Tracing modern-style cold subduction in the Proterozoic – evidence from H2O and trace elements in detrital rutile

To understand the onset and evolution of cold subduction on Earth, detrital sedimentary rocks of Precambrian age, potentially derived from exposed high-P low-T metamorphic rocks can be investigated. This requires the estimation of peak metamorphic pressure and temperature, time of formation, and source lithology (P-T-t-X) of detrital single grains. Rutile is a common accessory mineral in subducted oceanic crust and one of the most likely minerals from subducted rocks to survive sedimentation processes. As single grain T-t-X estimates on rutile are possible, it is a prime candidate for the investigation of subduction processes through time.

We developed a method to identify rutile formed in modern cold subduction conditions, by combining in-situ polarised Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS).

Our study reveals a pressure-dependent variation in hydrogen content within metamorphic rutile, ranging from less than 10 to 2500 μg/g H₂O. Higher peak metamorphic pressures correspond to elevated H₂O contents, particularly noticeable in mafic low-temperature eclogite facies rutile, suggesting H-in-rutile can be used as a pressure indicator. Using Zr in rutile as a temperature indicator, H₂O/Zr ratios act as proxies for thermal gradients (P/T) in metamorphic rutile. When combined with low Nb, W, and Sn contents, typical of mafic protoliths, it is possible to identify modern-style cold subduction of mafic crust using trace element signatures in detrital rutile.

Therefore, detrital rutile can serve as a tracer for subduction conditions over time, as modern-style cold subduction signatures are preserved in rutile during weathering and sedimentary processes.  In this study, we test our novel approach on detrital rutile grains of sandstones and arkoses from the Torridon and Ardvreck Groups, Hebridean in NW Scotland. Our analysis reveals that some grains of the Torridon Group of late Proterozoic age (detrital ages ranging from 1.0 to 1.9 Ga; Pereira et al., 2020) exhibit high H₂O/Zr ratios and low total Nb+W+Sn contents, typical of low-T eclogite facies rutile. This implies that low-T eclogites which formed during cold subduction were likely exposed and eroded in the catchment of the sedimentary basins, indicating modern-style cold subduction during the Mesoproterozoic.  We propose that the combined measurement of H₂O and trace elements in detrital rutile is a powerful tool to search for remnants of cold subduction through the Earth’s history.

 

Pereira, I., Storey, C.D., Strachan, R.A., Bento dos Santos, T., Darling, J.R., 2020. Detrital rutile ages can deduce the tectonic setting of sedimentary basins. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 537, 116193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116193