Rutile exsolution lamellae of garnet in quartz eclogite from the Sanbagawa Belt, Mt. Gongen, central Shikoku, Japan

Abstract

Needle-shaped rutile inclusions occur in garnet within the quartz-eclogite at Mt. Gongen in the Sanbagawa belt, central Shikoku. They are approximately 5-25 µm along the long axis and are typically oriented along three directions, each intersecting at 120°. This indicates that the needle-shaped rutile is a lamella exsolved from the garnet. Garnet with needlerutile inclusions is restricted to the quartz-poor domain of the quartz eclogite sample, which consist of quartz, garnet, omphacite, phengite, epidote, kyanite, and hornblende. Garnet grains with rutile lamellae show a composition of the almandine-pyrope series with 14-21 mol% grossular content. Rutile exsolution lamellae were concentrated in the range of 27-34 mol% pyrope of garnet crystals. The garnet host with rutile lamellae has a higher TiO2 content (TiO2 = 0.06-0.19 wt%) than those in rutile-free areas. These chemical compositional characteristics suggest that Ti was incorporated into the crystal structure during garnet growth and subsequently partially exsolved as rutile lamellae during the retrograde stage. Rutile lamellae in garnet have generally been regarded as indicators of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism, but the present report from quartz-eclogite of the Sanbagawa belt, where no coesite has been found, provides evidence in a natural sample that the appearance of rutile exsolution lamellae is not necessarily under ultrahigh-pressure conditions.