Petrology, geochemistry and U-Pb zircon geochronology of lower crust pyroxenites from northen Apennine (Italy): insights into the post-collisional Variscan evolution

Spinel pyroxenites occur locally as clasts in polygenic breccias from the Late Cretaceous sedimentary melanges of the Northern Apennine (Italy). They are of cumulus origin and formed in the deep crust by early precipitation of clinopyroxene and minor olivine and late crystallisation of orthopyroxene, spinel, Ti-pargasite and sulphides. Pyroxenites underwent high-temperature (ca. 850 °C) subsolidus re-equilibration and ductile deformation with development of mylonitic bands made of clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, Ti-pargasite and spinel. U-Pb geochronology on zircons revealed the occurrence of inherited grains of Early Proterozoic to Late Devonian age. The inherited zircons are locally rimmed by recrystallised zircon domains. The oldest rims yield a mean concordia U-Pb age at 306 ± 8 Ma, which is considered to date the emplacement of the pyroxenites, in the framework of the post-Variscan lithospheric extension. The incompatible element compositions of calculated melts in equilibrium with clinopyroxenes from the pyroxenites are characterised by Ba, Nb, LREE and Sr enrichment relative to N-MORB. The depleted Nd isotopic signature of the pyroxenites (initial εNd values of +5.3 to +6.1) may be thus linked to primary magmas produced by low degrees of melting of asthenospheric mantle. In addition, the pyroxenites locally record the infiltration of plagioclase-saturated hydrous melts, most likely evolved through fractional crystallisation and enriched in highly incompatible elements, within the clinopyroxene-dominated crystal mush. A thermal event in Late Permian-Middle Triassic caused the partial resetting of zircon U-Pb system.