An (in-)coherent metamorphic evolution of high-P eclogites and their host rocks in the Chinese southwest Tianshan?

In the (ultra-)high-P-low-T metamorphic terrane of the Chinese South Tianshan, discontinuous mafic blocks and boudins (former upper oceanic crust) are now embedded in voluminous (mainly metasedimentary) host rocks. Two different models were proposed and relate the occurrence of both high-P and ultra-high-P mafic and metasedimentary rocks to either (i) a tectonic melange style exhumation, with no exhumation of coherent units, but different lithologies derived from different depths juxtaposed and intermingled during exhumation in the subduction channel, or (ii) the evolution of two coherent metamorphic belts: one with high-P and the other with ultra-high-P conditions. In contrast to most previous studies in the Chinese South Tianshan which focused either on single eclogites or metasedimentary rocks (assumed as representative), this study concentrates on the systematic investigation of both mafic boudins and their immediate sedimentary host rocks, because the investigation of both lithologies and the comparison of their metamorphic evolution is crucial to reconstruct the geodynamical context of the whole (ultra-)high-P-low-T metamorphic complex. Several sample pairs consisting of both lithologies were geochemically investigated and their respective metamorphic evolution was reconstructed using geothermobarometry and thermodynamic modelling. The latter approach considers changes in the mineral assemblage during the metamorphic evolution, as well as changes in mineral composition, which may help to determine the metamorphic history of a rock despite the preservation of critical mineral assemblages. All samples experienced a clockwise P-T path with overall maximum P-T conditions of 540-550 degrees C and 1.9-2.25GPa for the host rocks, and 555-575 degrees C and 2.2-2.5GPa for the eclogites. Peak-metamorphic temperatures of similar to 525-540 degrees C of the metasedimentary host rocks were also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material. Results from thermobarometry and thermodynamic modelling are consistent with the observation that none of the samples contains mineral relicts indicating UHP conditions (like coesite in garnet) and neither conventional thermobarometry, nor thermodynamical modelling resulted in P-T conditions in the stability field of coesite. Thus, no evidence of ultra-high-P conditions was found. Given that the whole sampled river valley lies within the proposed ultra-high-P sub-belt' and considering former studies, which showed that at other places within this unit' both ultra-high-P and high-P rocks are now juxtaposed on a small scale, the formation of the whole (ultra-)high-P-low-T metamorphic belt in the Chinese South Tianshan as a tectonic melange style exhumation is more convincing than the formation and juxtaposition of two coherent metamorphic units with high-P and ultra-high-P conditions respectively.