Abstract

Due to advances in instrumentation and thermodynamic datasets, metamorphic petrologists are able to quantify the pressure, temperate and time of tectonic events with increasing precision and accuracy. Subsequent compilation of these data has led to significant progress in our understanding of the evolution of the lithosphere, particularly in relation to Precambrian geodynamics (Brown, 2014). In this talk I will give a brief overview of the global metamorphic rock record, followed by discussion of two case studies that explore eclogite-facies metamorphism in the Phanerozoic of Japan (Weller et al., 2015) and the Proterozoic of Arctic Canada (Weller & St-Onge, 2017). Finally, I will highlight future research directions into the Archaean. The results will span, challenge and develop our understanding of the metamorphic rock record, and highlight the usefulness of phase equilibria modelling for solving geological and tectonic problems.

Brown, M. (2014) The contribution of metamorphic petrology to understanding lithosphere evolution and geodynamics. Geoscience Frontiers 5, 553–569.

Weller, O.M., Wallis, S.R., Aoya, M., & Nagaya, T. (2015) Phase equilibria modelling of blueschist and eclogite from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt of south-west Japan reveals along-strike consistency in tectonothermal architecture. Journal of Metamorphic Geology 33, 579–596.

Weller, O.M. & St-Onge, M.R. (2017) Record of modern-style plate tectonics in the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Hudson orogen. In press, Nature Geoscience, doi: 10.1038/ngeo2904.