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Tracking the timing of subduction and exhumation using 40Ar/39Ar phengite ages in blueschist- and eclogite-facies rocks (Sivrihisar, Turkey)

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Abstract

Geochronologic studies of high-pressure/low-temperature rocks can be used to determine the timing and rates of burial and exhumation in subduction zones by dating different stages of the pressure–temperature history. In this study, we present new in situ UV laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar phengite ages from a suite of lawsonite blueschist- and eclogite-facies rocks representing different protoliths (metabasalt, metasediment), different structural levels (within and outside of a high-strain zone), and different textural positions (eclogite pod core vs. margin) to understand the timing of these events in an exhumed Neo-Tethyan subduction zone (Sivrihisar Massif, Tavşanlı Zone, Turkey). Weighted mean in situ 40Ar/39Ar ages of phengite from the cores of lawsonite eclogite pods (90–93 Ma) are distinctly older than phengite from retrogressed, epidote eclogite (82 ± 2 Ma). These ages are interpreted as the age of peak and retrograde metamorphism, respectively. Eclogite records the narrowest range of ages (10–14 m.y.) of any rock type analyzed. Transitional eclogite- and blueschist-facies assemblages and glaucophane-rimmed lawsonite + garnet + phengite veins from eclogite pod margins record a much wider age range of 40Ar/39Ar ages (~20 m.y.) with weighted mean ages of ~91 Ma. Blueschists and quartzites record more variable 40Ar/39Ar ages that may in part be related to structural position: samples within a high-strain zone at the tectonic contact of the HP rocks with a meta-ultramafic unit have in situ UV laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar ages of 84.0 ± 1.3–103.7 ± 3.1 Ma, whereas samples outside this zone range to older ages (84.6 ± 2.4–116.7 ± 2.7 Ma) and record a greater age range (22–38 m.y.). The phengite ages can be correlated with the preservation of HP mineral assemblages and fabrics as well as the effects of deformation. Collectively, these results show that high-spatial resolution UV laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar phengite data, when considered in a petrologic and structural context, may document prograde (burial) and retrograde (exhumation) stages of subduction metamorphism.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to K. F. Fornash and a Distinguished McKnight University Professorship award to D. L. Whitney. We thank P. B. Davis for providing vein sample SV03-103, C. Ustun and C. Lefebvre for assistance in the 2012 and 2013 field seasons, A. Okay for logistical assistance, and B. Bagley for assistance with X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) analysis. The XRCT Lab in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, was established with support from a UMN Infrastructure Investment Initiative Grant to D. L. Whitney. This manuscript has benefitted from constructive reviews from F. Jourdan, S. Sherlock, and two anonymous reviewers. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S Government.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Katherine F. Fornash & Donna L. Whitney

  2. Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, MS-963, Box 25046, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    Michael A. Cosca

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  1. Katherine F. Fornash
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Correspondence to Katherine F. Fornash.

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Fornash, K.F., Cosca, M.A. & Whitney, D.L. Tracking the timing of subduction and exhumation using 40Ar/39Ar phengite ages in blueschist- and eclogite-facies rocks (Sivrihisar, Turkey). Contrib Mineral Petrol 171, 67 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-016-1268-2

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