Metamorphic reaction rates at ∼650–800°C from diffusion of niobium in rutile

The ability to quantify the rates at which metamorphic reactions occur is critical to assessing the extent to which equilibrium is achieved and maintained in a variety of dynamic settings. Here we investigate the kinetics of rutile replacement by titanite during amphibolite-facies overprinting of eclogite, garnet amphibolite and anorthosite from Catalina Island, CA, the Tromsø Nappe, Norway, the North Qaidam terrane, China, and the Guichicovi Complex, Mexico. Trace element concentration profiles across rutile rimmed by titanite, as determined by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), reveal Nb zoning in rutile that we interpret as the result of Nb back-diffusion from the rutile–titanite boundary. We present new field-based reaction rates calculated from grain boundary velocities, which in turn were calculated using a 1-D diffusion model for Nb back-diffusion into rutile during titanite replacement over the temperature range 670–770°C. Our data are consistent with or slightly faster than previous estimates of field-based reaction rates for regional metamorphism, and extend the temperature and compositional range over which regional metamorphic reaction rates are known.