Volume 97, Issue 1 pp. 122-133
Original Article

Rutile to Titanite Transformation in Eclogites and its Geochemical Consequences: An Example from the Sumdo Eclogite, Tibet

Linghao ZHAO

Linghao ZHAO

Key Laboratory of Deep-Earth Dynamics, Ministry of Natural Resources, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037 China

Key Laboratory of In-situ Elemental Microprobe and Speciation Analysis, Chinese Geological Survey, National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Beijing, 100037 China

School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China

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Lingsen ZENG

Corresponding Author

Lingsen ZENG

Key Laboratory of Deep-Earth Dynamics, Ministry of Natural Resources, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037 China

Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Li'e GAO

Li'e GAO

Key Laboratory of Deep-Earth Dynamics, Ministry of Natural Resources, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037 China

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Mingyue HU

Mingyue HU

Key Laboratory of In-situ Elemental Microprobe and Speciation Analysis, Chinese Geological Survey, National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Beijing, 100037 China

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Dongyang SUN

Dongyang SUN

Key Laboratory of In-situ Elemental Microprobe and Speciation Analysis, Chinese Geological Survey, National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Beijing, 100037 China

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Lifei ZHANG

Lifei ZHANG

School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China

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First published: 12 March 2022
Citations: 1

About the first author:

ZHAO Linghao, male, born in 1983 in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang Province; doctor; graduated from Peking University; research associate at the National Research Center for Geoanalysis. He is currently interested in the study of the geochemistry of accessory minerals and the application of LA-ICP-MS. E-mail: [email protected].

About the corresponding author:

ZENG Lingsen, male, born in 1970 in Changting, Fujian Province; doctor; graduated from California Institute of Technology (Caltech); research professor in the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. He is currently interested in the study of the partial melting and deep processes in orogenic belts. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

The formation of titanite coronae after rutile is common in retrograde high- to ultrahigh-pressure meta-mafic rocks, which provides a good opportunity to address the geochemical behavior of HFSE in crustal environments. In the Sumdo eclogite, titanite occurs either as a corona around rutile grains or as semi-continuous veins cross-cutting the major foliation, whereas rutile grains occur either as inclusions in garnet or omphacite or as a relict core surrounded by titanite. Textural relationships and trace elements characteristics of rutile and titanite with different occurrences indicate that both minerals preferentially incorporate Nb and Hf over Ta and Zr in aqueous fluid. Moreover, the breakdown of omphacite and epidote could release substantial amounts of aqueous fluids enriched in Ca, Si, Fe and REE, which would react with rutile to form titanite coronae and veins. During this process, water-insoluble elements, like HFSE and HREE, behave like mobile elements, but they do not migrate substantially out of the system, instead, tending to react in situ. This suggests that the aqueous fluids released during the retrograde metamorphic reactions in mafic rocks could not substantially transfer fluid-immobile elements into the overlying mantle wedge in subduction environments.

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