Advances in Earth Science ›› 2007, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (12): 1258-1267. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2007.12.1258

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Titanite: U-Pb Dating and Applications on Defining  P-T-t Path of Metamorphic Rocks

XIANG Hua 1,2,ZHANG Li 1,2,ZHONG Zeng-qiu 1,ZHOU Han-wen 1,ZENG Wen 1   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources,Faculty of Earth Sciences,China University of Geosciences ,Wuhan 430074,China;2.State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics,Northwest University ,Xi'an 710069,China
  • Received:2007-08-04 Revised:2007-10-15 Online:2007-12-10 Published:2007-12-10

XIANG Hua,ZHANG Li,ZHONG Zeng-qiu,ZHOU Han-wen,ZENG Wen. Titanite: U-Pb Dating and Applications on Defining  P-T-t Path of Metamorphic Rocks[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2007, 22(12): 1258-1267.

The stability of titanite is controlled by pressure, temperature, compositions of the bulk rock and the coexisting fluid, activity of H2O, fugacity of O2. Titanite is a common accessory mineral in a large range of rocks. It is widespread in magmatic rocks with high Ca/Al ratio. It appears in different metamorphic rocks ranging from greenschist facies, blueschist facies and amphibolite facies. Its stability may extend into eclogite-facies and high-pressure granulite-facies in calcic rocks. Because of its high U in its structure and high closure temperature (upper limit of amphibolite-faces), titanite is an ideal U-Pb dating mineral. In contrast to zircon, titanite (composed mainly of Ca and Ti) is quite reactive in most rocks contain Ca and Ti at different conditions. Therefore, its U-Pb ages are likely to yield the age of metamorphic crystallization rather than resetting by simple diffusion, such that metamorphic titanite may preserve complicated U-Pb system that contains information of the whole metamorphic history of the rock, which can be revealed by in situ U-Pb dating, e.g., SHRIMP, LA-MC-ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS. Importantly, Zr concentration in titanite is sensitive to temperature and pressure, and accordingly Zr concentration in titanite is a good thermobarometer. Both mineral assemblages in equilibrium with titanite and titanite-Zr thermobarometer can be used to determine pressure and temperature. Consequently, P-T-t paths of metamorphism can be defined in combination with U-Pb titanite ages. 

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