Microstructural records of multiple retrograde local H2O supplement in the pelitic gneiss, Lützow-Holm Complex at Akarui Point, East Antarctica

Abstract

The alkali-feldspar and biotite in the sillimanite-biotite-garnet gneiss from East Antarctica preserves characteristic microstructural evidence of multi-stage H2O supplement during the retrograde metamorphism. The first microstructural evidence is the "zoned feldspar, " in which the mesoperthitic zone, the anti-perthitic zone, and lamella-free plagioclase zone coexist within a single crystal. They are occasionally found next to biotite, and are always depleted in orthoclase (Or) component toward the biotite. The formation process of this microstructure could be explained by the diffusion that oversteps the solvus. The second microstructural evidence is the serrate boundary between alkali-feldspar and biotite. The projections of biotite are selectively developed next to Or lamellae of alkali-feldspar every 3–5 μm. These two microstructures would have formed as the biotite grew by consuming potash in alkali-feldspar when H2O-bearing fluid locally passed through the grain boundaries. The former microstructure was formed at 825–900 °C before lamella formation, and the latter microstructure was formed after the lamella formation. These microstructures are the indicators of fluid pathways formed under two different temperature conditions. The common coexistence of these microstructures implies that the fluid used similar pathways during the retrograde metamorphism.