Geochemical signatures of metasedimentary rocks of high-pressure granulite facies and their relation with partial melting: Carvalhos Klippe, Southern Brasília Belt, Brazil

High-grade metasedimentary rocks can preserve geochemical signatures of their sedimentary protolith if significant melt extraction did not occur. Retrograde reaction textures provide the main evidence for trapped melt in the rock fabrics. Carvalhos Klippe rocks in Southern Brasília Orogen, Brazil, present a typical high-pressure granulite assemblage with evidence of mica breakdown partial melting (Ky + Grt + Kfs ± Bt ± Rt). The metamorphic peak temperatures obtained by Zr-in-Rt and ternary feldspar geothermometers are between 850 °C and 900 °C. The GASP baric peak pressure obtained using grossular rich garnet core is 16 kbar. Retrograde reaction textures in which the garnet crystals are partially to totally replaced by Bt + Qtz ± Fsp intergrowths are very common in the Carvalhos Klippe rocks. These reactions are interpreted as a result of interactions between residual phases and trapped melt during the retrograde path. In the present study the geochemical signatures of three groups of Carvalhos Klippe metasedimentary rocks are analysed. Despite the high metamorphic grade these three groups show well-defined geochemical features and their REE patterns are similar to average compositions of post-Archean sedimentary rocks (PAAS, NASC). The high-pressure granulite facies Grt-Bt-Pl gneisses with immature arenite (wacke, arkose or lithic-arenite) geochemical signatures present in the Carvalhos Klippe are compared to similar rocks in amphibolite facies from the same tectonic framework (Andrelândia Nappe System). The similar geochemical signatures between Grt-Bt-Pl gneisses metamorphosed in high-pressure granulite facies and Grt-Bt-Pl-Qtz schists from the Andrelândia and Liberdade Nappes, with minimal to absent melting conditions, are suggestive of low rates of melt extraction in these high-grade rocks. The rocks with pelitic compositions most likely had higher melt extraction and even under such circumstances nevertheless tend to show REE patterns similar to average compositions of post-Archean sedimentary rocks (PAAS, NASC).

► High-grade metasedimentary rocks can record geochemical signatures of their protolith.
► The vast array of back reactions indicates trapped melt in the rock fabrics.
► High-pressure granulites exhibit REE patterns similar to average post-Archean shales.