Burenjargal Et Al-2014-Journal of Metamorphic Geology

J. metamorphic Geol.
, 2014, 32, 765790
doi:10.1111/jmg.12090
Thermal evolution of the Tseel terrane, SW Mongolia and its

relation to granitoid intrusions in the Central Asian Orogenic
Belt
U. BURENJARGAL,1 A. OKAMOTO,1 T. KUWATANI,1 S. SAKATA,2 T. HIRATA2 AND N. TSUCHIYA1
1
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
(okamoto@mail.kankyo.tohoku.ac.jp)
2
Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
ABSTRACT
The timing and thermal effects of granitoid intrusions into accreted sedimentary rocks are important
for understanding the growth process of continental crust. In this study, the petrology and geochronology of pelitic gneisses in the Tseel area of the Tseel terrane, SW Mongolia, are examined to understand the relationship between igneous activity and metamorphism during crustal evolution in the
Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Four mineral zones are recognized on the basis of progressive
changes in the mineral assemblages in the pelitic gneisses, namely: the garnet, staurolite, sillimanite
and cordierite zones. The gneisses with high metamorphic grades (i.e. sillimanite and cordierite zones)
occur in the central part of the Tseel area, where granitoids are abundant. To the north and south of
these granitoids, the metamorphic grade shows a gradual decrease. The composition of garnet in the
pelitic gneisses varies systematically across the mineral zones, from grossular-rich garnet in the garnet
zone to zoned garnet with grossular-rich cores and pyrope-rich rims in the staurolite zone, and
pyrope-rich garnet in the sillimanite and cordierite zones. Thermobarometric analyses of individual
garnet crystals reveal two main stages of metamorphism: (i) a high-P and low-T stage (as recorded
by garnet in the garnet zone and garnet cores in the staurolite zone) at 520580 C and 4.57 kbar in
the kyanite stability field and (ii) a low-P and high-T stage (garnet rims in the staurolite zone and
garnet in the sillimanite and cordierite zones) at 570680 C and 3.06.0 kbar in the sillimanite stability field. The earlier high-P metamorphism resulted in the growth of kyanite in quartz veins within
the staurolite and sillimanite zones. The UPb zircon ages of pelitic gneisses and granitoids reveal
that (i) the protolith (igneous) age of the pelitic gneisses is c. 510 Ma; (ii) the low-P and high-T metamorphism occurred at 377 30 Ma; and (iii) this metamorphic stage was coeval with granitoid intrusion at 385 7 Ma. The age of the earlier low-T and high-P metamorphism is not clearly recorded
in the zircon, but probably corresponds to small age peaks at 450400 Ma. The low-P and high-T
metamorphism continued for c. 100 Ma, which is longer than the active period of a single granitoid
body. These findings indicate that an elevation of geotherm and a transition from high-P and low-T
to low-P and high-T metamorphism occurred, associated with continuous emplacement of several
granitoids, during the crustal evolution in the Devonian CAOB.
Key words: garnet; granitoid intrusion; metamorphic history; Tseel terrane; UPb zircon age.
INTRODUCTION
Low-P and high-T metamorphism, which occurs at

middle to shallow crustal depths with high geothermal
gradient (>35 C km 1), is one of the fundamental
processes during the evolution of continental crust.
Several models have been proposed to explain an
elevation of the geotherm of shallow crust, including
emplacement of basaltic magma or granitoids from
depths (De Yoreo et al., 1989; Collins & Vernon,
1991; Sandiford et al., 1991; Bodorkos et al., 2002;
Okudaira & Suda, 2011), shallowing of a thermal
boundary layer in an extensional setting (Wickham &
Oxburgh, 1985; Craven et al., 2012) and radioactive
2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
heat production (Sandiford et al., 1998). There have

been many studies on low-P and high-T metamorphic
complexes, including the Wongwibinda and Cooma
complexes in southeastern Australia (Vernon, 1982;
Danis et al., 2010; Craven et al., 2012), metamorphic
terranes from the Proterozoic northern Arunta inlier,
central Australia (Collins & Vernon, 1991), the Acadian metamorphic terrane in the northern Appalachians (Holdaway et al., 1982), Ryoke metamorphic
belt in Japan (Okudaira, 1996; Ikeda, 2004; Miyazaki,
2004; Okudaira & Suda, 2011). One of the common
features of the low-P and high-T metamorphic complexes is intrusion of granitoids into sedimentary
rocks, and thus it is important to evaluate (i) the
765
766 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.
extent of thermal perturbation induced by granitoid

emplacement and its relation to regional thermal
structure and tectonic setting and (ii) temporal evolution of metamorphic conditions of sedimentary rocks
from burial or accretion to granitoid intrusion stages.
However, it is generally difficult to reconstruct the
metamorphic PT history prior to the granitoid intrusions, as the microstructural record, including garnet
zoning, is modified or even obliterated by the heating.
In addition, granitoids may be intruded in several
stages, resulting in a complicated thermal history.
The Tseel terrane of SW Mongolia is a high-T and
low-P crustal segment of an early Palaeozoic arc system within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB;
Kozakov et al., 2002; Burenjargal et al., 2012; Jiang
et al., 2012; Fig. 1). The terrane is composed mainly
of greenschist to amphibolite facies metasedimentary
and mafic rocks that are intruded by granitoids
(e.g. Kozakov et al., 2002; Sukhorukov, 2007; Burenjargal et al., 2012). Previous studies have proposed
that ridge subduction may have been the heat source
of the high-T metamorphism of the Tseel terrane
(Kozakov et al., 2002; Windley et al., 2007). However, notwithstanding previous geochemical and chronological investigations (Bibikova et al., 1992;
Kozakov et al., 2002; Helo et al., 2006; Demoux
et al., 2009a,b; Jiang et al., 2012), the thermal history
of the terrane remains poorly understood because of
a lack of detailed petrological studies.
In this study, we examined the petrology of pelitic
gneisses in the Tseel terrane and undertook UPb
zircon dating. In the Tseel area, in the eastern block of
the Tseel terrane, pelitic gneisses are continuously
exposed across regions of low to high metamorphic
grade, are associated with voluminous granitoids and
some contain garnet with clear growth zoning (Burenjargal et al., 2012). Here, spatial variations in garnet
compositions are examined throughout the different
mineral zones in the Tseel area and the PT conditions
are estimated for garnet growth. The UPb zircon ages
are also obtained for representative pelitic gneisses
and granitoids. Combining the data on thermobaric
structures and the ages of granitoid intrusions and
metamorphic events, the metamorphic evolution of
the Tseel area is reconstructed and the relation
between metamorphism and granitoids in the crust is
discussed.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
The CAOB is a long-lived orogenic belt (c. 1000

250 Ma) that extends from the Urals in the west
through Kazakhstan, Mongolia, southern Siberia,
northern China and the Okhotsk Sea in the east
(Fig. 1a). It is bordered by the Siberian Craton to the
north and by the Tarim and SinoKorean cratons to
the south (Seng
or et al., 1993; Jahn et al., 2000; Windley et al., 2007). The collision of these cratons led to
the formation of the CAOB through the accretion of
island arcs, ophiolites, oceanic islands, seamounts,

accretionary wedges and microcontinents at a convergent margin (e.g. Khain et al., 2002; Windley et al.,
2007).
Mongolia is located in the central part of the
CAOB (Fig. 1a) and its basement structure is subdivided into southern and northern domains, separated
by the Main Mongolian Lineament (MML; Fig. 1b).
The two domains have different structural styles and
yield contrasting ages. The Caledonian orogenic belt
of the northern domain is composed of Precambrian
blocks and Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic arcrelated terranes and ophiolitic belts (Zonenshain &
Kuzmin, 1978; Kuzmichev et al., 2001; Badarch
et al., 2002; Kozakov et al., 2007; Demoux et al.,
2009b; Kr
oner et al., 2010; Lehmann et al., 2010).
The Hercynian orogenic belt of the southern domain
consists of middle to late Palaeozoic arc-related
assemblages (Zonenshain et al., 1975; Badarch et al.,
2002) and fragments of ophiolite and serpentinite
melange (Rippington et al., 2008).
The Tseel terrane is located south of the MML
(Fig. 1b) and extends for more than 600 km from
east to west (Tomurtogoo, 1997; Badarch et al.,
2002). Although it comprises eastern and western
blocks, it is considered a single terrane because of
lithological and structural similarities between the
blocks (Badarch et al., 2002). The Chinese Altai,
forming the westernmost extent of the Tseel terrane
(Fig. 1b), may also have belonged to the same arc
system, based on its comparable protolith ages, and
the timing and conditions of metamorphism (Jiang
et al., 2012).
The Tseel terrane records widespread greenschist
to amphibolite facies metamorphism (Sukhorukov,
2007; Burenjargal et al., 2012), with granulite facies
assemblages reported in migmatitic mafic gneiss from
the Tsogt area (~50 km east of the Tseel area; Kozakov, 1986). The Tseel area, in the eastern block of
the Tseel terrane (Fig. 1b), is composed mainly of
pelitic gneisses and amphibolites intruded by numerous granitoids (Fig. 1c). The dominant foliation
strikes EW and is steep, although its orientation is
locally influenced by granitoid emplacement (Fig. 1c).
The granitoids occur as large kilometre-scale bodies
(Fig. 2a) or as layers up to several metres thick,
interlayered with the pelitic gneisses (Fig. 2b). In the
central Tseel area, aluminosilicate-bearing quartz
veins occur, in which the three aluminosilicates
formed in the order of kyanite, sillimanite and finally
andalusite (Fig. 1c; Burenjargal et al., 2012).
Pelitic gneiss located near the granitoid bodies contains garnet porphyroblasts up to 10 mm across or
larger (Fig. 2c). Garnet in the gneisses becomes less
abundant and finer grained with increasing distance
from the granitoids (Fig. 2d). Amphibolites occur as
layers oriented subparallel to the foliation in the
pelitic gneiss (Fig. 2e), although some appear as large
massive bodies.
PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 767

80oE
(a)
120oE
160oE
60o
60
Ur
M
al
t.
(b)
Ch
i
Al nes
93o
ta e
i
47o
Siberian craton
West Siberian
basin
300 km
99o
Ulaanbaatar
1 Altay City
TseelTsogt
50o
50o
44o
N
47o
L
MM
44o
Central Asian
Orogenic Belt
Mongolia
40
111o
105o
40o
Tarim
Tibet plateau
90oE
Sino-Korean
craton
110oE
130oE
B
58
220
(c)
30
Grt
St
68
70
45
St
M2507
G2505
Metapelites
Amphibolites
Faults
Foliation
Sil
84
Grt
Legend
Sedimentary cover
Granitoids
Crd
M0901
M3001
85
Grt
85
G0903
56
42
6688
Sil
65
70
63
63
M2602
M2706
7700
30
45
Mineral assemblage
of pelitic gneisses (Pl, +Qtz)
10 km
Bt
Grt+Bt
Aluminosilicate-bearing
Grt+Sil+St+Bt
quartz veins
Grt+Sil+Bt
Aluminosilicate-bearing
veins
Grt+Sil+Crd+Bt
Fig. 1. (a) Major tectonic components of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Dark grey areas indicate Archean to
Mesoproterozoic cratons (modified after Jahn et al., 2000). (b) Tectonostratigraphic terrane map of southern Mongolia: 1. Tseel
terrane, 2. GobiAltai terrane, 3. Mandalovoo terrane, 4. Gurvansaikhan terrane, 5. Edren terrane (Badarch et al., 2002). MML,
Main Mongolian Lineament. (c) Geological map of the Tseel area showing the four mineral zones: garnet (Grt), staurolite (St),
sillimanite (Sil) and cordierite (Crd). Open diamonds indicate the localities of aluminosilicate-bearing quartz veins.
PETROGRAPHY AND MINERAL ZONES
Eighty-two samples of pelitic gneiss were examined

from the Tseel area, from which four mineral zones
were identified: garnet, staurolite, sillimanite and

cordierite (Fig. 1c). The characteristic mineral assemblage of each zone is summarized in Fig. 3. The distribution of mineral zones is symmetrical about an
Fig. 2. Photographs of rocks in the Tseel area. (a) Massive

granitoid body at Tseel town. (b) Deformed granitoid layers and
veins, and pelitic gneisses. (c) Coarse-grained garnet (>10 mm)
in biotite-rich gneiss from the cordierite zone. (d) Hand
specimen of pelitic gneiss containing fine-grained garnet (garnet
zone). (e) Amphibolite interlayered with pelitic gneiss.
EW trending axis, with the high-grade sillimanite

assemblages occurring along a central strip, and the
grade decreasing to a sillimanite-absent biotite garnet assemblage to the north and south (Fig. 1c).
Granitoids are common in the sillimanite and cordierite zones, but are rare in the garnet zone (Fig. 1c).
Garnet zone
The garnet zone, more than 5 km wide, is situated in

the northernmost and southernmost parts of the
Tseel area (Fig. 1c). The pelitic rocks are composed
mainly of biotite, chlorite, muscovite, quartz and
plagioclase, with minor garnet, ilmenite, rutile, monazite, calcite and apatite (Figs 3 & 4a,b). In this zone,
garnet is rare in pelitic rocks (Fig. 1c), and it appears
as small poikiloblasts (commonly <1 mm in size;
Figs 2d & 4b) with a dusty appearance under the
microscope, due to fine inclusions of quartz, calcite
and plagioclase (Fig. 4b). Plagioclase in the matrix
occurs as anhedral to subhedral grains of 0.05
0.50 mm in size (Fig. 4a,b). The foliation in these
rocks is defined by the preferred orientation of biotite
and muscovite (Fig. 4a,b). In this zone, aluminosilicate minerals are absent.
Staurolite zone
The staurolite zone, which occurs between the garnet

and sillimanite zones, is defined by the first appearance of sillimanite and staurolite in pelitic gneisses
(Fig 1c). In this zone, the pelitic gneisses are composed of garnet, biotite, plagioclase, quartz, staurolite
and sillimanite with minor ilmenite, calcite, epidote,
apatite, rutile, monazite, zircon and graphite (Fig. 3).
Garnet occurs as euhedral to subhedral porphyroblasts of 0.16.0 mm in size (Fig. 4c). Garnet cores
contain fine inclusions of quartz, plagioclase, epidote,
ilmenite, calcite and zircon, whereas the rims contain
only inclusions of quartz (Fig. 4c).
Staurolite is pale yellow and occurs as porphyroblasts of generally 50300 lm in size (Fig. 4d).
Biotite grains are >4.0 mm long and have a shapepreferred orientation that defines the foliation
(Fig. 4c), along with fibrolitic sillimanite (Fig. 4d).
Plagioclase is subhedral and 0.55.0 mm in size.
Sillimanite zone
The sillimanite zone occupies an EW trending strip

through the centre of the Tseel area (Fig. 1c). The
pelitic gneisses in this zone are composed of garnet,
biotite, plagioclase, quartz and sillimanite with minor
muscovite, chlorite, ilmenite, zircon and graphite
(Fig. 3). Garnet occurs as euhedral to subhedral
porphyroblasts of 1.05.0 mm in size (Fig. 4e) and
contains inclusions of quartz, ilmenite and calcite.
Biotite of >0.4 mm in size occurs with fibrolitic sillimanite, and their shape-preferred orientation defines
the foliation (Fig. 4e). Plagioclase is euhedral to subhedral, and larger than 0.5 mm.
Cordierite zone
The cordierite zone, defined by the appearance of cordierite (Fig. 4f), occupies a small area of <10 km2 in
the eastern part of the sillimanite zone (Fig. 1c). In
addition to cordierite, the pelitic gneisses in this zone
contain garnet, biotite, plagioclase, quartz, sillimanite
and MgFe amphibole, with minor muscovite, chlorite, ilmenite, calcite, apatite, monazite, zircon and
graphite (Fig. 3). Garnet porphyroblasts are up to
10 mm across or larger (Fig. 2c) and contain inclusions of quartz, biotite, cordierite, ilmenite and zircon
(Fig. 4f). Amphibole occurs as elongate blades longer
than 0.3 mm. Cordierite is subhedral and 0.10.5 mm
in size (Fig. 4f). Biotite is present in the matrix and is
0.4 mm in size. Plagioclase is euhedral to subhedral,
and >0.4 mm in size.
ALUMINOSILICATE-BEARING QUARTZ VEINS
Grt zone St zone
Sil zone
Grt
Bt
Pl
Qtz
Sil
St
Crd
Ms
Chl
Grph
Ep
Fe-Mg amp
Rtl
Ilm
Cal
Fig. 3. Mineral assemblages of pelitic gneisses and
metamorphic zones in the Tseel area.
Crd zone
Aluminosilicate-bearing quartz veins, which contain

all three aluminosilicate polymorphs, occur in the
central parts of the Tseel area and have been
described previously by Sukhorukov (2007) and
Burenjargal et al. (2012). These previous studies
reported the veins to be restricted in occurrence;
however, we found them to be widely distributed in
the sillimanite and staurolite zones in the Tseel area
(Fig. 1c). The occurrence, microstructures and PT
conditions of the aluminosilicate-bearing quartz veins
were described in detail by Burenjargal et al. (2012),
and thus are only briefly outlined here.
The aluminosilicate-bearing quartz veins are 0.1
1.0 m wide and 210 m long, and are oriented subparallel to the gneissosity in the host pelitic rocks
(Fig. 5a). The veins consist mainly of coarse-grained
quartz (0.11.0 cm), aluminosilicates (kyanite
sillimaniteandalusite) and muscovite along with
minor staurolite, chlorite, ilmenite, calcite, apatite
and rutile. Visible columnar kyanite crystals occur
near the vein walls (Fig. 5b), whereas quartz grains
occur in the central parts of the veins.
Kyanite is the largest aluminosilicate mineral in the
veins, and occurs as euhedral to subhedral columnar
Fig. 4. Photomicrographs of pelitic gneisses from the various mineral zones in the Tseel area. (a) Biotite gneiss of the garnet zone,
in which oriented biotite and muscovite define the foliation. (b) Garnet with an irregular shape and dusty appearance due to fine
inclusions, in pelitic gneiss from the garnet zone. (c) Garnet porphyroblast with a dusty core and clear rim in pelitic gneiss from
the staurolite zone. (d) Subhedral staurolite grains with fibrolitic sillimanite in pelitic gneiss from the staurolite zone. (e) Garnet
porphyroblast wrapped by a fibrolitic sillimanite (Sil) and biotite (Bt), in pelitic gneiss from the sillimanite zone. (f) Subhedral
cordierite grains and garnet porphyroblast in pelitic gneiss from the cordierite zone. All images were taken under plane polarized
light.
Fig. 5. Occurrences and textures of aluminosilicate-bearing quartz veins. (a) Outcrop photograph of aluminosilicate-bearing quartz
veins hosted by pelitic gneisses of the sillimanite zone. (b) Hand specimen of an aluminosilicate-bearing quartz vein containing
centimetre-scale kyanite crystals. (c) Photomicrograph of kyanite crystals cut by columnar sillimanite crystals in a vein (cross polarized
light). (d) Photomicrograph of sillimanite inclusions in large andalusite crystals in a vein (cross polarized light). Qtz = quartz;
Ky = kyanite; Sil = sillimanite; Ms = muscovite.
grains of 0.56.0 mm in size. Kyanite crystals commonly contain fractures along the {100} cleavage
plane, and the fractures are filled with muscovite
and fibrous sillimanite (Fig. 5c). Kyanite crystals
are partially surrounded by anhedral andalusite. Sillimanite occurs as fibrous, columnar to prismatic euhedral crystals of varying size, up to 1 mm in length
(Fig. 5c,d). Sillimanite also occurs as inclusions in
andalusite grains (Fig. 5d). These observations indicate that aluminosilicate polymorphs in the veins
formed in the order of kyanite followed by sillimanite
and finally andalusite (Burenjargal et al., 2012).
MINERAL COMPOSITIONS
Thin sections of the samples were cut normal to the

foliation and parallel to the lineation. The compositions of minerals were determined by wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry using an electron probe
microanalyser (JEOL 8200) at the University of

Tokyo, Japan. An acceleration voltage of 15 kV and
beam current of 12 nA were used for quantitative
analyses, and a beam current of 120 nA was used for
map analyses.
Garnet in the pelitic gneisses is predominantly
almandine-rich, with XAlm (= Fe2+/(Fe2++Mg+
Ca+Mn)) values of 0.380.72 (Fig. 6a; Table 1), and
it shows a wide compositional variation. Three types
of garnet were identified: grossular-rich, zoned and
pyrope-rich (Figs 6 & 7). The grossular-rich and
pyrope-rich types tend to be compositionally homogeneous (Figs 6a & 7a,c,d), whereas zoned garnet has
distinct grossular-rich cores and pyrope-rich rims
(Figs 6a & 7b). The garnet type varies systematically
across the mineral zones (Fig. 6b): the grossular-rich
garnet occurs in the garnet zone, the zoned garnet in
the staurolite zone, and the pyrope-rich garnet in the
sillimanite and cordierite zones. X-ray colour maps
(a)
Ca
Ca
0.4
(b)
Grt
St
0.6
Grs-rich
(M2706)
M2602
G0903
Sil
56
M3001
Fe
Mg
M2507
Crd
St
Sil
70
M0901
Grt
0.8
G2505
Zoned
(M2507)
10 km
Grt
M2706
Garnet types
1.0
Prp-rich
(M2602)
Prp-rich
(M0901)
Grossular-rich garnet
Fe
Mg
Zoned grt (Grs-rich core and poor rim)
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
Pyrope-rich garnet
Garnet-absent pelitic gneisses
Fig. 6. (a) Ternary CaMgFe diagram showing compositional zoning trends in garnet from each metamorphic zone of the Tseel area.
The data are from Grs-rich garnet (sample M2706), zoned garnet (M2507) and Prp-rich garnet (M2602, M0901). (b) Map of the Tseel
area showing the spatial distribution of garnet types across the metamorphic zones: grossular-rich (red), zoned (yellow) and pyrope-rich
(blue). Grey squares indicate outcrops of garnet-absent pelitic gneisses.
Table 1. Representative compositions of garnet in pelitic

gneisses of the Tseel area.
Zone
Grt zone
Sample
M2706
Core
Rim
37.25
37.19
SiO2
TiO2
0.04
0.16
21.13
20.98
Al2O3
FeO
18.33
18.00
MnO
11.69
9.26
MgO
1.10
1.11
CaO
10.95
14.21
0.03
0.02
Na2O
K2O
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
Cr2O3
Total
100.53
100.94
Normalized to 8 cations and 12
Si
2.97
2.95
Al
1.98
1.96
Cr
0.00
0.00
Ti
0.00
0.01
3+
1.22
0.03
Fe
2+
0.01
1.19
Fe
Mn
0.79
0.13
Mg
0.13
1.21
Ca
0.94
0.62
Na
0.00
0.00
K
0.00
0.00
0.40
0.38
XAlm
0.04
0.04
XPrp
XGrs
0.30
0.38
0.26
0.20
XSps
St zone
M2507
Sil zone
Crd zone
M2602
M0901
Core
Rim
Core
Rim
Core
Rim
36.23
0.11
20.32
28.80
5.14
2.31
5.55
0.00
0.00
0.08
98.53
oxygen
2.97
1.96
0.00
0.01
0.00
1.97
0.36
0.28
0.49
0.00
0.00
0.64
0.09
0.16
0.12
36.80
0.01
20.84
31.69
3.90
4.00
1.64
0.08
0.00
0.00
98.95
37.91
0.01
21.45
31.67
0.84
6.49
1.65
0.00
0.00
0.01
100.03
37.39
0.06
21.53
32.44
0.91
5.48
1.63
0.00
0.00
0.01
99.43
38.07
0.00
21.42
31.95
0.60
5.92
2.14
0.01
0.02
0.00
100.14
37.85
0.00
21.26
31.51
0.55
5.46
2.06
0.01
0.00
0.00
98.70
2.98
1.99
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.15
0.27
0.48
0.14
0.01
0.00
0.71
0.16
0.05
0.09
3.00
1.99
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.10
0.04
0.70
0.18
0.00
0.00
0.69
0.25
0.05
0.02
2.98
2.02
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.16
0.06
0.65
0.14
0.00
0.00
0.72
0.22
0.05
0.02
3.00
1.99
0.00
0.00
0.01
2.10
0.04
0.70
0.18
0.00
0.00
0.70
0.23
0.06
0.01
3.02
2.00
0.00
0.00
0.02
2.10
0.04
0.65
0.18
0.00
0.00
0.71
0.22
0.06
0.01
of Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn contents in garnet from each

of the mineral zones, and electron microprobe line
profiles, are shown in Figs 6 and 7 respectively. Representative compositions of garnet are listed in
Table 1.
The compositions of biotite and plagioclase, summarized in Tables 2 and 3, respectively, do not
change systematically among the mineral zones.
Biotite shows little compositional zoning in a single

sample, but varies among samples. The composition
of biotite is Fe2+ (0.951.12), Mg (1.291.48), AlVI
(0.360.64) and Ti (0.050.10) (values are based on
11 oxygen per formula unit; Table 2). One representative sample was selected from each mineral zone
for detailed petrological analyses, as described below.
Sample M2706 (garnet zone)
The grossular-rich garnet in sample M2706 is relatively homogeneous in composition. The garnet is
irregular in shape, contains many inclusions of
quartz, calcite and plagioclase, and does not show
chemical zoning (Figs 7a & 8a; Table 1). The almandine content, XAlm, ranges from 0.38 to 0.43 and is
lower than in the other mineral zones (Fig. 8;
Table 1). The pyrope content is low, with XPrp
(= Mg/(Fe2++Mg+Ca+Mn)) values of 0.030.06. The
grossular content, XGrs (= Ca/(Fe2++Mg+Ca+Mn)),
is 0.290.39, which is higher than in the other mineral
zones. The spessartine content is also high in this
sample, with XSps (= Mn/(Fe2++Mg+Ca+Mn)) values
of 0.200.28. In the garnet zone, grossular content is
higher than spessartine content in some samples, but
it is lower in the other samples. The garnet composition is similar among samples in the northern and
southern parts of the garnet zone.
Biotite in sample M2706 is relatively compositionally homogeneous, with XMg,Bt (= Mg/(Mg+Fe2+))
ranging from 0.59 to 0.60. Ti content in the biotite
ranges from 0.05 to 0.07 per formula unit (p.f.u.)
(Table 2). Plagioclase occurs as anhedral grains in
the matrix and shows marked compositional zoning
in XAn,Pl (= Ca/(Ca+Na+K)) from 0.82 in the core to
0.34 in the rim (Table 3). Plagioclase also occurs as
inclusions in garnet, with XAn,Pl value of 0.630.90.
(a)
(c)
(b)
(d)
Fig. 7. Colour X-ray element maps of Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn in garnet. (a) Grossular-rich garnet from the garnet zone (sample
M2706). (b) Zoned garnet from the staurolite zone (M2507). (c) Pyrope-rich garnet from the sillimanite zone (M2602). (d) Pyroperich garnet from the cordierite zone (M0901). The compositional profiles along the lines marked AB are shown in Fig. 8. Scale
bars are 500 lm.
Zone
Grt zone
St zone
Sil zone
Crd zone
M2706
M2507
M2602
M0901
Sample
High
XMg,Bt
SiO2
TiO2
Al2O3
FeO
MnO
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K2O
Cr2O3
Total
Biotite (O =
Si
Ti
Aliv
Alvi
Fe3+
Fe2+
Mn
Mg
Ca
Na
K
Cr
Total
XMg,Bta
a
37.09
0.97
18.54
15.17
0.36
13.02
0.00
0.08
10.75
0.08
96.07
11)
2.77
0.05
1.23
0.40
0.00
0.95
0.02
1.45
0.00
0.01
1.02
0.00
7.90
0.60
Low XMg,Bt
High
XMg,Bt
Low
XMg,Bt
High
XMg,Bt
Low
XMg,Bt
High
XMg,Bt
Low
XMg,Bt
36.87
1.26
17.93
16.22
0.39
13.17
0.29
0.13
8.77
0.05
95.08
35.74
1.53
18.44
17.50
0.05
11.39
0.02
0.42
9.46
0.06
94.59
35.01
1.47
18.44
17.45
0.07
11.58
0.00
0.36
9.54
0.07
93.98
37.56
1.58
20.42
13.62
0.01
12.15
0.01
0.30
8.59
0.09
94.31
35.99
1.71
19.20
15.08
0.11
12.23
0.08
0.32
9.28
0.11
94.12
36.29
1.17
17.55
16.67
0.00
12.68
0.24
0.64
8.20
0.01
93.45
36.48
1.06
17.59
16.31
0.00
13.12
0.16
0.52
8.44
0.02
93.70
2.77
0.07
1.23
0.36
0.00
1.02
0.02
1.47
0.02
0.02
0.84
0.00
7.83
0.59
2.69
0.09
1.23
0.44
0.00
1.12
0.00
1.33
0.00
0.05
0.93
0.00
7.89
0.54
2.72
0.09
1.19
0.46
0.00
1.11
0.00
1.29
0.00
0.06
0.92
0.00
7.86
0.54
2.77
0.09
1.14
0.64
0.00
0.84
0.00
1.34
0.00
0.04
0.81
0.00
7.68
0.61
2.72
0.10
1.19
0.52
0.00
0.95
0.01
1.38
0.01
0.05
0.89
0.00
7.81
0.59
2.77
0.06
1.17
0.40
0.00
1.04
0.00
1.48
0.01
0.08
0.82
0.00
7.83
0.59
2.77
0.07
1.17
0.41
0.00
1.06
0.00
1.44
0.02
0.09
0.80
0.00
7.82
0.58
XMg,Bt = Mg/(Mg+Fe2+).
Table 3. Representative compositions of plagioclase in pelitic

gneisses of the Tseel area.
Zone
Sample
Grt zone
St zone
M2706
Core
Rim
46.25
60.50
SiO2
TiO2
0.02
0.04
34.00
25.15
Al2O3
FeO
0.04
0.06
MnO
0.03
0.01
MgO
0.00
0.00
CaO
17.59
6.85
2.12
7.34
Na2O
K2O
0.03
0.10
0.00
0.02
Cr2O3
Total
100.09
100.07
Plagioclase (O = 8)
Si
2.13
2.69
Al
1.85
1.32
Cr
0.00
0.00
Ti
0.00
0.00
3+
0.00
0.00
Fe
Mn
0.00
0.00
Mg
0.00
0.00
Ca
0.87
0.33
Na
0.19
0.63
K
0.00
0.01
a
0.82
0.34
XAn
a
Table 2. Representative compositions of

biotite in pelitic gneisses of the Tseel area.
Sil zone
M2507
M2602
Crd zone
M0901
Inc in Grt
Matrix
Core
Rim
Core
Rim
44.07
0.00
35.76
0.64
0.05
0.01
19.54
0.58
0.03
0.01
100.68
59.24
0.01
25.51
0.09
0.02
0.00
7.15
7.70
0.08
0.03
99.82
59.01
0.00
25.22
0.04
0.02
0.00
7.36
7.84
0.10
0.00
99.58
58.77
0.01
25.77
0.51
0.05
0.00
8.09
7.55
0.03
0.03
100.80
59.23
0.02
24.88
0.28
0.05
0.00
6.99
7.19
0.03
98.67
61.08
0.01
24.77
0.06
0.05
0.00
6.47
7.90
0.04
100.36
2.03
1.94
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.00
0.97
0.05
0.00
0.95
2.65
1.34
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.34
0.67
0.00
0.34
2.65
1.33
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.35
0.68
0.01
0.34
2.62
1.35
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.00
0.39
0.65
0.00
0.37
2.67
1.32
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.34
0.63
0.00
0.35
2.70
1.29
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.31
0.68
0.00
0.31
XAn = Ca/(Ca+Na+K).
Sample M2706 consists of garnet (10 vol.%), biotite

(7 vol.%), plagioclase (23 vol.%), quartz (49 vol.%)
and epidote (4 vol.%), with minor muscovite, chlorite, calcite and rutile (Table 5).
Sample M2507 (staurolite zone)
Garnet in sample M2507 contains core, mantle and

rim zones defined by grossular and spessartine
(XSps = Mn/(Fe2++Mg+Ca+Mn)) contents (Figs 7b &
8b; Table 1). The composition of garnet cores is
characterized by high grossular contents (XGrs = 0.13
0.16) and spessartine contents (XSps = 0.040.13). The
spessartine content decreases from core to mantle,
where the lowest XSps value of 0.01 is recorded, and
then increases again in the rim (XSps = 0.09). The grossular content is almost constant in the core and mantle, and decreases to ~0.05 in the rims. The almandine
content, XAlm, is 0.640.70 in the core, 0.75 in the mantle and 0.71 in the rim. The pyrope content is 0.09 in
the core and shows a steady increase to 0.16 in the rim.
The grossular content of garnet cores in sample M2507
is lower than that of garnet in the garnet zone
(Fig. 8a), but much higher than that of garnet in the
sillimanite and cordierite zones (Fig. 8c,d). The garnet
cores in sample M2507 contain numerous fine inclusions of plagioclase, quartz, calcite and zircon, whereas
the rims contain no inclusions except for quartz
(Fig. 7b). The zoning pattern and occurrence of inclusions in garnet from sample M2507 are similar to the
zoned garnet reported in our previous study (sample
M3001 in Burenjargal et al., 2012). However, it should
be noted that in the mantle of garnet in sample M2507,
the contour in the Ca map is different from that in the
Mn map (Fig. 7b); in particular, the Ca zoning shows
irregular lobes that extend along a single axis from
(a) Grt zone

0.8
M2706
(b) St zone
(c) Sil zone
M2507
Zoned garnet
Grs-rich garnet
(d) Crd zone
M2602
M0901
Prp-rich garnet
Prp-rich garnet
0.7
Core
Mantle
Rim
0.4
Mantle
0.5
Rim
Mole fraction
0.6
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
A
Rim
Core
B
Rim
1058 m
A
Rim
B
Rim
Core
A
Rim
Core
5100 m
B
Rim
A
Rim
1440 m
Alm
Prp
Grs
B
Rim
Core
1320 m
Sps
Fig. 8. Compositional profiles of garnet along the lines AB in Fig. 7. (a) Garnet zone (sample M2706). (b) Staurolite zone
(M2507). (c) Sillimanite zone (M2602). (d) Cordierite zone (M0901). Black arrows indicate the compositions used for PT
estimates.
core to rim. This irregular zoning in the mantle

indicates that the zoning was not produced by simple
growth zoning, but was probably modified by metasomatic reactions. Therefore, only the compositions of
the core and rim of garnet in sample M2507 (and not
the mantle) are used for the PT estimates below.
Biotite in sample M2507 has a relatively homogeneous composition, with XMg values of 0.530.54
(Table 2). In contrast, plagioclase compositions are
highly variable (Table 3): plagioclase inclusions in
grossular-rich garnet cores have high XAn values of
0.900.95, whereas plagioclase in the matrix has relatively low XAn,Pl values of 0.340.40. Similarly high
XAn,Pl values have been reported in a zoned garnet
from the same mineral zone (sample M3001 in
Burenjargal et al., 2012), and the values are similar
to those in sample M2706 from the garnet zone. The
anorthite content of plagioclase inclusions shows a
systematic decrease from garnet cores to rims; consequently, it is thought that the plagioclase inclusions
were trapped when in near-equilibrium with the garnet. Staurolite, which is present only in the staurolite
zone, has XMg (= Mg/(Fe2++Mg)) values of 0.20
0.23 (Table 4). Sample M2507 contains garnet (28
vol.%), biotite (22 vol.%), plagioclase (10 vol.%),
quartz (33 vol.%), staurolite (5 vol.%) with minor
sillimanite (<1 vol.%) (Table 5).
Table 4. Representative compositions of staurolite, cordierite

and amphibole in pelitic gneisses of the Tseel area.
Mineral
Staurolite
Cordierite
Fe-Mg amphibole
Zone
St zone
Crd zone
Crd zone
Sample
M2507
M0901
26.47
48.79
SiO2
TiO2
0.62
0.06
51.04
33.39
Al2O3
FeO
13.89
5.16
MnO
0.22
0.00
MgO
2.32
10.78
CaO
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.20
Na2O
0.01
0.01
K2O
0.01
Cr2O3
Total
94.60
98.41
Staurolite (O = 48), cordierite (O = 18), amphibole (O = 23)
Si
7.97
4.95
Si
Ti
0.14
0.00
Ti
Al
18.11
4.00
Aliv
Alvi
Fe3+
3.50
0.44
Fe2+
Fe2+
Mn
0.06
0.00
Mn
Mg
1.04
1.63
Mg
Ca
0.00
0.00
Ca
Na
0.00
0.04
Na
K
0.00
0.00
K
Cr
0.01
Cr
Total
30.84
11.07
Total
a
0.23
0.79
XMg
M0901
Core
Rim
45.73
0.18
12.19
21.18
0.18
15.91
0.42
1.08
0.00
96.87
52.137
0.116
4.398
21.54
0.095
18.556
0.289
0.26
0
97.39
6.71
0.02
1.29
0.81
0.13
2.47
0.02
3.48
0.07
0.31
0.00
15.31
0.61
7.56
0.01
0.44
0.31
0.03
2.58
0.01
4.01
0.04
0.07
0.00
15.07
0.59
XMg = Mg/(Mg+Fe2+).
Sample M2602 (sillimanite zone)
Pyrope-rich garnet in sample M2602 is compositionally homogeneous, with XAlm = 0.690.72,

XGrs = 0.050.06, XSps = 0.02 and XPrp = 0.220.25
(Figs 6, 7c & 8c; Table 1). A thin retrograde rim
shows a slight increase in XAlm, and decreases in XGrs
and XPrp. The core composition of garnet in sample
M2602 (Fig. 8c) is similar to the rim composition of
zoned garnet in sample M2507 (Fig. 8b), although

the pyrope content is slightly higher in the former
than in the latter. Mineral inclusions in garnet from
sample M2602 are mainly quartz. This sample shows
minor compositional variations in biotite (XMg,Bt
= 0.590.61) and plagioclase (XAn,Pl = 0.340.37),
and contains garnet (13 vol.%), biotite (25 vol.%),
Table 5. Modal abundances (vol.%) of minerals measured in pelitic gneisses and as predicted by PT pseudosection modelling.
Observed mineral modea
Normalized mineral modeb
Calculated mineral modec
Sample
Mineral zone
M2706
Grt
M2507
St
M2602
Sil
M0901
Crd
M2706
Grt
M2507
St
M2602
Sil
M0901
Crd
M2706
Grt
M2507
St
M2602
Sil
M0901
Crd
Garnet
Biotite
Plagioclase
Quartz
Chlorite
Muscovite
Staurolite
Sillimanite
Cordierite
Calcite
Rutile
Epidote
Fe-Mg amp
Total
10
7
23
49
1
<1
1
1
4
100
28
22
10
33
<1
1
5
<1
<1
<1
100
13
25
10
46
<1
<1
<1
<1
100
29
21
5
36
1
<1
5
<1
100
22
16
50
1
1
100
43
34
16
<1
1
7
<1
100
24
46
18
<1
<1
12
100
48
35
8
<1
8
<1
100
7
17
70
100
33
34
20
3
5
4
1
20
47
18
15
<1
46
34
8
100
100
7
100
Modal abundances of minerals measured in thin section.

Normalized modal abundances of minerals used for pseudosection modelling (MnNCKFMASH with excess SiO2).
Modal abundances of minerals calculated by pseudosection modelling.
b
c
plagioclase (10 vol.%), quartz (46 vol.%) and sillimanite (6 vol.%) (Table 5).
Sample M0901 (cordierite zone)
Pyrope-rich garnet in sample M0901 is compositionally homogeneous with a thin retrograde rim
(Figs 6, 7d & 8d), similar to pyrope-rich garnet in
the sillimanite zone (sample M2602; Fig. 8c); however, the former is richer in pyrope content
(XPrp = 0.220.23) and poorer in Mn (XSps = 0.01)
(Fig. 8c,d). Garnet porphyroblast contains inclusions
of quartz, calcite, biotite, cordierite and fine-grained
zircon.
The compositions of biotite (XMg,Bt = 0.580.59)
and plagioclase (XAn,Pl = 0.310.35) are homogeneous
(Tables 2 & 3). Cordierite occurs in the matrix and as
inclusions in garnet (Fig. 7d), and has XMg (=Mg/
(Mg+Fe2+)) values of 0.760.79 (Table 4). This sample contains FeMg amphibole with zoning related to
Tschermak substitution, with AlVI decreasing from
1.29 (gedrite) in the core to 0.44 (anthophyllite) in the
rim (Table 4). The XMg value of amphibole shows
little variation within the sample, ranging from 0.58
to 0.61. The sample contains garnet (29 vol.%), biotite
(21 vol.%), plagioclase (5 vol.%), quartz (36 vol.%)
and cordierite (5 vol.%) (Table 5), with minor sillimanite and FeMg amphiboles (<1 vol.%).
PT ESTIMATES FROM GARNET IN PELITIC
GNEISS
Method
The PT conditions recorded by pelitic gneiss from

each mineral zone were estimated using garnetisopleth (GIP) thermobarometry based on pseudosections. The PT pseudosections were calculated
in the system MnOCaONa2OK2OFeOMgO

Al2O3SiO2H2O (MnCNKFMASH) using the software Perple_X 07 (Connolly, 1990) and the internally
consistent data set of Holland & Powell (1998). The
PT range of the pseudosections is 110 kbar and
450700 C. The Fe3+ component in the system was
not considered, because the presence of graphite in
pelitic gneisses (Fig. 3) indicates low oxygen fugacity.
The solution models for garnet, chlorite and staurolite were taken from Holland & Powell (1998), and
those for biotite and plagioclase from Powell & Holland (1999) and Newton et al. (1980). The solution
model for muscovite was taken from Coggon & Holland (2002). For Mg-Fe amphibole, a simple Mg-Fe
mixing model of anthophyllite was used (data from
Perple_X 07). In the calculation, melt was not considered. Isopleths calculated for the grossular, almandine and spessartine components were plotted on the
pseudosections, and the PT conditions for each
sample were obtained from points at which these
isopleths intersected the appropriate composition
(e.g. Spear, 1988; Vance & Holland, 1993; Vance &
Mahar, 1998).
Bulk-rock compositions used in the calculations
(Table 6) were obtained from the modal abundances
of minerals observed in thin sections (Table 5) and
from the representative compositions of minerals
(Tables 14). The modal abundances of minerals
were determined by point counting under an optical
microscope, except for the fined-grained sample from
the garnet zone (sample M2706), for which the
mineral mode was determined by image analysis of
an electron probe microanalyser map with an area
of 3 9 3 mm. The garnet in the staurolite zone (sample M2507) is strongly zoned; consequently, separate
PT calculations were undertaken for the core and
rim (Fig. 8b). To calculate the effective bulk-rock
composition at the stage of garnet core growth, the
Table 6. Bulk-rock compositions (wt%) of the pelitic gneisses

used for PT pseudosection modelling.
Zone
Grt zone
St zone
Sil zone
Crd zone
Sample
M2706
M2507
M2602
M0901
61.15
19.13
0.49
7.42
5.32
0.07
0.88
0.74
3.20
1.61
100
57.86
13.40
1.75
16.54
5.90
0.17
1.20
0.28
2.07
0.82
100
SiO2
Al2O3
TiO2
FeO
MgO
MnO
CaO
Na2O
K2O
H2O
Total
71.68
14.30
1.13
2.69
1.26
0.57
6.25
0.64
0.93
0.55
100
Core
Rim
54.97
17.75
0.40
15.93
3.70
0.97
2.30
0.67
2.31
1.00
100
60.69
16.63
0.53
10.96
4.19
0.61
1.11
0.90
3.06
1.32
100
average garnet composition of a zoned garnet was

used. The garnet core and mantle were neglected
when calculating the effective bulk-rock composition
at the stage of garnet rim growth. The bulk-rock
compositions of the analysed pelitic gneisses vary
among the mineral zones (e.g. the Al2O3 content
ranges from 13.40 to 19.13 wt%; Table 6). However,
this variation does not represent a systematic difference among mineral zones; instead, it probably represents local variations in the bulk-rock compositions
of the pelitic gneisses (i.e. compositional banding,
coarse-grained garnet), as the Al2O3 content was
measured from thin sections.
To assess the validity of our PT estimates, the
modal abundances of minerals calculated by pseudosection modelling were compared with the abundances measured in thin section (Table 5). The PT
conditions were also evaluated by the garnetbiotite
(GB) and garnetbiotiteplagioclasequartz (GBPQ)
thermobarometers (Holdaway, 2000; Wu et al.,
2004), hereafter referred to as GBPQ. These
GBPQ geothermobarometers are applicable in the
present case, as the assemblage of Grt+Bt+Pl+Qtz is
observed in all samples, and the PT pseudosection
modelling indicates the stability of this assemblage
throughout the entire period of garnet growth, as
shown below. For garnet cores in each garnet (i.e.
black arrows in Fig. 8), the possible PT ranges
were determined by making four separate sets of calculations accounting for the highest and lowest values of XMg,Bt for biotite (Table 2) and XAn,Pl for
plagioclase (Table 3), following Burenjargal et al.
(2012).
Results
Garnet zone (sample M2706)
On the pseudosection, garnet is stable across the

entire PT space (Fig. 9a). The mineral assemblage
in the calculated PT space is garnet biotite plagioclase chlorite muscovite zoisite K-feld 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
spar. Muscovite and chlorite are stable in lower

temperature and higher pressure regions, whereas
biotite is stable at higher temperatures. Muscovite
disappears at the relatively lower temperatures in
M2706 (e.g. 480 C at 2 kbar) than in typical pelitic
gneisses (cf. ~600 C at 2 kbar, fig. 13 of Wei et al.,
2007). This is probably due to the lower K2O content
in this sample (0.93 wt%) than those of the typical
pelitic rocks (3.383.53 wt%, Mahar et al., 1997).
The grossular content increases with decreasing temperature and increasing pressure. In the low-T region
(<~550 C), the almandine isopleths show a steep dP/
dT slope, with XAlm increasing with increasing
temperature, whereas in the high-T region (>~550 C)
the dP/dT slope is gentle and the XAlm value
increases with decreasing pressure. The spessartine
isopleths also have a concave upward pattern, with
XSps increasing with decreasing pressure. The PT
conditions estimated from the garnet isopleths are
540570 C and 5.76.5 kbar, located in the field
containing the assemblage garnet+biotite+plagioclase+muscovite (Fig. 9a). The calculated modes of
biotite (17 vol.%) and plagioclase (70 vol.%) are similar to those observed (Bt 16, Pl 50 vol.%; Table 5),
whereas the calculated mode of garnet (7 vol.%) is
slightly lower than that observed (22 vol.%). Epidote
is absent in the calculated results (Table 5), probably
due to the uncertainties in the estimates of the CaO
content in the bulk-rock composition, because plagioclase compositions are highly variable in this sample
(Table 3).
The PT conditions estimated by GBPQ geothermobarometry for the garnet zone are 520540 C
and 6.58.0 kbar (Fig. 9a). These values are 1020 C
lower and ~1.5 kbar higher than those obtained using
GIP thermobarometry respectively (Fig. 9a).
Staurolite zone (sample M2507)
Separate PT pseudosections were obtained for the

garnet core (Fig. 9b) and rim (Fig. 9c) in sample
M2507. For both core and rim, garnet is stable in the
entire calculated PT space. The calculated mineral
assemblage for the core stage is garnet biotite
plagioclase chlorite muscovite aluminosilicates
zoisite cordierite (Fig. 9b). Staurolite does not
appear in the PT pseudosection for the garnet core.
The PT conditions estimated for the garnet core
using garnet isopleths are 520540 C and 4.5
5.8 kbar, for which the predicted assemblage is garnet+biotite+plagioclase+chlorite+muscovite. Although
it is impossible to know the modal abundances of
minerals during growth of the garnet core from the
thin section, the inclusion minerals of the core in
sample M2507 (i.e. plagioclase and muscovite) appear
to be consistent with those predicted. The PT conditions estimated by GBPQ geothermobarometry for
the garnet core of the staurolite zone are 550560 C
and 5.2 kbar (Fig. 9b). This pressure estimate is
7.0
0.
33
1
.3
4.0
G
C rt B
hl t
M Pl
s
20
2.0
550
600
650
0.
12
0.
14
0.
16
Grt B
il
Ms S
Grt Bt M
s
Pl Sil
Grt Bt
Sil
l Crd
rt Bt P
4
6
18
t Pl
0.06
Grt Bt Pl Crd
0.
10
0.
1.0
450
700
GBPQ
GIP
5.0
0.
500
0.60
Grt Bt Pl Ms
Grt Bt Pl
Chl Ms Zo
3.0
Grt Bt Pl Chl
1.0
450
Grt Bt Pl Chl Ms Pl
6.0
Grt Bt Pl
29
0.
25
0.
2.0
Ms
GIP
Sps
0.12
Grt Bt Pl Ms
hl
Grt Bt Pl Ms
Alm;
0.64
0.68
lC
0.62
0.64
0.66
0.68
8.0
Grt Chl Ms
Zo Pl
tP
Gr
tP
lC
hl
lC
Ms
hl M
Zo
sZ
o
0
3.0
Pressure (kbar)
4.0
0.2
0.44
GBPQ
0.16 Grs;
Grt Bt Chl Ms
9.0
tP
5.0
Gr
tB
Pressure (kbar)
0.2
0.2
Grt Bt Pl Ms Zo
0
St zone: M2507 core

Grt Chl
Ms Pl
0.42
0.2
0.2
(b)
0.42
8.0
6.0
Sps
0.26
10
Ms Zo
7.0
Alm;
0.40
Gr
tB
0.40
0.38
9.0 Grt Pl Chl
0.31 Grs;
0.08
0.14
0.12
0.10
Grt zone: M2706
10
0.36
(a)
550
500
Temperature (C)
600
650
700
Temperature (C)
1. Grt Bt Chl Ms Zo
2. Grt Bt Ms Zo
1. Grt Pl Chl Ms Zo
2. Grt Bt Chl Ms
3. Grt Bt Pl Ms Kfs
4. Grt Bt Pl Kfs
3. Grt Bt Pl Chl Ms Zo
4. Grt Bt Pl Chl Ms St
5. Grt Bt Pl St Ms
6. Grt Bt Pl St Crd Sil
7. Grt Bt Pl St Crd
10
Gr
tB
tP
lM
sS
t
0.7
Grt
Chl MBt Pl
s Zo
Ms Sil
il
t Pl S
Grt B
St Sil 0.09
l
P
t
B
Q
GBP
Grt B
rd Sil
0.11
0.13
Chl Ms Zo Pa
8
7.0
6.0
9
0.0 Grt Bt
Pl Ky
0.0
12
Zo
Pa
10
17 18 19
15
Ch
5.0
P
h
lC
lM
14
Pa
20
Grt Bt
Pl Sil
13
11
16
22
0.71
0.02
21
GBPQ
24
0.0
GIP
0.69
lM
Pl
4.0
8.0
Pressure (kbar)
0.69
y
sK
lM
tP
B
t
Gr
Grt Bt Pl 0.07
t Pl C
GIP
9.0
67
4.0
Grt Bt
Pl Ms
Sps
0.02
0.65
0.
3
4
0.69 Alm;
5
Grt
0.05 Grs;
2
0.0
5.0
Grt Bt Pl
Chl Ms
Sil zone: M2602
7.0
6.0
(d)
Grt Bt Pl
Chl Ms Zo
Sps
0.0
Pressure (kbar)
0.09
0.0
8.0
Grt Bt
Chl Ms
Alm;
0.71
0.05
Grt Bt Pl
Chl Ms
9.0
0.05 Grs;
Grt Bt M
s
0.11
St zone: M2507 rim
10
0.61
0.63
0.65
0.67
(c)
rd
t Pl C
Sil
Grt B
Bt Pl Crd Sil
26
23
3.0
500
Bt Pl Crd Kfs
lC
2.0
tP
0.
05
tB
0
0.
25
Pl Chl Ms
Bt Pl Ms Crd
hl
Cr
1.0
450
13
0.
9
11 0.0
.
0
Gr
2.0
3.0
Pl Crd
Grt Bt
550
600
650
700
1.0
450
Temperature (C)
550
500
600
650
700
Temperature (C)
1. Grt Pl Chl Ms
2. Grt Bt Pl Chl Ms
3. Grt Bt Pl Chl St Ms
4. Grt Bt Pl Chl St Sil
1. Grt Chl Ms Zo Pa
2. Grt Chl Ms Pa
5. Grt Bt Pl Ms Ky Pa 6. Grt Bt Pl Ms Ky
3. Grt Pl Chl Ms Pa
7. Grt Pl Chl Ms Ky
5. Grt Bt Pl Chl St
6. Grt Bt Pl St Crd
9. Pl Chl Ms Pa Ma
10. Pl Chl Ms Ma
11. Grt Bt Pl Chl Ms St 12. Grt Bt Pl Chl St Ky
13. Grt Bt Pl St Ky
14. Bt Pl Chl Ms St
15. Bt Pl Chl St Ky
16. Bt Pl Chl St
17. Grt Bt Pl Chl St
18. Grt Bt Pl St
19. Grt Bt Pl St Sil
20. Bt Pl Chl St Sil
7. Grt Bt Pl Crd Kfs
21. Grt Bt Pl Chl St Sil 22. Grt Bt Pl Crd St Sil 23. Bt Pl Chl Ms Sil
25. Bt Pl Ms Crd Sil
4. Grt Pl Chl Ms St Pa
8. Grt Pl Chl Ms Pa Ma
24. Bt Pl Chl Sil
26. Bt Pl Sil Crd Kfs
Fig. 9. Calculated PT pseudosections with compositional garnet isopleths for (a) the garnet zone (sample M2706), (b, c) the
staurolite zone (M2507), (d) the sillimanite zone (M2602) and (e) the cordierite zone (M0901). Pseudosections for garnet in the
staurolite zone were made separately for cores (b) and rims (c), by considering the effect of garnet zoning on the effective bulkrock compositions (see text for details). The PT pseudosections were calculated in the system MnNCKFMASH, with excess
quartz and H2O, using the software PerpleX 07 (Connolly, 1990). Grt = garnet; Bt = biotite; Pl = plagioclase; Chl = chlorite;
Ms = muscovite; Pa = paragonite; St = staurolite; Crd = cordierite; Zo = zoisite; Ky = kyanite; And = andalusite; Sil = sillimanite;
oAmph = orthoamphibole; Kfs = K-feldspar. Dark and light shaded areas labelled with GIP and GBPQ indicate the PT
conditions estimated by GIP geothermobarometry and by garnetbiotiteplagioclasequartz geothermobarometry respectively.
(e)
Crd zone: M0901
0.06 Grs;
Alm;
0.70
0.01 Sps
9.0
0.08
1
Grt Bt Pl
Chl Ms Zo
0.10
0.14
0.12
10
Grt Bt Chl Ms
Ms
Grt Bt 0
Pl oAmp .68
hl
Gr
tB
tP
lC
6.0
0.06
0.01
GIP
Bt
Pl
hl
5.0
Bt Pl Chl
Ms Zo
rt
4.0
Pressure (kbar)
7.0
Bt Pl
Chl Ms
Zo
G
Ch rt B
lM tP
sZ l
o
Grt Bt Pl
8.0
Bt Pl Chl Ms
Grt Bt Pl oAmp Crd
0.70
0.72
0.74
GBPQ
0.03
0.05
0.07
3.0
0.09
0.74
hl
lC 4
2.0
tP
1.0
450
Bt Pl oAmp Crd
550
500
600
650
0.72
0.70
0.68
0.66
700
Temperature (C)
1. Grt Bt Chl Ms Zo 2. Grt Bt Pl Ms
3. Bt Pl Chl Crd
4. Grt Bt Pl Chl Crd
Fig. 9. (continued)
similar to that obtained using GIP thermobarometry,

although the temperature is ~30 C higher.
The calculated mineral assemblage for the rim stage
(Fig. 9c) is garnet biotite plagioclase chlorite
muscovite aluminosilicates zoisite cordierite
staurolite K-feldspar. Staurolite appears under
medium-T and medium-P conditions (550630 C and
37 kbar). The PT conditions estimated for the garnet rim using garnet isopleths are 570600 C and
45 kbar, for which the predicted assemblage is
garnet+biotite+plagioclase+staurolite+sillimanite. The
calculated modal abundances of minerals (Grt 33, Bt
34, Pl 20, St 4, Sil 1, Chl 3, Ms 5 vol.%) are similar to
those observed (Grt 43, Bt 34, Pl 16, St 7, Sil 7,
Chl <1, Ms 1 vol.%; Table 5). The PT conditions
estimated by GBPQ geothermobarometry for the garnet rim of the staurolite zone are 620625 C and 4.3
4.4 kbar (Fig. 9c). This pressure estimate is similar to
that obtained using GIP thermobarometry, although
the temperature is ~30 C higher.
From core to rim in the garnet, the temperature
shows an increase of ~50 C and the pressure
decreases slightly by ~1 kbar. Such a decompression
and heating PT path obtained from sample
M2507 is similar to that reported previously from
a different sample in the staurolite zone of the
Tseel area (sample M3001 in Burenjargal et al.,
2012).
Sillimanite zone (sample M2602)
The calculated mineral assemblage for pelitic gneiss

from the sillimanite zone (Fig. 9d) is combinations of
biotite plagioclase garnet chlorite muscovite

zoisite aluminosilicates staurolite cordierite
paragonite margarite in the calculated PT space.
In this PT pseudosection, garnet appears at
higher temperatures (>500 C) and higher pressures
(>4 kbar). The grossular content increases with
decreasing temperature and increasing pressure, and
the spessartine content decreases with increasing temperature. The almandine isopleth shows a complex
shape, and XAlm decreases with increasing pressure.
The PT region of 550650 C and 58 kbar is
divided into several small regions (nos 1121 in
Fig. 9d). The mineral assemblage of these small
regions changes readily with a small change in the
bulk-rock composition; in contrast, the mineral assemblage in the other larger PT regions is robust to
changes of 10% in the bulk-rock composition used in
the calculation.
The PT conditions estimated for garnet of sample
M2602 are 670690 C and 5.86.0 kbar. The mineral assemblage predicted at this PT is garnet+
biotite+plagioclase+sillimanite+cordierite. The calculated modal abundances of minerals (Grt 20, Bt 47,
Pl 18, Sil 15, Crd <1 vol.%) are similar to those predicted (Grt 24, Bt 46, Pl 18, Sil 12, Chl <1, Ms <1
vol.%) (Table 5). The PT condition estimated by
GBPQ geothermobarometry is 630660 C and 5.2
5.9 kbar. This pressure estimate is similar to that
obtained using GIP thermobarometry, although the
temperature is ~30 C lower.
Cordierite zone (sample M0901)
The calculated mineral assemblages for pelitic gneiss

from the cordierite zone (Fig. 9e) are combinations of
biotite plagioclase garnet chlorite muscovite
zoisite staurolite cordierite orthoamphibole
in the calculated PT space. The garnet-in reaction
line for sample M0901 from the cordierite zone plots
at ~530 C on the pseudosection at pressures of
26 kbar (Fig. 9e). Garnet is absent in the low-P
region (<1.5 kbar). Cordierite, which occurs both in
the matrix and as inclusions in garnet (Figs 4f & 7d),
and Fe-Mg amphibole (orthoamphibole) appear in the
higher temperature (>500 C) and lower pressure
region (<7 kbar). The PT conditions estimated from
garnet isopleths for this sample are 665 C and
5.2 kbar, which is close to those of the sillimanite zone
sample (Fig. 9d). At this PT, the predicted mineral
assemblage is garnet+biotite+plagioclase+cordierite+
orthoamphibole (oAmph) (Fig. 9e). The predicted
modal abundances of minerals (Grt 46, Bt 34, Pl 8,
Crd 5, oAmph 7 vol.%) are similar to those observed
(Grt 48, Bt 35, Pl 8, Crd 8, Chl 1, Sil <1, oAmph <1
vol.%).
The PT conditions calculated by GBPQ geothermobarometry are 650670 C and 33.5 kbar
(Fig. 9e). This temperature is similar to that esti-
mated by GIP geothermobarometry, but the pressure

is 23 kbar lower.
Uncertainties in PT estimates
The PT conditions estimated by GIP geothermobarometry deviate from those estimated by conventional
GBPQ geothermobarometry; the maximum deviations
in temperature and pressure between the two methods
are ~30 C and ~2 kbar respectively (Fig. 9). There are
two possible factors that cause errors in GIP
geothermobarometry: the activity models used for
minerals, and uncertainty in the bulk-rock compositions. The activity models for minerals used in GBPQ
geothermobarometry (Wu et al., 2004) [i.e. the model
for garnet is an average from the models of Berman &
Aranovich (1996), Ganguly et al. (1996) and Mukhopadhyay et al. (1997); for plagioclase is the model of
Fuhrman & Lindsley (1988); and for biotite is the
model of Holdaway (2000)] are different from those
used in the pseudosection calculation by Perple_X 07.
For example, the PT conditions of sample M2602
were re-estimated by GBPQ geothermobarometry
using the compositions of garnet, plagioclase and
biotite obtained by pseudosection calculations. This
calculation yields lower temperature and pressure
(641 C and 4.3 MPa respectively) than obtained by
GIP geothermobarometry (670690 C and 5.8
6.0 kbar). These results suggest that the choice of
activity model for minerals could introduce systematic
errors into PT estimates. In contrast, the PT
conditions estimated by GIP geothermobarometry do
not change significantly even if the amount of each
component of the original bulk-rock composition is
increased by 10% (such changes result in changes in
temperature and pressure of <15 C and <0.5 kbar
respectively).
In spite of the slight difference in PT conditions
between GIP and GBPQ geothermobarometry, the
systematic relationship among the different mineral
zones in PT space does not change significantly with
the choice of geothermobarometry. Accordingly, in
the discussion below, the thermal evolution of the
Tseel terrane is discussed based on the PT values
obtained using GIP geothermobarometry.
ZIRCON UPb DATING OF PELITIC GNEISSES
AND GRANITOIDS
Samples and analytical methods
Five samples were selected for UPb zircon age dating: two granitoids (G0903, G2505) and three pelitic
gneisses (M3001, M2507, M0901). The sampling
localities are shown in Fig. 1c. Sample G0903 is a
coarse-grained granitoid taken from the large body
in the central part of the Tseel area, and is composed of quartz+plagioclase+K-feldspar+biotite+magnetite+zircon+apatite. Sample G2505 is a gneissose
granitoid from the western part of the Tseel area,

and is composed of quartz+plagioclase+amphibole
with lesser amounts of biotite+muscovite+zircon.
Samples M3001 and M2507 were collected from the
staurolite zone and contain zoned garnet. The PT
conditions inferred from sample M3001 have been
reported previously (Burenjargal et al., 2012) and
those inferred for sample M2507 are shown in
Fig. 9b. Sample M0901 was collected from the cordierite zone and contains garnet that is compositionally homogeneous (Figs 7d, 8d & 9e). Before zircon
separation, garnet grains were separated from the
pelitic gneiss samples, and UPb dating was performed separately for zircon inclusions in garnet and
for zircon in the matrix.
Zircon grains were separated from rock samples
through standard crushing, grinding, sieving,
magnetic and heavy-liquid separation techniques, followed by hand picking under a binocular microscope.
The grains were mounted in Teflon and polished to
approximately half the mean grain thickness. The
internal structures of the zircon were assessed using
transmitted and reflected light microscopy, as well as
cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging to reveal zoning
and to select optimum sites in the cores and rims for
in situ UPb dating.
In situ zircon UPb dating was performed using a
Nu AtttoM single-collector inductively coupled mass
spectrometry (ICP-MS; Nu Instruments, Wrexham,
UK) coupled to a NWR-193 laser ablation system
(ESI, Portland, OR, USA) using a 193 nm ArF
excimer laser, all housed at the Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Kyoto University, Japan. A full
list of instrumental parameters is included in Table
S1. The laser was operated with an output energy of
~3.2 mJ per pulse, a repetition rate of 8 Hz and a
laser spot size of 5 or 15 lm in diameter, providing
an estimated power density to the sample of
<2.5 J cm 2. This focused laser spot enabled the relatively fine-grained zircon grains (<50 lm) to be analysed. The pulse count was ~70 shots. Ablation
occurred in helium gas within a micro-cell of <1 ml,
and the ablated sample aerosol and helium gas were
mixed with argon gas downstream of the cell. The
helium minimizes re-deposition of ejecta or condensates, while argon provides efficient sample transport
to the ICPMS (Eggins et al., 1998; Gunther & Heinrich, 1999; Jackson et al., 2004). A signal-smoothing
device was applied to minimize the introduction of
large aerosols into the ICP, thereby reducing signal
spikes (Tunheng & Hirata, 2004).
The ICPMS was optimized by continuous ablation of a 91500 zircon standard (Wiedenbeck et al.,
1995, 2004) and NIST SRM 610 to provide
maximum sensitivity while maintaining low oxide formation (UO+/U+<1%). Data for U-Pb age determination were acquired on six isotopes, 202Hg, 204Pb,
206
Pb, 207Pb, 232Th and 238U using a low-resolution
deflector jump mode. Mass peak of 232Th were not
measured for all spots, measured only for typical

grains to obain the ratio of Th and U.
Background and ablation data for each analysis
were collected over ~90 and ~9 s respectively. Backgrounds were measured without laser ablation, but
with the same settings and gas flows as those used
during ablation. Data were acquired in multiple
groups of 10 sample unknowns bracketed by quartets
of the 91500 zircon standard (Wiedenbeck et al.,
1995, 2004) following a single background analysis.
202
Hg was monitored to correct for isobaric interference of 204Hg on 204Pb. To reduce the isobaric
interference, an Hg-trap device with an activated
charcoal filter was applied to the Ar make-up gas
before mixing with the He carrier gas (Hirata et al.,
2005). Prior to each individual analysis, regions of
interest were pre-ablated using a few pulses of the
laser with laser spot size of 10 or 20 lm in diameter
to remove potential surface contamination, thereby
reducing contamination by common Pb (Iizuka & Hirata, 2004).
All data reduction was conducted off-line using an
in-house Excel spreadsheet. Background intensities
were interpolated using the average of two background values acquired before and after each
unknown sample group. The mean of the measured
ratios was calculated for the eight analyses of the
91500 zircon standard bracketing each group of
unknown samples, and this mean value was used for
age estimates. Measurement uncertainties were calculated based on counting statistics of the signal intensities and the eight separate measurements of the 91500
zircon. All uncertainties are quoted at the 2r level.
235
U was calculated from 238U using a 238U/235U ratio
of 137.88 (Jaffey et al., 1971). The Plesovice zircon,
which has the age of 337 0.37 Ma as determined
by isotope dilution, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (Sl
ama et al., 2008), was measured; the average ages and 2r of the 15 measurements are
338 5 Ma for spot size of 15 lm, and 337 8 Ma
for spot size of 5 lm respectively.
Results
Representative CL images of zircon in individual

samples are shown in Fig. 10. The concordia diagrams and histograms of ages for individual samples
are shown in Figs 11 and 12ad respectively. The
relative probability curves in Fig. 12ad were
obtained by using ISOPLOT (version 3.7; Ludwig,
2012). The age data, which are <10% discordant, are
listed in Table S2. The Th/U ratio was measured for
selected zircon grains from individual samples (Table
S2; Fig. 12e).
In sample M3001 (pelitic gneiss) from the staurolite zone, the matrix contains many euhedral zircon
grains of >100 lm in size (Fig. 10a). These grains
have bright or grey cores in CL images, and show
oscillatory zoning. Zircon inclusions in garnet are
rare and are smaller (<100 lm) than in the matrix.

Both the matrix and inclusion zircon crystals show a
largest cluster of similar Cambrian ages, 560480 and
550460 Ma respectively (Fig. 11a,b). Combining the
matrix and inclusion age data, an age of
510 24 Ma is obtained for sample M3001
(Fig. 12b). The cores of the matrix zircon are commonly 520 Ma older than the rims (Fig. 10a). A
few zircon grains yielded old ages of 18001000 Ma
in the core and much younger ages (550450 Ma) in
the rim (Figs 11a & 12a). These older zircon cores
are interpreted to be detrital in origin, derived from
an old craton (possibly the TuvaMongolian microcontinent; Jiang et al., 2012). The rims of some
grains yield ages of c. 400, 300 and 260 Ma
(Fig. 12b).
Sample M2507 is also a pelitic gneiss sample from
the staurolite zone, but in contrast to sample
M3001, zircon grains in this sample are rare and
fine-grained (mostly <60 lm) in both the matrix and
as inclusions in garnet. In CL images, zircon grains
in the matrix have a bright core, a dark mantle and
a bright rim, and the core is subhedral to anhedral
(Fig. 10b). The cores (and mantles) of zircon grains
commonly yield Cambrian ages (550460 Ma),
whereas the rims yield younger ages (c. 410, 310 and
260 Ma; Figs 10b, 11c & 12b). Six zircon inclusions
were analysed in garnet that shows no zoning in CL
images. Similar to the matrix zircon, three of the zircon inclusions yield Cambrian ages (560500 Ma)
and the other one a Devonian age (421 Ma)
(Fig. 11d). Two zircon inclusions yield a much older
age of 19001800 Ma (Fig. 12a). The combined
inclusion and matrix zircon age data show a peak
age of 516 27 Ma (Fig. 12b), with some minor
peaks of younger ages.
The age distributions of two staurolite zone samples (M2507 & M3001) are similar to each other
(Fig. 12b). The combined data of the two samples
yield a main peak at 511 24 Ma (Cambrian) and
three minor clusters at 406 11 Ma (Devonian),
309 9 Ma (Late Carboniferous to Early Permian)
and 256 7 Ma (Late Permian to Early Triassic).
The Th/U ratio of the staurolite zone samples varies
with age, with the ratio being 0.51.5 for ages of
550500 Ma, but commonly <0.2 for younger ages
(Fig. 12e; Table S2).
Sample M0901 (pelitic gneiss) of the cordierite
zone contains subhedral zircon grains with sizes of
<150 lm, both in the matrix and as inclusions in garnet. In CL images, the zircon grains commonly have
bright cores and dark rims (Fig. 10c). The zircon
cores show anhedral outlines, and commonly have
ages of c. 500 Ma (Fig. 10c). The peak age of the
matrix zircon (430360 Ma; Fig. 11e) is similar to
that of the inclusions (410350 Ma; Fig. 11f). The
combined matrix and inclusion age data (grey arrow
in Fig. 12c) show a broad age peak at 377 30 Ma
(Devonian), with a small shoulder at c. 420 Ma
Fig. 10. Representative cathodoluminescence images of zircon in matrix with analysed ages from (a) sample M3001 in the St zone
pelitic gneisses, (b) M2507 in the St zone pelitic gneisses, (c) M0901 in the Crd zone pelitic gneisses and (d) G2505 (granitoid) and
(e) G0903 (granitoid). In (b), the same zircon grains are shown in the backscattered electron image (BSE). Scale bar indicates
50 lm.
(Fig. 12c). In addition, minor peaks occur at

491 15 Ma (Cambrian) and 288 11 Ma (Permian). The Th/U ratio of the zircon grains in sample
M0901 varies from <0.01 to 1.8, and small values
(<0.1) are found for ages of 400350 Ma (Fig. 12e).
Sample G2505 is a granitoid that contains coarsegrained (>100 lm) euhedral zircon grains. In CL
images, the grains show clear zoning with bright
cores, dark mantles and grey rims (Fig. 10d). The
combined age data show a main peak at 385 7 Ma
(Figs 11g & 12d). The Th/U ratios of zircon in sample G2505 range from 0.8 to 3.58, which is higher
than in the other samples (Fig. 12e; Table S2).
The granitoid sample G0903 contains coarsegrained zircon crystals of >100 lm in size. The zircon
grains are euhedral and show clear oscillatory zoning
(Fig. 10e). The main peak age is 297 11 Ma
(Figs 11h & 12d). The Th/U ratios of zircon in this
sample range from 0.4 to 0.8, except for one value of
0.18 (Fig. 12e; Table S2).
(a) 0.13
(b)
0.12
206Pb/238U
0.24
0.11
0.20
0.10
0.16
0.12
1.3
650
600
550
1.8
2.8
2.3
0.40
0.12
900
0.09
0.13
M3001 matrix
1500
1400
1300
1200
1100
206Pb/238U
0.28
3.3
M3001 inclusion
0.30
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
0.11
0.20
0.10
0.10
0.09
0.00
1.0
650
600
550
5.0
3.0
0.08
0.08
450
450
500
0.07
500
0.07
400
400
0.06
0.06
0.3
0.5
0.4
0.6
0.7
0.3
0.9
0.8
0.5
0.4
0.6
0.7
0.9
0.8
207Pb/235U
(c) 0.14
(d)
0.14
M2507 matrix
M2507 inclusion
0.12
0.12
0.10
600
206Pb/238U
206Pb/238U
0.10
0.08
500
400
0.06
300
0.04
500
0.08
400
0.06
300
0.04
200
0.02
600
200
0.02
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.7
0.6
0.8
0.9
0.0
1.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
(e) 0.09
(f)
0.6
0.8
0.7
0.9
1.0
0.09
M0901 inclusion
M0901 matrix
0.08
0.08
500
450
0.07
206Pb/238U
206Pb/238U
0.5
207Pb/235U
207Pb/235U
400
0.06
500
0.07
450
400
0.06
350
350
0.05
0.05
300
300
0.04
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.04
0.25
0.70
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
(g)
(h)
0.07
G2505 granite
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.70
207Pb/235U
207Pb/235U
0.09
G0903 granite
400
0.065
550
0.08
0.055
206Pb/238U
206Pb/238U
0.60
350
0.07
450
0.06
0.05
350
300
0.045
0.05
0.04
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
207Pb/235U
0.5
0.55
0.04
0.25
0.35
0.45
0.55
0.65
0.75
207Pb/235U
Fig. 11. Concordia diagrams of UPb zircon ages from pelitic gneisses (af) and granitoids (g, h). Zircon grains occurring in the
matrix and as inclusions in garnet porphyroblasts are shown separately. (a) Matrix and (b) inclusion zircon crystals from sample
M3001 in the staurolite zone; (c) matrix and (d) inclusion zircon crystals from sample M2507 in the staurolite zone; (e) matrix and
(f) inclusion zircon crystals from sample M0901 in the cordierite zone; and zircon in granitoid samples (g) G2505 and (h) G0903.
(b) 25
Number
20
500
1000
1500
15
10
5
0
0
n = 110
51124
St zone
20
0
200
2000
M2507 n = 27
M3001 n = 105
n=5
2567
250
n = 11
3099
300
350
Number
n = 86
37730
15
10
n = 12
49115
n=4
28811
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Age (Ma)
(e)
450
500
550
600
15
n = 53
29711
n = 33
3857
Granite
G0903; n = 65
G2505; n = 38
10
5
0
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
Relative probability
M0901
n = 104
0
200
400
(d) 20
Crd zone
Number
(c) 25
n=5
40611
Age (Ma)
Age (Ma)
20
n = 91
51024
(M3001)
n = 19
51627
(M2507)
40
Pelitic gneisses
M2507
M3001
M0901
60
Number
(a) 80
600
Age (Ma)
4
M3001 (St zone)
M2507 (St zone)
3
M0901 (Crd zone)
Th/U ratio
G2505 (granite)
G0903 (granite)
2
0
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Age (Ma)
DISCUSSION
Two-stage metamorphism recorded in garnet and
aluminosilicates
Figure 13a summarizes the PT conditions of each

mineral zone (samples M2706, M2507, M2602,
M0901) in the Tseel area, as obtained by the GIP
geothermobarometry (Fig. 9), along with additional
data (samples M3001, M0701c & M0702b) from
our previous study (Burenjargal et al., 2012). The
PT conditions estimated from the pelitic gneisses in
the Tseel area are 520680 C and 37 kbar
(Fig. 13). The estimated PT conditions are roughly
divided into two groups: high-P and low-T condition,
and low-P and high-T condition respectively
(Fig. 13a). The high-P and low-T conditions, which
Fig. 12. UPb age histograms with relative probability curves for
pelitic gneisses and granitoids in the Tseel area. (a) Age
histogram in the range of 20000 Ma for the pelitic gneiss
samples. (bd) Age histograms in the range of 600200 Ma,
showing (b) pelitic gneiss samples in the staurolite (St) zone
(M3001, M2507), (c) pelitic gneiss in the cordierite (Crd) zone
(M0901) and (d) granitoid samples (G2505, G0903). The age
histograms for the individual samples have several peaks. The
mean and standard deviation (1r) for each age cluster (indicated
by double-headed arrows) are labelled at each peak. In (c), the
large age cluster at 377 30 Ma has a shoulder at c. 430 Ma
(grey arrow). (e) Th/U ratio of zircon against age (Ma) for
individual samples.
are located in the kyanite stability field (520570 C

and 4.57 kbar), were obtained from the grossularrich garnet in the garnet zone (M2706) and the grossular-rich cores of zoned garnet in the staurolite zone
(samples M2507 & M3001). The low-P and high-T
conditions, which correspond to the sillimanite
stability field (570680 C, 36 kbar), were obtained
from the pyrope-rich rims of zoned garnet in the
staurolite zone (M2507 & M3001), the pyrope-rich
garnet in the sillimanite zone (samples M2602,
M0701c & M0702b) and in the cordierite zone
(sample M0901). The temperature of the cordierite
zone (650670 C) is >50 C higher than that
obtained from the rim of the staurolite zone
(570600 C), whereas the pressure is similar to each
other (Fig. 13a). The temperatures estimated for the
sillimanite zone samples cover a range from the
(a) 10
9.0
Ky
8.0
High-Plow-T
Pressure (kbar)
7.0
M2706
(Grt)
6.0
Sil
M3001 core
(St)
M2602(Sil)
M2507
rim (St)
M0901
(Crd)
5.0
M2507
core (St)
4.0
M0701c (Sil)
M0702b (Sil)
M3001 rim
(St)
Low-Phigh-T
Ky
And
3.0
2.0
Sil
And
1.0
450
500
550
600
650
700
Temperature (C)
(b)
Metamorphic
events
Retrograde ?
Igneous
events
G
int ranito
rus id
ion
2
200
300
Low-P
High-T
High-P
Low-T
G
int ranito
rus id
ion
1
400
Pr
oto
de lith
po
sit
ion
500 Ma
Fig. 13. (a) Summary of the PT conditions obtained from

zoned garnet for each of the mineral zones (see Fig. 9) and from
previous analyses (M3001; M0701c; M0702b) by Burenjargal
et al. (2012). Two metamorphic events are recognized: a high-P
and low-T event (kyanite stability field) followed by a low-P and
high-T event (sillimanite stability field). Grt = garnet zone;
St = staurolite zone; Sil = sillimanite zone; Crd = cordierite
zone. (b) Schematic illustration showing the age relationship
between the metamorphic events and granitoid intrusions.
staurolite to cordierite zones. The zoning in garnet

from the staurolite zone (Figs 7b & 8b) reveals that
the high-P and low-T metamorphic event occurred
prior to the low-P and high-T event (Figs 9b,c &
13a; Burenjargal et al., 2012).
Garnet in the sillimanite and cordierite zones is
compositionally homogeneous (Figs 6a, 7c,d & 8c,d)
and contains no record of the earlier high-P and low-T
event (which is recorded by grossular-rich cores in the
garnet and staurolite zones). The absence of grossularrich cores in the sillimanite and cordierite zones may
indicate that these zones did not experience the high-P
and low-T event or that grossular-rich cores did form
but were modified by diffusion during the low-P and
high-T metamorphism. We consider that the latter
case is more likely, because aluminosilicate-bearing
quartz veins occur not only in the staurolite zone but
also in the sillimanite zones (Fig. 1c). In these veins,
aluminosilicates formed in the order of kyanite ? silli 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
manite ? andalusite (Fig. 5; Burenjargal et al., 2012),

which suggests a transition from the high-P and low-T
to low-P and high-T conditions.
Garnet is rare and fine-grained in the pelitic
gneisses of the garnet zone (Figs 2d & 4a,b), whereas
almost all of the pelitic gneisses in the sillimanite and
cordierite zones contain many large garnet porphyroblasts (Figs 2c & 4e,f). These observations suggest
that garnet grew mainly under the low-P and high-T
conditions. For example, in sample M0901 from the
cordierite zone, cordierite, which is only stable under
high-T and low-P conditions (Fig. 9e), occurs as
inclusions in garnet porphyroblasts as well as in the
matrix (Figs 4f & 7d), indicating that coarse-grained
garnet grew rapidly at high temperatures (>600 C).
In contrast to the higher grade zones, the grossularrich garnet in the garnet zone shows no evidence of the
low-P and high-T metamorphism (Figs 9a & 13a).
Given that garnet overgrowths generally form with
increasing temperature (Burenjargal et al., 2012), the
lack of overgrowths in the garnet zone suggests the
exhumation of this zone without heating at the later
stage.
Protolith ages and timing of metamorphic events and
granitoid intrusions
Most of the zircon grains in the pelitic gneisses yield

ages of 600200 Ma, although some yield older ages
of 2000600 Ma (Fig. 12a). In the interval of 600
200 Ma, the pelitic gneisses in the Tseel area yield
two major peaks in UPb ages: Cambrian (570
440 Ma) and Devonian (450300 Ma) (Fig. 12b,c).
The cluster of Cambrian ages is found in all the
pelitic gneiss samples (Fig. 12b,c), although the peak
is especially prominent in the staurolite zone samples
(511 24 Ma in samples M3001 and M2507;
Fig. 12b). This Cambrian age in the pelitic gneisses is
interpreted as the protolith (igneous) age (Fig. 13b),
based on the facts that (i) the zircon grains of Cambrian age commonly show clear oscillatory zoning
with a euhedral outline (Fig. 10a) and (ii) these
grains commonly have high Th/U ratios (>0.4)
(Fig. 12e).
The large cluster of Devonian ages is found in the
cordierite zone sample (377 30 Ma for sample
M0901; Fig. 12c). In the staurolite zone samples
(M2507 & M3001), there are two minor peaks in the
interval of 450300 Ma (i.e. 406 11 and
309 9 Ma; Fig. 12b). The zircon grains with Devonian ages are characterized by dissolution and overgrowths (Fig. 10b,c), and the low Th/U ratio (<0.1;
Fig. 12e) indicates that the rims of these zircon grains
are metamorphic in origin. Because the Devonian age
is recorded mainly in the cordierite zone samples, it
is reasonable to infer that the low-P and high-T
metamorphism occurred during the Devonian.
Although the number of samples was limited in
this study, the UPb zircon age data clearly show
Thermal effects of granitoid intrusions on apparent

mineral zones
Figure 14a shows the peak temperatures recorded

across the metamorphic zones along a SSENNW
transect (line AB in Fig. 1). It should be noted that
the peak pressure of a particular sample does
not always correspond to the peak temperature
(Fig. 9b,c). In the Tseel area, the peak temperature
increases when passing from the garnet to the cordierite zone. Peak temperatures are highest (600660 C)
in the centre of the Tseel area, within the sillimanite
and cordierite zones, and decrease in a symmetrical
fashion towards the garnet zones in the north and
south (Fig. 14a). The peak temperature of the garnet
zone is ~150 C lower than those of the sillimanite
and cordierite zones. There are no systematic differences in the mineral zones that are exposed in the
northern and southern parts of the Tseel area.
The occurrence and distribution of granitoid
intrusions in the Tseel area are spatially variable:
some intrusions occur as layers interlayered with pelitic gneiss (Fig. 2b) and oriented subparallel to the
foliation, whereas others occur as massive kilometrescale bodies (Figs 1c & 2a). From the map in
B
(a)
Temperature (C)
700
Garnet isopleth
GBPQ
600
500
Grt
100
Granitoids (area %)
that the Tseel area has experienced at least two stages

of granitoid intrusions: in the Devonian (385
7 Ma; G2505) and Permian (297 11 Ma; G0903)
(Fig. 12d). The ages of granitoids reported in the
Tseel terrane range from 580 to 270 Ma (Bibikova
et al., 1992; Kozakov et al., 2002; Kr
oner et al.,
2007; Demoux et al., 2009a; Jiang et al., 2012), but
most yield Middle Devonian ages (400380 Ma;
e.g. Bibikova et al., 1992; Kozakov et al., 2002; Demoux et al., 2009a). A deformed granitoid in the
eastern block of the Tseel terrane yields a zircon U
Pb age of 385 5 Ma (Bibikova et al., 1992), which
is consistent with the Devonian age of granitoid sample G2505 (385 7 Ma; Figs 11g & 12d). It is
important to note that the timing of this earlier phase
of granitoid intrusion (385 7 Ma; Figs 11g & 12d)
is consistent with the timing of the low-P and high-T
metamorphism (377 30 Ma; Fig. 13b), suggesting
that the granitoids were the heat source of the high-T
metamorphism at middle crustal depths.
The exact timing of high-P and low-T metamorphism is unclear, although it pre-dated the low-P and
high-T metamorphism (Fig. 13a). The lack of significant zircon growth during the high-P and low-T
metamorphism in the staurolite zone samples is probably due to the low-T and/or low-fluid activity. Nevertheless, a small age peak at 450400 Ma in the
staurolite zone samples (Fig. 12b) and in the cordierite zone sample (Fig. 12c) is thought to correspond
to the high-P and low-T metamorphism (Fig. 13b).
The staurolite zone samples also have a small age
peak in the Carboniferous (309 9 Ma; Fig. 12b).
This peak overlaps with the large age cluster of the
cordierite zone (450300 Ma) and with the later
phase of granitoid intrusion (297 11 Ma, sample
G0903; Fig. 12d). These findings indicate that igneous activity and low-P and high-T metamorphism
continued for c. 100 Ma, reflecting the multi-stage
nature of granitoid intrusions in the Tseel area; however, the main heating events are likely to have
occurred at c. 385 Ma.
Demoux et al. (2009a) found that some granitoids
(e.g. feldspar porphyry) intruded the Early Devonian
low-grade volcano-sedimentary rocks during the
early Permian (c. 280 Ma). These younger granitoids
are interpreted to have been emplaced after the main
metamorphic events, as their intrusion occurred after
the Devonian amphibolite facies metamorphism (Demoux et al., 2009a). This age of 280 Ma proposed by
Demoux et al. (2009a) is slightly younger than the
later phase of granitoid intrusion identified in this
study (297 11 Ma, G0903; Figs 11h & 12d). A
small age peak at c. 260 Ma is found in the staurolite zone samples (Fig. 12b) and in the cordierite
zone sample (Fig. 12c). These younger ages of the
pelitic gneisses after the later phase of granitoid
intrusion could be associated with retrograde metamorphism after the peak metamorphic event
(Fig. 13b).
St
St
Sil Crd
Grt
(b)
80
60
40
20
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Distance (km)
Fig. 14. Spatial variations in (a) peak temperature and (b) the
areal proportion (per cent) of granitoid rocks along line AB
in Fig. 1c. The peak temperatures and pressures were
estimated from garnet isopleths (Fig. 9) and are not always
synchronous. The areal proportion of granitoid rock was
estimated from a geological map (as described in the text).
Grt = garnet zone; St = staurolite zone; Sil = sillimanite zone;
Crd = cordierite zone.
Fig. 1c, the area percentage occupied by granitoids

was estimated using a 4 9 4 km square along the
line marked AB. The results, shown in Fig. 14b,
indicate a correlation between granitoid abundance
and metamorphic grade (Fig. 14b). In the sillimanite
and cordierite zones, which are ~30 km wide
(Fig. 1c), there occur many granitoid intrusions. As
discussed in the previous section, some granitoid
intrusions are associated with the low-P and high-T
metamorphism at c. 385 Ma, whereas others (c.
297 Ma) are younger than the metamorphic events.
Although not all of the granitoids associated with
the low-P and high-T metamorphism in the Tseel
area have been identified, the spatial correlation
between granitoids and the highest peak temperatures (Fig. 14) strongly supports the scenario that
the granitoid intrusions caused a regional contact
metamorphism at middle to upper crustal levels during the Middle Devonian.
Tectonic implications
Previous studies have examined the geochemistry and

geochronology of the Chinese Altai, which is the eastward continuation of the Tseel terrane (e.g. Salnikova
et al., 2001; Dijkstra et al., 2006; Long et al., 2007;
Sun et al., 2008; Cai et al., 2011; Jiang et al., 2012;
Fig. 1b), as well as the petrology of the region (Wei
et al., 2007). Wei et al. (2007) carried out a detailed
petrological analysis of the Xinjiang area in the Chinese Altai, and found a transition in metamorphic
series from medium-P kyanite type to low-P andalusitesillimanite type. This finding is consistent with
the present result that the earlier high-P and low-T
event was followed by the low-P and high-T metamorphism (Fig. 13a). Jiang et al. (2012) carried out
the UPb zircon age dating of the pelitic gneisses in
the Tseel terrane, and based on the CL-textures and
Th/U ratio of zircon grains, they showed that the
Tseel terrane and Chinese Altai have similar protolith
ages of c. 500 and c. 470 Ma, respectively, with metamorphism dated at c. 390 and c. 385 Ma respectively.
Based on these age similarities, Jiang et al. (2012) suggested that these terranes belonged to the same crustal
segment of an early Palaeozoic arc system, which
extended from western Mongolia to the Chinese Altai.
Our petrological and geochronological data indicate a
protolith age of c. 510 Ma (580450 Ma) and a low-P
and high-T metamorphism age of 377 30 Ma
(Fig. 12c) associated with granitoid intrusions (c.
385 Ma), which also supports similarities between the
Tseel terrane and the Chinese Altai.
Combining the data of this study with existing data
from the Tseel terrane and the Chinese Altai, we propose the following scenario on the evolution of thermobaric structure of the Tseel area. During the
Cambrian (c. 510 Ma), terrigenous sedimentary rocks
were accreted at an active continental margin (Long
et al., 2007; Sun et al., 2008). The accreted sedimen 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
tary rocks underwent high-P and low-T metamorphism in deeper levels of the accretionary prism
(1520 km depth) during the Silurian (450400 Ma).
During this stage, the grossular-rich garnet grew in
the pelitic gneisses, but dissolution and overgrowth
of zircon did not occur significantly due to low-T
and low-fluid activity. The accreted sedimentary
rocks were moved farther from the trench as a result
of ongoing accretion. After the high-P and low-T
metamorphism, low-P and high-T metamorphism
occurred in association with granitoid intrusions in
the Middle Devonian (c. 385 Ma). This metamorphism involved higher temperatures and slightly
lower pressures than the earlier event, resulting in the
growth of coarse-grained pyrope-rich garnet in the
pelitic gneisses. The concentration of granitoid intrusions in the central part of the Tseel area could have
produced the symmetrical eastwest trending mineral
zones. Near the granitoids, the temperature increased
to ~650 C, leading to the growth of garnet, sillimanite and cordierite. The cordierite zone lies especially
close to the granitoids and was heated at the middle
crustal depths (~15 km; Fig. 13a). At this stage, zircon grains were dissolved, and overgrew to form the
metamorphic rims. In areas farther from the granitoids, the effects of the low-P and high-T metamorphism are minor, so that the effects of the earlier
high-P and low-T metamorphism are well preserved.
Possible heat source of the low-P and high-T
metamorphism
A remaining problem is the heat source of the Devonian low-P and high-T metamorphism and granitoid
formation within the crust. Wang et al. (2006) proposed a model that the Devonian magmatism (c. 460,
408 & 375 Ma) of the Chinese Altai occurred in an
extensional setting associated with an opening of the
back-arc basin. Lower Devonian S-type granites have
been reported from the Chinese Altai (Cai et al.,
2011). In contrast, based on the geochemical and
geochronological studies including Hf isotopic compositions of zircon in the gneissic granitoids, Sun
et al. (2008) discussed that the plutonic activity at
these Devonian ages is characterized by I-type granites formed in a subduction environment. In such a
case, the heat source would have been subduction of
a hot young slab (i.e. ridge subduction). It is currently difficult to determine which setting is more
likely, and additional systematic geochemical studies
on the granitoids and other intrusions of various ages
in the Tseel area are required to improve our understanding of the changes in tectonic setting that
accompanied the evolution of the crust in the CAOB.
The age histogram of the cordierite zone sample
(M0901) has a broad peak at 450300 Ma (377
30 Ma; Fig. 12c). Because each of the age data is
plotted on the concordia curve (Fig. 11; Table S2),
these broad age ranges do not always result from the
error in the UPb zircon age dating, but indicates

that the low-P and high-T metamorphism continued
for c. 100 Ma (400300 Ma; Figs 12c & 13b). This
duration of c. 100 Ma was clearly longer than that
recorded in a single granitoid body at the same age
(<50 Ma for G2505; Fig. 12d), suggesting that an elevation of geotherm during the Devonian was caused
by continuous intrusion of several granitoid bodies
and/or radioactive heat production from the granitoids (Sandiford et al., 1998).
CONCLUSIONS
1 The Tseel area contains four EW trending mineral zones defined by index minerals in metapelites: the garnet, staurolite, sillimanite and
cordierite zones. The highest peak metamorphic
temperatures are recorded by pelitic gneisses from
the sillimanite and cordierite zones, located in the
centre of the Tseel area; from this central area,
the metamorphic grade decreases to the north and
to the south. The sillimanite and cordierite zones
were intruded by voluminous granitoids.
2 The composition of garnet in the pelitic gneisses
shows a systematic change across the mineral
zones from grossular-rich in the garnet zone to
pyrope-rich in the sillimanite and cordierite zones.
The staurolite zone contains zoned garnet with
grossular-rich cores and pyrope-rich rims.
3 Analysis of the pelitic gneisses, based on GIP
thermobarometry, PT pseudosections and conventional garnetbiotiteplagioclasequartz thermobarometry, reveals two metamorphic events: an
earlier high-P and low-T metamorphism (kyanite
stability field) and a later low-P and high-T metamorphism (sillimanite stability field).
4 UPb dating of zircon from granitoids in the
Tseel area reveals two stages of granitoid intrusions at 385 7 and 297 11 Ma. UPb dating
of zircon from pelitic gneisses indicates that the
protolith (igneous) age of the sedimentary rocks is
c. 510 Ma. The low-P and high-T metamorphism
occurred during the Devonian (377 30 Ma),
which was coeval with the first period of granitoid
intrusions. The high-P and low-T metamorphism
probably corresponds to small age peaks during
the Silurian (450400 Ma).
5 Our petrological and chronological analyses of
the Tseel area suggest that sedimentary rocks
accreted at a continental margin and experienced
high-P and low-T (kyanite-type) metamorphism at
mid-crustal depths, and subsequent heating. Intrusion of granitoids during the Devonian resulted in
a regional low-P and high-T metamorphism (sillimanite-type), producing the apparent mineral
zones of the Tseel area. The low-P and high-T
metamorphism continued for c. 100 Ma, which is
clearly longer than the active period of a single
granitoid body, suggesting the elevation of geo-
therm during the Devonian was caused by continuous intrusion of several granitoid bodies and/or
radioactive heat production subsequent to the
granitoid intrusions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank O. Gerel, J. Lkhamsuren, B. Munkhtsengel,

B. Batkhishig and A. Chimedtseren (Mongolian University of Science and Technology) for their help and
advice during the course of this study. D. Tsendbazar
is thanked for providing assistance in the field. We are
also grateful to M. Toriumi and M. Uno for valuable
discussions on various aspects of this work. We thank
S. Yamasaki and R. Yamada for help with the XRF
analyses and Y. Kouketsu for assistance with the
PerpleX software. We thank T. Okudaira and an
anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments.
This work was financially supported by a Grantin-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science (nos. 22246115 and
25000009 awarded to N. Tsuchiya) and by a Grantin-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research (no.
23654180 awarded to A. Okamoto).
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional Supporting Information may be found in

the online version of this article at the publishers
web site:
Table S1. Instrumental parameters used for UPb
zircon dating by LAICPMS.
Table S2. LA-ICPMS analytical data for zircon
from pelitic gneisses and granitoids in the Tseel terrane.
Received 24 September 2013; revision accepted 17 April 2014.

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J. metamorphic Geol.

, 2014, 32, 765790

Thermal evolution of the Tseel terrane, SW Mongolia and its

Low-P and high-T metamorphism, which occurs at

heat production (Sandiford et al., 1998). There have

766 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

extent of thermal perturbation induced by granitoid

The CAOB is a long-lived orogenic belt (c. 1000

island arcs, ophiolites, oceanic islands, seamounts,

PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 767

PETROGRAPHY AND MINERAL ZONES

Eighty-two samples of pelitic gneiss were examined

were identified: garnet, staurolite, sillimanite and

768 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

Fig. 2. Photographs of rocks in the Tseel area. (a) Massive

EW trending axis, with the high-grade sillimanite

The garnet zone, more than 5 km wide, is situated in

PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 769

The staurolite zone, which occurs between the garnet

The sillimanite zone occupies an EW trending strip

Grt zone St zone

Aluminosilicate-bearing quartz veins, which contain

770 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 771

Thin sections of the samples were cut normal to the

microanalyser (JEOL 8200) at the University of

772 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

Zoned grt (Grs-rich core and poor rim)

Table 1. Representative compositions of garnet in pelitic

of Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn contents in garnet from each

Biotite shows little compositional zoning in a single

PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 773

774 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

Table 3. Representative compositions of plagioclase in pelitic

Table 2. Representative compositions of

Sample M2706 consists of garnet (10 vol.%), biotite

Sample M2507 (staurolite zone)

Garnet in sample M2507 contains core, mantle and

PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 775

(a) Grt zone

(c) Sil zone

(d) Crd zone

core to rim. This irregular zoning in the mantle

Table 4. Representative compositions of staurolite, cordierite

Sample M2602 (sillimanite zone)

Pyrope-rich garnet in sample M2602 is compositionally homogeneous, with XAlm = 0.690.72,

zoned garnet in sample M2507 (Fig. 8b), although

776 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

Normalized mineral modeb

Calculated mineral modec

Modal abundances of minerals measured in thin section.

The PT conditions recorded by pelitic gneiss from

in the system MnOCaONa2OK2OFeOMgO

PT EVOLUTION OF THE TSEEL TERR ANE 777

Table 6. Bulk-rock compositions (wt%) of the pelitic gneisses

average garnet composition of a zoned garnet was

On the pseudosection, garnet is stable across the

spar. Muscovite and chlorite are stable in lower

Separate PT pseudosections were obtained for the

778 U. BURENJARGAL ET AL.

St zone: M2507 core

9.0 Grt Pl Chl

biotite plagioclase garnet chlorite muscovite