Sm/Nd garnet geochronology and pressure-temperature paths of eclogites from Syros, Greece

Abstract

Samarium/Neodymium (Sm-Nd) garnet geochronology of eclogites from Syros, Greece provides constraints on timing of peak metamorphism while thermodynamic modeling of the same samples allows a comparison of pressure-temperature (P-T) paths. Sm-Nd geochronology of four eclogite samples give ages of 48.8 ± 3.2 Ma (high 147Sm/144Nd = 0.49, n = 6, MSWD = 0.67), 48.1 ± 2.3 Ma (high 147Sm/144Nd = 1.22, n = 4, MSWD = 2.4), 44.7 ± 1.0 Ma (high 147Sm/144Nd = 3.9, n = 6, MSWD = 1.4), and 43.6 ± 1.6 Ma (high 147Sm/144Nd = 1.39, n = 6,MSWD = 2). These garnet growth ages span several million years and are younger than the only other published garnet eclogite ages from the island which use Lutetium/ Hafnium (Lu-Hf) garnet geochronology to place peak metamorphism at ~52 Ma (Lagos et al, 2007). Another eclogite sample dated less precisely yielded an age of 57.7 ± 6.3 Ma (high 147Sm/144Nd = 0.40, n = 10, MSWD = 1.9), significantly older than the other garnets dated in this study. The garnet ages from eclogites presented here suggest that high pressure-low temperature metamorphism, and related garnet growth and dehydration, on Syros lasted ~9 myr, similar to what has been reported for nearby Sifnos Island (Dragovic et al., 2015). Thermodynamic modeling of three samples reveals similar prograde P-T paths despite differences in tectonic setting and chemistry between samples. Water loss from mineral breakdown during the span of subduction zone garnet growth varies between samples from 1.09 to 5.13 weight percent but is greatest for the most ultramafic sample due to chlorite stability permitting greater capacity for water to be carried to depth. P-T paths reach greater maximum pressures (up to 2.42 GPa) than what is reported for Sifnos island (Dragovic et al., 2015) and greater than most previously published pressure estimates for Syros (ie. Okrusch and Bröcker, 1990; Putlitz et al., 2005).