International Geological Journal - Official Journal of the Carpathian-Balkan Geological Association

Ti-in-biotite geothermometry in non-graphitic, peraluminous metapelites from Crni vrh and Resavski humovi (Central Serbia)

Published: Feb 2009

Pages: 3 - 14

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10096-009-0003-6

Authors: SUZANA ERIC, MIHOVIL LOGAR, DRAGAN MILOVANOVIC, DANILO BABIC, BORIVOJ ADNADEVIC

Abstract: The study discusses the application of the Ti-in-biotite geothermometer of Henry et al. (2005) to the example of biotites from non-graphitic peraluminous micaschists of Central Serbia. Three petrographically different micaschists were distinguished on the basis of the following mineral assemblages: CV1 (St-Grt-Bt-Ms-Pg-Pl-Qtz), CV2 (Grt-St-Ky-Bt-Ms-Pl-Qtz) and RH (Grt-St-Bt-Ms-Pl-Qtz). Applying different geothermobarometers it was estimated that the studied micaschists were metamorphosed at average temperatures and pressures of 530 °C and 520 MPa (CV1incl), 580 °C and 670 MPa (CV1), 630 °C and 700 MPa (CV2) and 550 °C, 680 MPa (RH). The average temperatures obtained by the Ti-in-biotite method revealed uniform values for CV1 and CV2 micaschists and these values are very similar to the temperatures obtained by other methods. In contrast, the application of Ti-in-biotite geothermometer for RH micaschist yields the temperature difference of 85–110 °C. The variability of temperature is interpreted as a result of a positive correlation of Ti contents and XMg values in RH biotite, which is in disagreement with the principles of the Ti-in-biotite method. The positive Ti-XMg correlation is a result of the compositional variability shown by RH biotites from different samples, which can possibly be related to compositional inhomogeneities of the pelitic protolith. On the other hand, the Ti-in-biotite geothermometer for CV2 biotite gave very uniform temperatures despite variable Ti contents (Ti=0.260, sd=0.018 apfu). This is explained as result of the low sensitivity of Ti-in-biotite geothermometer for high Ti concentrations (>0.25 apfu).

Keywords: Serbia, Ti-in-biotite geothermometer, micaschists, non-graphitic metapelite

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