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Micro-drilling ID-TIMS U-Pb dating of single monazites: A new method to unravel complex poly-metamorphic evolutions. Application to the UHT granulites of Andriamena (North-Central Madagascar).

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Abstract

In terranes subject to complex metamorphic evolution, zircon and monazite U-Pb system can record successive growth and/or resetting episodes. Conventional isotope dilution-thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) dating of fractions or single grains from conventionally separated zircon and monazite populations may produce inaccurate ages. A new technique combining textural analysis and ID-TIMS dating on single monazite crystals is proposed. This method is applied directly on thin sections with three successive steps comprising (1) a characterisation of textural relationships using electron microprobe analyses and images, (2) extraction by micro-drilling of selected monazites and (3) U-Pb dating of each extracted grain by ID-TIMS. The potential for this “in situ” dating technique are tested on Ultra High Temperature (UHT) granulites from North-Central Madagascar. Four distinct events on a single thin section were distinguished. The UHT metamorphism was dated at 2.5 Ga, while two retrogression events were dated at 790 and 500 Ma. Finally, a single crystal shielded in quartz seems to preserve a pre-metamorphic age around 2.7 Ga.

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Acknowledgments

P.G. fieldwork was financially supported by the “Service des Relations Internationales” from the Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand. Many thanks are also due to the laboratoire de Géologie of the University of Antananarivo (Madagascar) for their logistic support. The authors are grateful to Elizabeth J. Catlos, Urs Schaltegger and Franck Poitrasson for their helpful and advisable comments.

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  1. Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Université Blaise Pascal-CNRS, 5 rue Kessler, 63 038, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Jean-Louis Paquette, Philippe Goncalves, Bertrand Devouard & Christian Nicollet

  2. Geosciences Department, University of Massachusetts, 611 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-9297, USA

    Philippe Goncalves

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  1. Jean-Louis Paquette
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  2. Philippe Goncalves
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  4. Christian Nicollet
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Correspondence to Jean-Louis Paquette.

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Editorial responsibility: J. Hoefs

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Paquette, JL., Goncalves, P., Devouard, B. et al. Micro-drilling ID-TIMS U-Pb dating of single monazites: A new method to unravel complex poly-metamorphic evolutions. Application to the UHT granulites of Andriamena (North-Central Madagascar).. Contrib Mineral Petrol 147, 110–122 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-003-0549-8

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