Ultra-high temperature metamorphism in the Guaxupé Complex: a lower crust segment

Abstract

The area is located at the northern boundary of the Guaxupé Complex, which corresponds to the northern domain of the Socorro-Guaxupé Nappe, in the Southern Brasília Orogen, close to the Varginha Shear Zone. This study integrates petrography, mineral chemistry, optimized geothermobarometry, and trace elements thermometry data, aiming to define and characterize the metamorphic conditions and the P-T path of the granulitic rocks from the northern portion of the Guaxupé Complex. In the area, the Guaxupé Complex consists predominantly of ortho-derived rocks represented by granulitic gneisses (orthopyroxene gneisses) of felsic to mafic composition with clinopyroxene, garnet, amphibole, biotite, and rare rutile. The calculated pressure and temperature conditions record metamorphic peak around 1,078°C and 14.8 kbar, compatible with ultra-high temperature metamorphism conditions, marked by grt + cpx + opx + pl ± qtz ± rt mineral assemblages, and granulite facies re-equilibration in the sillimanite stability field at P-T conditions of 930 to 800°C and 13.5 to 11.0 kbar. The results are compatible with deeper portions of the lower crust involved in a continental collision and suggest a clockwise P-T path, typical of crustal thickening zones, followed by near-isothermal decompression during tectonic exhumation.

KEYWORDS:
Southern Brasília Orogen; Guaxupé Complex; Granulites; UHT metamorphism; lower crust