Garnet: Witness to the

Evolution of Destructive
Plate Boundaries Oscillatory and sector
zoning in garnet from
central Nepal.
Mark J. Caddick1 and Matthew J. Kohn2

1811-5209/13/0009-427$2.50 DOI: 10.2113/gselements.9.6.427

T
hanks to its unique chemical and mechanical properties, garnet evolving rock package (e.g. rapid
records evidence of rocks’ paths through the crust at tectonic plate burial or heating, growth or decay
of other metamorphic phases, and
boundaries. The compositions of garnet and coexisting mineral phases dehydration).
permit metamorphic pressure and temperature to be determined, while
garnet’s compositional zoning allows the evolution of these parameters to DETERMINING
be constrained. But careful study of garnet reveals far more, including the METAMORPHIC PRESSURE
AND TEMPERATURE
dehydration history of subducted oceanic crust, the depths reached during the
Conditions of thermodynamic
earliest stages of continental collision, and the mechanisms driving heat and equilibrium and mass balance
mass flow as orogens develop. Overall, chemical and textural characterization interrelate mineral compositions,
of garnet can be coupled with thermodynamic, thermoelastic, geochrono- mineral abundances, pressure
(P), and temperature (T ) (e.g.
logic, diffusion, and geodynamic models to constrain the evolution of rocks
Spear 1988), and garnet composi-
in a wide variety of settings. tions in equilibrium with other
KEYWORDS : metamorphism, subduction zones, orogenesis, thermobarometry, minerals are commonly employed
P–T path, Dora-Maira for quantitative calculation of
metamorphic conditions. Garnet’s
prominent role arises crystallo-
INTRODUCTION graphically because its large cubic site favors Fe rather
Garnet plays a special role in revealing the thermal and than Mg and can accept Ca and Mn (FIG. 1). A high Fe/
mechanical processes controlling the evolution of Earth’s Mg ratio imparts temperature sensitivity to numerous
crust at plate boundaries. In particular, after geologists Fe–Mg-exchange thermometers involving minerals such
recognized that specific indicator minerals and preserved as chlorite, biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene, whose
garnet compositions can be used as reliable proxies for octahedral sites prefer Mg. Garnet’s high density means
metamorphic grade, garnet gradually assumed a central that reactions involving low-density plagioclase are highly
position for inferring depths, temperatures, and durations sensitive to pressure. The analysis of appropriate coexisting
of metamorphism, metasomatism, deformation, and mineral compositions has thus been the basis of metamor-
melting. Its unique compositional and mechanical charac- phic P–T determination for more than 30 years. Many
teristics provide sensitive records of metamorphic condi- calibrations of compositional relationships between garnet
tions, and these records are commonly far better preserved and coexisting phases as functions of P and T have been
and easier to interpret than in other minerals. Furthermore, proposed and refi ned as new natural and experimental
its stability over a wide range of temperatures and crustal constraints have emerged. It is beyond the scope of this
depths (FIG. 1) permits its use in remarkably diverse tectonic article to list these, but the reader is directed to Spear (1993)
settings. Here, we illustrate garnet’s power by concentrating for more information.
on three evolutionary stages of destructive tectonic plate
Consider the implications of such mineral equilibria. If
boundaries: subduction of oceanic crust, subduction
garnet’s abundance and chemistry in a rock reflect a partic-
of continental crust as an early phase of collision, and
ular P and T, then changes in P and T should drive changes
crustal thickening during continent–continent collision.
in garnet’s modal abundance and composition. Reactions
Metamorphic garnet growth occurs at key stages in the
cannot proceed at true thermodynamic equilibrium, so in
evolution of each of these systems and has proven invalu-
nature, oversteps in P and T (and thus time, t) are required
able for understanding each process. In the absence of
to approach equilibrium at the thin section scale (for more
garnet (or any understanding of its properties), our knowl-
information on kinetic controls on metamorphic equilibra-
edge of the processes and rates of evolution of plate bound-
tion, see Ague and Carlson 2013 this issue). If changing P
aries would be far poorer, particularly as garnet growth can
and T cause garnet to grow, and intracrystalline diffusion
often be placed within the context of other events in the
is not too fast, then garnet crystals may encode a series of
near-equilibrium compositions from their core to their rim
(which can be visualized by assuming equilibrium crystal
growth along an arbitrary P–T vector in FIGURE 1). Such
1 Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech simple growth zoning is extremely common at interme-
4044 Derring Hall (0420), Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA diate metamorphic grades in a variety of tectonic settings,
E-mail: [email protected]
where garnet crystals generally grow upon heating and/
2 Department of Geosciences, Boise State University or loading, and it usually manifests itself as decreasing
1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725-1535, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Mn and increasing Mg from core to rim (FIG. 2). Ca and

E LEMENTS , V OL . 9, PP. 427–432 427 D ECEMBER 2013

 2.0
X almandine (Fe + MgFe
+ Ca + Mn ) X pyrope (Fe + MgMg
+ Ca + Mn )
1.8
1.6
1.4
Pressure, GPa 1.2
0.70
0.35
0.65
0.30
1.0 0.60
0.25
0.8 0.55
0.20
0.6 0.50
0.15
(garnet 0.45
0.4 not stable) 0.10
0.40
0.2 0.05 (garnet not stable)
0.35

400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900
Temperature, °C Temperature, °C
2.0
X spessartine (Fe + MgMn
+ Ca + Mn) X grossular (Fe + MgCa
+ Ca + Mn)
1.8 FIGURE 1 Calculated composition
of garnet in equilibrium
1.6
with minerals and melt in an “average
1.4 pelitic rock” over a wide P–T range
Pressure, GPa

0.45 0.30 encompassing most common

1.2 metamorphic conditions in the crust.
0.40
0.25 The panels represent the relative
1.0 0.35
0.30 0.20
molar proportions (X) of Fe, Mg, Mn,
0.8 and Ca in the cubic site, assuming
0.25
0.6 0.20 0.15 that these are the only elements
(garnet 0.15 (garnet permitted. The molar proportions
0.4 0.10 were calculated using an update
not stable) 0.10 not stable)
0.2 0.05 0.05 (ds55) of Holland and Powell’s (1998)
thermodynamic data set and appro-
400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 priate mineral solution models.
Temperature, °C Temperature, °C

Fe may increase or decrease, depending on the exact P–T practitioners apply somewhat different methods for this
path, the reactivity of other minerals such as plagioclase, inversion, specifically either employing thermodynamic
and changes in the mineral assemblage. Decreasing core-to- interrelationships alone (which requires more composition
rim Mn and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) also reflect measurements but fewer assumptions) or including rock-
these elements’ typically low bulk-rock abundances and specific mass balance constraints (which requires fewer
strong preferential incorporation into garnet over many composition measurements but more assumptions). Spear
other major phases, resulting in progressive fraction- (1993) details these different methods, which are further
ation from the reactive matrix during garnet growth (e.g. illustrated below.
Hollister 1966).
Forward modeling of garnet composition by calculating
If rocks continue to heat up, intracrystalline diffusion equilibria for a specific rock composition (e.g. FIG. 1) has
eventually flattens and destroys prograde zoning, usually become an increasingly important way of deciphering
at upper amphibolite to granulite facies conditions (Yardley metamorphic histories due to the acquisition of thermo-
1977). Even at lower temperatures and during rapid dynamic data and the development of models for an ever-
metamorphism, compositions associated with specific expanding range of minerals, fluids, and melts (see, for
P–T conditions of growth can be lost through diffusion example, reviews in volume 6, issue 5 of Elements). The
long before peak metamorphic conditions are reached, sequestration of garnet-forming elements into the cores of
while still retaining broadly “prograde” zoning patterns growing crystals, however, will progressively deplete the
(e.g. Florence and Spear 1991; Caddick et al. 2010). During “residual” rock, effectively requiring stepwise recalcula-
cooling, reverse profiles can develop (i.e. increasing Mn and tion of the phase equilibria in many cases. Increasingly
decreasing Mg towards the rim; Tracy et al. 1976; FIG. 2C, D), sophisticated methodology now records fractionation of
especially if garnet partially dissolves and previously seques- both porphyroblast-forming phases and evolved fluids,
tered components are liberated. The repercussions of such and it can predict the suite of mineral phases that might
changes for thermobarometry are clear: erroneous peak- be trapped as inclusions along specific P–T paths and the
metamorphic P–T conditions will be inferred if original composition of those phases (e.g. Konrad-Schmolke et al.
equilibrium compositions are assumed to be preserved yet 2005). Prediction of changing garnet composition through
have actually been modified. However, numerous strategies P–T evolution has revealed the metamorphic histories of
have been devised in attempts to counter this modifica- rocks from a variety of tectonic settings, which we summa-
tion (e.g. Pattison et al. 2003) or to use it as a way of rize here with respect to three stages in the evolution of a
constraining rates of metamorphic processes (e.g. Spear destructive plate boundary.
and Parrish 1996).
If chemical zoning in garnet progressively records its passage SUBDUCTION OF OCEANIC CRUST
through P–T space, surely we must be able to retrieve infor- Garnet plays a signature role in unraveling subduction
mation about this journey from the zoning. Indeed, thermo- geodynamics and elucidating fluid-mediated mass transfer
dynamic inversion of preserved growth zoning in garnet processes across the slab–mantle interface, with implica-
is a powerful method for inferring a rock’s P–T history, tions for arc magmatism and mantle geochemistry (e.g.
which in turn provides insight into tectonic processes (e.g. Bebout 2007). Deciphering P–T evolution in subduction
Spear et al. 1984). That is, if changes in P and T (ΔP and zones is required to estimate paleosubduction rates and
ΔT) cause compositional changes in a zoned garnet, one exhumation processes, and currently, there is particular
can invert these changes to infer the ΔP and ΔT. Different interest in understanding the maximum depths that rocks

E LEMENTS 428 D ECEMBER 2013

 the importance of mélange zones in facilitating exhuma-
tion) requires very accurate constraint of the evolving
metamorphic conditions of individual metamorphic rocks.
Fortunately, garnet is abundant in subducted oceanic crust
and its sedimentary cover (e.g. FIG. 3B). High P in subduc-
tion zone settings initiates growth at temperatures as low
as 300 ºC, and low peak T prevents substantial diffusive
modification of its chemical record of subduction processes.
In contrast to other mineral equilibria, which may reflect
resetting during exhumation, garnet-based equilibria for
Sifnos consistently indicate maximum P values of ≥1.7 GPa,
and textural evidence suggests that this reflects overgrowth
A B following an earlier lawsonite-blueschist metamorphic
stage (Forster and Lister 2005). Although exhumation-
related breakdown of garnet did occur in some Sifnos
lithologies, many samples preserve strong evidence for
near-peak conditions in which garnet composition has
not been strongly modified after apparent equilibration.
Indeed, recent studies (g to h in FIG. 3C) that combined
garnet and coexisting mineral compositions with phase
equilibria and microtextural constraints (e.g. the presence
of reaction products from lawsonite breakdown) suggest
that some of Sifnos’s blueschists reached ~2.2 GPa, some
30 km deeper than paths based primarily on pyroxene and
phengite compositions (e.g. a to c in FIG. 3C).
C D In addition to garnet’s chemical advantages, novel appli-
cation of Raman spectroscopy to quartz inclusions in
garnet from Sifnos’s blueschist–eclogite unit confi rms
maximum pressure of approximately 2.0 GPa (Ashley et al.
2012). In the latter case, the physical properties of garnet,
especially its high bulk modulus, protect inclusions from
post-entrapment pressure variation. In particular, core-to-
rim inclusion suites suggest minimal compression during
garnet growth over a temperature interval of approximately
100 ºC. Available evidence based on multizone Sm–Nd
analyses of garnet further implies that this heating required
<1 My (Dragovic et al. 2012). The tectonic configuration
that produces this phase of heating and then exhumation
E F

FIGURE 2 (A–F) X-ray maps of Himalayan garnet crystals.

2.5
Concentric decreases in Mn and increases in Mg from A Ϯϰ͘ϲϱȗ Ϯϰ͘ϳϬȗ Ϯϰ͘ϳϱȗ C g
core to rim in LHS and THS garnet grains reflect simple growth A 0 2 4 km C
h
zoning. Reverse zoning in GHS garnet reflects resorption and diffu-
N 70
sional reequilibration. The numbers are percent spessartine (Mn)
and pyrope (Mg) components in core and rim. Scale bars are 500 h

Depth (km), assuming density = 3200 kg/m3

µm. LHS = Lesser Himalayan Sequence; THS = Tethyan Himalayan Upper Marble
2.0
Sequence; GHS = Greater Himalayan Sequence. Unit i d 60
Blueschist-
Eclogite Unit
Main Marble Unit b e
50
Pressure (GPa)

Greenschist Unit 1.5

LJĐůĂĚĞƐ
Sifnos Naxos
Paros
Amorgos
40
can reach while still retaining the possibility of exhuma- Milos Ios
ĂͿDĂƩŚĞǁƐĂŶĚ
0 30 km Thera Schliestedt (1984)
tion. Whereas estimating temperature has proven relatively b) Schliestedt and
1.0
straightforward from phase equilibria, trace element a DĂƩŚĞǁƐ;ϭϵϴϳͿ͖ 30
Schliestedt et al. (1987)
thermometers, and major element exchange thermome- c) Avigad et al. (1992)
2.5 cm b d) Schmädicke and Will
ters, estimating pressures accurately has proven elusive. For (2003) 20
example, estimates of maximum pressure for blueschist– c
e) Trotet et al. (2001)
0.5 f) T range of Spear et al.
eclogite rocks of Sifnos island, Greece, range from 1.4 (2006)
to 2.4 GPa (55–85 km depth; FIG. 3A, C), but maximum g) Groppo et al. (2009) 10
f h) Dragovic et al. (2012)
temperature is relatively well constrained at ~500 to 550 °C. i) Ashley et al. (2012)
It is possible that this wide P range partly reflects tectonic 0 0
juxtaposition of rocks with diverse subduction histories; 300 400 500 600 700
multiple high-P deformation and metamorphism stages BB dĞŵƉĞƌĂƚƵƌĞ;ȗͿ
have been interpreted in these rocks from microstructurally
distinct mineral-growth episodes (Forster and Lister 2005),
and pervasive overprinting of much of the island is associ- FIGURE 3 (A) Geological sketch map of the island of Sifnos,
Greece, after Matthews and Schliestedt (1984).
ated with the development of extensional shear zones. (B) Large garnet porphyroblasts in an amphibole-rich matrix,
However, such interpretation (and a broader discussion of Syros, Greece. (C) Summarized P–T constraints from Sifnos, Greece,
modified after Ashley et al. (2012); see Dragovic et al. (2012) for
the cited litterature.

E LEMENTS 429 D ECEMBER 2013

requires further investigation, but both the chemical and
physical properties of garnet play an important role in A
A B
B
establishing important constraints on subduction pressures
and temperatures, and on the duration of their evolution. Kyanite Kyanite
Subduction zone metamorphic fluids may influence or
control volatile flux into the mantle, arc-magma genesis,
physical properties including seismicity, and the global

t
circulation of H2O (e.g. Kerrick and Connolly 2001; Hacker

rne

rne
z

z
Coesite Coesite

art

art
2008). Although the production of fluid is typically diffi-

Ga

Ga
with polygonal with polygonal

Qu

Qu
cult to detect, most dehydration reactions produce both
quartz haloes quartz haloes
H2O and garnet. Thus, the P–T–t history of garnet growth
directly records part of the history of fluid generation (e.g.
Baxter and Caddick 2013), with the breakdown of specific
hydrous parent phases (e.g. lawsonite) representing partic-
ularly important volatile sources. Models for subduction Kyanite Kyanite
zone metamorphism of both hydrated basalts and pelitic
rocks suggest that extensive garnet growth between 1.4 Garnet from a southern Dora-Maira (Case Ramello)
and 3.0 GPa is coupled with significant fluid production. FIGURE 4
whiteschist in plane-polarized light (A) and under
As such, the ~100 °C of heating at ~65 km depth inferred crossed polarizers (B). Highlighted inclusions of coesite are rimmed
above for Sifnos probably generated a distinct pulse of by a thin, polycrystalline quartz halo (palisade texture). In the rock
matrix (upper left of each image), quartz is the only SiO2
hydrous fluid (Dragovic et al. 2012), consistent with the polymorph present. COURTESY OF R. TRACY
short-lived channelized fluid pulses interpreted for other
subduction zones based on geochemical and isotopic traces
(John et al. 2012), predicted from phase equilibria (Schmidt
and Poli 2003), and witnessed by the growth of garnet.
A B
SUBDUCTION OF CONTINENTAL MATERIAL 500 μm
Ca Fe
The early stages of orogenesis can involve subduction of High
continental material to ≥100 km depth, but the scarce e abundance
ntl
rocks exhumed from these conditions invariably contain ma
an enigmatic metamorphic record of their journey. Indeed, rim
these rocks often contain no strong evidence for ultrahigh-
core
pressure (UHP) conditions, because key indicator minerals
either never transformed to high-pressure polymorphs (e.g.
diamond or coesite) or experienced almost complete inver- Low
sion to low-pressure forms (graphite and quartz). However, abundance
as in the case of oceanic subduction, garnet plays a key
role in evaluating geodynamic scenarios that permit deep C D
subduction and subsequent exhumation, primarily by eluci- 19 XMg Grt
dating depths, temperatures, and burial/exhumation rates. 17
P, GPa 14 Gross P, GPa
24
The preservation of coesite as inclusions in garnet led 1.8 0.07 mol % nd
3 Diamo e Coesite
to the fi rst unambiguous evidence of UHP conditions in 1.6 0.06 Inner G ra
r apphhitite Quartz
G
mantle nite
rocks from the Dora-Maira massif, Italy (Chopin 1984; 1.4 2 Arago
e
reviewed in Elements volume 9, number 4). These samples, 1.2 Calcit
which contain abundant matrix quartz, characteristically 1.0 1
Outer
exhibit coesite inclusions surrounded by polygonal quartz
0.8 mantle
haloes and cracks radiating into the Mg-rich host garnet 0 T,°C
475 500 525 0.08 0.09 625 TÛ&
T,°C 400 500 600 700 800
(FIG. 4). Clearly, these rocks equilibrated at coesite-stable
pressures but failed to preserve such evidence except
where the inclusions were shielded by garnet. As in the FIGURE 5 (A, B) Strongly zoned garnet from a chloritoid–garnet
schist (northern Dora-Maira massif), from Gasco et al.
Sifnos example, the physical properties of garnet allow (2011). (C) Modeled garnet compositions for this sample (from
large pressure gradients to be preserved, although it is Gasco et al. 2011). Blue lines = XMg ; red lines = mol% grossular;
clearer here that these supported gradients must be of the yellow fields represent the compositions of the inner and outer
order of several gigapascals over millimeter length scales. garnet “mantle” labeled in panel A; underlying gray shading
denotes thermodynamic variance (darker = higher variance).
P–T histories for these southern Dora-Maira rocks now (D) Resultant P–T path for this sample (blue line) compared to the
indicate that maximum pressures reached or exceeded paths for coesite-bearing southern Dora-Maira samples like that in
3.5 GPa (ca 120 km depth), at temperatures in the range Figure 4. The green and red paths are from Castelli et al. (2007)
of 700–800 °C (FIG. 5D). Perhaps surprisingly, given the high and Rubatto and Hermann (2001), respectively.
temperature from which they cooled and depth from which
they exhumed, southern Dora-Maira garnet crystals still
preserve some evidence of zoning that is interpreted to be most parts of these crystals record growth during both
due to growth during burial. This interpretation concurs decompression and heating (Gasco et al. 2011; FIG. 5C, D).
with other evidence implying rapid exhumation at rates There is little evidence that these samples reached the high
of >3 cm y-1 (e.g. Rubatto and Hermann 2001). P and T seen by the coesite-bearing samples from farther
south, confi rming earlier suggestions that the Dora-Maira
Garnet from northern Dora-Maira tells a different story massif represents at least three tectonic slices, each of
through its preserved compositional zoning (FIG. 5A, B). which experienced different early-Alpine conditions before
Forward modeling of mineral abundance and composition later juxtaposition.
for an appropriate rock composition suggests that the outer-

E LEMENTS 430 D ECEMBER 2013

Continent–Continent Collision AA Channel flow
Garnet-based P–T paths are particularly useful because the
shape of the path distinguishes tectonic processes (Spear
et al. 1984; Thompson and England 1984). For example,
M STDS THS
recent debate about Himalayan geodynamics centers on CT
the magnitude of lower-crustal flow. Large-scale flow, GHS
or “channel flow,” transports heat and mass laterally in
response to focused erosion at the orogenic front (FIG. 6A). LHS
In contrast, classic models of orogenic (critical) wedges
commonly infer progressive in-sequence thrusting, poten- BB Critical Wedge
tially interspersed with extensional events, generally in
response to distributed erosion; this maintains a regular, THS
material-specific geometry without requiring lower-crustal
flow (FIG. 6B). These two end-members predict distinctly GHS
different metamorphic P–T paths (Kohn 2008). Channel
flow’s profound lateral heat transport virtually contact LHS
metamorphoses over- and underlying rocks at nearly 10
constant pressure. In contrast, thrust duplexing rapidly Model P-T paths Obs. P-T paths

Pressure (kbar)
loads rocks as a higher thrust is emplaced, then soon after Duplex, Higher
exhumes them as the next lower thrust activates. Thus
8 LHS & THS
LHS
garnet above and below a flowing channel should record
isobaric heating over many tens of degrees Celsius, whereas, 6 LHS THS
depending on thrusting and erosion rates, thrust-duplex Lower
Channel LHS
garnet should record either loading or possibly exhumation 4 Flow
THS
with slight heating (FIG. 6).
CC D
D
This geodynamics debate has focused on the metamor- 2
phic core of the Himalaya, specifically migmatitic rocks 400 500 600 700 400 500 600
of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS), which are
sandwiched between mid-amphibolite facies rocks of
Temperature (°C)
the Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS), below, and the
Tethyan Himalayan Sequence (THS), above (FIG. 6). Thus,
FIGURE 6(A) Channel flow geodynamic model (based on Godin
the GHS represents the weak high-T channel, whereas
et al. 2006). Focused erosion at the orogenic front
the THS and LHS represent the stiff over- and underlying couples to the weak, hot channel, causing flow towards the
sheets, respectively. P–T paths from the central and eastern foreland. STDS = South Tibetan Detachment System, which is a
Himalaya have now been calculated from zoned LHS and major, orogen-parallel, normal-sense shear zone separating the
Tethyan Himalayan Sequence (THS) from the Greater Himalayan
THS garnet crystals (Kohn 2008), and these consistently
Sequence (GHS). MCT = Main Central Thrust, a major thrust-sense
show minimal heating during substantial loading (FIG. 6D). shear zone separating the GHS from the Lesser Himalayan Sequence
While some lateral heat transport is permissible, these (LHS). (B) Critical wedge geodynamic model. The THS and LHS
paths imply that channel flow must have been far less experience in-sequence thrusting, producing duplexes. THS
duplexes (blue arrows) predate STDS, which reflects an orogenic
effective than implied by present models, at least at these
collapse structure, and predate LHS duplexes (red arrows).
localities. Approximately equivalent LHS and THS rocks (C) Predicted P–T paths for different geodynamic models (from
from a section in the western Himalaya preserve greater Kohn 2008). The thin vertical line represents the upper tempera-
evidence of synburial heating (Chambers et al. 2009), with ture limit of panel D. The grey lines represent the andalusite–
kyanite–sillimanite fi eld boundaries. (D) Measured P–T paths based
interpreted P–T paths being more consistent with channel
partly on observed garnet zoning (e.g. FIG. 2) from the THS in
flow predictions and implying along-strike variability in Bhutan and LHS in central Nepal (Kohn 2008; Corrie et al. 2012).
the orogen. The degree to which one model or another is
preferred requires acquisition and integration of numerous
other data sets that can be compared to predictions of
geodynamic models. Of these, temperature–time histories
are particularly distinctive and informative, but are beyond This inheritance may arise through direct polymetamor-
the scope of this review (see for example Kohn 2008). phism of the rocks of interest or the presence of detrital
garnet in sediments that themselves experience a relatively
The dating of garnet growth is discussed elsewhere in simple metamorphic history. Either case demands partic-
this issue, but trace element compositions and zoning ular caution when using garnet for thermobarometry as
within garnet porphyroblasts can also be used to link the its composition may preserve a record of its growth rather
systematics of garnet growth and dissolution with that of than that of equilibrium with minerals in the last metamor-
accessory phases, such as monazite (e.g. Pyle and Spear phic episode. However, with careful teasing out of appro-
1999), amenable to (U–Th)–Pb dating. Thus, the growth of priate crystals and compositions, metamorphic P–T–t paths
accessory phases can be directly linked to stages of a P–T based on garnet zoning will continue to provide important
history, constraining rates of metamorphic evolution (e.g. insights and constraints into geodynamic processes.
Foster et al. 2004). In the absence of such information,
garnet found in orogenic belts is typically considered to
CONCLUDING REMARKS
preserve the story of continental collision, subject to the
potential loss of compositional information through diffu- Garnets preserve diverse records of orogenic processes in
sive modification, described above. However, mounting their chemical zoning. Petrologists commonly employ
geochronological evidence from both garnet and its thermodynamic modeling and interpretation of major
included phases suggests that garnet is readily inherited and minor element zoning in garnet as their fi rst line
from earlier metamorphic events and may not “reset” its of geochemical inquiry in tectonic studies. Such a scien-
composition during later heating (e.g. Argles et al. 1999). tifically mature approach elucidates many aspects of
orogenesis, from oceanic subduction through all stages of

E LEMENTS 431 D ECEMBER 2013

continental collision. Recent work on major and minor ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
element geochemistry now emphasizes length scales and
We thank Frank Spear and Bradley Hacker for insightful
mineralogical controls on thermodynamic and chemical
and helpful reviews, and gratefully acknowledge support
equilibrium, with implications for biases to P–T path calcu-
from National Science Foundation grants EAR-1250470
lations. Other important aspects of garnets, including their
to MJC and EAR-1048124 and EAR-1321897 to MJK. Kyle
elastic properties and trace element and isotopic zoning,
Ashley is thanked for Figure 3.
remain less well studied and are promising areas for future
investigations into orogenic processes.

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