Subduction-related rodingites from East Othris, Greece: Mineral reactions and physicochemical conditions of formation

Rodingitization took place in an intraoceanic subduction system. It occurred in three successive stages during the exhumation of the mafic-ultramafic mantle wedge rocks in a fore-arc setting within a serpentinitic subduction channel, which developed close to the slab. The incorporation of the mafic rocks to the subduction channel probably resulted after entraining a directed mantle flow towards the slab. The first stage of rodingitization formed mainly grossular, hydrogrossular, Ti- and Cr-bearing hydrogarnets and calcite under relatively acidic and mildly oxidizing physicochemical conditions, with increased CO2/H2O ratio. During the second and more extensive rodingitization stage, alkaline and reducing conditions prevailed and CO2/H2O ratio was decreased. The modeling of the mineral reactions of this stage, using the software winTWQ v. 2.34 in the CFMASH system, reveals that in Type 1 rocks prehnite replaced most of the initial garnet, while Type 2 rocks continued to be rodingitized, mostly forming grossular and/or hydrogrossular and chlorite. Hydrogrossular, instead of grossular, was crystallized from hydrous fluids under high silica activity. Type 2 rodingites underwent further rodingitization during the third stage, due to infiltration of Ca-rich hydrothermal fluids of oceanic and/or subducted slab origin, at lower temperatures and depths. This stage is characterized by the appearance of hydroandradite and vesuvianite, under alkaline and oxidizing conditions, due to very low CO2/H2O ratio and relatively high fO2. All three rodingitization stages are estimated to have occurred under relatively moderate temperature and pressure (~ 300 to 400 °C; ~ 3-6 kbar respectively). Locally, Type 2 rodingites show derodingitization of variable extent, forming high-variance assemblages mostly consisting of chlorite ± pumpellyite. Some chlorite marginal zones in rodingite dykes may also have been developed by Mg-rich diffusional fluid flow, during this derodingitization process.