Formation of corundum in direct contact with quartz and biotite in clockwise P–T trajectory from the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica

Abstract

We have found corundum in direct contact with quartz and biotite and as inclusions in garnet in the pelitic gneisses of northern Austkampane in the Northeastern (NE) Terrane of the Sør Rondane Mountains (SRM), East Antarctica. Our samples, which include corundum–bearing gneisses, show petrographic features such as staurolite inclusions in garnet, compositional zoning of orthoamphibole with Al decreasing toward the rims, and late–stage cordierite formation, and these features are characteristic of a clockwise P–T trajectory. The observations are consistent with the proposed regional clockwise P–T evolution of the NE Terrane in the SRM. The corundum and other inclusions observed in the garnet porphyroblasts are interpreted to have formed owing to either staurolite breakdown or metastable crystallization relative to kyanite prior to the peak metamorphism. The close association of biotite and quartz surrounding corundum inclusions suggests fluid– or melt–related processes. These petrographic features imply that the corundum and quartz (rarely observed in high–grade metamorphic rocks) formed as a result of metastable crystallization during the prograde stage of the clockwise P–T evolution of a continental collision zone.