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Experimental study on dehydration melting of natural biotite-plagioclase gneiss from High Himalayas and implications for Himalayan crust anatexis

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Here we present the results of dehydration melting, melt morphology and fluid migration based on the dehydration melting experiments on natural biotite-plagioclase gneiss performed at the pressure of 1.0–1.4 GPa, and at the temperature of 770–1028°C. Experimental results demonstrate that: (i) most of melt tends to be distributed along mineral boundaries forming “melt filmrd even the amount of melt is less than 5 vol%; melt connectivity is controlled not only by melt topology but also by melt fraction; (ii) dehydration melting involves a series of subprocesses including subsolidus dehydration reaction, fluid migration, vapor-present melting and vapor-absent melting; (iii) experiments produce peraluminous granitic melt whose composition is similar to that of High Himalayan leucogranites (HHLG) and the residual phase assemblage is Pl+Qz+ Gat+Bio+Opx±Cpx+Ilm/Rut±Kfs and can be comparable with granulites observed in Himalayas. The experiments provide the evidence that biotite-plagioclase gneiss is one of source rocks of HHLG and dehydration melting is an important way to form HHLG and the granulites. Additionally, experimental results provide constraints on determining the P-T conditions of Himalayan crustal anatexis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, China

    Xiaosong Yang & Zhenmin Jin

  2. GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, D-14473, Germany

    Xiaosong Yang, Huenges Ernst, Frank R. Schilling & Wunder Bernd

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  1. Xiaosong Yang
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  2. Zhenmin Jin
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  3. Huenges Ernst
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  4. Frank R. Schilling
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  5. Wunder Bernd
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Yang, X., Jin, Z., Ernst, H. et al. Experimental study on dehydration melting of natural biotite-plagioclase gneiss from High Himalayas and implications for Himalayan crust anatexis. Chin.Sci.Bull. 46, 867–871 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02900441

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02900441

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