The garnet-muscovite geothermometer and garnet-muscovite-Al2SiO5-quartz (GMAQ) geobarometer have been empirically calibrated under P-T conditions of 1–12 kbar and 460–760 ºC using natural metapelitic rocks. The chemical compositions of the calibrant… Click to show full abstract
The garnet-muscovite geothermometer and garnet-muscovite-Al2SiO5-quartz (GMAQ) geobarometer have been empirically calibrated under P-T conditions of 1–12 kbar and 460–760 ºC using natural metapelitic rocks. The chemical compositions of the calibrant muscovite are in the ranges of Fe=0.03–0.21 atoms, Mg=0.02–0.32 atoms and AlVI=1.62–1.96 atoms, respectively, on the 11-oxygen basis per formula unit. The garnet-muscovite thermometer yields similar temperature estimates to the well calibrated garnet-biotite thermometer within error of ±55 °C, and successfully discriminates the systematic temperature change of the different zones of either the prograde or inverted metamorphic terranes or thermal contact aureoles. The six formulations of GMAQ barometry yield similar pressure estimates to the well calibrated GASP barometer within error of ±1.2 kbar, and plot the Al2SiO5-bearing metapelite into the correct stability field of the Al2SiO5 polymorphs. Moreover, the GMAQ thermobarometers show that the pressure is almost constant for every thermal contact aureole within limited geographic region, which reflects geological condition. The random errors are estimated to be of ca. ±60 °C and ±1.4 kbar for the geothermometer and geobarometer, respectively. A spreadsheet for applying GMAQ geothermobarometry is supplied in the Electronic Supplementary Materials.
               
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