High-temperature inter-mineral magnesium isotope fractionation in eclogite from the Dabie orogen, China

To investigate the magnitude and mechanism of inter-mineral Mg isotope fractionation at high temperatures, we report high-precision analyses of Mg isotopes for 10 whole rocks and 13 mineral separates for a set of eclogites from Bixiling in the Dabie orogen, China. Magnesium isotopic compositions of whole rocks (δ26Mg of − 0.44 to − 0.26‰) are similar to the estimated δ26Mg values of the mantle, suggesting Mg isotopic inheritance from a gabbroic protolith with limited Mg isotope fractionation during eclogite-facies metamorphism. By contrast, mineral separates are highly heterogeneous, with δ26Mg values ranging from + 0.30 to + 0.60‰ in phengite, from + 0.16 to + 0.40‰ in omphacite and from − 0.95 to − 0.74‰ in garnet. Phengite and omphacite are > 1‰ heavier in δ26Mg than coexisting garnet, indicating large high-temperature inter-mineral Mg isotope fractionations. The constant Δ26Mgomphacite–garnet (= δ26Mgomphacite − δ26Mggarnet) value (1.14 ± 0.04‰), together with homogeneous mineral chemistry and equilibrium oxygen isotopic partitioning between omphacite and garnet, suggests an equilibrium Mg isotope fractionation, controlled by the difference in coordination number of Mg between omphacite (six) and garnet (eight). The 1.14‰ fractionation is the largest high-temperature equilibrium inter-mineral Mg isotope fractionation observed so far and makes the omphacite-garnet Mg isotope fractionation a potential geothermometer. By contrast, Mg isotope fractionations between phengite and garnet and between phengite and omphacite vary from 1.25 to 1.47‰ and from 0.14 to 0.32‰, respectively. This implies Mg isotopic disequilibria between phengite and garnet/omphacite, which might result from the Mg isotopic variation in phengites due to Mg isotope exchange between phengites and retrograde fluids in Bixiling eclogites.

Research Highlights
► Limited Mg isotope fractionation during eclogite-facies metamorphism.
► Large Mg isotope fractionation occurs between garnet,omphacite and phengite.
► Mg isotope fractionation between omphacite and phengite is in isotopic dis equilibria.
► Equilibrium omphacite-garnet Mg isotope fractionation can be used as a potential thermometer.