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Publications (85)
The Chenaillet Ophiolite represents a very well preserved portion of Ligurian‐Piedmont ocean in the Western Alps. It is formed from an oceanic lithospheric succession comprising exhumed mantle, various mafic intrusives (i.e. gabbro sensu lato) and a world renowned sequence of pillow basalts. Apart from scarce breccias closely related to oceanic lit...
A well‐preserved remnant of the middle crust of the former Adriatic passive margin is exposed in the Southern Alps (Italy). The Dervio‐Olgiasca Zone is located south of the Insubric Line along the northern part of Como lake and, because of the lack of Alpine overprint, provides favourable conditions to investigate the pre‐Alpine (rift‐related) hist...
The Albergian unit (AU), belonging to the Liguria-Piemonte oceanic domain of the Western Alps, comprises a thick sequence of calcschists and minor meta-ophiolitic bodies, from metric to kilometric in size. The occurrence of fresh lawsonite in its metasedimentary cover is known since the end of the XIX century. This paper reports the occurrence of f...
In the last decades, forward thermodynamic modelling of metamorphic rocks allowed us to improve our ability of deciphering the stability field of many mineral assemblages (Lanari & Duesterhoeft, 2019 and references therein); however, the chloritoid + biotite ± garnet assemblage in metapelites remains enigmatic and not easy to be predicted. Since th...
Post-collisional mountain-root collapse and subsequent massive partial melting occurred in the high-temperature (HT) ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terrane of the North Dabie complex zone (NDZ), central China. The NDZ was deeply subducted in the Triassic, producing widespread migmatites and various magmatic intrusions in the Cretaceous. Post-...
Forward thermodynamic modelling approach is among the most powerful methods currently applied for unravelling the P–T–X evolution of metamorphic rocks (Lanari & Duesterhoeft, 2019). In the last decades, this approach has been widely and successfully applied on metapelites from different geodynamic settings, because this lithology is often character...
The Banchetta-Rognosa tectonic unit (BRU), covering an area of 10 km2 in the upper Chisone valley, consists of two successions referred to a continental margin (Monte Banchetta succession) and a proximal oceanic domain (Punta Rognosa succession) respectively. In both successions, Mesozoic meta-sedimentary covers discordantly lie on their basement....
Subduction fluids play a crucial role in regulating long-term chemical cycles. Their characterisation is essential to understand the processes responsible for metasomatism, oxidation and melting of the mantle wedge. Both direct (fluid inclusion studies) and indirect (thermodynamic modelling) approaches to study subduction fluids have reliability is...
The Wuhe complex (WC), exposed at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), is an important constituent of the Eastern Block of the NCC. In order to better understand the Precambrian crustal composition and evolution of this region, a comprehensive investigation on zircon geochronology and Hf isotopes, as well as whole-rock geochemis...
New petrologic data from meta-ophiolites exposed in a relatively poorly known sector of the Western Alps (i.e. Susa Valley, Internal Piedmont Zone) are reported.
Garnet+chloritoid-bearing phengitic micaschist and Fe–Ti metagabbro preserving eclogite facies assemblages have been investigated in detail to constrain the HP tectono-metamorphic evolutio...
Abstract
New petrologic data from meta-ophiolites exposed in a relatively poorly known sector of the Western Alps (i.e. Susa Valley, Internal Piedmont Zone) are reported. Garnet + chloritoid -bearing phengitic micaschist and Fe-Ti metagabbro preserving eclogite-facies assemblages have been investigated in detail to constrain the HP-tectono-metamorp...
A combined geochemical (whole-rock elements and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, zircon trace elements and Hf isotopes) and geochronological (zircon U–Pb ages) study was carried out on the relatively low-grade meta-basites and meta-granitoids from Longjingguan within the central Dabie ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic zone, east-central China. Zircon investig...
A reliable quantitative estimate of the metamorphic CO2 flux from collisional orogens is fundamental to our understanding of the deep carbon cycle, but it is still far from being constrained. Among major uncertainties are the poor knowledge of the nature of metamorphic CO2-producing processes and the amount of CO2 potentially released through these...
Metamorphic degassing from active collisional orogens may supply a significant fraction of the global solid-Earth derived CO2 to the atmosphere, thus playing a fundamental role even in today's Earth carbon cycle. The Himalayan belt, a major active collisional orogen, is a good candidate for the production of large amounts of metamorphic CO2 that ma...
The Gosainkund–Helambu region in central Nepal occupies a key area for the development of Himalayan kinematic models, connecting the well-investigated Langtang area to the north with the Kathmandu Nappe, whose interpretation is still debated, to the south. In order to understand the structural and metamorphic architecture of the Greater Himalayan S...
This paper presents a minero-petrographic study of the rocks employed in the building of stone bridges over the Po River in the city of Turin (Piemonte Region – NW of Italy).
In all the bridges, the dimension stones are present in different quantities and elements, either representing the only building material or associated with several artificial...
A number of studies suggest that mountain ranges have strong impact on the global carbon cycle; metamorphic degassing from active collisional orogens supplies a significant fraction of the global solid-Earth derived CO2 to the atmosphere, thus playing a fundamental role even in today’s Earth carbon cycle. The Himalayan belt, a major collisional oro...
Collection and sharing of geoheritage information are nowadays enhanced by using digital tools and IT (Information Technology) applications that allow homogeneous storing of data, building of sharable databases, and transfer of knowledge between experts and communities. In the frame of the PROGEO-Piemonte project (PROactive management of GEOlogical...
In this preliminary note, we describe our strategy for collecting, storing and representing new and old geological data acquired in several sectors of the central-eastern Himalaya where, since the 70's, researchers of the CNR- IGG Torino and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Torino addressed a significant part of their activity....
Polymetamorphic impure Cal-Dol-marbles from the UHP (730°C at 4.0–4.5 GPa) Brossasco-Isasca Unit (BIU; Dora-Maira Massif) are promising rocks to investigate the poorly known fate of dolomite within the Earth’s interior. Dolomite occurs as pre-kinematic porphyroclasts with curved, irregular or lobed margins. Under both CL and SEM, dolomite usually s...
Metamorphic degassing from active collisional orogens supplies a significant fraction of CO2 to the atmosphere, thus playing a fundamental role even in today’s Earth carbon cycle. Appealing clues for a contemporary metamorphic CO2 production in active orogens are represented by the widespread occurrence, along the whole Himalayan belt, of CO2 rich...
The Monviso Ophiolite Geopark (MOG) is one of the strategic geothematic areas chosen to represent the geodiversity of Piemonte within the research project “PROactive management of GEOlogical heritage in the PIEMONTE region”. The MOG is an extraordinary well preserved ophiolite body in the Italian Western Alps. It is one of the best known relics of...
In those ultrahigh pressure (UHP) terranes that experienced protracted high/ultrahigh temperature (HT/UHT) exhumation histories, slow exhumation rates and a widespread anatexis, the UHP metamorphism is often elusive and difficult to be constrained. In the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt of central-eastern China, which is the largest UHP terrane in the wor...
The metamorphic architecture of eastern Nepalese Himalaya is characterized by a well-documented inverted metamorphic field gradient, with metamorphic grade increasing northward from lower (LHS) to higher (HHC) structural levels across the north-dipping Main Central Thrust Zone (MCTZ). Peak metamorphic conditions experienced by units at different st...
Metamorphic degassing from active collisional orogens supplies a significant fraction of CO2 to the atmosphere, thus playing a fundamental role even in today's Earth carbon cycle. Appealing clues for a contemporary metamorphic CO2 production are represented by the widespread occurrence, along the whole Himalayan belt, of CO2 rich hot-springs mainly...
The determination of the oxidation state of transition metals at high spatial resolution is a crucial issue for many fields of science, including solid state physics, earth sciences, biology, bio-chemistry and catalysis. Among the other available analytical methods, micro-XANES allows to probe in situ the oxidation state with high lateral resolutio...
One of the peculiarities of Turin (NW Italy) lies on the presence of monumental arcades
which mainly consist of stone material. These arcades, characterized by more than 12 km of interconnected
paths, represent one of the widest city promenades of Europe and are an architectural,
aesthetic and socio-economic example unique in the world. This paper,...
Retrogressed eclogites are hosted within the Variscan low- to medium-grade metamorphic complex near Giuncana, north-central Sardinia. These rocks are medium to fine grained with garnet and amphibole as the most abundant mineral phases along with clinopyroxene, plagioclase, quartz, biotite, chlorite, epidote, ilmenite, rutile and titanite. Four stag...
The integrated investigations on eclogites from the Luotian dome in the North Dabie complex zone(NDZ), central China suggest that the NDZ wholly underwent high-T/UHP metamorphism and multistage exhumation history as a coherent slice, resulting in the common formation of peculiar multiple decompression textures and the extremely rare preservation of...
In order to promote geosite conservation in the project entitled ‘PROactive management of GEOlogical heritage in the PIEMONTE Region’, we propose a comprehensive study involving the Monviso Massif (MM) geothematic area, one of the most outstanding symbols of the Alps and particularly of the Cottian Alps. Specifically, at the MM, the inventory of a...
In Piemonte, stone has always been the most widely used raw material for buildings, characterizing the architectural identity of the city of Turin. All kinds of rocks, metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary, are represented, including gneisses, marbles, granitoids, and, less commonly, limestones. The great variety of ornamental stones is clearly due...
This paper describes a 11-days field trip along the Numbur Cheese Circuit (NCC), running along the Khimti Khola and Likhu Khola valleys in central-eastern Nepal Himalaya. The purpose of this guide is to introduce the most interesting geological aspects of this sector of the Himalaya through observations of selected outcrops, samples and view-points...
This paper discusses the geologic setting of selected outcrops along the magnificent trekking route leading to K2 northern base camp in Xinjiang (SW China). From the Yarkand valley to the north, to the Shaksgam valley and K2 base camp through the Surukwat valley and the Aghil Pass to the south, different geologic units are separated by syn- to late...
The type and kinetics of metamorphic CO2-producing processes in metacarbonate rocks is of importance to understand the nature and magnitude of orogenic CO2 cycle. This paper focuses on CO2 production by garnet-forming reactions occurring in calc-silicate rocks. Phase equilibria in the CaO–FeO–Al2O3–SiO2–CO2–H2O (CFAS–CO2–H2O) system are investigate...
Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites from the northern Dabie orogen, central China underwent a complex metamorphic evolution during Triassic continental deep subduction and subsequent exhumation. The eclogites were strongly affected by multiple decompression and re-crystallization processes during exhumation, thus making the determination of peak met...
The main geological features of the Himalayan orogen are described in the region between the Khimti Khola and the Dudh Khosi valleys (eastern-central Nepal). The study on the basis of geological mapping, structural and petrographic analysis still in progress. In the investigated area, the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) may be divided in two diffe...
The Dabie Shan metamorphic belt in central China, formed by continental collision between the South China Block and North China Block in the Triassic, is one of the largest HP/UHP terranes in the world. While in the Central Dabie Zone the UHP metamorphism was discovered more than 25 years ago, in the North Dabie Zone (NDZ) UHP peak metamorphic cond...
A variety of deep-seated xenoliths occur within the Mesozoic Jiagou dioritic porphyry in the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). In this study we present a combined petrologic, geochronological, Hf isotope and geochemical study on the different types of xenoliths and use these data to better constrain the composition and age of the...
The stone resources have always been a major source of material in the
building and, in particular, as raw material to create the masterpieces
of sculpture and architecture that are now part of the cultural heritage
of the humanity. Therefore, knowledge of stone resources, their
mineral-petrographic features, their use and quarrying and working
tec...
Cordierite‐bearing anatectic rocks inform our understanding of low‐pressure anatectic processes in the continental crust. This article focuses on cordierite‐bearing lithologies occurring at the upper structural levels of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines (eastern Nepal Himalaya). Three cordierite‐bearing gneisses from different geological transects...
In the southern Dora-Maira Massif, Western Alps, slivers of continental crust with similar lithologies, but recrystallized during the Alpine orogeny at different peak-P conditions, are exposed. They include the Brossasco-Isasca Unit (BIU) where coesite was first discovered in continental crust. A new 1:20,000-scale geologic map and related cross-se...
The variation of the Fe-redox state across a strongly zoned garnet crystal occurring in a FeTi-oxide metagabbro from a subduction setting has been investigated comparing micro-XANES and electron microprobe ("flank method") results. This sample represents an ideal monitor of the redox processes associated with devolatilization reactions occurring in...
The metamorphic evolution of a granulitized eclogite from Punta de li Tulchi, NE Sardinia, Italy, reconstructed utilizing a combined microstructural (symplectitic, coronitic and kelyphytic features) and thermodynamic approach, involved a complex metamorphic history with equilibrium attained only at a domainal scale. Microstructural analysis and min...
Partial melting of deep continental crust may occur during either prograde heating or decompression. Although the effect of
temperature on crustal melting has been widely investigated, few experimental studies have addressed the question of the influence
of pressure on crustal anatexis. To understand the influence of decreasing pressure on partial...
The occurrence of crystallized and glassy melt inclusions (MI) in high-grade, partially melted metapelites and metagraywackes has opened up new possibilities to investigate anatectic processes. The present study focuses on three case studies: khondalites from the Kerala Khondalite Belt (India), the Ronda migmatites (Spain), and the Barun Gneiss (Ne...
Transition from blueschist to eclogite facies is considered as a major
step of dehydration during subduction of oceanic crust. In cold
subduction zones, this critical transitional field is characterized by
the stability of lawsonite, which represents the major H2O carrier in HP
basaltic rocks. Lawsonite-bearing eclogites are commonly associated wit...
In subduction zones, the so-called subduction channel is believed to
represent the locus where the primary exhumation of deeply subducted
material occurs. It is also considered as a major zone of deformation
and tectonic shuffling [1, 2]. The resulting intense deformation that is
commonly observed in exhumed subduction terranes is generally conside...
In the Kanchenjunga area (far eastern Nepal), as well as in the whole Himalayan chain, the juxtaposition of the high-grade mid-crustal Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) onto the low grade Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) is structurally marked by the Main Central Thrust Zone (MCTZ). On the base of original field mapping and meso- and micro-structu...
In Alpine Corsica (France), deeply subducted metabasalts are well preserved as lawsonite-bearing eclogite (Law-Ecl), occurrence of which is restricted to ∼10 localities worldwide. The Corsican Law-Ecl, consisting of omphacite + lawsonite + garnet + phengite + titanite, occurs as both single undeformed metabasaltic pillows surrounded by lawsonite bl...
In the Schistes Lustrés of Alpine Corsica (France) serpentinized mantle rocks are associated with continental basement and meta-volcanic/-sedimentary cover rocks. The relationships among these different lithologies are especially well exposed in the Monte San Petrone unit, where Alpine metamorphism reached lawsonite-eclogite conditions. The contact...
A petrological study of the Punta Orvili metabasite in NE Sardinia has been carried out, integrating quantitative pseudosection modelling with reaction balancing, with the aim of reconstructing the metamorphic evolution and P–T path.The Punta Orvili metabasite preserves microstructural evidence of: (i) a pre-symplectite polyphase and prograde stage...
Lawsonite eclogites represent fossil records of processes occurring during subduction of cold- and fast-subducting slabs, and provide an opportunity to investigate the thermal and metamorphic evolution of palaeosubduction zones. Occurrences of lawsonite eclogites are rare because lawsonite is often replaced during exhumation. We report here, for th...
The Main Central Thrust Zone (MCTZ) is a key tectonic feature in the architecture of the Himalayan chain. In the Arun valley of the eastern Nepal Himalaya, the MCTZ is a strongly deformed package of amphibolite- to granulite-facies metapelitic schist and granitic orthogneiss. This package is tectonically interposed between the underlying, low-grade...
The island of Sifnos (Cyclades, Greece) is famous for its spectacular blueschist-facies rocks and eclogites. Their very well preserved high-pressure assemblages are characterized by the occurrence of Fe+3-rich minerals such as aegirine-rich pyroxene, riebeckite-rich amphibole, magnetite and deerite. Therefore, the common model system NCFMASH (Na2O–...
The Lago di Cignana ultra-high-pressure unit (LCU), which consists of coesite–eclogite facies metabasics and metasediments, preserves the most deeply subducted oceanic rocks worldwide. New constraints on the prograde and early retrograde evolution of this ultra-high pressure unit and adjoining units provide important insights into the evolution of...
In the southeastern margin of the North China Craton, high-pressure (HP) granulite facies meta-basic rocks exposed as bands or lenses in the Precambrian metamorphic basement (e.g. Bengbu) and as xenoliths in Mesozoic intrusions (e.g. Jiagou) are characterized by the assemblage garnet + clinopy-roxene + plagioclase + quartz + rutile ± Ti-rich hornbl...
This paper describes the metamorphic evolution and the tectonic significance of the Aghil Range, a poorly known terrane located between Kunlun and Karakorum north of K2 in the framework of western Tibet. The Aghil Range consists of different units separated by syn- to late-metamorphic thrusts and post-metamorphic faults of similar attitude; among o...
DOI = 10.3126/hjs.v5i7.1241 Himalayan Journal of Sciences Vol.5(7) (Special Issue) 2008 p.34
Identifying the location and nature of the Main Central Thrust Zone (MCTZ) is a major challenge in most of the Himalayan chain. As a contribution to clarifying this conundrum, in eastern Nepal a number of metapelite samples were selected for petrological study along a transect on the eastern flank of the Arun Tectonic Window. Both to the west and e...
The El Arenal metagabbros preserve coronitic shells of orthopyroxene ± Fe-oxide around olivine, as well as three different types of symplectite consisting of amphibole + spinel, clinopyroxene + spinel and, more rarely, orthopyroxene + spinel. The textural features of the metagabbros can be explained by the breakdown of the olivine + plagioclase pai...
Petrographic and micro-Raman analysis of metamorphic veins occurring in serpentinites from the Piemonte Zone (western Alps) has allowed us to recognise seven different vein generations, developed at different P-T-X conditions. The first vein generation (balangeroite + magnetite + FeNi-alloys) formed during the Alpine prograde evolution, whereas the...
A dolomite marble from the polymetamorphic complex of the UHP eclogite-facies Brossasco-Isasca Unit (southern Dora-Maira Massif), which preserves relics of a HT pre-Alpine, Spl-Dol-Ilm-bearing assemblage partially converted into a Crn + Chl + (Arg) + Rt UHP assemblage during the Alpine evolution, has been petrologically investigated. Its pre-Alpine...
Two impure ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) marbles, a calcite marble with the peak assemblage Grt + Phe + Cpx + Rt + (Arg) and a dolomite marble with the peak assemblage Crn + Chl + Rt + Dol (±Arg), from the same lens from the polymetamorphic complex of the Brossasco-Isasca Unit (BIU) (southern Dora-Maira Massif) have been petrologically investigated and...
Within a mica schist from the coesite-bearing Brossasco-Isasca Unit (Western Alps), microstructural analysis shows that Alpine garnet grains are aligned with the crenulated foliation. Garnet crystallographic orientation was analysed with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD): the obtained crystallographic dispersion patterns and distribution patt...
A well-preserved phengite-amphibole eclogite (Br2F) from the UHP Brossasco-Isasca Unit (BIU) of the Dora-Maira Massif was studied in detail. The eclogite consists of the peak assemblage omphacite, garnet, phengite, rutile, and quartz. A porphyroblastic blue-green amphibole statically overgrows the eclogitic foliation defined by the preferred orient...
Discontinuous veins, 1 to 20 cm thick and from few centimetres to several decimetres long, of fibrous antigorite are widespread in the serpentinites of the Lanzo Ultramafic Massif, Western Alps. The cross fibre antigorite veins consist of rigid and brittle bundles of fibres and typically show a banded structure parallel to the vein selvages. The fi...
The metamorphic evolution of a granulitized eclogite from the Phung Chu Valley (Eastern Himalaya) was reconstructed combining microstructural observations, conventional thermobarometry and quantitative pseudosection analysis. The granulitized eclogite consists of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, garnet, brown amphibole, and minor orthopyroxene, biotite,...
Identifying serpentine minerals in rocks is generally accomplished by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy - Energy Dispersion Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), both of which require complicated sample preparation. In this work, we evaluate the use of micro-Raman spectroscopy, which requires no sample preparation,...
We conducted a detailed study of a unique metapelite from the ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) Brossasco-Isasca unit (Dora-Maira Massif). It consists of pre-Alpine porphyroblastic garnet (Grt1), Alpine-age idioblastic garnet (Grt2), phengite, and kyanite. The pre-Alpine garnet contains inclusions of staurolite, kyanite, paragonite, chloritoid, chlorite, qu...