Abstract
The Nagercoil block, which is situated at the southernmost part of the Southern Granulite Terrane of south India, is dominantly comprised of garnet-bearing I-type massive charnockites. These charnockites preserve imprints of two major thermal events timed at Palaeoproterozoic (∼2.0–1.9 Ga) and Neoproterozoic (∼550 Ma). However, there is a lack of understanding on correlating the growth and stabilization of garnets within these charnockites, corresponding to these events. In the present study, rare earth element-based partition modeling between garnet and age-constrained accessory phases such as zircon and monazite is carried out to identify the exact timing of garnet formation in a representative sample from the area. U-Pb dating of zircon cores constrains the timing of protolith emplacement at ∼2.0 Ga and metamorphism at ∼550 Ma from zircon rims and monazites. REE modeling of zircon and monazite from these age domains suggests an equilibrium relation between the Neoproterozoic zircon rims and monazites, while the Palaeoproterozoic zircon cores are not in equilibrium with garnet. These results suggest that the formation of garnets in the Nagercoil charnockites is in response to the Neoproterozoic metamorphism recorded in the terrane associated with the final stage of the Gondwana supercontinent assembly.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Director, NCESS, for encouragement and support. Mr. K Eldhose, Mr. N Nishanth, Mr. Sarath Kumar S, and Mr. Sribin C are acknowledged for their support during fieldwork, sample preparation, and analysis. Sajna S gratefully acknowledges Ph.D. research funding through the CSIR research fellowship program. The authors also wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.
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Sajna, S. was a CSIR-UGC fellow at NCESS and presently, Assistant Geologist at the Department of Mining and Geology, Government of Kerala. This contribution forms part of her PhD and involves sample collection, formal analysis, interpretation and manuscript writing.
Amal Dev, J. is PhD in Geology and presently, Project Scientist at SERG, NCESS, ADJ is involved in setting up protocols for in-situ U-Pb dating of accessories using LA-ICPMS and contributed to formal analysis, data curation and editing.
Tomson, J.K. is PhD in Geology and Head of Solid Earth Research Group (SERG), NCESS. The present project is a component of the broad theme of granulite research in SERG. TJK is involved in conceptualization, formal analysis, interpretation and manuscript editing.
Nilanjana Sorcar is PhD in Metamorphic Petrology and is currently Scientist at SERG, NCESS. NS is in charge of the EPMA Facility at NCESS and is involved in the granulite programs of SERG. She has contributed to formal analysis and manuscript editing.
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Sajna, S., Tomson, J.K., Dev, J.A. et al. Timing of Garnet Growth in Granulites from Southern India: Insights from Zircon-monazite-garnet REE Partition Modeling. J Geol Soc India 99, 1241–1246 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-023-2457-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-023-2457-z