Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9522242 | Earth and Planetary Science Letters | 2005 | 16 Pages |
Abstract
We apply the modified RSCM thermometer to 53 samples from Crete to evaluate the role of the Cretan detachment fault in exhuming Miocene high pressure/low-temperature metamorphic rocks exposed there. The metamorphic rocks below the detachment (the Plattenkalk and Phyllite-Quartzite units) give metamorphic temperatures that range from 250 to 400 °C, consistent with previous petrologic estimates. We also demonstrate that the Tripolitza unit, which lies directly above the detachment, gives an average metamorphic temperature of about 260 °C. The modest break in metamorphic temperature in central Crete indicates that the Cretan detachment accounts for only 5 to 7 km of exhumation of the underlying HP-LT metamorphic rocks, which were initially accreted at â¼Â 35 km. We argue that the bulk of the exhumation (â¼Â 28 km out of 35 km total) occurred by pervasive brittle stretching and erosion of structural units above the detachment.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Earth and Planetary Sciences (General)
Authors
Jeffrey M. Rahl, Kristin M. Anderson, Mark T. Brandon, Charalambos Fassoulas,