Deformation of mantle pyroxenites provides clues to geodynamic processes in subduction zones: Case study of the Cabo Ortegal Complex, Spain

We show that, during deformation, type-1 pyroxenites, due to their enclosed dunitic lenses, are more likely to localize the deformation than types-2 and -4 pyroxenites and may latter act as preferred pathway for fluid/melt percolation, eventually resulting in type-3 pyroxenites. All pyroxenite types display a similar response to deformation. Orthopyroxene deformed mostly by dislocation creep; it shows kink bands and undulose extinction and its fabric is dominated by [001](100). Clinopyroxene displays subgrain rotation, dynamic recrystallization and fabric with [010] axes clustering next to the foliation pole and [001] axes clustering next to the lineation suggesting activation of [001]{110} and [001](100) in some samples. These observations are in good agreement with deformation at temperatures greater than 1000 °C. Olivine in type-1 and type-4 pyroxenites shows [100](010) or [001](010) fabrics that are consistent with deformation at temperatures >1000 °C and may indicate deformation in a hydrous environment. The amphibole [001](100) fabric gives insights on a lower-temperature deformation episode (∼800 to 500 °C). Our results, interpreted in the light of published experimental data, together with the regional geological and geochemical studies are consistent with the following tectonic evolution of the Cabo Ortegal pyroxenites: (1) delamination from an arc root in a mantle-wedge setting at temperatures above 1000 °C and (2) introduction into a relatively softer subduction channel where deformation was accommodated by localized shear zones, thus preserving the high-temperature fabrics of pyroxenites. The Cabo Ortegal pyroxenites may therefore be seen as a rare exposure of deformed mantle-wedge material.