Metamorphism and zircon U-Pb dating of high-pressure pelitic granulites from glacial moraines in the Grove Mountains, East Antarctica

The Grove Mountains are an inland continuation of the Prydz Belt in East Antarctica. Detailed metamorphic petrological and zircon U-Pb geochronological studies are performed on the high-pressure (HP) pelitic granulites from glacial moraines in the Grove Mountains. The metamorphic peak mineral assemblage of the HP pelitic granulites is characterized by garnet + kyanite + K-feldspar + biotite + plagioclase + quartz, and the subsequent medium-pressure (MP) granulite facies retrogression is characterized by sillimanite replacing kyanite, the formation of the biolite + sillimanite symplectite in the matrix. These mineral assemblages and their P-T estimates based on the P-T pseudosection constructed in MnNCKFMASHT system define a clockwise P-T path involving metamorphic peak of 11.6–13.6 kbar at 817–834°C followed by a near-isothermal decompression of 6.7–7.5 kbar at 806–828°C, comparable with those of associated HP mafic granulites from glacial moraines in the Grove Mountains. Zircon U-Pb dating, coupled with available metamorphic age data obtained for HP mafic granulites, reveals HP metamorphism occurred at 540–545 Ma. Combining the previous research results, the HP pelitic granulites and contemporary HP mafic granulites were widely distributed in glacial moraines from the Grove Mountains, suggesting at least part of the Grove Subglacial Highlands underwent Pan-Afrian HP granulite facies metamorphism, which provides new evidence for a collisional tectonic setting of the Pan-Afrian Prydz Belt