Migmatization in Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) results from anatexis. The widely distributed migmatites in HHC are an important clue to investigate the relationship be- tween anatexis and the origins of Higher Himalayan leucogranites (HHL), and to understand the effect of anatexis on crustal evolution during the post-collision period. We studied in detail the chemical features of three basic constituent parts of the migmatites, i.e. leucosome, mesosome and melanosome, and determined the K-Ar ages of leucosomes. Our studies indicate that type-I leucosome is the product of crystallization of melt generated by partial melting of mesosome at source region, but type-II leucosome and HHL probably underwent crystallization differentiation of plagioclase during melt aggregation and migration. The age of 22.67 Ma of Type-I leucosome, which is a little older than the beginning of MCT movement, indicates that anatexis may have played an important role in the formation of MCT. That the ages of type-II leucosome (ranging from 14.82 to 18.37 Ma) are consistent with that of HHL provides new chronological evidence for the relationship between migmatization and HHL. We obtained a very young age of 6.23 Ma of Type-II leucosome that provides new time constraint on magma activity in the central segment of Higher Himalayas.
YANG Xiaosong1, JIN Zhenmin2 & MA Jin1 1. State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China
Here we present experimental results of compressional wave velocity (Vp) of muscovite-biotite gneiss from Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) at the temperature up to 950℃ and the pressure of 0.1―400 MPa. At 400 MPa, when the temperature is lower than 600℃, Vp decreases linearly with increasing temperature at the rate of (Vp/T)p -4.43×10-4 km/s ℃. In the temperature range of 600―800℃, Vp drops significantly and the signal is degraded gradually due to the dehydration of muscovite and α-quartz softening. When the temperature rises from 800℃ to 875℃, Vp increases and the signals become clear again as a result of the temperature going through the β-quartz range. The experiments indicate that the duration has great influence on the experimental results when temperature is above the dehydration point of biotite. During the first 30 h at 950℃, the Vp decreases substantially from 5.9 to 5.4 km/s and the signal amplitude is attenuated by more than 80%. After the 30-h transition, the Vp and the amplitude of ultrasonic wave signals become steady. The decrease of Vp and attenuation of the signals at 950℃ are associated with the breakdown reactions of biotite. The experiments suggest that the breakdown of muscovite and/or quartz softening can contribute to the low seismic wave velocity in thickened quartz-rich felsic-crust such as what is beneath southern Tibet. Additionally, α-β quartz transition generates a measurable high seismic velocity zone, which provides a possibility of precisely constraining the temperature in the upper-middle continental crust. Our study also demonstrates that duration is a key factor to obtain credible experimental results.
