Records of Himalayan Metamorphism and Contractional Tectonics in the
central Himalayas (Darondi Khola, Nepal)
Abstract
The Himalayan orogen exposes a range of metamorphosed assemblages, from
low-grade Indian shelf sediments of the Tethyan Formation to eclogite
and ultra-high pressure rocks documented near the suture zone between
the Indian craton and Asian subcontinent. Barrovian-grade pelites and
mafic protoliths are exposed in the Himalayan core and include the
Greater Himalayan Crystallines and Lesser Himalayan Formations. These
units are separated by the Main Central Thrust (MCT). This fault system
accommodated a significant amount of India-Asia convergence and is the
focus of several models that explore ideas about the development of the
range and collisional belts in general. These units provide critical
information regarding the mechanisms of heat transfer within collisional
belts. Garnets collected across the MCT record their growth history
through changes in chemistry. These chemical changes can be extracted
and modeled using a variety of thermodynamic approaches. This paper
reviews the geological framework of the Himalayas with a focus on the
protolith of its metamorphosed assemblages. It describes and applies
particular thermobarometric techniques to decipher the metamorphic
history of several garnet-bearing rocks collected across the MCT in
central Nepal. Comparisons are made between the results of
previously-reported conventional rim P-T conditions and P-T paths
extracted using the Gibb’s method to isopleth thermobarometry and
high-resolution P-T path modeling using the same data and assemblages.
Predictions of the paths on garnet zoning are also presented for the
high-resolution P-T path modeling and Gibb’s method using the program
TheriaG. Although the approaches yield different absolute conditions and
P-T path shapes, all are consistent with the development of the MCT
shear zone due to imbrication of distinct rock packages. Greater
Himalayan Crystalline garnets experienced higher-grade conditions that
make extracting its P-T conditions and paths a challenge. Lesser
Himalayan garnets appear to behave as closed systems and are ideally
suited for thermodynamic approaches.