Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:39:51.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fluids in coesite-bearing rocks of the Tso Morari Complex, NW Himalaya: evidence for entrapment during peak metamorphism and subsequent uplift

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2009

BARUN K. MUKHERJEE  and
HIMANSHU K. SACHAN
BARUN K. MUKHERJEE*
Affiliation:
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS, Road, Dehra Dun-248 001, India
HIMANSHU K. SACHAN
Affiliation:
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS, Road, Dehra Dun-248 001, India
*
*Author for correspondence: barun@wihg.res.in; formerly at Department of Earth Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8551, Japan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Fluid inclusions trapped in coesite-bearing rocks provide important information on the fluid phases present during ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. The subduction-related coesite-bearing eclogites of the Tso Morari Complex, Himalaya, contain five major types of fluids identified by microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy. These are: (1) high-salinity brine, (2) N2, (3) CH4, (4) CO2 and (5) low-salinity aqueous fluids. These fluids were trapped during both deep subduction and exhumation processes. The coesite-bearing rocks are inferred to have been buried to a depth of >120 km, where they experienced ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. The fluid–rock interaction provides direct evidence for fluid derivation during a deep subduction process as demonstrated by silica–carbonate assemblages in eclogite. High salinity brine, N2 and CH4 inclusions are remnants of prograde and peak metamorphic fluids, whereas CO2 and low-salinity aqueous fluids appear to have been trapped late, during uplift. The high-salinity brine was possibly derived from subducted ancient metasedimentary rocks, whereas the N2 and CH4 fluids were likely generated through chemical breakdown of NH3-bearing K minerals and graphite. Alternatively, CH4 might have been formed by a mixed fluid that was released from calcareous sediments during subduction or supplied through subducted oceanic metabasic rocks. High density CO2 is associated with matrix minerals formed during granulite-facies overprinting of the ultrahigh-pressure eclogite. During retrogression to amphibolite-facies conditions, low-salinity fluids were introduced from external sources, probably the enclosing gneisses. This source enhances salinity differences as compared to primary saline inclusions. The subducting Indian lithosphere produced brines prior to achieving maximal depths of >120 km, where fluids were instead dominated by gaseous phases. Subsequently, the Indian lithosphere released CO2-rich fluids during fast exhumation and was then infiltrated by the low-salinity aqueous fluids near the surface through external sources. Elemental modelling may improve quantitative understanding of the complexity of fluids and their reactions.

Keywords

Himalayametamorphismcoesitefluid inclusionsubduction
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 146 , Issue 6 , November 2009 , pp. 876 - 889
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agard, P., Goffe, B., Touret, J. L. R. & Vidal, O. P. 2000. Retrograde mineral and fluid evolution in high-pressure metapelites (Schists Lustres unit, Western Alps). Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 140, 296–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, T., Austrheim, H. & Burke, E. 1990. Fluid inclusions in granulite and eclogites from the Bergen Arcs, Caledonides of W Norway. Mineralogical Magazine 54, 145–58.Google Scholar
Andersen, T., Austrheim, H., Burke, E. & Elvevold, S. 1993. N2 and CO2 in deep crustal fluids: evidence from the Caledonides of Norway. Chemical Geology 108, 113–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, T., Burke, E. A. J. & Austrheim, H. 1989. Nitrogen bearing aqueous fluid inclusion in some eclogites from the western Gneiss region of Norwegian Caledonides. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 103, 153–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Badzian, A., Badzian, T. & Lee, S.-T. 1993. Synthesis of diamond from methane and nitrogen mixture. Applied Physics Letters 62, 3432–7.Google Scholar
Bodnar, R. J. 2003. Reequilibration of fluid inclusions. In Fluid inclusions: Analysis and interpretation (eds Samson, I., Anderson, A. & Marshall, D.), pp. 213–320. Mineralogical Association of Canada, Short Course no. 32.Google Scholar
Bohlen, S. R. & Boettcher, A. L. 1982. The quartz–coesite transformation: a precise determination and the effects of other components. Journal of Geophysical Research 85, 6930–6.Google Scholar
De Sigoyer, J., Guillot, S., Lardeaux, J. M. & Mascle, G. 1997. Glaucophane-bearing eclogites in the Tso Morari dome (eastern Ladakh, NW Himalaya). European Journal of Mineralogy 9, 1073–83.Google Scholar
Ekaterina, B. A., Pascal, R. A. & Jean-Pierre, P. B. 2006. Coesite (SiO2) as an extreme case of superheated crystal: An X-ray diffraction study up to 1776°K. Chemical Geology 229, 57–63.Google Scholar
Engvik, A. K., Austrheim, H. & Andersen, T. B. 2000. Structural, mineralogical and petrophysical effects on deep crustal rocks of fluid-limited polymetamorphism, western Gneisses Region, Norway. Journal of Geological Society, London 157, 134–51.Google Scholar
Erambart, M. & rheim, H. 1993. The effects of fluid and deformation on zoning and inclusion pattern in polymetamorphic garnet. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 115, 204–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fonarev, V. I., Touret, J. L. R. & Kotelnikova, Z. A. 1998. Fluid inclusions in rocks from the Kola granulite area (Baltic shield). European Journal of Mineralogy 10, 1181–1200.Google Scholar
Fu, R., Touret, J. L. R. & Zheng, Y.-F. 2003. Remnants of premetamorphic fluid and oxygen isotopic signatures in eclogite and garnet clinopyroxenite from the Dabie-Sulu terranes, Eastern China. Journal of Metamorphic Geology 21, 561–78.Google Scholar
Fuex, A. N. 1979. The use of stable carbon isotopes in hydrocarbon exploration. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 7, 155–88.Google Scholar
Gansser, A. 1964. Geology of the Himalayas. New York: Interscience.Google Scholar
Green, D. H. & Ringwood, A. E. 1967. An experimental investigation of the gabbro to eclogite transformation and its petrological applications. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 31, 767–833.Google Scholar
Guillot, S., De Sigoyer, J., Lardeaux, J. M. & Mascle, G. 1997. Eclogitic metasediments from the Tso-Morari area (Ladakh Himalaya): Evidence for continental subduction during India–Asia convergence. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 128, 197–212.Google Scholar
Harley, S. L. & Carswell, D. A. 1995. Ultradeep crustal metamorphism: A prospective view. Journal of Geophysical Research 100, 8367–80.Google Scholar
Kennedy, C. S. & Kennedy, G. C. 1976. The equilibrium boundary between graphite and diamond. Journal of Geophysical Research 81, 2467–70.Google Scholar
Klemd, R. & Bröcker, M. 1999. Fluid influence on mineral reactions in ultrahigh-pressure granulites: a case study in the Snieznik Mts. (West Sudetes, Poland). Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 136, 358–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klemd, R., Van Den Kerkhof, A. M. & Horn, E. E. 1992. High density CO2–N2 inclusions in eclogite-facies metasediments of Munchenberg gneiss complex, SE Germany. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 111, 409–19.Google Scholar
Kuster, M. & Stockhert, B. 1997. Density changes of fluid inclusions in high pressure low-temperature metamorphic rocks from Crete: A thermobarometric approach based on the creep strength of the host mineral. Lithos 41, 151–67.Google Scholar
Liebscher, A. & Heinrich, C. A. 2007. Fluid–fluid interactions in the Earth's lithosphere. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 65, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manning, E. C. 2004. The chemistry of subduction zone fluids. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 223, 1–16.Google Scholar
Markl, G. & Bucher, K. 1998. Composition of fluids in the lower crust inferred from metamorphic salt in lower crustal rocks. Nature 391, 781–3.Google Scholar
Miller, J. A., Buick, I. S., Cartwright, I. & Branicoat, A. 2002. Fluid processes during the exhumation of high-P metamorphic belts. Mineralogical Magazine 66, 93–119.Google Scholar
Molina, J. F. & Poli, S. 2000. Carbonate stability and fluid composition in subducted oceanic crust: an experimental study on H2O–CO2-bearing basalts. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 176, 295–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mukherjee, B. K. & Sachan, H. K. 2001. Discovery of coesite from Indian Himalaya: A record of ultra-high pressure metamorphism in Indian continental crust. Current Science 81, 1358–61.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, B. K., Sachan, H. K., Ogaswara, Y., Muko, A. & Yoshika, N. 2003. Carbonate-Bearing UHPM rock from Tso Morari Region, Ladakh, India: Possible petrological implications. International Geological Review 45, 49–69.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, B. K., Sachan, H. K. & Ahmad, T. 2005. New occurrence of microdiamond from Indus Suture Zone, Himalaya: Possible origin. Géologie Alpine (abs) 44, 136.Google Scholar
Nadeau, S., Philippot, P. & Pineau, F. 1993. Fluid inclusion and mineral composition of (H–C–O) in eclogitic rocks as tracers of local fluid migration during high-pressure metamorphism. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 114, 431–48.Google Scholar
Newton, R. C., Aranovich, L. Ya., Hansen, E. C. & Vandenheuvel, B. A. 1998. Hypersaline fluids in Precambrian deep-crustal metamorphism. Precambrian Research 91, 41–63.Google Scholar
Peacock, S. M. 1993. Large-scale hydration of the lithosphere above subducting slabs. Chemical Geology 108, 49–59.Google Scholar
Perchuk, L. L. & Gerya, T. V. 1993. Fluid control of charnockitization. Chemical Geology 108, 175–86.Google Scholar
Philippot, P. 1993. Fluid–melt–rock interaction in mafic eclogites and coesite-bearing metasediments: constraints on volatile recycling during subduction. Chemical Geology 108, 93–112.Google Scholar
Philippot, P. & Selverstone, J. 1991. Trace-element-rich brines in eclogitic veins: implications for fluid composition and transport during subduction. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 106, 417–30.Google Scholar
Sachan, H. K., Bodnar, R. J., Islam, R., Szabo, C. S. & Law, R. D. 1999. Exhumation history of eclogites from Tso-Morari Crystalline Complex in eastern Ladakh: Mineralogical and Fluid Inclusions constraints. Journal of Geological Society of India 53, 181–90.Google Scholar
Sachan, H. K., Mukherjee, B. K. & Bodnar, R. J. 2007. Preservation of methane generated during serpentinization of upper mantle rocks: Evidence from fluid inclusions in the Nidar ophiolite, Indus Suture Zone, Ladakh (India). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 257, 47–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sachan, H. K., Mukherjee, B. K., Ogaswara, Y., Maruyama, S., Ishida, H., Muko, A. & Yoshika, N. 2004. Discovery of Coesite from Indus Suture Zone (ISZ), Ladakh, India: Evidence for Deep Subduction. European Journal of Mineralogy 16, 235–40.Google Scholar
Sadofsky, S. J. & Bebout, G. E. 2003. Record of forearc devolatilization in low-T, high-P/T metasedimentary suites: Significance for models of convergent margin chemical cycling. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 4, 4.Google Scholar
Santosh, M., Tsunogae, T., Ohyama, H., Sato Li, J. H. & Liu, S. J. 2008. Carbonic metamorphism at ultrahigh-temperatures: Evidence from North China Craton. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 266, 149–65.Google Scholar
Scambelluri, M. & Philippot, P. 2001. Deep fluids in subduction zones. Lithos 55, 213–27.Google Scholar
Scambelluri, M., Piccardo, G. B., Philippot, P., Robbiano, A. & Negretti, L. 1997. High salinity fluid inclusions formed from recycled seawater in deeply subducted serpentinites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 148, 485–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selverstone, J., Franz, G., Thomas, S. & Getty, S. 1992. Fluid variability in 2 GPa eclogites as an indicator of fluid behaviour during subduction. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 112, 341–57.Google Scholar
Selverstone, J., Spear, F., Franz, G. & Morteani, G. 1984. High-pressure metamorphism in the SW Tauern Window, Austria; P–T paths from hornblende-kyanite-staurolite schists. Journal of Petrology 25, 501–31.Google Scholar
Sisson, V. B. & Hollister, L. S. 1990. A fluid-inclusion study of metamorphosed peletic and carbonate rocks south-central Maine. American Mineralogist 75, 59–70.Google Scholar
Sterner, S. M. & Bodnar, R. J. 1989. Synthetic fluid inclusions. VII. Re-equilibration of fluid inclusions in quartz during laboratory simulated metamorphic burial and uplift. Journal of Metamorphic Geology 7, 243–60.Google Scholar
Svensen, H., Jamtveit, B., Yardley, B. W., Engvik, A. K., Austrheim, H. & Broman, C. 1999. Lead and bromine enrichment in eclogite facies fluids: Extreme fractionation during lower crustal hydration. Geology 27, 467–70.Google Scholar
Thakur, V. C. 1983. Deformation and metamorphism in the Tso-Morari Crystalline complex. In Geology of the Indus Suture Zone of Ladakh (eds Thakur, V.C. & Sharma, K. K.), pp. 1–13. Dehra Dun: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.Google Scholar
Touret, J. L. R. 1981. Fluid inclusions in high grade metamorphic rocks. In Fluid inclusions: application to petrology (eds Hollister, L. & Crawford, M.), pp. 182–208. Mineral Association of Canada, Short Course Handbook no. 6.Google Scholar
Touret, J. L. R. 1985. Fluid regime in southern Norway: the record of fluid inclusions. In The deep proterozoic crust in the north Atlantic provinces (eds Tobi, A. C. & Touret, J. L. R.), pp. 517–49. Reidel.Google Scholar
Vallis, F. & Scambelluri, M. 1996. Redistribution of high-pressure fluids during retrograde metamorphism of eclogite-facies rocks, Voltari massif, Italian western Alps. Lithos 39, 81–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Den Kerkhof, A. M. 1988. Phase transitions and molar volumes of CO2–CH4–N2 inclusions. Bulletin de Mineralogie 111, 257–66.Google Scholar
Vityk, M. O. & Bodnar, R. J. 1995. Textural evolution of synthetic fluid inclusions in quartz during re-equilibration with application to tectonic reconstruction. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 121, 309–23.Google Scholar
Vityk, M. O., Bodnar, R. J. & Doukhan, J.-C. 2000. Synthetic fluid inclusions: XV. TEM investigation of plastic flow associated with re-equilibration of synthetic fluid inclusions in natural quartz. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 139, 285–97.Google Scholar
Xiao, Y., Hoefs, J., Van Den Kerkhof, A. M., Fiebig, J. & Zheng, Y.-F. 2000. Fluid history of UHP metamorphism in Dabie-Shan, China: a fluid inclusion and oxygen isotopic study on the coesite-bearing eclogite from Bixiling. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 139, 1–16.Google Scholar