Magmatic Activity and Crustal Melting During Orogenesis: Laser-ablation U-Pb Geochronology of Dike and Leucosome Generations in Granulites of the Gruf Complex, Central Alps

Magmatic leucosomes and dikes in metamorphic terranes provide an opportunity to correlate accessory phase crystallization ages with the timing of deformation and metamorphic events, as well as larger scale magmatic intrusions. The Gruf Complex consists of upper amphibolite to lower granulite facies migmatitic gneisses and scarce, UHT sapphirine granulites and is bordered by the c. 31 Ma tonalite-granodiorite Bergell Intrusion and the c. 24 Ma Novate S-type leucogranite. Several mineralogically distinct types of leucosomes and dikes have been identified: 1) biotite-bearing leucosomes, which define the main foliation and are commonly folded; 2) hornblende- and biotite-bearing dikes, which are either boudinaged or crosscut the main foliation; 3) pegmatitic muscovite-, garnet-, beryll-bearing dikes, which commonly crosscut all other rock types. These field observations indicate a change in melt composition during and after the regional metamorphic event and its associated deformation. To correlate these melt types with the timing of metamorphism of the Gruf Complex, and the Bergell and Novate intrusions, U-Pb zircon ages were obtained from several dike and leucosome samples. Grains were separated, mounted in epoxy, and imaged by cathodoluminescence prior to U-Pb isotope analysis by LA-ICP-MS. The outermost zircon growth zones were targeted in order to determine the crystallization age of the host magma. All of the analyzed samples contain oscillatory-zoned domains with ages between 250 Ma and 300 Ma. A leucosome sample from within a brecciated metaperidotite enclave in the granulites contains equant, sector-zoned "soccer ball" zircon grains with an age of 32.4±1.0 Ma. Most dike samples contain unzoned or sector-zoned rims or mantles that range from 30-33 Ma. Most of the pegmatitic samples, regardless of their degree of deformation, contain zircon crystals with weakly zoned rims ranging from 24-27 Ma. However, some undeformed pegmatitic samples lack zircon domains younger than 28 Ma, which we interpret to indicate low solubility of zirconium in the melt, preventing new zircon growth during crystallization. These results suggest that partial melting in the migmatites is contemporaneous to the Bergell intrusion and formation of the main foliation, while emplacement of dikes and deformation occurred until at least c. 24 Ma, which coincides with the intrusion of the Novate granite and cooling of the granulites below the U-Pb closure temperature of rutile at c. 500°C. The lack of new zircon growth in the highly fractionated pegmatitic dikes prevents placing a lower age constraint on the post-deformational intrusive events. We interpret the ubiquitous presence of 32 Ma zircons in all dikes to indicate remelting of the older leucosomes and dikes as the mechanism for producing the more fractionated pegmatitic dikes.