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Fluid inclusions in high-grade gneisses of the Kapuskasing structural zone, Ontario: metamorphic fluids and uplift/erosion path

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Abstract

Fluid inclusions in quartz grains from five samples of high-grade rocks (two paragneisses, an amphibolite, a mafic gneiss and a tonalite dike) from the 2.7 Ga Kapuskasing structural zone (KSZ), Ontario, were examined with petrographic, microthermometric and laser Raman techniques. Three types of fluid inclusions were observed: CO2-rich, H2O-rich and mixed CO2-H2O. CO2-rich fluid inclusions are pseudosecondary or secondary in nature and are generally pure CO2; a few contain varying amounts of CH4·H2O-rich fluid inclusions are secondary in nature, contain variable amounts of dissolved salts, and generally contain daughter crystals. Mixed CO2-H2O fluid inclusions occur where trails of H2O-rich inclusions intersect trails of CO2-rich inclusions. Isochores for high density (p=1.03 g/cm3) pseudosecondary, pure CO2 inclusions intersect the lower pressure portion of the estimated P-T field for high-grade metamorphism, implying that pure CO2 was the peak metamorphic fluid. The variable CH4 content of CO2 inclusions within graphite-bearing samples suggests that CH4 was introduced locally after the formation of the CO2 inclusions; however the origin of the CH4 remains problematic. An aqueous fluid clearly penetrated the gneisses after the peak metamorphism (during uplift/erosion), forming secondary inclusions and contributing to the minor retrogressive hydration observed in these rocks. The presence of the pseudosecondary, high-density CO2 inclusions in quartz crystals in the KSZ rocks constrains the uplift/ erosion path for the KSZ to one of simultaneous decrease in pressure and temperature.

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Author notes

  1. Roberta L. Rudnick

    Present address: Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, 2601, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia

  2. Darrell J. Henry

    Present address: Arco Oil and Gas, Plano, TX, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lunar and Planetary Institute, 3303 NASA Road One, 77058, Houston, TX, USA

    Roberta L. Rudnick, Lewis D. Ashwal & Darrell J. Henry

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  1. Roberta L. Rudnick
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  2. Lewis D. Ashwal
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  3. Darrell J. Henry
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Rudnick, R.L., Ashwal, L.D. & Henry, D.J. Fluid inclusions in high-grade gneisses of the Kapuskasing structural zone, Ontario: metamorphic fluids and uplift/erosion path. Contr. Mineral. and Petrol. 87, 399–406 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381296

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381296

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