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3-D assessment of peak-metamorphic conditions by Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material: an example from the margin of the Lepontine dome (Swiss Central Alps)

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Abstract

This study monitors regional changes in the crystallinity of carbonaceous matter (CM) by applying Micro-Raman spectroscopy to a total of 214 metasediment samples (largely so-called Bündnerschiefer) dominantly metamorphosed under blueschist- to amphibolite-facies conditions. They were collected within the northeastern margin of the Lepontine dome and easterly adjacent areas of the Swiss Central Alps. Three-dimensional mapping of isotemperature contours in map and profile views shows that the isotemperature contours associated with the Miocene Barrow-type Lepontine metamorphic event cut across refolded nappe contacts, both along and across strike within the northeastern margin of the Lepontine dome and adjacent areas. Further to the northeast, the isotemperature contours reflect temperatures reached during the Late Eocene subduction-related blueschist-facies event and/or during subsequent near-isothermal decompression; these contours appear folded by younger, large-scale post-nappe-stacking folds. A substantial jump in the recorded maximum temperatures across the tectonic contact between the frontal Adula nappe complex and surrounding metasediments indicates that this contact accommodated differential tectonic movement of the Adula nappe with respect to the enveloping Bündnerschiefer after maximum temperatures were reached within the northern Adula nappe, i.e. after Late Eocene time.

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Acknowledgments

Excellent preparation of numerous samples by W. Tschudin, as well as great support in the field by G. Derungs, both members of Basel University, are gratefully acknowledged. The use of the samples from the study by Petrova et al. (2002) as well as from the collection of M. Frey (Basel University) is acknowledged. A. Riemann from Potsdam University is thanked for a supportive field trip as well as for the help in the Raman laboratory of Potsdam University. O. Beyssac and R. Ferreiro Mählmann are thanked for their comments and suggestions that improved the quality of an earlier version this manuscript. The paper benefited from the careful and constructive reviews of M. Engi and an anonymous reviewer. The helpful editorial comments of M. Handy substantially improved the quality of the manuscript. Funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation (project NF-200020-113585 and precursor project NF-200020-103585) is gratefully acknowledged. S.M. Schmid acknowledges support by the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation during the final stages of the synthesis of the data presented here.

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  1. Stefan M. Schmid

    Present address: Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, 12249, Berlin, Germany

  2. Michael Wiederkehr

    Present address: Geotechnisches Institut AG, Hochstrasse 48, 4002, Basel, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, Universität Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Michael Wiederkehr & Stefan M. Schmid

  2. Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24/25, 14476, Potsdam/Golm, Germany

    Michael Wiederkehr, Romain Bousquet & Martin A. Ziemann

  3. Institut for Geografi og Geologi, Københavns Universitet, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, København K, Denmark

    Alfons Berger

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Wiederkehr, M., Bousquet, R., Ziemann, M.A. et al. 3-D assessment of peak-metamorphic conditions by Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material: an example from the margin of the Lepontine dome (Swiss Central Alps). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 100, 1029–1063 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-010-0622-2

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