Journal of Petrology


Dehydration-Melting Phenomena in Leptynitic Gneisses and the Generation of Leucogranites: A Case Study From the Kerala Khondalite Belt, Southern India

I. Braun, M. Raith, G.R. Ravindra Kumar


ABSTRACT

Pan-African high-grade metamorphism in the Kerala Khondalite Belt (South India) led to the in-situ formation of garnet-bearing leucosomes (L1) in sodic quartz-alkalifeldspar-biotite gneisses. Microtextures, mineralogy and the geochemical characteristics of in-situ leucosomes (L1) and gneiss domains (GnD) indicate that the development of leucosomes was mainly controlled by the growth of garnet at the expense of biotite. This is documented by the selective transfer of FeO, MgO, Y, Sm and the heavy rare earth elements into the L1 domains. P-T constraints (T > 800 °ree;C, P > 6 kbar, aH2O ~ 0.3) suggest that the leucosomes were formed through complete melting of biotite at fluid-absent conditions, following the model reaction Biotite + Alkalifeldspar + Quartz ¤ Garnet + Ilmenite + Melt. The fraction of melt generated during this process was low (< 10 vol %). The identical size of the leucosomes as well as their homogeneous and isotropic distribution in the outcrop-scale, which lacks any evidence for melt segregation, suggests that the migmatite remained a closed system.

Subsequent to migmatization, the leptynitic gneisses were intruded by garnet-bearing leucogranitic melts (L2), forming veins parallel and subperpendicular to the foliation. The leucogranites are rich in potassium (K2O ~ 5.5 wt %), Ba (~ 400 ppm) and Sr (~ 300 ppm) and exhibit low concentrations of Zr (~ 40 ppm), Th (< 1 ppm) and Y (< 10 ppm). The chondrite-normalized REE spectra show low abundances (LaN ~ 20, LuN ~ 3) and are moderately fractionated (LaN/LuN ~ 7). A Eu anomaly is absent or weakly negative. The higher 87Sr/86Sr ratio at 550 Ma (0.7345) compared to the migmatite (0.7164) precludes a direct genetic relationship between leptynitic gneisses and leucogranites at Manali. Nevertheless, the chemical and mineralogical composition of the leucogranites strongly favour a derivation through fluid-absent biotite melting of isotopically distinct but chemically comparable Manali-type gneisses. The undersaturation of Zr, Th and REE, a typical feature of leucogranitic melts generated during granulite facies anatexis of psammo-pelitic lithologies and attributed to disequilibrium melting with incomplete dissolution of accessory phases (zircon, monazite), is weakly developed in the leucogranites of Manali. It is concluded that this is mainly due to the sluggish migration of the melts at static conditions which facilitated equilibration with the restitic gneisses.

Keywords:

dehydration-melting; leptynitic gneisses; in-situ leucosomes; leucogranites; Kerala Khondalite Belt

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