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We present Early Cretaceous partial melting recorded by pelitic gneiss from the Nagasaki Metamorphic Complex, western Kyushu, Japan. The existence of the partially melted rock in the complex may im...

The Higo and Manotani high- T metamorphic rocks belong to the Higo terrane, central Kyushu, Japan. This terrane has been suggested as the eastern extension of the North China–South China collision zone based mainly on the similar petrological and geochronological data to the north Dabie high-grade rocks. In this study, detrital zircon U–Pb dating for the Higo metamorphic rocks yielded a maximum depositional age of 197 Ma with a prominent component at 193–284 Ma (62–95%) and a subsidiary peak at 1847–1875 Ma (19–28%); whereas for the Manotani metamorphic rocks, the maximum depositional age is 263 Ma with a prominent component at 263–304 Ma (98%). These results suggest that the protoliths of the Higo and Manotani metamorphic rocks might be equivalent to those of the early–middle Jurassic Chizu and late Triassic Suo high- P metamorphic rocks, southwest Japan, respectively. The absence of middle Neoproterozoic detrital zircon ( c . 700–825 Ma) is incompatible with a proposition that the proto-Japan might have been located close to the South China craton, where Permian–Jurassic sedimentary rocks contain a significant amount of middle Neoproterozoic detrital zircon. The zircon provenance of the Higo terrane, as well as of the Chizu and Suo belts, could therefore be the North China craton, suggesting that the Suo metamorphic rocks, including the Manotani metamorphic rocks, have formed at the subduction plate boundary in the east, which changed into the contemporaneous North China–South China collision plate boundary in the west, likely passing through the Korean Peninsula. The transformation of the Chizu and Suo metamorphic rocks to the Higo and Manotani metamorphic rocks can be accounted for by the oceanward advance of the volcanic arc during trench retreating. The Cretaceous high- T metamorphism and related igneous intrusions of the Higo terrane would be regarded as the initial phase of the Ryoke event.

We applied interface-controlled kinetics, including interface-controlled Ostwald ripening and non-hydrostatic dissolution–precipitation, to metamorphic zircon and phengite growth in a high-pressure (high-P) metamorphic complex. This kinetic modeling yields the growth duration of metamorphic zircon, based on the assumption that dissolution and precipitation of zircon is much slower than that of phengite. The model was applied to zircon and phengite growth in the Nishisonogi unit of the high-P Nagasaki metamorphic complex, western Kyushu, Japan. Given that detrital zircons that are tens of microns in size remain after metamorphism, our model assumption is justified. Our results show that the duration of metamorphic zircon growth in an individual rock ranges from 10 to 20 Myr. In general, the duration of metamorphic zircon growth in the whole Nishisonogi unit is ca. 30 Myr. This prolonged duration implies that high-P metamorphism is sustained by continuous subduction of hydrated oceanic crust and overlying trench-fill sediments. The continuous subduction and accretion of these materials may supply the metamorphic fluid into the high-P metamorphic domain in the deeper part of the accretionary prism, thereby contributing to interface-controlled kinetics in the metamorphic complex.

A high-temperature (T) metamorphic complex occurs in the Omuta district, northern Kyushu, Japan. Three metamorphic zones are defined based on pelitic mineral assemblage, i.e. chlorite–biotite zone, muscovite–andalusite zone and sillimanite–K-feldspar zone with ascending metamorphic grade from north to south. Two isograds trend approximately east–west, which is oblique to the boundary between the metamorphic complex and the Tamana Granodiorite located on the southeast. The metamorphic condition of two pelitic rocks that occur in the muscovite–andalusite zone and sillimanite–K-feldspar zone are estimated as 510 ±30 °C, 300 ±60 MPa and 720 ±30 °C, 620 ±60 MPa, respectively. Thermodynamic consideration reveals that use of the same geothermobarometer enables precise determination of the difference in pressure between the samples as 320 ±10 MPa. This indicates that the pelitic samples were metamorphosed at different depth by 11–12 km that is significantly larger than the geographic distance of 6.8 km between the sample localities. This also suggests that crustal thinning took place after the high-T metamorphism. The high-T metamorphic complex is, therefore, not of static contact metamorphism but of dynamic regional metamorphism. The present result combined with petrological and chronological similarities implies that this complex suffered the regional Ryoke metamorphism.

New U–Pb ages of zircons from migmatitic pelitic gneisses in the Omuta district, northern Kyushu, southwest Japan are presented. Metamorphic zonation from the Suo metamorphic complex to the gneisses suggests that the protolith of the gneisses was the Suo metamorphic complex. The zircon ages reveal the following: (i) a transformation took place from the high-P Suo metamorphic complex to a high-T metamorphic complex that includes the migmatitic pelitic gneisses; (ii) the detrital zircon cores in the Suo pelitic rocks have two main age components (ca 1900–1800 Ma and 250 Ma), with some of the detrital zircon cores being supplied (being reworked) from a high-grade metamorphic source; and (iii) one metamorphic zircon rim yields 105.1 ±5.3 Ma concordant age that represents the age of the high-T metamorphism. The high-P to high-T transformation of metamorphic complexes implies the seaward shift of a volcanic arc or a landward shift of the metamorphic complex from a trench to the sides of a volcanic arc in an arc–trench system during the Early Cretaceous. The Omuta district is located on the same geographical trend as the Ryoke plutono-metamorphic complex, and our estimated age of the high-T metamorphism is similar to that of the Ryoke plutono-metamorphism in the Yanai district of western Chugoku. Therefore, the high-T metamorphic complex possibly represents the western extension of the Ryoke plutono-metamorphic complex. The protolith of the metamorphic rocks of the Ryoke plutono-metamorphic complex was the Jurassic accretionary complex of the inner zone of southwest Japan. The high-P to high-T transformation in the Omuta district also suggests that the geographic trend of the Jurassic accretionary complex was oblique to that of the mid-Cretaceous high-T metamorphic field.

Metatexite and diatexite migmatites are widely distributed within the upper amphibolite and granulite facies zones of the Higo low-P/high-T metamorphic terrane. Here, we report data from an outcrop in the highest grade part of the granulite facies zone, in which diatexite occurs as a 3 m thick layer between 2 m thick layers of stromatic-structured metatexite within pelitic gneiss. The migmatites and gneiss contain the same peak mineral assemblage of biotite + plagioclase + quartz + garnet + K-feldspar with retrograde chlorite ± muscovite and some accessory minerals of ilmenite ± rutile ± titanite + apatite + zircon + monazite ± pyrite ± zinc sulphide ± calcite. Calculated metamorphic P–T conditions are 800–900 °C and 9–12 kbar. Zircon in the diatexite forms elongate euhedral crystals with oscillatory zoning, but no core–rim structure. Zircon from the gneiss and metatexite forms euhedral–subhedral grains comprising inherited cores overgrown by thin rims. The overgrowth rims in the metatexite have lower Th/U ratios than zircon in the diatexite and yield a 206Pb/238U age of 116.0 ± 1.6 Ma, which is older than the 110.1 ± 0.6 Ma 206Pb/238U age derived from zircon in the diatexite. Zircon from the diatexite has variable REE contents with convex upward patterns and flat normalized HREE, whereas the overgrowth rims in the metatexite and gneiss have steep HREE-enriched patterns; however, both types have similar positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies. 176Hf/177Hf ratios in the overgrowth rims from the metatexite are more variable and generally lower than values from zircon in the diatexite. Based on U–Pb ages, trace element and Hf isotope data, the zircon rims in the metatexite are interpreted to have crystallized from a locally derived melt, following partial dissolution of inherited protolith zircon during anatexis, whereas the zircon in the diatexite is interpreted to have crystallized from a melt that included an externally derived component. By integrating zircon and petrographic data for the migmatites and pelitic gneiss, the metatexite migmatite is interpreted to have formed by in situ partial melting in which the melt did not migrate from the source, whereas the diatexite migmatite included an externally derived juvenile component. The Cretaceous high-temperature metamorphism of the Higo metamorphic terrane is interpreted to reflect emplacement of mantle-derived basalts under a volcanic arc along the eastern margin of the Eurasian continent and advection of heat via hybrid silicic melts from the lower crust. Post-peak crystallization of anatectic melts in a high-T region at mid-crustal depths occurred in the interval c. 116–110 Ma, as indicated by the difference in zircon ages from the metatexite and diatexite migmatites.

High-grade mylonites occur in the Takahama metamorphic rocks, a member of the high-pressure low-temperature type Nagasaki Metamorphic Rocks, western Kyushu, Japan. Mafic layers within the mylonites retain reaction microstructures consisting of margarite aggregates armoring both corundum and kyanite. The following retrograde reaction well accounts for the microstructures in the CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O system: 3Al2O3 + 2Al2SiO5 + 2Ca2Al3Si3O12(OH) + 3H2O = 2Ca2Al8Si4O20(OH)4 (corundum + kyanite + clinozoisite + fluid = margarite). Mass balance analyses and chemical potential modeling reveal that the chemical potential gradients present between kyanite and corundum have likely driven the transport of the CaO and SiO2 components. The mylonitization is considered to take place chronologically after peak metamorphism and before the above reaction, based on the following features: approximately constant thickness of the margarite aggregates, random orientation of margarite, and local modification of garnet composition at a boudin neck that formed during mylonitization. The estimated peak temperature of 640°C and the pressure–temperature conditions of the above reaction indicate that the mylonitization took place at temperature between 530 and 640°C at pressures higher than 1.2 GPa, approximately equivalent to the depth of the lower crust of island arcs.

The Ryoke Metamorphic Complex of the Mikawa Plateau, Central Japan, contains well-preserved geological and thermal structures formed during Cretaceous high-temperature (high- T ) metamorphism. These structures can be explained by a pervasive melt migration model. However, the estimated flux of melt is much higher than that expected for compaction flow of felsic melt. An additional tectonic force and/or melt segregation to network of veins or layers is therefore required. This paper presents the results of numerical modeling of the structural evolution of immiscible viscous fluids under simple-shear deformation, and discusses the role of viscous segregation in enabling pervasive melt flow in hot crust. The results of numerical modeling of simple-shear deformation of immiscible viscous fluids reveal that low-viscosity fluids segregate into lenses and layers. This segregation is a type of viscous segregation that takes place to minimize the dissipation of energy in the system. The rate of energy dissipation is proportional to viscosity. Therefore, this process is expected to occur universally in immiscible viscous fluids with large viscosity contrasts, and is an important process in focusing melt in partially melted rocks. The structures produced by the numerical simulation are similar to those of migmatites. The simulation results suggest that melts distributed randomly in partially melted rock will segregate into lenses or layers with progressive simple-shear deformation. During deformation-enhanced segregation, a melt network will form dynamically. If this process occurs at small to large scales in the hot crust, melts will be effectively transported upward due to buoyancy forces. It is possible that pervasive migmatites at low structural levels within high- T metamorphic complexes may represent “fossil” melt pathways formed by crustal-scale viscous segregation.

An albite-omphacite rock, containing the three sodic pyroxenes of the jadeite-omphacite-diopside/hedenbergite ternary system, has been investigated in detail to better characterize the phase relationships in this system. The rock is from a serpentinite melange in the Kurosegawa Zone of Central Kyushu, Japan, and exhibits an omphacite overgrowth over diopside/hedenbergite and the further overgrowth of jadeite over omphacite, indicative of the successive replacement of pyroxenes during metamorphism. Partial replacement of omphacite by diopside/hedenbergite at the margins of K-feldspar veins suggests that all three pyroxenes were stable locally at the same stage of metamorphism. The peak temperature and pressure conditions are roughly estimated to be 350°C and 5–10.8 kbar. Partitioning of Fe2+-Mg between pyroxene pairs is consistent with a recent thermodynamic model, indicating the attainment of local equilibrium for pyroxene pairs. The observed compositional gap is also consistent with the miscibility gap reported in many previous studies. The compositional field of omphacite in the ternary jadeite-aegirine-diopside/hedenbergite diagram extends from the jadeite-diopside/hedenbergite line toward the aegirine-rich field, maintaining approximately constant the jadeite content, resulting in an asymmetric phase diagram.

This paper characterizes the metamorphic thermal structure of the Higo Metamorphic Complex (HMC) and presents the results of a numerical simulation of a geotherm with melt migration and solidification. Reconstruction of the geological and metamorphic structure shows that the HMC initially had a simple thermal structure where metamorphic temperatures and pressures increased towards apparent lower structural levels. Subsequently, this initial thermal structure has been collapsed by E–W and NNE–SSW trending high-angle faults. Pressure and temperature conditions using the analysis of mineral assemblages and thermobarometry define a metamorphic field P–T array that may be divided into two segments: the array at apparent higher structural levels has a low-dP/dT slope, whereas that at apparent lower structural levels has a high-dP/dT slope. This composite array cannot be explained by heat conduction in subsolidus rocks alone. Migmatite is exposed pervasively at apparent lower structural levels, but large syn-metamorphic plutons are absent at the levels exposed in the HMC. Transport and solidification of melt within migmatite is a potential mechanism to generate the composite array. Thermal modelling of a geotherm with melt migration and solidification shows that the composite thermal structure may be formed by a change of the dominant heat transfer from an advective regime to a conduction regime with decreasing depth. The model also predicts that strata beneath the crossing point will consist of high-grade solid metamorphic rocks and solidified melt products, such as migmatite. This prediction is consistent with the observation that migmatite was associated with the very high-dP/dT slope. The melt migration model is able to generate the very high-dP/dT segment due to the high rate of heat transfer by advection.

Garnet-clinopyroxene amphibolites occur in the mylonite unit structurally at the top of the Takahama metamorphic rocks — a member of the Nagasaki Metamorphic Rocks, western Kyushu, SW Japan. Geothermobarometry applied to an equigranular garnet-clinopyroxene amphibolite, which escaped severe mylonitization, yields the metamorphic condition of 770 ± 70°C and 1.1 ± 0.2 GPa. This condition is comparable with the high-pressure granulite facies, and is much higher-grade than those of the underlying crystalline schists of the Takahama metamorphic rocks that belong to the epidote-glaucophane schist subfacies. Despite the presence of such a gap in metamorphic condition between the crystalline schists and the mylonite unit, nearly identical muscovite K-Ar ages have been obtained from these units, which indicate that both units were juxtaposed at depth before they cooled below the closure temperature of the muscovite K-Ar system.

This paper presents the results of numerical modelling to investigate the regional occurrence of prehnite-bearing metamorphic rocks at shallow levels in subduction zones. The modelling assumes a simple geometrical configuration in which the thermal structure in a prism is controlled by boundary conditions at the top and base of the prism. It is expected that the predominant metamorphic facies in a prism will change with decreasing age of the descending slab. The results of thermal modelling show that the facies boundary between pumpellyite–actinolite and prehnite–actinolite facies (including prehnite–pumpellyite facies) overlaps with an array of P–T conditions in the prism when the age of a descending slab is younger than 10 Myr. This implies that the change of the predominant metamorphic facies from pumpellyite–actinolite to prehnite–actinolite facies will switch drastically. The critical age of the switch depends on subduction parameters. In particular, the critical age of the descending slab is

High-pressure metamorphic rocks are exposed in Karangsambung area of central Java, Indonesia. They form part of a Cretaceous subduction complex (Luk–Ulo Complex) with fault-bounded slices of shale, sandstone, chert, basalt, limestone, conglomerate and ultrabasic rocks. The most abundant metamorphic rock type are pelitic schists, which have yielded late Early Cretaceous K–Ar ages. Small amounts of eclogite, glaucophane rock, garnet–amphibolite and jadeite–quartz–glaucophane rock occur as tectonic blocks in sheared serpentinite. Using the jadeite–garnet–glaucophane–phengite–quartz equilibrium, peak pressure and temperature of the jadeite–quartz–glaucophane rock are P = 22 ± 2 kbar and T = 530 ± 40 °C. The estimated P–T conditions indicate that the rock was subducted to ca 80 km depth, and that the overall geothermal gradient was ∼ 7.0 °C/km. This rock type is interpreted to have been generated by the metamorphism of cold oceanic lithosphere subducted to upper mantle depths. The exhumation from the upper mantle to lower or middle crustal depths can be explained by buoyancy forces. The tectonic block is interpreted to be combined with the quartz–mica schists at lower or middle crustal depths.

This paper presents a theoretical formulation of Ostwald ripening of garnet and discusses the importance of the process during high pressure and low temperature (high P/T) metamorphism. The growth rate of garnet due to Ostwald ripening is formulated for the system consisting of minerals and an intergranular medium. Crystal size distribution (CSD) of garnets are examined and compared with the theoretical distribution for Ostwald ripening. Two types of CSDs are recognized. One is consistent with the theoretical prediction of size distribution while the other is wider than the theoretical distribution. The former CSD applies to samples in which garnets show homogeneous spatial distributions. The latter CSD applies to samples in which garnets show heterogeneous spatial distributions such as in clusters or layers. These relations suggest that the heterogeneity of spatial distributions results in a heterogeneity of concentration of garnet, causing the wide distributions. The mean diameter (dg) has a large variation in samples having narrow distributions. Ostwald ripening explains well the similar patterns of CSD in these samples with different dg because of a scaling law. Compositional profiles of garnets with different size are consistent with Ostwald ripening rather than nucleation and growth kinetics. This suggests that the CSDs result from Ostwald ripening. Magnitude of heating rate will determine which mechanism controls CSD. Nucleation and growth kinetics are dominant when heating rate is large. On the other hand, Ostwald ripening is dominant when heating rate is small. CSDs of garnets in high P/T metamorphic rocks are consistent with the latter case.

Cretaceous subduction complexes surround the southeastern margin of Sundaland in Indonesia. They are widely exposed in several localities, such as Bantimala (South Sulawesi), Karangsambung (Central Java) and Meratus (South Kalimantan). The Meratus Complex of South Kalimantan consists mainly of melange, chert, siliceous shale, limestone, basalt, ultramafic rocks and schists. The complex is uncomformably covered with Late Cretaceous sedimentary-volcanic formations, such as the Pitap and Haruyan Formations. Well-preserved radiolarians were extracted from 14 samples of siliceous sedimentary rocks, and K–Ar age dating was performed on muscovite from 6 samples of schist of the Meratus Complex. The radiolarian assemblage from the chert of the complex is assigned to the early Middle Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous. The K–Ar age data from schist range from 110 Ma to 180 Ma. Three samples from the Pitap Formation, which unconformably covers the Meratus Complex, yield Cretaceous radiolarians of Cenomanian or older. These chronological data as well as field observation and petrology yield the following constraints on the tectonic setting of the Meratus Complex. (1) The melange of the Meratus Complex was caused by the subduction of an oceanic plate covered by radiolarian chert ranging in age from early Middle Jurassic to late Early Cretaceous. (2) The Haruyan Schist of 110–119 Ma was affected by metamorphism of a high pressure–low temperature type caused by oceanic plate subduction. Some of the protoliths were high alluminous continental cover or margin sediments. Intermediate pressure type metamorphic rocks of 165 and 180 Ma were discovered for the first time along the northern margin of the Haruyan Schist. (3) The Haruyan Formation, a product of submarine volcanism in an immature island arc setting, is locally contemporaneous with the formation of the melange of the Meratus Complex.

Rate-limiting processes and the degree of disequilibrium during metamorphic mineral growth are key controls on the rate of dehydration and hydration in the Earth’s crust. This paper examines diffusion-controlled growth and the degree of disequilibrium of garnet porphyroblasts in the Tsukuba metamorphic rocks of central Japan. The analyzed porphyroblasts have irregular and branching morphologies with clear diffusional haloes, indicating that they grew in a diffusion-controlled regime. Mathematical analysis shows that the dominant wavelength of the interface of a garnet porphyroblast is dependent on the extent of supersaturation (Δζ), which is an index for the degree of disequilibrium. Using the calculated upper and lower limits of the dominant wavelength, the value of Δζ is estimated to be 0.05 × 10−1–0.16, which corresponds to a Gibbs free energy (ΔG r ) overstep of 0.9–27 kJ per mole of garnet (12 oxygen atoms) and a temperature overstep (ΔT) of 1.7–50 °C. Using the average value of the dominant wavelength, the following results are obtained: Δζ = 0.15 × 10−1, ΔG r = 2.7 kJ per mole of garnet, and ΔT = 5 °C. These values bring into question the importance of diffusion-controlled growth of garnet porphyroblasts, as highly irregular and branching garnet porphyroblasts are rare in most metamorphic belts. After significant overstepping for the nucleation of garnet, the garnet porphyroblasts grow at a high degree of disequilibrium. However, a high degree of disequilibrium under diffusion-controlled growth would be characterized by diffusional instability. The results indicate that garnet porphyroblasts that lack an irregular and branching morphology may grow at a high degree of disequilibrium under interface-controlled growth, provided they are set in a medium where the diffusion and supply of constituent elements are sufficient, such as a sufficient volume of metamorphic fluid.