TY - JOUR A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. T1 - The fundamental Variscan problem : high-temperature metamorphism at different depths and high-pressure metamorphism at different temperatures Y1 - 2000 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. T1 - Subduction followed by Collision : Alpine and Himalayan examples Y1 - 2001 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scott, James M. A1 - Konrad-Schmolke, Matthias A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Günter, Christina T1 - High-T, low-P formation of rare olivine-bearing symplectites in variscan eclogite JF - Journal of petrology N2 - Extremely rare veinlets and reaction textures composed of symplectites of olivine (similar to Fo(43-55)) + plagioclase +/- spinel +/- ilmenite, associated with more common pyroxene + plagioclase and amphibole + plagioclase varieties, are preserved within eclogites and garnet pyroxenites in the Moldanubian Zone of the Bohemian Massif. Thermodynamic modelling integrated with conventional geothermometry conducted on an eclogite reveals that the symplectite-forming stage occurred at high T (similar to 850 degrees C) and low P (< 6 and > 2 center dot 5 kbar). The development of the different symplectite types reflects reactions that took place in micro-scale domains. The breakdown of high-P garnet controlled the formation of olivine-bearing and amphibole + plagioclase symplectites, whereas breakdown of high-P omphacite led to formation of pyroxene + plagioclase symplectites. In addition, post-eclogite facies but pre-symplectite stage porphyroblastic amphibole and phlogopite were also replaced by olivine-bearing symplectites. Material transfer calculations and thermodynamic modelling indicate that the formation of different symplectite types was linked despite their different bulk compositions. For example, the olivine-bearing symplectites gained Fe +/- Mg, whereas adjacent amphibole + plagioclase and pyroxene + plagioclase symplectites show losses in Fe and Mg; Al, Si and Ca were also variably exchanged. The olivine-bearing symplectites were particularly sensitive to Na despite the small concentration of this element. In eclogites where Na was readily available, the plagioclase composition in the olivine-bearing symplectites shifted from pure anorthite to bytownite, with the less calcic feldspar partitioning Si and inhibiting the formation of orthopyroxene. This regional high-T, low-P granulite-facies symplectite overprint may have been caused by advective heat loss from rapidly exhumed high-T, high-P granulitic bodies (Gfohl Unit) that were emplaced into and over the middle crust (Monotonous and Varied Series) during Carboniferous continent-continent collision. KW - olivine KW - symplectite KW - eclogite KW - thermodynamics KW - Variscan Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egt015 SN - 0022-3530 SN - 1460-2415 VL - 54 IS - 7 SP - 1375 EP - 1398 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Konrad-Schmolke, Matthias A1 - Zack, Thomas A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Barth, Matthias T1 - Fluid migration above a subducted slab - Thermodynamic and trace element modelling of fluid-rock interaction in partially overprinted eclogite-facies rocks (Sesia Zone, Western Alps) JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - The amount and composition of subduction zone fluids and the effect of fluid-rock interaction at a slab-mantle interface have been constrained by thermodynamic and trace element modelling of partially overprinted blueschist-facies rocks from the Sesia Zone (Western Alps). Deformation-induced differences in fluid flux led to a partial preservation of pristine mineral cores in weakly deformed samples that were used to quantify Li, B, Stand Pb distribution during mineral growth, -breakdown and modification induced by fluid-rock interaction. Our results show that Li and 13 budgets are fluid-controlled, thus acting as tracers for fluid-rock interaction processes, whereas Stand Pb budgets are mainly controlled by the fluid-induced formation of epidote. Our calculations show that fluid-rock interaction caused significant Li and B depletion in the affected rocks due to leaching effects, which in turn can lead to a drastic enrichment of these elements in the percolating fluid. Depending on available fluid-mineral trace element distribution coefficients modelled fluid rock ratios were up to 0.06 in weakly deformed samples and at least 0.5 to 4 in shear zone mylonites. These amounts lead to time integrated fluid fluxes of up to 1.4-10(2) m(3) m(-2) in the weakly deformed rocks and 1-8-10(3) m(3) m(-2) in the mylonites. Combined thermodynamic and trace element models can be used to quantify metamorphic fluid fluxes and the associated element transfer in complex, reacting rock systems and help to better understand commonly observed fluid-induced trace element trends in rocks and minerals from different geodynamic environments. KW - fluid-rock interaction KW - subduction zone KW - fluid migration KW - slab-mantle interface KW - trace element transport Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.025 SN - 0012-821X VL - 311 IS - 3-4 SP - 287 EP - 298 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wilke, Franziska Daniela Helena A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Stockli, Daniel F. T1 - Apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He ages from the Higher Himalayan Crystallines, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan: Implications for an Eocene Plateau and Oligocene to Pliocene exhumation JF - Journal of Asian earth sciences N2 - Apatite fission track and apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He ages were obtained from high- and ultra high-pressure rocks from the Kaghan Valley, Pakistan. Four samples from the high altitude northern parts of the valley yielded apatite fission track ages between 24.5 +/- 3.7 and 15.6 +/- 2.1 Ma and apatite (U-Th)/He ages between 21.0 +/- 0.6 and 5.3 +/- 0.2 Ma. These data record cooling of the formerly deeply-subducted high-grade metamorphic rocks induced by denudation and exhumation consistent with extension and back sliding along the reactivated, normal-acting Main Mantle Thrust. Overlap at around 10 Ma between fission track and (U-Th)/He ages is recognised at one location (Besal) showing that fast cooling occurred due to brittle reactivation of a former thrust fault. Widespread Miocene cooling is also evident in adjacent areas to the west (Deosai Plateau, Tso Moran), most likely related to uplift and unroofing linked to continued underplating of the Indian lower crust beneath Ladakh and Kohistan in the Late Eocene to Oligocene. In the southernmost part of the study area, near Naran, two significantly younger Late Miocene to Pliocene apatite fission track ages of 7.6 +/- 2.1 to 4.0 +/- 0.5 Ma suggest a spatial and temporal separation of exhumation processes. These younger ages are best explained by enhanced Late Miocene uplift and erosion driven by thrusting along the Main Boundary Thrust. KW - NW Himalaya KW - Kaghan Valley KW - Thermochronology KW - AFT KW - (U-Th)/He KW - Cooling rates Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.06.014 SN - 1367-9120 VL - 59 IS - 3 SP - 14 EP - 23 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Alexander A1 - Mezger, Klaus A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. T1 - The time of eclogite formation in the ultrahigh pressure rocks of the Sulu terrane Constraints from Lu-Hf garnet geochronology JF - Lithos : an international journal of mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry N2 - Eclogites from the main borehole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling project yield highly precise Lu-Hf garnet-clinopyroxene ages of 216.9 +/- 1.2 Ma (four samples) and 220.5 +/- 2.7 Ma (one sample). The spatial distribution of the rare earth elements in garnet is consistent with the preservation of primary growth zoning, unmodified by diffusion, which supports the interpretation that the Lu-Hf ages date the time of formation of garnet, the major rock forming mineral in the eclogites. The preservation of primary REE-zoning, despite peak metamorphic temperatures around 800-850 degrees C. indicates that the Lu-Hf chronometer is perfectly suitable to date garnet-forming reactions in high grade rocks. The range of Lu-Hf ages for eclogites in the Dabie-Sulu UHP terrane point to episodic rather than continuous growth of garnets and thus punctuated metamorphism during the collision of the North China Block and the Yangtze Block. The U-Pb ages and Hf-isotope systematics of zircon grains from one eclogite sample imply a protracted geologic history of the eclogite precursors that started around 2 Ga and culminated in the UHP metamorphism around 220 Ma. KW - Lu-Hf KW - Eclogite KW - Garnet KW - Geochronology KW - Ultrahigh-pressure Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2011.04.004 SN - 0024-4937 VL - 125 IS - 1-2 SP - 743 EP - 756 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Konrad-Schmolke, Matthias A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Zack, Thomas T1 - Fluid Migration above a Subducted Slab-Constraints on Amount, Pathways and Major Element Mobility from Partially Overprinted Eclogite-facies Rocks (Sesia Zone, Western Alps) JF - Journal of petrology N2 - The Western Alpine Sesia-Lanzo Zone (SLZ) is a sliver of eclogite-facies continental crust exhumed from mantle depths in the hanging wall of a subducted oceanic slab. Eclogite-facies felsic and basic rocks sampled across the internal SLZ show different degrees of retrograde metamorphic overprint associated with fluid influx. The weakly deformed samples preserve relict eclogite-facies mineral assemblages that show partial fluid-induced compositional re-equilibration along grain boundaries, brittle fractures and other fluid pathways. Multiple fluid influx stages are indicated by replacement of primary omphacite by phengite, albitic plagioclase and epidote as well as partial re-equilibration and/or overgrowths in phengite and sodic amphibole, producing characteristic step-like compositional zoning patterns. The observed textures, together with the map-scale distribution of the samples, suggest open-system, pervasive and reactive fluid flux across large rock volumes above the subducted slab. Thermodynamic modelling indicates a minimum amount of fluid of 0 center dot 1-0 center dot 5 wt % interacting with the wall-rocks. Phase relations and reaction textures indicate mobility of K, Ca, Fe and Mg, whereas Al is relatively immobile in these medium-temperature-high-pressure fluids. Furthermore, the thermodynamic models show that recycling of previously fractionated material, such as in the cores of garnet porphyroblasts, largely controls the compositional re-equilibration of the exhumed rock body. KW - fluid migration KW - subduction KW - fluid-rock interaction KW - Sesia Zone Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egq087 SN - 0022-3530 VL - 52 IS - 3 SP - 457 EP - 486 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borghini, Alessia A1 - Ferrero, Silvio A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Laurent, Oscar A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Ziemann, Martin Andreas T1 - Cryptic metasomatic agent measured in situ in Variscan mantle rocks BT - Melt inclusions in garnet of eclogite, Granulitgebirge, Germany T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Garnet of eclogite (formerly termed garnet clinopyroxenite) hosted in lenses of orogenic garnet peridotite from the Granulitgebirge, NW Bohemian Massif, contains unique inclusions of granitic melt, now either glassy or crystallized. Analysed glasses and re‐homogenized inclusions are hydrous, peraluminous, and enriched in highly incompatible elements characteristic of the continental crust such as Cs, Li, B, Pb, Rb, Th, and U. The original melt thus represents a pristine, chemically evolved metasomatic agent, which infiltrated the mantle via deep continental subduction during the Variscan orogeny. The bulk chemical composition of the studied eclogites is similar to that of Fe‐rich basalt and the enrichment in LILE and U suggest a subduction‐related component. All these geochemical features confirm metasomatism. In comparison with many other garnet+clinopyroxene‐bearing lenses in peridotites of the Bohemian Massif, the studied samples from Rubinberg and Klatschmühle are more akin to eclogite than pyroxenites, as reflected in high jadeite content in clinopyroxene, relatively low Mg, Cr, and Ni but relatively high Ti. However, trace elements of both bulk rock and individual mineral phases show also important differences making these samples rather unique. Metasomatism involving a melt requiring a trace element pattern very similar to the composition reported here has been suggested for the source region of rocks of the so‐called durbachite suite, that is, ultrapotassic melanosyenites, which are found throughout the high‐grade Variscan basement. Moreover, the Th, U, Pb, Nb, Ta, and Ti patterns of these newly studied melt inclusions (MI) strongly resemble those observed for peridotite and its enclosed pyroxenite from the T‐7 borehole (Staré, České Středhoři Mountains) in N Bohemia. This suggests that a similar kind of crustal‐derived melt also occurred here. This study of granitic MI in eclogites from peridotites has provided the first direct characterization of a preserved metasomatic melt, possibly responsible for the metasomatism of several parts of the mantle in the Variscides. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 976 KW - clinopyroxenite KW - eclogite KW - melt inclusions KW - metasomatism KW - orogenic peridotite Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-474592 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 976 SP - 207 EP - 234 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borghini, Alessia A1 - Ferrero, Silvio A1 - O’Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Laurent, Oscar A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Ziemann, Martin Andreas T1 - Cryptic metasomatic agent measured in situ in Variscan mantle rocks BT - Melt inclusions in garnet of eclogite, Granulitgebirge, Germany N2 - Garnet of eclogite (formerly termed garnet clinopyroxenite) hosted in lenses of orogenic garnet peridotite from the Granulitgebirge, NW Bohemian Massif, contains unique inclusions of granitic melt, now either glassy or crystallized. Analysed glasses and re‐homogenized inclusions are hydrous, peraluminous, and enriched in highly incompatible elements characteristic of the continental crust such as Cs, Li, B, Pb, Rb, Th, and U. The original melt thus represents a pristine, chemically evolved metasomatic agent, which infiltrated the mantle via deep continental subduction during the Variscan orogeny. The bulk chemical composition of the studied eclogites is similar to that of Fe‐rich basalt and the enrichment in LILE and U suggest a subduction‐related component. All these geochemical features confirm metasomatism. In comparison with many other garnet+clinopyroxene‐bearing lenses in peridotites of the Bohemian Massif, the studied samples from Rubinberg and Klatschmühle are more akin to eclogite than pyroxenites, as reflected in high jadeite content in clinopyroxene, relatively low Mg, Cr, and Ni but relatively high Ti. However, trace elements of both bulk rock and individual mineral phases show also important differences making these samples rather unique. Metasomatism involving a melt requiring a trace element pattern very similar to the composition reported here has been suggested for the source region of rocks of the so‐called durbachite suite, that is, ultrapotassic melanosyenites, which are found throughout the high‐grade Variscan basement. Moreover, the Th, U, Pb, Nb, Ta, and Ti patterns of these newly studied melt inclusions (MI) strongly resemble those observed for peridotite and its enclosed pyroxenite from the T‐7 borehole (Staré, České Středhoři Mountains) in N Bohemia. This suggests that a similar kind of crustal‐derived melt also occurred here. This study of granitic MI in eclogites from peridotites has provided the first direct characterization of a preserved metasomatic melt, possibly responsible for the metasomatism of several parts of the mantle in the Variscides. KW - clinopyroxenite KW - eclogite KW - melt inclusions KW - metasomatism KW - orogenic peridotite Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jmg.12519 SN - 1525-1314 SN - 0263-4929 VL - 38 SP - 207 EP - 234 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wannhoff, Iris A1 - Ferrero, Silvio A1 - Borghini, Alessia A1 - Darling, Robert A1 - O'Brien, Patrick J. T1 - First evidence of dmisteinbergite (CaAl 2Si 2O8 polymorph) in high-grade metamorphic rocks JF - American mineralogist N2 - We identified dmisteinbergite, the rare trigonal polymorph of CaAl2Si2O8, for the first time in high-grade metamorphic rocks. Dmisteinbergite occurs as a crystallization product of silicate melt inclusions (nanogranitoids) in garnet from three host rocks with different protoliths and re-equilibration conditions, i.e., from 1.0 to 4.5 GPa. Raman spectra and compositions of the dmisteinbergite here investigated are overall identical to those of previously characterized artificial and natural dmisteinbergite. In nanogranitoids, this phase coexists with other metastable polymorphs of feldspar (kumdykolite, kokchetavite) and SiO2 (quartz, cristobalite), recently interpreted as the result of undercooling, supersaturation and rapid crystallization of a silicate melt confined in a micrometric pore. Dmisteinbergite formation likely results from a similar process, and thus it should be regarded as a kinetically controlled phase. Moreover, the investigation of dmisteinbergite as well as of other metastable feldspar polymorphs offers new insights into the behavior of natural materials under non-equilibrium conditions. KW - Dmisteinbergite KW - anorthite polymorph KW - partial melting KW - nanogranitoids; KW - metastable phases KW - garnet KW - high-grade metamorphism Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8505 SN - 0003-004X SN - 1945-3027 VL - 107 IS - 12 SP - 2315 EP - 2319 PB - Mineralogical Society of America CY - Washington, DC ER -