| 1. |
- Nosenzo, Francesco, 1993-
(författare)
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Chemical and isotopic records of polycyclic histories in a subducted continental crust (Dora-Maira Massif, Western Alps)
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- At convergent plate margin, part of the continental crust can be subducted and exhumed. During continental subduction a pre-existing crust is reworked. Remnants of an older orogen are recycled and subjected to (ultra)-high-pressure metamorphism. During subduction, polycyclic rocks undertake a second metamorphic cycle, whereas monocyclic rocks are metamorphosed for the first time. In reworked rocks the pre-subduction record is overprinted and partially or completely lost. Despite this difficulty, reconstructing the pre-subduction history of the recycled crust is crucial, because pre-subduction characters (such as H2O content) can strongly influence how rocks respond to reworking during subduction.The Dora-Maira Massif is worldwide renowned as a (ultra)-high-pressure continental terrane. However, its northern part remained essentially unexplored in recent times. In this thesis work the northern Dora-Maira Massif is used as a case study to investigate recycling of continental crust. The aim is to constrain what type of crust is subducted and exhumed and to unravel the role of fluids during subduction of polycyclic material. Field work, petrology, thermodynamic modelling and geochronology are integrated.New field and geochronological evidence indicate that the northern Dora-Maira Massif displays an internal architecture more complex than what previously thought. It is subdivided in several tectonic units likewise the southern Dora-Maira Massif. Chemical and isotopic records of the reworked rocks reveal a pre-Alpine history spanning from the Lower Palaeozoic to the Mesozoic. A polycyclic basement preserves relicts of a pre-Alpine Barrovian metamorphism connected with the Variscan orogenesis. The absence of granulite-facies partially molten pre-Alpine rocks indicates that only the upper crust was reworked in the Dora-Maira Massif.Thermodynamic modelling indicates that polycyclic micaschists were rehydrated between the Variscan and the Alpine peak metamorphism. Polycyclic garnet texture and chemistry and metamorphic zircon record a main episode of fluid infiltration at the end of the Variscan cycle and not during the Alpine cycle. Pre-Alpine re-hydration of the upper crust allowed high-pressure re-equilibration during subduction.
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| 2. |
- Nosenzo, Francesco, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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H2O budget and metamorphic re-equilibration in polycyclic rocks as recorded by garnet textures and chemistry
- 2023
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Ingår i: Lithos. - 0024-4937 .- 1872-6143. ; 452-453
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Massive dehydration is expected to occur during oceanic subduction. The situation is quite different during continental subduction, where often a large amount of crustal material has experienced a first orogenic cycle before the burial during the second subduction/collision cycle (rocks are therefore polycyclic). The amount and timing of dehydration and/or hydration episodes in polycyclic rocks strongly controls the extent of metamorphic re-equilibration during the second orogenic cycle. This study aims at estimating the fluid budget in polycyclic metapelites from the Muret Unit (Dora-Maira Massif, Western Alps). The excellent preservation, in a kilometre-scale low-strain domain, of pre-Alpine minerals and structures allows the comparison with the textures and structures observed in the pervasively foliated adjacent rocks. In the low-strain domain, the main foliation is pre-Alpine and defined by high-temperature minerals whereas the Alpine high-pressure overprint is static. Pre-Alpine garnet porphyroblasts were fractured and partially dissolved before the growth of the Alpine garnet over pre-Alpine garnet fragments. The preservation of the overall shape of the original pre-Alpine porphyroblasts suggests that pre-Alpine garnet crystals were pseudomorphically replaced by chlorite during the late Variscan retrogression. This process was likely triggered by an episode of fluid-rock interaction and moderate hydration (similar to 1-2 wt% H2O) which is also responsible of the growth of metamorphic zircon at similar to 304 Ma. In the high-strain domain, the dominant fabric is Alpine and developed at high-pressure conditions. Despite the difference in the strain intensity, metapelites from both low- and high-strain domains developed the same peak Alpine assemblage garnet-chloritoid-glaucophane-muscovite-rutile in the presence of a free H2O phase at 21-22 kbar and 530-560 degrees C. Thermodynamic modelling indicates that after the peak pre-Alpine metamorphism, a minimum re-hydration of at least 1 wt% was needed in order to reach H2O-saturation during the Alpine cycle. Alpine garnet mainly sealed fractures and formed thin discontinuous overgrowth on the partially dissolved pre-Alpine garnet. Its growth occurred during the Alpine prograde to peak evolution, involving progressive consumption of chlorite and lawsonite and resulting in a prograde growth zoning. The preservation of the Alpine garnet growth zoning and the absence of complex compositional modifications suggest that the rock did not record massive pulses of fluid infiltration during subduction. Instead, the main fluid-rock interaction episode was limited and occurred before the Alpine re-equilibration during the late Variscan evolution.
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| 3. |
- Nosenzo, Francesco, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
-
Tectonic architecture of the northern Dora-Maira Massif (Western Alps, Italy) : field and geochronological data
- 2024
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Ingår i: Swiss Journal of Geosciences. - 1661-8726 .- 1661-8734. ; 117:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-pressure and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic terrains display an internal architecture consisting of a pile (or stack) of several coherent tectonic thrust sheets or units. Their identification is fundamental for understanding the scale and mechanisms active during subduction and exhumation of these crustal slices. This study investigates the geometry of the northern Dora-Maira Massif and the kinematics of the major tectonic boundaries, combining field and geochronological data. The tectonic stack of the northern Dora-Maira Massif comprises the following units. The lowermost unit (the Pinerolo Unit) is mainly characterized by Upper Carboniferous fluvio-lacustrine (meta-)sediments. The Pinerolo unit is overthrust by a pre-Carboniferous basement. The latter is subdivided in two tectonic units (the Chasteiran and Muret Units) with different Alpine metamorphism (ultra-high-pressure and high-pressure, respectively). The pre-Carboniferous basement of the Muret Unit is thicker than previously thought for two main reasons. Firstly, some paragneisses, traditionally assumed to be Carboniferous and/or Permian in age, display detrital zircon ages indicating a main source at about 600 Ma. Secondly, three samples of the Granero Orthogneiss, previously assumed to be a Permian intrusive body, have provided zircon U-Pb ages of 447 +/- 1 Ma, 456 +/- 2 Ma and 440 +/- 2 Ma, indicating a late Ordovician or early Silurian age for the protoliths. The uppermost unit (the Serre Unit) comprises porphyritic (meta-) volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks dated to the Permian (271 +/- 2 Ma), on top of which remnants of the Mesozoic cover is preserved. Detailed mapping of an area about 140 km2 shows that (i) the ultra-high pressure Chasteiran Unit is localized at the boundary between the Pinerolo and Muret Units, (ii) the Granero Orthogneiss may be considered as the mylonitic sole of the Muret Unit, characterized by a top-to-W sense of shear, and (iii) the contact between the Muret and Serre Units displays ductile-to brittle structures (La Fracho Shear Zone), indicating a top-to-the-NW displacement of the hangingwall with respect to the footwall. A final episode of brittle faulting, cutting across the nappe stack (the Trossieri Fault), indicates an extensional stage in the core of the Alpine belt, as previously documented in more external zones. This work provides a necessary and robust basis before an accurate discussion of processes acting during continental subduction of the Dora-Maira Massif may be understood.
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