V24C-07:
Chlorine Behavior in Metasedimentary Rocks during Subduction Zone Metamorphism

Tuesday, 16 December 2014: 5:30 PM
Jaime Barnes, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States, Jane Selverstone, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States, Gray E Bebout, Lehigh Univ, Dept. Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bethlehem, PA, United States and Sarah Penniston-Dorland, University of Maryland College Park, Dept. Geology, College Park, MD, United States
Abstract:
Chlorine concentrations and isotopic compositions were measured in two well-characterized metasedimentary suites from the Catalina Schist and the Western Alps to determine Cl behavior during prograde metamorphism. The Catalina Schist is a subduction zone metamorphic complex in California, USA containing lawsonite-albite (LA) to amphibolite grade rocks recording temperatures of 350 to 750°C and depths of 15 to 45 km. Previous work has shown a decrease in N, B, Cs, As, and Sb concentrations from the LA to the epidote-blueschist facies, with relatively little loss at higher metametamorphic grade [1], and limited Li loss across all grades [2]. Metapelitic rocks from the Western Alps (Schistes Lustres and Lago di Cignana) record temperatures of 350 to 550°C and depths up to 90 km. In contrast to Catalina, N, B, Cs, Ba, and Rb concentrations are relatively uniform across grade [3]. In the Catalina Schist, Cl concentration shows a pattern of loss similar to B and N, from ~100-500 ppm Cl in the LA facies to ~100 ppm in the lawsonite-blueschist facies to relatively uniform concentrations of ~10-25 ppm at higher grades. This loss is likely not due to the breakdown of apatite as P2O5 concentrations remain constant across grade. In the Alps, Cl concentrations are overall lower and show moderate loss from ~10 ppm in the lowest grade to <5 ppm in the highest grade. δ37Cl values range from -1 to +1.6‰ and –1.7 to -0.7‰ in Catalina and the Alps, respectively. Both suites show significant isotopic heterogeneities within a single metamorphic grade and no systematic change in δ37Cl value with increasing grade. We interpret these heterogeneities to be inherited from the protolith. Despite large Cl losses, limited Cl isotope fractionation at high temperatures minimizes variations in δ37Cl value with increasing metamorphic grade.

[1] Bebout et al, 1999, EPSL, 171, 53-81

[2] Penniston-Dorland et al, 2012, GCA, 77, 530-545

[3] Bebout et al, 2013, Chem Geol, 342, 1-20

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