Magmatic garnet, together with epidote, is a rare mineral association in cordilleran-I-type granitoids and of special petrogenetic significance. The metaluminous to slightly peraluminous (ASI = 0.97-1.07) Galiléia batholith (Brazil) is a large (ca. 30,000 km 2 ), Neoproterozoic (ca. 632-570 Ma) weakly foliated calc-alkaline granitoid body, characterized by the widespread occurrence of garnet (grossular 25-43 mol%) and epidote (pistacite 9.3-22.7 mol%). Field, petrographic and mineral chemical evidence indicates that garnet, epidote, biotite as well as white mica crystals (low-Si phengite), are magmatic. There is no difference in bulk rock major and trace element composition between the Galiléia granitoids and other garnet-free cordilleran-type granitoids worldwide. This evidence strongly suggests that the origin of the uncommon garnet + epidote parageneses is related to the conditions of magma crystallization, such as pressure, temperature and water content. Comparison between the mineral assemblages and mineral compositions from this study and those recorded in crystallization experiments on metaluminous calc-alkaline magmas, as well as within garnet-bearing metaluminous volcanic rocks and granitoids, indicates that the supersolidus coexistence of grossular-rich garnet, epidote and white mica is consistent with magma crystallization at pressures greater than 0.8 GPa (above 25 km depth) and at temperatures below 700°C, i.e. near the water saturated solidus. Furthermore, resorption textures around garnet (plagioclase ± quartz coronas) and epidote suggest that these minerals have been partially consumed prior to complete crystallization. These findings demonstrate that at 630 Ma the crust underneath the Araçuaí Orogen was already at least 25-30 km thick and relatively cool. However, this contrasts with the marked high heat flow registered from the neighbour Carlos Chagas Batholith located 50 km to the east. In fact such granitoids record granulite-facies metamorphism at the same pressure and time (ca. 570 Ma) of Galiléia granitoids crystallization. Thus, a more suitable geodynamic scenario is required in order to explain these two contrasting thermal regimes within the same orogen. Eventually, field, petrographic and mineral chemical analogies with similar garnet-bearing granitoids located in the fore-arc settings of the British Columbia subduction zone, possibly imply that the Galiléia granitoids represent "rare" garnet-and epidote-bearing metaluminous Cordilleran-Itype granites which can only form in a fore-arc setting.
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.