A Mechanistic Look at the Amphibolitization of Mafic Crust: Insights From the Kråkeneset Gabbro Body, Western Gneiss Region, Norway

Abstract

Fluid–rock interactions play a key role in the formation, evolution and recycling of the Earth's crust. For fluids to infiltrate rocks and enable and sustain fluid-mediated mineral transformations, fluid pathways are required. In this study, we examined the potential mechanisms of formation of such pathways via detailed mineralogical, petrophysical and thermodynamic analysis of a dry, essentially ‘non-porous’ gabbro that was hydrated and transformed into an amphibolite under amphibolite-facies conditions. During a previous regional HP eclogite-facies metamorphism, the gabbro did not equilibrate and preserved almost entirely its igneous textures and magmatic minerals. Rock transformation during amphibolitization was triggered by fluid infiltration through a newly opened N–S striking fracture network. An equally spaced fracture network formed by mode I opening related to the formation of an E–W striking shear zone at the northern and southern borders of the gabbro body. The amphibolitization process allowed the fluid to pervasively infiltrate the rock from the fracture into the pristine gabbro. The essentially fully amphibolitized sample exhibits some unaffected gabbroic mineral relicts. Even though the amphibolitization process led to the formation of ~70 vol.% hydrous phases, it was accompanied by densification and related porosity formation. The modes and compositions of minerals within partly amphibolitized rocks indicate that besides the uptake of H₂O, no significant mass exchanges were necessary for this transformation, at least on the thin section scale. Thermodynamic modelling and petrological data show that the transition from gabbro to amphibolite favours porosity formation. In the model, the reaction front proceeded as soon as the gabbro at the reactive interfaces of the affected minerals was sufficiently transformed. At this point, fluid was not consumed further but remained as a free fluid phase, which progressed through the newly formed pore space and advanced amphibolitization. Once the gabbro was almost entirely amphibolitized, its mineral content and mineral chemistry no longer changed, so the progress of amphibolitization progress was controlled by fluid availability. This case study shows that fluid–rock interaction leading to hydration of a rock can be efficiently maintained in almost non-permeable, dry and mafic crust and, therefore, strongly affects the petrophysical properties of the Earth's crust.