B. Cesare et C. Maineri, Fluid-present anatexis of metapelites at El Joyazo (SE Spain): constraintsfrom Raman spectroscopy of graphite, CONTR MIN P, 135(1), 1999, pp. 41-52
The garnet-biotite-sillimanite anatectic xenoliths in the Neogene dacite do
me of El Joyazo (also called Cerro de Hoyazo, SE Spain) contain four types
of graphite (I to IV), distinguished on the basis of grain size and texture
. Structural characterization of graphite by Laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS)
shows systematic differences in the degree of ordering among the four type
s: only type III is fully consistent with the granulite-facies conditions r
eached by the xenoliths during partial melting, the others indicate metamor
phic temperatures covering amphibolite-facies conditions, with only a few e
xamples of granulite-grade crystallinity. All graphite crystallized before
or during the anatectic event, indicating that a large fraction of the grap
hite did not equilibrate at peak temperatures. The mm-scale coexistence of
different types and degrees of ordering in the graphite suggests different
origins, i.e. of biogenic derivation and "fluid-deposited", and is explaine
d in terms of fluid-melt-graphite interaction during the anatectic event. D
isequilibrium behaviour during high-temperature metamorphism and anatexis i
s typical of types I, II and particularly of IV, and is attributed to slugg
ish kinetics of solid-state graphitization, mainly owing to the limited tim
e of the process and carbon saturation of the intergranular fluid. The coex
isting, well-ordered type III graphite is the product of melting in the pre
sence of a graphite-saturated fluid, a process that would account for the d
eposition of new graphite. The LRS results, together with petrologic observ
ations, suggest that it is possible that high melt fractions can be generat
ed by fluid-present melting of a metasedimentary protolith also in a closed
system. Although this contradicts the commonly accepted hypothesis that, d
ue to limited rock porosities, extensive fluid-present melting is precluded
unless infiltration occurs, it is a possible end-member model in anatectic
settings characterized by rapid heating rates and low-grade source rocks.