Garnet in metarodingites: composition, chronology and link to dehydration/hydration reaction during subduction

Metarodingites are metasomatized mafic dykes that are embedded within serpentinized mantle rocks and commonly contain garmet. Garnet in this rock type has the potential to preserve compositional and chronological information of the entire metamorphic-metasomatic evolution, from the ocean floor to deep subduction. In this study, we investigate the chemical and chronological record of garnet from chloritized metarodingites and garnet veins, from the Zermatt-Saas unit (Unter Theodulgletscher unit and Pfulwe pass). Compositional major and trace element maps reveal that a first generation of Ti-rich garnet is consumed during chloritization, while a second generation of Ti-poor garnet grows in textural equilibrium with chlorite and titanite. In both metarodingite and garnet vein, garnet rim displays an enrichment in Cr, suggesting that late garnet records the infiltration of fluids equilibrated with serpentinites. Fluids liberated from dehydrating serpentinites infiltrate the metarodingite leading to the first garnet generation dissolution, chloritization and titanite crystallization. To validate this hypothesis, we performed LA-ICPMS U-Pb dating of garnet, titanite and zircon. U-Pb dating of garnet core and rim, returned overlapping ages between ca. 44 and 46 Ma, which coincide with previous estimation of peak metamorphic conditions. Titanite from the metarodingite samples yields an age of ca. 45 Ma, which indicates that fluid release and chloritization occurred indeed at peak conditions. Garnet veins cutting across the foliation of the metarodingite and associated titanite are instead resolvably younger and yield ages of ca. 38-39 Ma and ca. 36 Ma, respectively. Zircon in chloritized mafic dykes from Pfulwe pass consists of a Jurassic magmatic core and a metamorphic rim of ca. 47 Ma, confirming that the major fluid-release event and related metasomatism occurred between 45-47 Ma. Rutile yields a younger age of ca. 34 Ma, probably linked to re-setting during exhumation. In conclusion, we show how garnet from metarodingites preserves the metamorphic-metasomatic history and can be used to gather information on (de)hydration reactions during subduction. The consistency of our multi-mineral geochronological data further indicates that petrochronology of garnet from metarodingites is a robust way to track in time metasomatic events in the subducted oceanic lithosphere.