An automatic peak deconvolution code for Raman spectra of carbonaceous material and a revised geothermometer for intermediate- to moderately high-grade metamorphism

Carbonaceous material (CM) undergoes progressive changes that reflect its thermal history. These changes are in general irreversible and provide valuable information for understanding diagenetic and metamorphic processes of crustal rocks. Among various approaches to quantify these changes, the R2 ratio, area ratio of specific peaks in CM Raman spectra, is widely used to estimate the maximum temperature of intermediate- to moderately high-grade metamorphism. The calculation of the R2 ratio requires peak deconvolution of the original spectrum, and the results depend on the details of how this is carried out. However, a clear protocol for selecting appropriate initial conditions has not been established and obtaining a reliable temperature estimate depends at least in part on the experience and skill of the operator. In this study, we developed a Python code that automatically calculates the R2 ratio from CM Raman spectra. Our code produces R2 ratios that are generally in good agreement with those of Aoya et al. (J Metamorph Geol 28:895–914, 2010, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1314.2010.00896.x) for the same Raman data, with much less time and effort than was the case in the previous studies. We have confirmed that the code is also applicable to other previous datasets from both contact and regional metamorphic regions. The overall trend of the recalculated data indicates that samples with R2 greater than ~ 0.7 are not sensitive to the changes in CM maturity and thus should not be used for the calibration of an R2-based geothermometer. We propose a modified geothermometer for contact metamorphism that is strictly applicable to samples with R2 from 0.023 to 0.516, with the proviso that a laser with a wavelength of 532 nm should be used. A slight extrapolation of the newly proposed geothermometer up to R2 of 0.57 provides a temperature estimate that is consistent with the geothermometer of Kaneki and Kouketsu (Island Arc 31:e12467, 2022; https://doi.org/10.1111/iar.12467); the boundary between the two geothermometers corresponds to a temperature of 391 °C.