Neoproterozoic eclogite- to high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism in the Mozambique belt of east-central Tanzania: A petrological, geochemical and geochronological approach

Sommer, Holger and Kröner, A. and Lowry, John (2017) Neoproterozoic eclogite- to high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism in the Mozambique belt of east-central Tanzania: A petrological, geochemical and geochronological approach. Lithos, 284-28 . pp. 666-690. ISSN 0024-4937

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Abstract

This study investigated Neoproterozoic (Pan-African) eclogite- and high-pressure-granulite (E-HPG) facies rocks
fromthe Mozambique belt of east-central Tanzania, collected close to the town of Ifakara and the adjacent Furua
area from different tectonic settings, the Palaeoproterozoic Usagaran and the Neoproterozoic Mozambique belt.
The studied rocks are E-HPG facies granite- and diorite-gneisses and ameta-gabbroic rock,which are retrogressed
to amphibolite- and greenschist-facies conditions. Four different clockwise P-T paths were constructed. The first P-T
path for a granodioritic gneiss displays peak metamorphic conditions at ~830 °C and ~13.0 kbar. The second P-T
path for a quartz dioritic gneiss shows peak metamorphic conditions of ~920 °C and ~14.9 kbar. The third P-T
path for a mafic granulite shows peak metamorphic conditions of ~820 °C and ~13.2 kbar. A fourth P-T path for a
monzodioritic gneiss also displays peak metamorphic conditions of up to ~810 °C and ~14.9 kbar. Evidence for all
four P-T paths is provided by mineral chemical and modal abundance calculations in combination with textural
observations in thin sections. Zircon ages indicate that the east-central part of the Mozambique belt in Tanzania
consists of granite-, granodiorite- and monzodiorite gneisses with Mesoarchaean (~2915 Ma), Neoarchaean
(~2637–2676 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (~1873–1926 Ma) protolith ages. Early Neoproterozoic (Tonian)
igneous zirconswere found in the mafic granulitewith an age of ~989 Ma. Late Neoproterozoic (Cyrogenian) igneous
zircons were found in a dioritic and monzodiorite gneisswith ages of ~748 Ma and ~718Ma, respectively.
Metamorphic zircons extracted from Qtz-monzodiorite and granodiorite gneisses yielded ages of ~640 Ma and
are considered to approximate the peak of regional E-HPG metamorphism. We suggest that this high-grade
metamorphic event was caused by the collision of fragments of East and West Gondwana during the Pan-
African orogeny, associated with ocean closure and the formation of Andean-type continental arc domains,
which ended in the formation of a collisional belt.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Tanzania; Mozambique belt; P-T loops; Zircon geochronology
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) > School of Geography, Earth Science and Environment
Depositing User:	Fulori Nainoca - Waqairagata
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2017 03:05
Last Modified:	13 May 2018 22:40
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/9996

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