The lower crust is a place where continental material is recycled and new crust is formed. This deep geological record is not easily exposed at the surface, and the Serre Massif in southern Calabria is an example of this. Garnet is an important petrological indicator of mid to lower crustal processes. Garnet has the ability to survive multiple metamorphic events and is therefore fundamental to the study of crustal recycling. While major garnet elements may be reset by diffusion at the high temperature conditions (>700°C) that characterise the lower crust, trace elements are more robust to diffusivity and therefore better suited to trace recycling. This project will sample a series of garnet-bearing lower crustal rocks (mafic and felsic) in the Serre Massif in Calabria (field work with a collaborator) and investigate the variation in trace element distribution in garnet using 2D mapping by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). Petrography, mineral chemistry and accessory phase thermometry will support the geological context. Suitable samples will be considered for U-Pb geochronology of garnet to constrain the timeline of crustal processes in the Serre Massif. The aim of the study is to identify crustal recycling, protolith provenance and magma mixing and place them in a geological framework. This project runs in parallel with a PhD project focusing on a similar sequence in the Ivrea Verbano zone, northern Italy.
Advisors: Prof. Daniela Rubatto
University: BE