Blueschist-facies rehydration of eclogites (Tian Shan, NW-China): Implications for fluid–rock interaction in the subduction channel

Chemical changes associated with the rehydration of dry eclogites to form blueschists were studied to obtain information about the chemistry of the fluids infiltrating during this retrograde metamorphic overprint. The studied eclogites of the Tian Shan were formed during Carboniferous subduction of pillow basalts that show typical ocean island basalt geochemical signatures. The retrograde P–T path is characterised by decompression associated with cooling, typical for fragments of a subducting slab that are ascending in the cool and hydrated subduction channel. The fluids infiltrating the eclogites are interpreted to represent dehydration fluids of the down going slab that ascended to the overlying subduction channel. The rehydration of the eclogites proceeded from the pillow margins producing two concentric shells consisting of glaucophane-dominated blueschists (inner shell) and phengite–ankerite blueschists (outer shell) replacing omphacite and garnet of the eclogite. Mass-balance calculations based on major and trace element compositions of eclogites and blueschists point to high element mobility during fluid infiltration and associated metamorphic reactions. Blueschists show lower contents of REE, Y, Sr, Pb, U, P, Ca, Na, Al and Si compared to eclogites, indicating a loss of these elements, but they show higher contents of volatiles, Mg, transition metals and LILE, indicating a gain of these elements. The chemical changes point to a composition of the infiltrating fluid that has an affinity to fluids derived from serpentinites, i.e. with low concentrations in Si, Al, Ca and Na and high concentrations in Mg, Co and Ni. The gain of Cu, Mn, Zn and LILE in the blueschists points to an addition of a sediment-derived component in the serpentinite-derived fluid. The pronounced enrichment of K2O and of Ba at constant Ba/Th ratios in the blueschists resembles those of island arc basalts derived from a fluid-enriched source. The low element load of the fluid equilibrated with Mg-rich mélange zones induces the mobility of most of the elements during the eclogite–blueschist transformation to compensate for disequilibrium between the mafic rock and the infiltrating fluid. The associated volume loss enhances the fluid infiltration into the eclogite interior. Increasing precipitation rates and/or diminishing diffusion rates for element removal brought the eclogite–blueschist transformation to an end, which resulted in the preservation of eclogite in the pillow cores.