Petrogenesis of garnet two-mica granites in the Ruby Mountains, Nevada.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
By: , and 

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Abstract

Garnet-two-mica granites of Jurassic (160 ± 3 m.y.) and Cretaceous (83 ± 1.3 m.y.) ages intrude amphibolite facies metasedimentary rocks of Precambrian age and lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the northern part of the Ruby Mountains, Nevada. High initial 87Sr/86Sr and high values of δ18O for minerals suggest a dominantly sedimentary source for the magmas. Total rare-earth contents are low and less fractionated (CeN/YbN = 10) than granitic rocks of similar composition in the Sierra Nevada and show a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = 0.57). These data are consistent with melting in the stability field of plagioclase with little contribution to the melt from refractory minerals such as zircon, sphene, and apatite. Minor euhedral garnets are manganese-rich and magnesium-poor (al60sp34py3.6gr2.8) compared to garnet (al79sp6py13gr2) in the intruded metamorphic rocks and show an increase in manganese and a decrease in calcium in the outer few microns. Fractionation of magnesium-iron between garnet and biotite, and of sodium-potassium between K-feldspar and plagioclase in the granites suggest submagmatic equilibration temperatures, in the range of 365° to 505°C, whereas oxygen isotope equilibration temperatures for two granites are higher at 480° and 570°C. The compositions of the granites plot near minimum melting compositions in the water-saturated quartz-albite-orthoclase system. Comparison of muscovite plus quartz stability, the water-saturated granite solidus, and experimental garnet-melt equilibria suggests pressures of crystallization no lower than about 3.5 kbar. This pressure is compatible with that estimated from garnet-plagioclase-sillimanite-quartz equilibria for the intruded metasedimentary rocks.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Petrogenesis of garnet two-mica granites in the Ruby Mountains, Nevada.
Series title Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
DOI 10.1029/JB086iB11p10591
Volume 86
Issue B11
Year Published 1981
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Description 16 p.
First page 10591
Last page 10606
Country United States
State Nevada
Other Geospatial Ruby Mountains
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