On charnockites

Charnockitic rocks form extensive orthogneiss plutons in many granulite terranes and are less commonly found in unmetamorphosed plutons, which have formed in various tectonic regimes. Geochemically, clearly igneous charnockites cover nearly the whole range of granite chemistry, from magnesian to ferroan and from calcic to alkalic. Pyroxenes from unmetamorphosed charnockitic rocks have compositions ranging from magnesian to very iron-rich and record temperatures as high as 1000 °C. Oxygen fugacities for these plutons range from below FMQ to Δ log FMQN+2, values that cover nearly the whole range found in other granitic rocks. This range in bulk chemistry and intensive parameters is a reflection of the many mechanisms that produce charnockites. They may form in rifting environments, where they are ferroan, alkali-calcic to alkalic and metaluminous. Many of these ferroan charnockites are isotopically primitive, suggesting that they have been derived largely or entirely from differentiation or melting of tholeiitic melts. Charnockites are also found in deeply eroded arcs, where they are magnesian, calcic to calc-alkalic and metaluminous. Some charnockitic magmas may form by crustal melting or have incorporated a large component of crustal melt; these plutons tend to be weakly to moderately peraluminous and to have intermediate values of FeO/(FeO+MgO). In this paper we suggest several changes to charnockite terminology. First, we suggest that the term “charnockite” should be a general term that is applied only to Opx (or Fay)-bearing igneous rocks or to Opx-bearing granitic orthogneisses in granulite terranes. The names for the rocks in the “charnockite series” (such as “opdalite” or “enderbite”) are not necessary (Opx-granodiorite or Opx-tonalite would serve instead) and should not be used. Finally, the word “charnockite” should not be a synonym for “granulite” and terms such as “mafic charnockite”, “charnockitization”, “incipient charnockite” and “C-type granite” should be banned from the petrologic lexicon. © 2007 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.