Archean Granitoids of India: Windows into Early Earth Tectonics
Granitoids form the bulk of the Archean continental crust and preserve key information on early Earth evolution. India hosts five main Archean cratonic blocks (Aravalli, Bundelkhand, Singhbhum, Bastar and Dharwar). This book summarizes the available information on Archean granitoids of Indian cratons. The chapters cover a broad spectrum of themes related to granitoid typology, emplacement mechanism, petrogenesis, phase-equilibria modelling, temporal distribution, tectonic setting, and their roles in fluid evolution, metal delivery and mineralizations. The book presents a broader picture incorporating regional- to cratons-scale comparisons, implications for Archean geodynamic processes, and temporal changes thereof. This synthesis work, integrating modern concepts on granite petrology and crustal evolution, offers an irreplaceable body of reference information for any geologist interested in Archean Indian granitoids.
Water budget and partial melting in an Archean crustal column: example from the Dharwar Craton, India
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Published:December 14, 2020
Abstract
The fluid budget of a composite crustal column is a critical parameter that influences many lithospheric processes. The amount of water introduced into the middle and lower crust can be quantified using phase equilibrium modelling. The Dharwar Craton, India, displays a now-exposed continuous crustal section from near-surface conditions to c. 30 km depth. This section records the different steps of a c. 15 myr-long high-temperature metamorphic event (60°C kbar−1) responsible for the formation of syn- to post-tectonic anatectic intrusions. The global water budget is assessed using thermodynamic modelling on bulk-rock compositions of an average early Proterozoic supracrustal unit and c. 3.0 Ga felsic basement, the Peninsular gneisses. Results show the fast burial of a water-saturated supracrustal package (1.6 wt%) will release c. 50% of its mineral-bound water, triggering water-fluxed partial melting of the basement. Modelled anatectic magma compositions match the observed granitoid chemistries, and distinction can be made between water-fluxed melting and water-absent melting in the origin of syn- to post-tectonic anatectic granites. Findings from this study show the importance of crustal pile heterogeneity in controlling the nature of partial melting reactions, the composition of the magmas and the rheology of the crust.
- anatexis
- anatexite
- Archean
- Asia
- basement
- basins
- burial
- chemical composition
- crust
- Dharwar Craton
- foreland basins
- granites
- high temperature
- igneous rocks
- India
- Indian Peninsula
- intrusions
- lithosphere
- lower crust
- magmas
- melting
- melts
- metamorphic rocks
- metamorphism
- middle crust
- migmatites
- models
- P-T conditions
- partial melting
- phase equilibria
- plutonic rocks
- post-tectonic processes
- Precambrian
- rheology
- saturation
- syntectonic processes
- temperature
- thermodynamic properties
- transport
- volatilization
- water
- water content