Compositional modification and trace element decoupling in rutile: Insight from the Capricorn Orogen, Western Australia

摘要

The trace element composition of ruffle is widely used to constrain the temperature and timing of geological events, the provenance of detrital grains and as a potential indicator of proximal ore mineralisation. Understanding the processes of trace element mobility in ruffle is therefore paramount to the successful application of rutile geochemistry to geological research. Using a combination of electron backscattered diffraction and laser-ablation split-stream ICP-MS, we studied the microtextures, trace-element contents and U-Pb isotopes of ruffle from the siliciclastic rocks of the Mesoproterozoic Edmund Group, Capricorn Orogen (Western Australia). The Capricorn Orogen experienced multiple tectonothermal events during the Proterozoic under conditions spanning from low- to high-grade metamorphism. Rutile textures, U-Pb ages, trace-element variations and calculated Zr-in-rutile temperatures reveal different generations of rutile, including detrital or metamorphic-hydrothermal grains.