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1. Petrochronology of Wadi Tayin Metamorphic Sole Metasediment, With Implications for the Thermal and Tectonic Evolution of the Samail Ophiolite (Oman/UAE)

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020TC006135  

   Garber, Joshua M.; Rioux, Matthew; Kylander‐Clark, Andrew R. C.; Hacker, Bradley R.; Vervoort, Jeffrey D.; Searle, Michael P. (December 2020, Tectonics)

   Abstract Ophiolite metamorphic soles preserve important records of ophiolite emplacement, but there have been few detailed investigations into their non‐mafic portions. We present new thermobarometric and petrochronologic data from a metasediment and mafic restite in the upper Wadi Tayin sole exposure in the Samail (Oman‐UAE) Ophiolite. Thermodynamic modeling suggests metasedimentary garnet nucleation at ~4 kb, ~550°C and final growth at 7.5 ± 1.2 kbar, 665 ± 32°C, occurring by 93.0 ± 0.5 Ma (Lu‐Hf isochron). Zircon U‐Pb dates of 106.9 ± 2.3 (detrital) and 98.7 ± 1.7 to 94.1 ± 1.6 Ma (metamorphic) bracket the initiation of metamorphism, and monazite U‐Pb dates from ~97–89 Ma suggest a lengthy period of growth or recrystallization. A mafic titanite U‐Pb age of 92.2 ± 1.8 Ma records the earliest possible juxtaposition of high‐ and lower‐grade sole rocks. These and other data suggest that (i) the Wadi Tayin sole preserves an inverted metamorphic, metasomatic, and age gradient,(ii) metasediment metamorphism occurred during, or soon after, crystallization of the overlying ophiolite (≤96.5 Ma); and (iii) sole metasediments define a thermal gradient continuous with hotter, higher‐Pamphibolites. Some of these data conflict with existing models for sole formation, and we propose several hypotheses to explain them. Cooling of the sole below Ar closure by ~92 Ma suggests that strain rapidly partitioned away from the sole, leading to large‐scale, thin‐skinned thrust emplacement of the ophiolite >100 km across the continental margin and the late, cool underthrusting of the continental margin. 

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2. A 3-billion-year history of magmatism, metamorphism, and metasomatism recorded by granulite-facies xenoliths from central Montana, USA

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-024-02190-5  

   Ringwood, Mary_F; Ortner, Sophia_E; Seward, Gareth_G_E; Kylander-Clark, Andrew_R_C; Rudnick, Roberta_L (December 2024, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology)

   Abstract Lower crustal xenoliths from the Missouri Breaks diatremes and Bearpaw Mountains volcanic field in Montana record a multi-billion-year geologic history lasting from the Neoarchean to the Cenozoic. Unusual kyanite-scapolite-bearing mafic granulites equilibrated at approximately 1.8 GPa and 890 °C and 2.3 GPa and 1000 °C (67 and 85 km depth) and have compositions pointing to their origin as arc cumulates, while metapelitic granulites record peak conditions of 1.3 GPa and 775 °C (48 km depth). Rutile from both mafic granulites and metapelites have U-Pb dates that document the eruption of the host rocks at ca. 46 Ma (Big Slide in the Missouri Breaks) and ca. 51 Ma (Robinson Ranch in the Bearpaw Mountains). Detrital igneous zircon in metapelites date back to the Archean, and metamorphic zircon and monazite record a major event beginning at 1800 Ma. Both zircon and monazite from a metapelite from Robinson Ranch also document an earlier metamorphic event at 2200–2000 Ma, likely related to burial/metamorphism in a rift setting. Metapelites from Big Slide show a clear transition from detrital igneous zircon accumulation to metamorphic zircon and monazite growth around 1800 Ma, recording arc magmatism and subsequent continent-continent collision during the Great Falls orogeny, supporting suggestions that the Great Falls tectonic zone is a suture between the Wyoming craton and Medicine Hat block. U-Th-Pb and trace-element depth profiles of zircon and monazite record metasomatism of the lower crust during the Laramide orogeny at ~60 Ma, bolstering recent research pointing to Farallon slab fluid infiltration during the orogeny. 

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3. Assembly and Tectonic Evolution of Continental Lower Crust: Monazite Petrochronology of the Ivrea‐Verbano Zone (Val Strona di Omegna)

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021TC006841  

   Wyatt, Damaris C.; Smye, Andrew J.; Garber, Joshua M.; Hacker, Bradley R. (March 2022, Tectonics)

   Abstract Metasediments are common constituents of exhumed lower‐to‐mid‐crustal granulite terranes; understanding their emplacement is significant for the assembly and tectonic evolution of deep continental crust. Here, we report a monazite U‐Th‐Pb petrochronological investigation of the Variscan Ivrea‐Verbano Zone (IVZ) (Val Strona di Omegna section)—an archetypal section of lower crust. Monazite Th‐Pb dates from 11 metapelitic samples decrease with structural depth from 310 to 285 Ma for amphibolite‐facies samples to <290 Ma for granulite‐facies samples. These dates exhibit a time‐resolved variation in monazite trace‐element composition, dominated by the effects of plagioclase and garnet partitioning. Monazite growth under prograde to peak metamorphic conditions began as early as 316 ± 2 Ma. Amphibolite‐facies monazite defines a trend consistent with progressively decreasing garnet modal abundances during decompression and cooling starting at ∼310 Ma; the timing of the onset of exhumation decreases to ∼290 Ma at the base of the amphibolite‐facies portion of the section. Structurally lower, granulite‐facies monazite equilibrated under garnet‐present pressure‐temperature conditions at <290 Ma, with monazite (re)crystallization persisting until at least ∼260 Ma. Combined with existing detrital zircon U‐Pb dates, the monazite data define a <30 Myr duration between deposition of clastic sediments and their burial and heating, potentially to peak amphibolite‐to‐granulite‐facies conditions. Similarly brief timescales for deposition, burial and prograde metamorphism of lower crustal sediments have been reported from continental magmatic arc terranes—supporting the interpretation that the IVZ represents sediments accreted to the base of a Variscan arc magmatic system >5 Myr prior to the onset of regional extension and mafic magmatism. 

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4. Xenolith Petrochronology (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) Constrains Heat Sources for Cenozoic Ultrahigh‐Temperature Metamorphism in the Lower Crust

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JB029138  

   Droubi, Omar Khalil; Cipar, Jacob H; Smye, Andrew J; Garber, Joshua M (August 2024, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Abstract Ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT; >900°C) metamorphism drives crustal differentiation and is widely recognized in the rock record, but its geodynamic causes are debated. Previous work on granulite‐facies metapelite xenoliths from San Luis Potosí, Mexico suggests the lower crust experienced a protracted UHT metamorphic event that coincided with the onset of regional extension. To determine the duration, conditions, and heat sources of UHT metamorphism recorded by these xenoliths, this study characterizes the major‐element, trace‐element, and U‐Pb isotopic systematics of quartz, rutile, feldspar, garnet, and zircon by in situ electron microprobe (EPMA) and laser‐ablation inductively coupled‐plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS), and augments these data with detailed petrography, thermobarometry, phase equilibria modeling, and diffusion modeling. Thermobarometry and phase equilibria modeling suggest peak metamorphic conditions exceeded 0.7 GPa and 900°C. Zircon petrochronology confirms >15 Myr of UHT conditions since its onset at ∼30 Ma. A small population of zircon record elevated temperatures following transition from backarc compression to extension during the waning stages of orogenesis (60–37 Ma). Garnet preserves trace‐element zoning and mineral inclusions consistent with suprasolidus garnet growth and subsequent compositional modification by intracrystalline rare‐earth element diffusion during protracted heating, with diffusion chronometry timescales in agreement with zircon data, followed by fluid‐driven remobilization of trace elements along now‐healed fractures within ∼1 Myr of eruption. In sum, these data are most compatible with lithospheric mantle attenuation or removal as the dominant heat transport mechanism driving synextensional UHT metamorphism and crustal melting, which has bearing on models for crustal differentiation and formation of modern and ancient granulite terranes globally. 

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5. Petrochronologic Constraints on the Timing and Duration of Sill and Dike Emplacement and Associated Contact Metamorphism of Hornfels in the Alta Aureole, Utah, from Zircon and Monazite LA(SS)-ICP-MS

   Bowman, J.R.; Beno, C.J.; Stearns, M.A.; Bartley, J.M.; Fernandez, D.P.; Kylander-Clark, A.C. (January 2022, Transactions American Geophysical Union)

   Two generations of dikes and sills (earlier granodiorite, later leucogranite) have intruded quartzofeldspathic to semi-pelitic hornfels in the innermost ~200 meters of the southern contact aureole of the Alta stock. Both zircon and monazite are present in the older granodiorite intrusions, and monazite alone is present in the younger leucogranite intrusions, and in biotite-rich reaction selvages formed by hydrothermal contact metamorphism in hornfels adjacent to these dikes and sills. U-Pb dates for zircon (n=532) range from ~38 to 32 Ma, with error on individual measurements of ±1–1.5 Ma, and define a KDE peak at 34.5 Ma. These zircon dates are slightly older than, but consistent with, existing zircon data from the Alta stock (35 to 32 Ma; Stearns et al., 2020), suggesting that the construction of the Alta stock began by emplacement of these granodiorite sills and dikes. Monazite Th-Pb dates (n = 888) range from ~41 to 28 Ma with error on individual measurements of ± 1–1.5 Ma. These dates are complicated by disturbances to the U/Th-Pb systematics by common Pb (Pbc) and excess 206Pb due to 230Th. Dates >38 Ma are disturbed by significant Pbc and do not represent crystallization ages. Dates from the granodiorites range from ~38–32 Ma. In individual samples of granodiorite where the disturbance from excess 206Pb can be rigorously evaluated, the monazite data sets yield concordant 232Th-208Pb and 207Pb/206Pb-corrected dates centered at ~35 Ma, consistent with zircon dates from these same samples. Monazite dates from the leucogranites are younger (<33 Ma), consistent with cross-cutting relationships (leucogranites cross-cut granodiorites). The monazite data from the leucogranite sills and dikes do not record magmatic or hydrothermal activity after ~29 Ma, in contrast to the titanite record of hydrothermal activity to as late as ~23 Ma in the border zone of the Alta stock and its endoskarns (Stearns et al., 2020). This absence suggests that once magma injection and associated contact metamorphism in the hornfels ceased, permeability in the hornfels decreased sufficiently by ~29 Ma to prevent subsequent infiltration of significant fluxes of hydrothermal fluid into these hornfels lithologies in the aureole. 

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