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  • Review Article
  • Published:

Mechanisms to generate ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 4, pages 298–318 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ultrahigh-temperature (UHT; Tmax ≥ 900 °C) metamorphism requires unusually high heat in continental crust at depths of 15–55 km, but how such extreme thermal conditions are achieved is enigmatic. In this Review, we investigate UHT metamorphism, based on advances in metamorphic petrology and numerical modelling, to identify the tectonic settings where UHT metamorphism occurs. UHT rocks are spatially related to convergent plate margins and spatially correlate with the assembly of supercontinents, such as the formation of Rodinia (1,350–850  Ma). Commonly, UHT occurrences are linked to arc–backarc systems, thinned lithosphere or orogenic plateaus. Elevated mantle heat in younger arc and backarc systems is related to slab rollback, whereas thinned lithosphere in ancient orogens is related to lithospheric peeling or shallow slab breakoff. By contrast, UHT metamorphism in orogenic plateaus is a result of radiogenic heating during thickening, sometimes with elevated mantle heat during orogenic collapse. Geophysical mapping of Moho temperature and depth beneath present-day orogens reveals the locations where UHT metamorphism is occurring, such as in the Tibetan Plateau and the North American Cordillera. Future research should include improved geodynamic modelling of UHT metamorphism and the respective tectonic settings to establish quantitative correlations between a viable heat source and the spatial extent of UHT metamorphism.

Key points

  • Occurrences of ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism are widespread in the geological record since about 3,100 Ma. After the Archaean, since about 2,200 Ma, the mechanisms of UHT metamorphism are closely related to the supercontinent cycle and tectonic processes at convergent plate margins.

  • The most likely tectonic settings to generate UHT metamorphism are at depth in arc–backarc systems, in continental collisional belts, and in thinned orogens associated with lithospheric extension or delamination.

  • In arc–backarc settings and/or thinned orogens, UHT metamorphism is characterized by isobaric or decompression heating and then cooling-dominated pressure–temperature (P–T) paths, and short durations of heating (≤30 Myr). Heating is dominated by elevated mantle heat flux beneath thinned lithosphere, probably due to slab rollback in Phanerozoic orogens, and due to lithospheric peeling or shallow slab breakoff in Precambrian orogens.

  • In continental collisional belts, eclogite- or HP granulite-facies metamorphism is commonly followed by UHT metamorphism generated by heating during decompression; thus, the event is characterized by a clockwise P–T path. Such UHT metamorphism is most likely caused by a combination of radiogenic heating in thickened crust and then elevated mantle heat flux during orogenic collapse.

  • Alternatively, UHT metamorphism can be generated in continental crust that has unusually high radiogenic heat production — although radiogenic heating alone is unlikely to be the sole cause of UHT metamorphism. In these rare cases, the duration of heating is generally longer (≥30 Myr), and the retrograde P–T paths are commonly decompression dominated.

  • Secular variation in the T/P ratios and durations of UHT metamorphism correlate with cooling rate, with the highest T/P ratios, longest durations and lowest cooling rates occurring in the mid-Proterozoic (1,350–850 Ma) during the assembly of Rodinia. Orogenic style in the mid-Proterozoic favoured the formation of large-scale, long-lived UHT metamorphic terranes.

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Fig. 1: P–T conditions and possible tectonic settings of UHT and other high-grade metamorphism.
Fig. 2: Spatiotemporal distribution of UHT metamorphism and correlation with the supercontinent cycle.
Fig. 3: Representative metamorphic features of UHT metapelitic granulites.
Fig. 4: UHT metamorphism at thickened continental orogens.
Fig. 5: UHT metamorphism at subduction-related and collisional orogens.
Fig. 6: Thermal regime at the Moho beneath central–eastern Tibet and the western United States.

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Data availability

The data for Figs. 1 and 2 are available in the online Supplementary Data file.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank X. H. Li, Ling Chen and X. F. Liang for their comments on an initial draft, Y. B. Liu for help with Fig. 2b–e and X. F. Liang for help with Fig. 6c and f. S.J., G.Y.H. and J.H.G. were funded by grant 41890832 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). S.J. was funded by grant 42122018 from NSFC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Shujuan Jiao, Ross N. Mitchell, Lin Chen, Yi Chen, Guangyu Huang & Jinghui Guo

  2. Innovation Academy of Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Shujuan Jiao, Ross N. Mitchell, Lin Chen, Yi Chen, Guangyu Huang & Jinghui Guo

  3. Laboratory for Crustal Petrology, Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Michael Brown

  4. College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Ross N. Mitchell

  5. School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research, HBNI, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Priyadarshi Chowdhury

  6. School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Chris Clark

  7. Geological Survey of Western Australia, East Perth, WA, Australia

    Fawna Korhonen

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  1. Shujuan Jiao
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Contributions

S.J. and Y.C. conceived the idea. S.J. drafted the manuscript. S.J. drafted the figures with contributions from C.C. and L.C. M.B. contributed substantially to the manuscript preparation, interpretation, discussion, writing and editing of the manuscript. R.N.M., P.C. and C.C. contributed to the discussion of contents, interpretation and editing. All authors reviewed the manuscript before submission.

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Correspondence to Shujuan Jiao.

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Supplementary information

Glossary

Accretionary region

A region at the convergent plate margin between a subducting ocean plate and overriding continental plate, generally including forearc, magmatic arc and backarc components.

Channel flow

Protracted flow of a weak, viscous crustal layer between relatively rigid yet deformable bounding crustal layers.

Closure temperature

During cooling, the temperature at which there is no longer any substantial diffusion of the parent or daughter isotopes out of the system; this temperature is dependent on cooling rate and grain size.

Geothermal gradient

The rate of temperature change with respect to increasing depth in the Earth’s interior.

Incompatible

Incompatible elements are those that prefer to be in the liquid phase rather than the solid phase during melting.

Laramide orogeny

Mountain building in western North America, starting at 70–80 Ma and ending at 35–55 Ma.

Lithospheric delamination

Detachment of the continental mantle lithosphere and/or a portion of the lowermost continental crust.

Lithospheric foundering

A type of delamination in which a cold and dense mantle lithosphere root founders into the hot mantle beneath.

Lithospheric peeling

A type of delamination in which the dense lithospheric mantle and/or portions of the lower continental crust peel off from the mid-to-upper continental crust along a plane that runs parallel to the Moho.

Mantle convection

The movement of the mantle as it transfers heat from the interior to Earth’s surface.

Mantle plumes

A mechanism of convection within the Earth’s mantle; hypothesized to explain anomalous volcanism.

Mantle potential temperature

The temperature the mantle would have at Earth’s surface if extrapolated along an adiabat without melting.

Petrochronology

The discipline that links geochronology with petrology.

Phase equilibrium modelling

The forward modelling of phase equilibria involving solid solutions in complex systems either by direct minimization of Gibbs energy or by solution of simultaneous nonlinear equations.

Prograde heating stage

The period during which temperature generally increases with time; in the case of UHT metamorphism, the duration is measured from ~700 °C to the peak temperature.

Radiogenic heating

The generation of heat via radioactive decay during the production of radiogenic nuclides.

Retrograde reaction

A metamorphic reaction that occurs after the metamorphic peak during the decrease of temperature with time.

Ridge subduction

The subduction of a mid-ocean ridge beneath the trench at a convergent boundary.

Slab breakoff

A process whereby the oceanic lithosphere detaches from the continental lithosphere as subduction locks up during continental collision.

Slab rollback

The trench migrates in the direction opposite to the plate motion of the subducting slab, also known as trench retreat.

Slab windows

Gaps that form in a subducting ocean plate when a mid-ocean ridge is subducted.

Stable continental shields

The large stable areas of low relief in the Earth’s continents that are composed of Precambrian crystalline igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks.

Steady-state

A condition in which the variables that define the behaviour of the system or the process do not change over time.

Supercontinent

A single large landmass that includes all or most of the existing continents on the Earth.

Supercratons

Large late Archaean landmasses before the supercontinent cycle since about 2,200 Ma.

Terrane

A fault-bounded block containing a group of related rocks that have a distinct geological history compared with contiguous blocks.

Ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism

An extreme subset of granulite-facies metamorphism that occurs at temperatures above the breakdown of biotite in metapelitic rocks, with peak temperatures that exceed 900 °C in the sillimanite stability field.

Viscous dissipation

The irreversible process by means of which the work done by deformation is transformed into heat.

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Jiao, S., Brown, M., Mitchell, R.N. et al. Mechanisms to generate ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism. Nat Rev Earth Environ 4, 298–318 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00403-2

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