Oxygen isotope and trace element zoning in hydrothermal garnets: Windows into large-scale fluid-flow behavior

Single garnet crystals from a large, multicyclic hydrothermal system in Far East Russia are strongly growth zoned, Microscale ion microprobe analysis reveals consistent intracrystalline patterns in oxygen isotope composition and boron and iron contents, reflecting evolution of the hydrothermal syste m from magmatic- to meteoric-dominated conditions, and repetitive influx of magmatic fluids, Large intracrystalline variations in oxygen isotope compo sition (> 12 parts per thousand delta O-18) delimit temporal evolution of m agmatic and meteoric fluid input within different portions of the hydrother mal system, and suggest that fluid-flow regimes differed between central an d distal portions of the system. These results provide compelling evidence that microanalytical data can be extrapolated from intracrystalline scales to study macroscale processes in complex, large-scale fluid-rock systems.