Metasomatic reaction bands at the Mt. Hochwart gneiss-peridotite contact (Ulten Zone, Italy): insights into fluid-rock interaction in subduction zones

We investigated the contact zone between peridotite lenses and host gneisses located on the northern side of the Hochwart peak, also known as Vedetta Alta (Ulten Zone, Alto Adige -Südtirol) where metasomatic contact bands occur. The country rocks are gneisses consisting mainly of quartz, Kfeldspar, garnet, kyanite, biotite and muscovite. The ultramafic body consists of a hectometre-sized garnet peridotite and harzburgite lens. The reaction zone shows mineralogic zoning from phlogopite-rich to tremolite-anthophyllite-talc-rich rocks from the host gneiss towards the peridotite. In some cases, lenses of serpentine and talc in association with chlorite, and trondhjemitic pods develop at the ultramafic rocks border to the gneisses. Trondhjemite dikes with pegmatoid texture also crosscut the peridotite body. Phlogopite aggregates with accessory zircon, Cl-apatite and tourmaline and phlogopitehornblende aggregates also occur. The combination of petrography, mineral chemistry and mass balance calculations constrains the gains and losses of elements during metasomatism. Reaction zone formation involved extensive addition of H2O, K2O and LILE from the fluid, whereas MgO, CaO and Al2O3 were removed from the peridotite. Thus, the formation of the reaction zones between the mantle rocks and the gneisses was triggered by considerable fluid/melt circulation, causing crystallisation of mainly phlogopite, anthophyllite and talc, and the release of a trondhjemitic residual melt. Field mapping provides evidence that the internal structures of the host migmatites (folds) and those of the peridotites (foliation, fluid texture) are discordant. Pseudosection calculations give insights into the P-T conditions (T 660–700°C; P 0.5–0.7 GPa) of metasomatism responsible for the formation of reaction zones, which is related to the retrograde path of the Ulten Zone peridotites. Our results suggest that the redistribution of major and trace elements in subduction zones is strongly influenced by metasomatic reactions occurring at the slab-mantle interface.