Fluid and Solid Inclusions in Host Minerals of Permian Pegmatites from Koralpe (Austria): Deciphering the Permian Fluid Evolution During Pegmatite Formation
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minerals Article Fluid and Solid Inclusions in Host Minerals of Permian Pegmatites from Koralpe (Austria): Deciphering the Permian Fluid Evolution during Pegmatite Formation Kurt Krenn *, Martina Husar and Anna Mikulics NAWI Graz Geocenter, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; [email protected] (M.H.); [email protected] (A.M.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Fluid inclusions (FIs) and associated solids in host minerals garnet, tourmaline, spodumene, and quartz from six pegmatite fields of Permian origin at Koralpe (Eastern Alps) have been investi- gated. Although pegmatites suffered intense Eoalpine high-pressure metamorphic overprint during the Cretaceous period, the studied samples originate from rock sections with well-preserved Permian magmatic textures. Magmatic low-saline aqueous FIs in garnet domains entrapped as part of an unmixed fluid together with primary N2-bearing FIs that originate from a host rock-derived CO2-N2 dominated high-grade metamorphic fluid. This CO2-N2 fluid is entrapped as primary FIs in garnet, tourmaline, and quartz. During host mineral crystallization, fluid mixing between the magmatic and the metamorphic fluid at the solvus formed CO2-N2-H2O–rich FIs of various compositional degrees Citation: Krenn, K.; Husar, M.; that are preserved as pseudo-secondary inclusions in tourmaline, quartz, and as primary inclusions Mikulics, A. Fluid and Solid in spodumene. Intense fluid modification processes by in-situ host mineral–fluid reactions formed a Inclusions in Host Minerals of high amount of crystal-rich inclusions in spodumene but also in garnet. The distribution of different Permian Pegmatites from Koralpe types of FIs enables a chronology of pegmatite host mineral growth (garnet-tourmaline/quartz- (Austria): Deciphering the Permian Fluid Evolution during Pegmatite spodumene) and their fluid chemistry is considered as having exsolved from the pegmatite parent Formation. Minerals 2021, 11, 638. melt together with the metamorphic fluid from the pegmatite host rocks. Minimum conditions ◦ https://doi.org/10.3390/min11060638 for pegmatite crystallization of ca. 4.5–5.5 kbar at 650–750 C have been constrained by primary FIs in tourmaline that, unlike to FIs in garnet, quartz, and spodumene, have not been affected by Academic Editors: Martin Smith, post-entrapment modifications. Late high-saline aqueous FIs, only preserved in the recrystallized Magdalena Duma´nska-Słowik, quartz matrix, are related to a post-pegmatite stage during Cretaceous Eoalpine metamorphism. Beata Naglik, Tomasz Toboła and Giovanni Ruggieri Keywords: fluid inclusions; magmatic and metamorphic fluid; spodumene-garnet-tourmaline; in- situ mineral reactions; Permian pegmatites; Eastern Alps Received: 28 April 2021 Accepted: 11 June 2021 Published: 16 June 2021 1. Introduction Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in A Permian extension event is well known in the Austroalpine basement of the Eastern published maps and institutional affil- Alps [1–7]. It is characterized by basaltic underplating that led to partial melting of metased- iations. iments at lower and middle crustal levels along with granulite and amphibolite facies metamorphism, respectively. In the latter case, melts crystallized in the form of pegmatites and granitoids that occur widely in the southern Austroalpine basement of the Eastern Alps. Melting experiments have shown that to generate peraluminous granitic melts in equilibrium with pegmatite staurolite, the pegmatite country rocks (metapelitic gneisses Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. ± paragonite, staurolite, and kyanite) had to be under anatectic conditions [8,9]. Besides Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article the new age data of Austroalpine basement rocks, magmatism and high-temperature distributed under the terms and metamorphism during the Permian were another key argument for a fundamentally new conditions of the Creative Commons interpretation of the nappe units of the Eastern Alps [10]. Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// Most of the basement nappes and their sedimentary cover that have been formed in creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ extensional graben systems were subsequently affected by Eoalpine (Cretaceous) metamor- 4.0/). phism and deformation, generating the Koralpe-Wölz high-pressure nappe system (KWS). Minerals 2021, 11, 638. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11060638 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals Minerals 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 22 Most of the basement nappes and their sedimentary cover that have been formed in Minerals 2021, 11, 638 2 of 22 extensional graben systems were subsequently affected by Eoalpine (Cretaceous) meta- morphism and deformation, generating the Koralpe-Wölz high-pressure nappe system (KWS). This system is characterized by a polymetamorphic nappe stack of lithologies with Thisvarious system Variscan, is characterized Permian, byand a polymetamorphicEoalpine imprints, nappe where stack Permian of lithologies pegmatites with appear various in Variscan,units with Permian, variable and Eoalpine Eoalpine overprint imprints, [11] where (Figure Permian 1a). While pegmatites the pegmatite appear fields in units located with variablein the KWS Eoalpine show overprint the strongest [11] (Figure overprint,1a). Whilea preserved the pegmatite magmatic fields texture located is inobserved the KWS in showmany theareas. strongest overprint, a preserved magmatic texture is observed in many areas. FigureFigure 1.1.( a(a)) Simplified Simplified geological geological map map of of the the Eastern Eastern Alps Alps showing showing W–E W–E extent extent of the of Koralpe-Wölz the Koralpe- high-pressureWölz high-pressure nappe systemnappe system (hatched (hatched areas) and areas) approximate and approximate locations locations of Eoalpine of Eoalpine eclogites eclogites (former Permian(former Permian gabbros) gabbros) and Permian and pegmatitePermian pegmatite fields (map fiel modifiedds (map aftermodified Schmid after et al.Schmid [10]). et Note, al. [10]). that Note, that pegmatites occur also south and west of the wedge. The location of pegmatite samples in pegmatites occur also south and west of the wedge. The location of pegmatite samples in the Koralpe the Koralpe (KA) is indicated. Abbreviations: TC: Texel Complex; StC: Strieden Complex; JeC: Jenig (KA) is indicated. Abbreviations: TC: Texel Complex; StC: Strieden Complex; JeC: Jenig Complex; Complex; WC: Wölz Complex; SA: Saualpe Complex; KA: Koralpe Complex. (b) Sample locations WC:near Wölzthe borderline Complex; between SA: Saualpe Styria Complex; (east) and KA: Cari Koralpenthia (west) Complex. given (byb) GP SampleS data. locations Sample nearnumbers the borderline between Styria (east) and Carinthia (west) given by GPS data. Sample numbers for the studied inclusions in host minerals are given in the column to the right. Topography taken from Amap Online (BEV). Minerals 2021, 11, 638 3 of 22 Information for the magmatic fluid present during pegmatite melt crystallization stages comes from melt- and fluid inclusion studies [12–20]. Both types of inclusions cannot usually be used to establish a complete and continuous report of the fluid/melt evo- lution during pegmatite crystallization because of potential secondary (post-solidification) trapping processes. However, inclusions provide valuable and otherwise unobtainable information on the melts and/or fluids for certain stages of the pegmatite evolution [18,21]. This information in conjunction with textural and mineral chemical data may then help to constrain the origin of fluids (i.e., primary magmatic versus metamorphic), to assess the conditions and processes of precipitation and crystallization of the pegmatites, respectively, by considering the extent of mixing of fluids of various sources [14,15,17,22]. By doing this, the operation of specific fluid/melt-modifying processes such as melt-melt and melt-fluid immiscibility or boiling can be inferred [19,20]. Fluids exsolved from a crystallizing granitic melt are generally thought to be H2O- rich with negligible to moderate CO2 contents whereas more CH4-N2-rich fluids are interpreted as ultimately metamorphic in origin that formed in equilibrium with graphite and NH4-containing micas and/or feldspars in the pegmatite country rocks [13–17,23]. CH4-rich fluids may originate from magmatic CO2-rich fluids under changing conditions, nevertheless, CO2-rich fluids are less likely to have evolved from differentiated granitic magma due to the very low solubility in such magma [17,24]. Considering this approach, magmatic pegmatite minerals like garnet, tourmaline, spodumene, and quartz from six selected pegmatite fields of the Koralpe with Permian origin have been selected. The aim of this study is (1) to characterize the composition of fluids evolving during pegmatite formation in a high-grade metamorphic environment; (2) to decipher a possible fluid evolution during pegmatite crystallization stages and metamorphism and (3) to calculate minimum pressures of fluid entrapment for pegmatite crystallization based on density data of representative FIs. 2. Geological Setting The Saualpe-Koralpe Complex is part of the KWS and predominantly built up by sedimentary rocks that experienced at least two metamorphic events: a Permian low- pressure/high-temperature (LP/HT) and an Eoalpine Cretaceous high-pressure/medium temperature (HP/MT) event [10]. The KWS comprises areas west and east of the Tauern Window (TW) and contains pegmatite