Tracking HFSE associated with high salinity fluid during HP metamorphism in the Zavkhan Terrane, Western Mongolia

Abstract

Garnets often exhibit high concentrations of heavy rare-earth elements, which provide crucial insights into element mobility and fluid dynamics during metamorphism. This research reports on the distributions of trace and major elements in garnets from the Khungui eclogite of the Zavkhan Terrane in Western Mongolia. Within the eclogite sample, two types of garnets were identified, featuring dissimilar microstructures and compositional zoning: aggregate-type garnet with asymmetric zoning (Grt1) and euhedral garnet with concentric zoning (Grt2). Previous studies determined that Grt2 formation occurred in the pre-eclogite stage to eclogite facies (2.1–2.2 GPa and 580–610 °C), associated with the infiltration of high-saline fluids. The hexagonal-shaped pseudomorphs of Ti-bearing minerals associated with Grt1 suggest that the nucleation of titanite and garnet was simultaneously accelerated by the destabilization of Ti-augite during pre-eclogite metamorphism. This process could have contributed to the formation of aggregation textures, where Ti-bearing minerals are closely associated with Grt1 in the Khungui eclogite. Based on major divalent elemental composition zoning and trace element characteristics, both Grt1 and Grt2 in the Khungui eclogite are formed simultaneously from the pre-eclogite to eclogite stages. The cores (high Fe + Mg + Mn; Y + REE) of Grt1 and Grt2 are attributed to Rayleigh fractionation or a diffusion-limited uptake process. In contrast, the growth mechanisms of the Grt1 rim and Grt2 rim are distinct during the eclogite stage. The Grt1 rim is explained by a dissolution–reprecipitation, which resulted in the atoll texture observed in Grt1. The Grt2 rim (high Ca; low Y + REE) grew through a mechanism consistent with that of the Grt2 core. The major and trace element zonings of these garnets provide insights into element mobility related to Ti-bearing minerals and infiltration of high salinity fluids at different stages: (1) the mobilization of Ti and V increased under eclogite facies conditions (growth stage of garnet) compared to the pre-eclogite stage, with the mobility of Ti, Nb, Ta elements being pronounced under the exhumation stage (Rt–Ilm–Ttn2), possibly because of the infiltration of high-saline fluids and an increase in temperature, and (2) post-growth compositional modification of Grt1 was induced by a localized transport of Fe, Mg, Mn, and Ca elements in response to the replacement of ilmenite by titanite during decompression (0.1–0.5 GPa and 421–534 °C). The contrasting zoning of garnet in Khungui eclogite indicates dissimilar scales of element mobility under eclogite facies conditions (over a thin-section scale) and during decompression (up to several centimeters or beyond).