Ophiolite melange zone records exhumation in a fossil subduction channel

Recent models propose that the exhumation of high-pressure rocks occurs by means of return flow inside a low-viscosity channel of serpentinite situated between the plates. To test this hypothesis, we investigated a serpentinite melange in the Western Alps, which contains exotic mafic and metasedimentary tectonic blocks, recording heterogeneous metamorphic evolutions and variable high-pressure ages. The peak metamorphic conditions range from eclogite- to garnet-blueschist-facies. The structural evidence and the pressure-temperature paths of the different blocks suggest coupling between blocks and matrix, at least in the blueschist facies. 39Ar-40Ar dating indicates eclogite-facies peak at ca. 43 Ma and blueschist-facies peak at ca. 43 and 40 Main different blocks, respectively. These data point to diachronous metamorphic paths resulting from independent tectonic evolutions of the different slices. We therefore propose that this melange formed during exhumation of subducted rocks equilibrated at different depths inside a subduction channel. This mechanism can be extended to other serpentinite melanges in the Alps and other orogens (e.g., the Cyclades, the Coast Ranges of California) for which a growing heterogeneity in the timing of metamorphic equilibration and of pressure-temperature paths can be expected with further investigations.