top of both the hhc and lhc produced magmas which were emplaced at the same structural level in which they had been generated melting in the biotite rich gneiss of both the hhc and lhc produced hotter magmas which were transported upwards by dyking and eventually coalesced in the plutons of the upper hhc a similar process also produced a network of two mica granite at the top of the lhc in the ama drime nyonno ri range northeast of makalu the prograde character of leucogranite melt producing reactions in the everest makalu area suggests that here the generation of miocene leucogranites took place in a regime of nearly isobaric heating following nearly adiabatic decompression

the influence of deformation on the formation of axial planar leucosomes and the segregation of small melt bodies within the migmatitic napperby gneiss central australia in the napperby gneiss central australia a distinctive group of elongate leucosomes occurs along the axial planes of mesoscopic crenulations that have harmonic two dimensional kink band like geometries the leucosomes truncate a fabric defined by biotite quartz k feldspar plagioclase sillimanite and are chiefly composed of k feldspar and quartz with or without plagioclase they are characterized by accessory garnet or aggregates of intergrown ilmenite and magnetite produced during the melting reactions bi plag q sill g ksp melt and bi plag q ru ilm mt ksp melt the absence of garnet and intergrown ilmenitemagnetite aggregates in the gneiss surrounding the crenulation zones indicates that these melting reactions preferentially occurred in the deformation zones in spite of a homogeneous distribution of reactant phases in the gneiss this means that strain partitioning and partial melting are coupled processes in which the garnet and ilmenite magnetite producing melt reactions initially occurred in high strain zones where the melting reaction activation energy was first overstepped this was a consequence of an additional strain induced matrix free energy component on top of the temperature effect once reaction product nucleation had occurred the deformation zones became the sites for continued melting which was energetically favoured over nucleating garnet and ilmenite magnetite elsewhere the melt reactions producing garnet and ilmenite magnetite resulted in the formation of grain supported leucosomes with a higher melt component than the surrounding gneiss and the leucosomes were therefore relatively incompetent in a differential stress field diffusional processes will cause elongation of the leucosome in a plane normal to 1 parallel to the axial planes of folds if sufficient melting has occurred an interconnected leucosome network will result creating a potentially important buoyancy driven melt drainage system in the napperby gneiss interconnected leucosome bearing crenulation zones are mostly vertical which is an ideal orientation for buoyancy driven diffusive melt migration however melt segregations remained small due to a melt impermeable lithological boundary overlying the gneiss

ductile thrusting in the himalayas shear sense criteria and stretching lineations the most useful criteria used for the determination of the sense of shear can be found in the huge himalayan ductile shear zone known as m c t they allow the determination of the sense of shear in relation with an unequivocal southward directed intracontinental thrust the various criteria analyzed at different scales of observation show the permanence of the shear flow regime throughout the metamorphic evolution however most of the observed shear criteria are due to late nappe emplacement postdating the climax of the metamorphism the most striking feature is the stretching lineation which is roughly normal to the thrust trace all along the belt it parallels everywhere the shear direction and thus indicates the transport direction of the nappes the observed radial pattern of stretch trajectories implies that the local motion does not correspond to the average plate convergence

simultaneous miocene extension and shortening in the himalayan orogen the south tibetan detachment system separates the high grade metamorphic core of the himalayan orogen from its weakly metamorphosed suprastructure it is thought to have developed in response to differences in gravitational potential energy produced by crustal thickening across the mountain front geochronologic data from the rongbuk valley north of qomolangma mount everest in southern tibet demonstrate that at least one segment of the detachment system was active between 19 and 22 million years ago an interval characterized by large scale crustal thickening at lower structural levels these data suggest that decoupling between an extending upper crust and a converging lower crust was an important aspect of himalayan tectonics in miocene time

multistage accretion and exhumation of the continental crust ivrea crustal section italy and switzerland the ivrea crustal section exposes in map view all levels of the southern alpine continental crust from ultramafic mafic and felsic granulite facies rocks of the deep crust ivrea verbano zone through medium grade basement rocks strona ceneri zone and val colla zone to unmetamorphosed permo mesozoic sediments the oldest part of the crustal section is preserved in the medium grade basement units which are interpreted to be the overprinted remains of an ordovician 440 480 ma magmatic arc or forearc complex during variscan subduction this arc was technically underplated by a carboniferous accretion subduction complex 320 355 ma containing metasediments and slivers of rheic oceanic crust presently found in the ivrea verbano zone during the late stages of variscan convergence 290 320 ma lithospheric delamination triggered magmatic underplating and lead to polyphase deformation under amphibolite to granulite facies conditions this was broadly coeval with extensional exhumation and erosion of the variscan overprinted ordovician crust presently exposed in the strona ceneri and val colla zones post variscan transtensional tectonics 270 290 ma were associated with renewed magmatic underplating mylonitic shearing and incipient exhumation of the lower crust in the ivrea verbano zone this coincided with the formation of elongate basins filled with volcanoclastic sediments in the upper crust early mesozoic tethyan rifting of the southern alpine crust 180 230 ma reduced crustal thickness to 10 km or less in the lower crust most of this thinning was accommodated by granulite to retrograde greenschist facies mylonitic shearing the lower crust was exhumed along a large noncoaxial mylonitic shear zone that was linked to asymmetrical rift basins in the upper crust the composite structure resulting from this complex evolution is probably typical of thinned late variscan continental crust on the passive margins of western europe alpine faulting and folding 20 50 ma fragmented the crustal section the originally deepest levels of the crustal section in the ivrea verbano zone as well as some segments of the basement cover contact were steepened whereas other parts of the crustal section particularly the strona ceneri zone underwent only minor to moderate alpine rotation

the kangmar dome a metamorphic core complex in southern xizang tibet the kangmar metamorphic igneous complex is one of the most accessible examples of an enigmatic group of gneiss domes the north himalayan belt that lies midway between the greater himalaya and the indus tsangpo suture in southern tibet structural analysis suggests that the domal structure formed as a consequence of extensional deformation much like the tertiary metamorphic core complexes in the north american cordillera unlike its north american counterparts the kangmar dome developed in an entirely convergent tectonic setting the documentation of metamorphic core complexes in the himalayan orogen supports the emerging concept that extensional processes may play an important role in the evolution of compressional mountain belts

emplacement kinematics of a granite diapir the chindamora batholith zimbabwe the geometric features of a large 50 40 km granitic batholith and its surrounding greenstone belt envelope are described the batholith is made up of several intrusive components and an intrusion sequence based on contact relations and xenoliths has been established the igneous rocks show a local foliation s fabric and preferred orientation of minerals the intensity of this fabric accords with the finite strain determined from xenolith shape analysis when the strain variations are analysed in detail it appears that the batholith was built up by a succession of magmatic pulses each of which led to a stretching of the previously consolidated igneous material so called balloon tectonics evidence is presented that xenolith deformation commences only when the surrounding igneous material has crystallized and a method is suggested whereby the position of the surface separating crystal supported phase plastic behaviour from melt supported phase liquid behaviour at different stages in the plutonic history can be determined ductile shear zones are present and their geometry accords well with the shape changes necessary to allow the outer parts of the pluton to stretch

geochemical constraints on the bimodal origin of high himalayan leucogranites major and trace element and rb sr isotope systematics of the manaslu leucogranite central nepal have been examined to constrain the role of mineral fractionation and fluids in peraluminous granite petrogenesis biotite and tourmaline are for the most part mutually exclusive with a predominance of two mica leucogranites over tourmaline leucogranites the 87sr86sr initial isotopic ratios sri indicate that leucogranitic melts were derived from two different sources the two mica leucogranites having a metagreywacke origin with sri 0 752 nd 15 such a bimodal nature of the source zone does not directly influence the magmatic evolution except that probably the higher initial boron content in the metapelitic rocks may increase the na2ok2o ratio in contrast the amount of water present during melting principally controls in part anatectic processes and element behaviour water saturated conditions probably occured during melting of metagreywackeous rocks and favoured crystallization of two mica leucogranites whereas water absent conditions prevailed during melting of metapelitic layers and favoured biotite plagioclase and monazite fractionation in the source zone and tourmaline crystallization in the leucogranite

granite migmatite genetic link the example of the manaslu granite and tibetan slab migmatites in central nepal in central nepal the tibetan slab is made up of biotite gneisses metapelites and metagreywackes orthogneisses metagranites and migmatites melanosomes are generally biotite muscovite bearing but locally they may be tourmaline rich when associated with boron rich granitic material leucosomes occur as lenses conformable with the foliation veins patches or as fillings in shear zones and extensional structures field relationships and mineralogical and chemical data show that three processes may have contributed to the formation of the tibetan slab leucosomes metamorphic differentiation or disequilibrium partial melting low zr tonalitic leucosomes in situ equilibrium partial melting high zr leucosomes and some granitic leucosomes and injection of externally derived melts most granitic and some tonalitic leucosomes the manaslu pluton belongs to the high himalayan leucogranite belt and was emplaced at the top of the tibetan slab it corresponds to a muscovite biotite leucogranite that has been assumed to derive from melting of the tibetan slab gneisses formation i phase relationships a more magnesian chemistry of the ferromagnesian minerals from the tibetan slab migmatites as compared to the manaslu leucogranite the microtextures of accessory phases and trace element compositions lower u li f and higher sr eu y yb contents in the migmatite leucosomes show that the in situ himalayan migmatites at the crustal level presently exposed have not been produced under the same p t xh2o conditions as the manaslu leucogranite magma while the formation i was the probable source for the manaslu granite migmatites within the formation are not the remanants of a melting process from which the manaslu granite was derived both the tibetan slab migmatites and the manaslu leucogranite may be considered as evidence of dehydration and melting at deeper crustal levels and of percolation of melts and hydrothermal fluids through the crust

timescales of migmatization melt crystallization and cooling in a cordilleran gneiss dome valhalla complex southeastern british columbia 1 integration of in situ and conventional ion microprobe u th pb zircon and monazite geochronology with 40ar 39ar hornblende biotite and muscovite thermochronology provides a temporal record of metamorphism partial melting fluids and cooling of exhumed midcrustal to lower crustal rocks the valhalla complex southeastern british columbia is one of a series of elongate gneiss domes within the omineca belt of the canadian cordillera we have performed u th pb and 40ar 39ar age measurements on migmatitic gneisses from a range of structural levels and settings within the valhalla complex in an effort to better document the timing of migmatization and exhumation stromatic migmatites and leucosomes crystallized in boudin necks yield concordant u pb zircon ages that cluster near 60 ma and th pb monazite ages of circa 60 50 ma in situ analyses of monazite in samples that contain 60 50 ma however the combined data also suggest that melt crystallization circa 60 ma in the valhalla complex occurred rapidly and before the other domes within the omineca belt cooling at 49 ma throughout the omineca is associated with regional extension and exhumation of migmatites in the domes the presence of abundant migmatites and the similarity in timing of melt crystallization and cooling in domes along the 400 km long omineca belt is consistent with localization of exhumation at the boundary between the flowing crust of the hinterland and the rigid colder crust of the rocky mountain foreland

mesoscale pervasive felsic magma migration alternatives to dyking abstract this paper reviews the literature on dyking as a mechanism of felsic magma extraction from a source and transport to shallower crustal levels and review the recent literature suggesting a range of alternative mechanisms of magma migration in hot crustal zones which produce mesoscale pervasive granite sheet intrusions recent papers have strongly favoured dyking as the main mechanism controlling magma migration however the initiation of dykes from a felsic magma source is fraught with difficulties even when magma is immediately available for transportation as in magma chambers within a partially molten source magma may reside in a range of structures with a wide range of shapes sizes and degrees of connectivity whereas the growth of individual dykes within a partially molten zone and the self propagation of large dykes into subsolidus crust have both been studied in some detail little attention has been given to the crucial intermediate step of the growth of a dyke network capable of producing wide crustal scale dykes the rarity of granite dyke swarms suggests that if dyking is the preferred mechanism of magma transport felsic magma sources produce only few major transporting dykes during their lifetime alternatively dyking is not an important mechanism the parameters controlling the volume of the catchment drained by one such dyke as well as other basic geometrical parameters controlling the structure of the dyke network within the source are unknown the ability of dyking to drain a partially molten source depends crucially on these variables and particularly on the horizontal permeability of the source the slow velocity of viscous felsic magmas traveling in rock pores implies that magma drained during dyking is mostly that previously extracted from the pores and resident in irregular magma bodies or dyke networks the observation that large volumes of buoyant magma are commonly present in migmatite zones and that dyking in these zones plays a secondary role suggest that dyking is inefficient and is able to extract only a fraction of the total melt available in the source in support of this conclusion recent detailed studies of exhumed hot crustal zones have revealed a range of alternative migration mechanisms characterized by mesoscale pervasive magma flow outcrop scale as opposed to porous flow pervasive migration gives rise to magma sheets preferentially emplaced parallel to high permeability zones such as foliation or bedding planes apart from local dyking three alternative mechanisms have been proposed to account for pervasive migration of magmas namely tectonic pumping magma wedging into low viscosity rocks and volatile driven intrusion because of their unfocused pervasive character these mechanisms are restricted to hot crust where magmas are not exposed to rapid freezing a model is proposed whereby heat advected with the magma pushes crustal geotherms upwards allowing pervasive magma migration to shallower depths

timing and duration of melting in the mid orogenic crust constraints from u pb shrimp data muskoka and shawanaga domains grenville province ontario the central gneiss belt in the grenville province ontario exposes metaplutonic rocks orthogneisses and minor paragneisses that were deformed and metamorphosed at crustal depths of 20 35 km during the mesoproterozoic grenvillian orogeny we present sensitive high resolution ion microprobe shrimp u pb zircon data from eight samples of migmatitic orthogneiss granite and pegmatite from the muskoka and shawanaga domains that constrain the age and duration of partial melting in the mid orogenic crust our results support earlier interpretations that the protoliths to these migmatitic orthogneisses formed at ca 1450 ma emplacement and crystallization of granite and pegmatite in the shawanaga domain took place at ca 1089 ma apparently coevally with deformation and high grade metamorphism leucosomes in the muskoka and shawanaga domains yield ages of 1067 and 1047 ma respectively interpreted as the ages of melt crystallization the geochronological data and field observations suggest that melt was pr

himalayan metamorphism and deformations in the north himalayan belt southern tibet china abstract the kangmar massif which has been attributed to the north himalayan belt of two mica granites in southern tibet china is shown to be an orthogneiss in the core of a dome which displays an intermediate high pressure type metamorphism himalayan in age 40 to 20 ma and above the main central sheet this metamorphism took place during high shear strain deformation and it is not recorded to the west where north himalayan plutons have developed contact metamorphism

firn processes and δ15n potential for a gas phase climate proxy abstract in order to quantify the sequence of events between changes in atmospheric composition and climate changes recorded in ice cores we must accurately account for the age difference between ice and gas at a given depth this gas age ice age difference depends on the age of the ice at the bottom of the firn layer where the bubbles are closed off firn densification models are used to calculate how this age difference varied in the past but have an uncertainty on the order of 1000 years for central antarctic sites here we explore the possibility that 15 n of n 2 is a gas phase proxy of climate which can be used to synchronize gas and ice records we present the 15 n record from the epica dome c edc ice core covering the last three glacial terminations and five glacial interglacial cycles between 300 and 800 ka previous studies have shown that gravitational settling enriches 15 n as a function of the diffusive column height in the firn if densification models prediction of deeper firn close off under glacial conditions is correct then we would expect heavier 15 n during glacial periods and a negative correlation with temperature instead edc 15 n is positively correlated with the ice deuterium content a proxy for temperature as previously reported at vostok dome fuji and epica dronning maud land we propose a mechanism that links accumulation rate firn permeability and convective mixing in the top meters of the firn to explain this correlation between 15 n and ice deuterium content the tightest correlation is observed over glacial terminations supporting the idea that 15 n is a property in the gas phase that records changes in surface conditions linked to deglacial warming

spatial distribution of melt bearing structures in anatectic rocks from southern brittany france implications for melt transfer at grain to orogen scale abstract in this study we present quantitative spatial information on the one and two dimensional distribution of inferred melt bearing structures in anatectic supracrustal rocks of the southern brittany migmatite belt south of the transcurrent south armorican shear zone sasz based on these data we infer the mechanism of melt extraction from partially molten crust former melt bearing structures include foliation parallel leucosomes and cross cutting granitic leucosomes that infill inter boudin partitions and extensional shear surfaces as well as discordant dykes of granite petrographic i e mineralogical and microstructural continuity of granite from structure to structure suggests that they once formed a continuous melt bearing network measurements along one dimensional line traverses perpendicular to layering of stromatic migmatite exposed in clean sub horizontal outcrop surfaces provide information about thickness and spacing distributions of foliation parallel leucosomes most leucosome thicknesses fall in the range of 1 10 mm with upper limits around 20 30 mm the number of thicker layers decreases abruptly with increasing thickness which is inconsistent with scale invariance this suggests that leucosome formation was controlled by short range melt movement along grain boundaries to form melt rich layers constrained by pre existing compositional layering spacing distributions also are not scale invariant however the large percentage of leucosomes 40 60 in these line traverses suggests that spacing distributions may be controlled in part by impingement of leucosomes making it difficult to derive genetic information from these data qualitative observation of inferred melt bearing structures in mutually perpendicular two dimensional exposures from the same outcrop reveals anisotropy of the leucosome network related to a well developed sub horizontal quartz feldspar lineation reflecting stretching associated with transcurrent movement along the sasz analysis of these two dimensional distributions using the box counting method corroborates the observed anisotropy but indicates that leucosome morphology and perhaps distribution is not scale invariant the applicability of the box counting method or of fractal analysis to understanding melt movement in migmatites is discussed in light of these results based on the anisotropy of melt bearing structures we infer that melt movement in structures now represented by layer parallel leucosomes was primarily sub horizontal these layers fed steeply dipping structures now represented by cross cutting leucosomes in particular those developed at inter boudin partitions and granite dykes the formation and orientation of these steeply dipping structures was in part controlled by far field stresses related to dextral displacement along the sasz melt extraction is inferred to have occurred along these steeply dipping structures extracted melt accumulated in plutons at higher crustal levels such as the quiberon sarzeau and guerande granites

wetting behavior of partial melts during crustal anatexis the distribution of hydrous silicic melts in polycrystalline aggregates of quartz the equilibrium distribution of hydrous silicic melts in polycrystalline aggregates of quartz was characterized in a series of partial melting and melt distribution experiments in the systems quartz albite orthoclase h2o and quartz anorthite h2o at 650 to 1000 mpa and 800 to 900 c near equilibrium textures in these experiments are characterized by very low quartz quartz melt wetting angles and by a substantial number of thin melt films along grain boundaries wetting angles in the h2o saturated experiments are as follows 18 at 800 c 1000 mpa and 12 at 900 c 1000 mpa in the granitic system 18 at 850 c 650 mpa 15 at 900 c 650 mpa and 15 at 900 c 1000 mpa in the quartzanorthite system in the granitic system at 900 c 1000 mpa a decrease of h2o content in melt from 17 wt at saturation to 6 wt results in a slight increase of wetting angle from 12 to 16 these low wetting angles and the observation that many grain boundaries are wetted by melt films indicate that the ratio of quartz quartz to quartz melt interfacial energies ss s1 is high 2 secondary electron imaging of fracture surfaces of melt poor samples provided a three dimensional insight into the geometry of melt at low melt fraction melt forms an interconnected network of channels along grain edges as predicted for isotropic systems with wetting angles below 60 this high permeability geometry suggests that the segregation of granitic melts is not as sluggish as previously anticipated simple compaction calculations for a permeability range of 10 12 to 10 9 m2 indicate that segregation may operate at low to moderate melt fractions below 30 vol within relatively short time scales i e 105 to 106 years quartzmelt textures show significant deviations from the equilibrium geometries predicted for isotropic partially molten systems the most consistent deviation is the pervasive development of crystallographically controlled planar faces of quartz these faces provide definitive evidence for non isotropic quartz melt surface energy for most silicates other than quartz the grain scale distribution of partial melts deviates even more significantly from equilibrium distributions in isotropic systems accordingly in order to describe adequately melt distributions in most natural source regions the equilibrium model should be modified to account for anisotropy of solid liquid interfacial energy

temperatures heat flux and frictional stress near major thrust faults we examine the two dimensional advective and conductive transport of heat in a region of thrust faulting both simple theoretical considerations and numerical experiments show that the steady state temperatures near the fault are reduced by a divisor s 1 b z vsin below what they would be with the same heat sources but in the absence of advection in this expression z is the depth to the fault v is the slip rate is the component of the dip of the fault in the direction of underthrusting is thermal diffusivity and b is a dimensionless factor that is essentially equal to one for most forms of heating initial changes in temperatures near the fault are given by t z t t z 0 12vsin t z 0 z these simple formulae are successful because of the neglible influence of lateral conduction of heat at least for slip rates of a few mm yr or more two time constants govern the transition from the initial change in temperature to steady state t1 u v where u is the distance along the fault in the direction of underthrusting from the surface to the depth in question and t2 z 2 2 where z is the depth to the fault when elapsed times exceed the sum of these two time constants temperatures differ from their steady state values by only about 10 percent the numerical experiments indicate that the simple formulae are sufficiently accurate that sophisticiated numerical modeling of temperatures in specific regions is unwarranted putain an application of these simple formulae to measurements of conductive heat flow at island arcs implies that shear stresses at island arcs approach 100 mpa and are greater than 30 mpa calculations of temperatures appropriate for the himalaya suggest that shear stresses of 100 mpa on the main central thrust probably are required to account for the tertiary granites of the region if melting took place after slip began on the thrust similarly the cut off in seismicity at a depth of about 15 km in the himalaya if due to temperatures exceeding 350 to 450 c implies a deviatoric stress close to 100 mpa

strain patterns within the late variscan granitic dome of velay french massif central the velay granites are intruded as a late variscan dome in the french massif central strain patterns within the velay granites reflect the geometry and kinematics of late carboniferous deformation at the site of final emplacement the internal deformation developed during granitic magmatism is not homogeneously distributed from inner to outer zones increasing deformation is marked by changes from high temperature foliations to s c orthogneisses strain concentration at the margins reflects a strength contrast due to cooling and subsequent magma hardening according to the internal strain field two zones can be distinguished in the velay dome i a central and southern zone where concentric patterns indicate a southward expansion of granites and ii a northern zone where the lateral expansion is limited and combined with top to the north extensional shearing along the mont pilat detachment zone and high temperature wrenching these asymmetric strain patterns relate to the expansion and deformation of granites emplaced below a detachment fault during the uplift of a thickened area post thickening combination of extensional and wrench tectonics is inferred

seismic gravity and petrological evidence for partial melt beneath the thickened central andean crust 21 23 s on the basis of seismic refraction investigations and gravimetric data we have modelled the crustal structure of the southern central andes 21 23 s a pronounced variation in crustal parameters is seen in n s and w e crossing seismic profiles over the entire andean orogene characterized by a crustal thickness of up to 70 km under the magmatic arc and backarc strongly reduced seismic velocities and a bouguer minimum of 450 mgal anomalously low velocities of 5 9 6 0 km s in the deeper crust of the western cordillera and altiplano regions lead to an over compensation of the bouguer minima resulting in values of crustal densities higher than estimates based purely on seismic velocity measurements in an attempt to reconcile these differences the behavior of crystalline rocks based on published laboratory data was studied under varying pressure and temperature conditions up to the range of partial melting if the temperature is increased above the melting point a rapid decrease in seismic velocity is accompanied by a slow decrease in density for the central andes a good fit of the observed and calculated bouguer anomalies is obtained if the densities of the rocks from the low velocity zone lvz beneath the western cordillera and the altiplano are varied model calculations lead to a velocity density relation for partial molten rocks that allows the melt proportions of rocks to be estimated model calculations indicate that 15 20 vol of basaltic to andesitic melt at depth is necessary to explain the lvz and bouguer anomaly beneath the arc and parts of the backarc high heat flow values 100 mw m2 support the idea that large areas of the deeper andean crust are strongly weakened by the presence of partially molten rocks resulting in reduced seismic velocities with the western cordillera the active volcanic arc of the andean mountain range acting as a ductile buffer between the two more rigid crustal blocks of the forearc and backarc regions

doming in compressional orogenic settings new geochronological constraints from the nw himalaya 1 in the central and southeastern parts of the himalayas the high himalayan crystalline hhc high grade rocks are mainly exhumed in the frontal part of the range as a consequence of a tectonic exhumation controlled by combined thrusting along the main central thrust mct and extension along the south tibetan detachment system stds in the nw himalaya however the hanging wall of the mct in the frontal part of the range consists mainly of lowto medium grade metasediments chamba zone whereas most of the amphibolite facies to migmatitic gneisses of the hhc of zanskar are exposed in a more internal part of the orogen as a large scale dome structure referred to as the gianbul dome this gianbul dome is cored by migmatitic paragneisses formed at peak conditions of 800 c and 8 kbar this migmatitic core is symmetrically surrounded by rocks of the sillimanite kyanite staurolite garnet biotite and chlorite mineral zones the structural data from the miyar gianbul valley section reveal that the gianbul dome is bounded by two major converging thrust zones the miyar thrust zone and the zanskar thrust zone which were reactivated as ductile zones of extension referred to as the khanjar shear zone ksz and the zanskar shear zone zsz respectively geochronological dating of monazites from various migmatites and leucogranite in the core of the gianbul dome indicates ages between 26 6 and 19 8 ma these results likely reflect a high temperature stage of the exhumation history of the hhc of zanskar and consequently constrain the onset of extension along both the zsz and the ksz to start shortly before 26 6 ma several recent models interpret that ductile extrusion of the high grade low viscosity migmatites of hhc reflects combined extension along the zsz and thrusting along the mct hence our new data constrain the onset of the thrusting along the mct to start shortly before 26 6 ma citation robyr m b r hacker and j m mattinson 2006 doming in compressional orogenic settings new geochronological constraints from the

continental tectonics in the aftermath of plate tectonics the success of plate tectonics required an acceptance of continental drift and thus a reinterpretation of the large scale geological history of most of the earth but the basic tenet of plate tectonics rigid body movements of large plates of lithosphere fails to apply to continental interiors where buoyant continental crust can detach from the underlying mantle to form mountain ranges and broad zones of diffuse tectonic activity

tibetan satellite magnetic low evidence for widespread melt in the tibetan crust the tibetan plateau is associated with a pronounced satellite magnetic low forward modeling of this anomaly demonstrates that the crust underlying the tibetan plateau is weakly magnetic compared to the crust on either side and that the boundaries of the weakly magnetic region coincide closely with the topographic edges of the plateau himalaya kun lun because there are no obvious changes in the bulk magnetization of the crust associated with the principal terrane boundaries within the plateau banggong and yarlung zangbo sutures the low likely manifests hot crust beneath tibet forward modeling of the magnetic anomaly with simple assumptions suggests that the curie isotherm is likely to reside in the upper crust across the tibetan plateau 15 km depth implying that granite minimum melt temperature 600 650 c is also achieved in the upper crust across the plateau 16 18 km depth this inference is consistent with the shallow depth extent of earthquakes in tibet and with the recent suggestion that melt may be areally widespread within the tibetan crust