Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2025
12:30
High-pressure, High-temperature Deformation Experiment Using the New Generation Griggs-type Apparatus
Published on: April 3, 2018
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Crustal melting in orogenic belts revealed by eclogite thermal properties
Baohua Zhang1, Hongzhan Fei2, Jianhua Ge3,4
1Key Laboratory of Geoscience Big Data and Deep Resource of Zhejiang Province, School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China. zhangbaohua@zju.edu.cn.
Nature Communications
|August 9, 2022
Summary
Partial melting in continental crust during collisions is clarified. Eclogite
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Petrology
- Tectonics
Background:
- Continental collision zones are sites of intense geological activity.
- Understanding partial melt in orogenic continental crust is crucial for plate tectonics.
- The thermal properties of rocks influence orogenic temperatures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of partial melting in continental crust during collision.
- To understand the occurrence and implications of partial melt in orogenic settings.
- To determine the thermal properties of eclogite under varying conditions.
Main Methods:
- Measured thermal conductivity and diffusivity of eclogite.
- Varied pressure, temperature, composition, and water content in experiments.
- Simulated the thermal structure of the Sulu and Himalaya-Tibet orogens.
Main Results:
- Eclogite's thermal properties were quantified under diverse conditions.
- Temperatures at ~30-km depth reached the solidus of wet granite and phengite (~940 K).
- Partial melting in orogenic continental crust is explained by these thermal conditions.
Conclusions:
- Partial melting in continental crust is well explained by measured thermal properties and simulated temperatures.
- Melt generation may facilitate crustal exhumation and create low-velocity seismic zones.
- High-conductivity anomalies in shallow orogenic belts can be attributed to this melt.
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