Geology and Petrology of Some Polymetamorphosed Amphibolites
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Geology and petrology of som'e polymetamorphosed amphibolites and associated rocks in northeastern Taiwan J. G. LlOU Department of Geology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 W. G. ERNST Department of Exth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, ?alifornia 90024 DIANE E. MOORE U. S. GeologicalSurvey, Menlo Park, California 94025 Geological Society of America Bulletin, Part II, v. 92, p. 609:- 748, 26 figs'., 17 tables, May, 1981, Doc. no. M10501 the expense of hornblende, and (4) ABSTRACT production of biotite + muscovite + The pre-Tertiary metamorphic jomplex K-eldspar in the part1y;mctasomatized of northeastern Taiwan consists of arnphibolites, The metamorphic-igneous. schist, marble, gneiss, amphibolite, complex was later intruded by thin diabasi'c aikes; the older of these dikes (meta)granodiorite, and minor, serpentinized pe.ridotite. Fault-bounded are believed to be,feedeis for basaltic and foliated_amphibolite with the flows and pyroclastics in the overlying assemblage green hornblende + plagioclase lower Cenozoic formations. Some dikes I (An4o to An52), + epidote (Ps4 to Ps 15 ) + may be as young as Miocene. The whole c sphene 2 rutile ? quartz was intruded complex--basement, dike, and cover ' by granitic rocks about 87 m.y. ago rocks--was metamorphosed under+g;eenschist -c or earlier. The most apparent thermal ,facies conditions during effects include (1) transformation of Pliocene-Pleistocene collisioii between green hornblende to brown hornblende, the China and the Philippine Sea plates. (2) transf&ation of epidote to Amphibolite has been partly .? symplectic intergrowths of - recrystallized to the assemblage r -i clinozoisite + plagioclase + quartz, actinolite + chloritz + epidote (3) crystallization of clinopyroxene at ("15 to. Ps 27 ) + quartz + sphene. 609 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/92/5_Part_II/609/3429806/i0016-7606-92-5-609.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 610 - Both nonfoliated dike rocks and foliated fractionations characteristic of lower basaltic flows in the Cenozoic sequence grades; (2) the Mg/Fe ratio of chlorite carry the asssemblage albite +' is 2.0 in amphibolite, 1.2 to 1.5 in a'ctinolite + chlorite + epidote altered amphibolite, and 0.9 to 1.0 in (PS~~to Ps~~) + biotite + quartz + grecnschlst ; and (3) the amphibolite sphene. Zeolite facies rccrystalliza- facies hornblendes contain high tion occurred locally along fractures in pargasite-tschermakite proportions some amphibolite and produced- (A1203 = 8 to 13 wt %; Ti0 = less than 2 laumontite + cpidote (Ps ) + chlorite. 0.6 wt %; Pig& + Fe ratio = 0.54 to 32 9 .< Bulk-rock X-ray fluorescence (XW) 0.65), the thermally recrystallized compositions of 14 amphibolites fall brown hornblendes .contain within the range of low-K and low-Ti T.9 %), substantially more Ti02 (1.0 to wt tholeiite, whereas 7 diabasic dike rocks slightly c.lower Si and hence higher and 2 basaltic rocks of the Cenozoic ill1" and elevated total alyninum * r sequencrare alkali basalts with contents compared to the green and relatively higher 'TiO2 (0.7 to 2.7 wt %), blue-green hornblendes, whereas the '_ Na 0 (1.6 to 4.0 wt %), and K20 2 gr'eenschist facics amphiboles are .I (0.6 to 0.8 wt 2). Thermally Al 0 actinolitic, with 23less than recrystallized amphibolites enclosed in 5.9 wt %. Fractionation of elements- the Upper Cretaceous granitic intrusion between coexisting phases in the are enriched in Si02, A1203, and K20 amphibolites and associated rocks / and depleted in total Fe, MgO, and CaO. are systematic and, in general, suggest & I. Microprobe analyses of coexisting phases a close approach to chemical equilibrium; show.:that (1) zoning of. epidote, in most cases, the exchange reactions amphibole, and plagioclase reflects appear to be of the ion-for-ion type, changes in pressure-temperature exce3t where several structurally conditions--with more pronounced distinct crystallographic sites are Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/92/5_Part_II/609/3429806/i0016-7606-92-5-609.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 611 involved in the partitioning. intermediate-pressure recrystallization Comparisons with experimentally event prior to or during Cretaceous determined phase equilibria and element time. Cretaceous calc-alkalic plutonism distributions among coexisting minerals and thermal metamorphism attended yield the following estimates of marked convergent plate motion.. Only pressure-temperature conditions for the minor (slightly alkalic) mafic magmatic various recognized stages of metamorphic activity was associated with a I r." recrystallization: (1) amphibolite A ' hypothesized early Cenozoic rifting facies metamorphism at pressures of about of the Asiatic continental margin. .I; 5 kb anditemperatures approaching Greenschist facies recrystallizati'on, 650 'c; (2) accompanying the granitic which apparently took plare diiring I intrusion; 'potassium metasomatism and Pliocene-Pleistocene time, is inferred thermal metamorphism at about 700 OC, to reflect the collisl'on of the Chinese judging from the incipient breakdown of shelf + slope + rise with the western iJ epidote-clinozoisite in the amphibolite edge of the Philippine Sea plate and the formation of clinopyroxenc at the (=..,Luzonarc) . expense of hornblende; and (3) INTRODUCTION Pliocene-Pleistocene greenschist facies metamor'phism at 350 to 475 'Cand P total The pre-Tertiary basement of Taiwan of no more than about 5 kb. is well exposed in the Central Range. -3 Cretaceous or earlier sea-floor . , Metamorphis? of this terrane involves spreading apparently generated the several differeqt stages that have not Suao-Nanao basaltic + ultramafic been ,previously documented. The effects prbtolith; these,rocks, overlain by of multistage recrystallization and younger sediments, were transported to deformation are present in a variety of and sequestered at the Asiatic continentap metamorphic rocks of the pre-Tertiary margin, accompanied by an complex but are especiall'y well Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/92/5_Part_II/609/3429806/i0016-7606-92-5-609.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 612 displayed in the amphibolites. At the greenschist facies conditions during northern tip of,the metamorphic basemeot Pliocene-Pleistocene time (Suppe. and complex in the Suao-Nanao area (Fig. l), ' others, 1981). Although the strongly foliated amphibolites are bounde amphibolites have been much modified by high-angle thrust faults; these by'later deformation and recrystallization, masses occur as lcnticular bodies with. the effects of.the &rly events are dimensions of 5 to 10 km by 1 to 2 km. preserved in most amphibolites in the The amphibol ites have been intruded by Suao-Nanao area. -- . ,. Cretaceous granitic rocks; distinct These amphibolites are perhaps ,.. thermal ef,fec ts , including migma t ization the oldest rocks in Taiwan. Mineral of amphibolite, are displayed adjacent to assemblages identified in them may be ,the intrusions. The metamorphic-igneous correlated with various metamorphic ., complex was later subjected to further and tectonic events, including deformation and retrograde *? (1) preintrusive amphjbolite facies ,. J - recrystallization. After an erosional recrystallization, (2) synintrusive interval, .the complex, along with other migmatization and thermal metamorphism, pre-Tertiary units, was.covered by and (3) -postintrusive greenschist facies an unconformable series of Tertiary, and zeolite facies recrystnlJization. 1 chiefly sedimentary, rocks, now slate Therefore, investigation of deformation (Suppe and -others, 1976). The and petrology of t~hepolymehimorphic pre-'l'ertiary basement Lcomplex is cut . amphibolites and associated granitic by thin diabasic dikes, which are plutons and- the much younger diabasic believed to represent feeders for the dikes should shed light on the basaltic flows and pyroclastic rocks petrotectonic evolution of the Central a' intercalated in the Tertiary formations. Range of Taiwan. Except for /I ' The pre-Tertiary basement, dike, and reconnaissance field surveys and covcr rocks wcrc thcn mctamorphoscd undcr petrographic studies (Yen, 1954a, 1954b; Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/92/5_Part_II/609/3429806/i0016-7606-92-5-609.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 613 Figure 1. General geologic map of Suao-Nanao area of Taiwan showing sample localities and five iiidjor litliologic units: (1) amphibolites, (2) granitic intrusions (orthogneisses), (3) quartzofeldspathic paragneisses, (4) marbles and schists, and (5) Tertiary cover rocks (slates + greenstones). This map is based on our field study as well . as earlier works by Chen (1977) and Suppe and others (1976) Figure 1 appears on the following frame. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/92/5_Part_II/609/3429806/i0016-7606-92-5-609.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 614 E X PLANAT ION 309 SAMPLE LOCALITY _-**-- LITHOLOGIC CONTACT .--FAULT '\T TRAMWAY SLATE 0SCHIST t MARBLE QUARTZ~FELDSPATHIC El PARAGNEISS METAGRANITIC ROCKS AL!P!<IROLITE . Figure 1. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/92/5_Part_II/609/3429806/i0016-7606-92-5-609.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 Ichimura, 1944; Fuh, 1963), mineral' basement rocks is eypased extensively . parageneses and crystal chemistries of along the eastern siope of the Central .I the amphibolites have not' been delineated -Range; it has been-subjected