Journal of Petrology
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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