Pressure‐temperature history of titanite‐bearing eclogite from the Western Iratsu body, Sanbagawa Metamorphic Belt, Japan

Evidence for eclogite‐facies metamorphism is widespread in the Western Iratsu body of the oceanic subduction type Sanbagawa Belt, Southwest Japan. Previous studies in this region focused on typical mafic eclogites and have revealed the presence of an early epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism overprinted by a phase of eclogite facies metamorphism. Ca‐rich and titanite‐bearing eclogite, which probably originated from a mixture of basaltic and calc‐siliceous sediments, is also relatively common in the Western Iratsu body, but there has been no detailed petrological study of this lithology. Detailed petrographic observations reveal the presence of a relic early epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism preserved in the cores of garnet and titanite in good agreement with studies of mafic eclogite in the area. Thermobarometric calculations for the eclogitic assemblage garnet + omphacite + epidote + quartz + titanite ± rutile ± phengite give peak‐ P of 18.5–20.5 kbar at 525–565°C and subsequent peak‐ T conditions of about 635°C at 14–16 kbar. This eclogite metamorphism initiated at about 445°C/11–15 kbar, implying a significantly lower thermal gradient than the earlier epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism (∼650°C/12 kbar). These results define a P – T path with early counter‐clockwise and later clockwise trajectories. The overall P – T path may be related to two distinct phases in the tectono‐thermal evolution in the Sanbagawa subduction zone. The early counter‐clockwise path may record the inception of subduction. The later clockwise path is compatible with previously reported P – T paths from the other eclogitic bodies in the Sanbagawa Belt and supports the tectonic model that these eclogitic bodies were exhumed as a large‐scale coherent unit shortly before ridge subduction.