European Journal of Mineralogy
European Journal of Mineralogy
European Journal of Mineralogy
Articles | Volume 38, issue 3
Articles | Volume 38, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-38-263-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-38-263-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 38, issue 3
Research article
 | 
11 May 2026
Research article |  | 11 May 2026

Retrograde crystallization of clay minerals in metamorphic rocks linked to fluid circulation related to fault activity

Isabel Abad, Matías Reolid, Juan Jiménez-Millán, and Fernando Nieto

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Cited articles

Abad, I., Nieto, F., Peacor, D. R., and Velilla, N.: Prograde and retrograde diagenetic and metamorphic evolution in metapelitic rocks of Sierra Espuña (Spain), Clay Miner., 38, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1180/0009855033810074, 2003. 
Abad, I., Nieto, F., Reolid, M., and Jiménez-Millán, J.: Evidence of phyllosilicate alteration processes and clay mineral neoformation promoted by hydrothermal fluids in the Padul Fault area (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain), Appl. Clay Sci., 230, 106669, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2022.106669, 2022. 
Airaghi, L., Dubacq, B., Verlaguet, A., Bourdelle, F., Bellahsen, N., and Gloter, A.: From static alteration to mylonitization: a nano- to micrometric study of chloritization in granitoids with implications for equilibrium and percolation length scales, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 175, 108, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-020-01749-2, 2020. 
Aldaya, F., García-Dueñas, V., and Navarro-Vila, F.: Los Mantos Alpujárrides del tercio central de las Cordilleras Béticas. Ensayo de correlación tectónica de los Alpujárrides, Acta Geol. Hisp., 14, 154–166, 1979. 
Alfaro, P., Galindo-Zaldivar, J., Jabaloy, A., López-Garrido, A. C., and Sanz de Galdeano, C.: Evidence for the activitly and paleosismicity of the Padul fault (Betic Cordillera, southern Spain), Acta Geol. Hisp., 36, 283–295, 2001. 
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Metamorphic rocks affected by a fault have undergone chemical, mineralogical, and textural changes. The most significant is the enrichment in clay minerals (chlorite, kaolinite, and smectite). Geothermometry of the new chlorites made it possible to determine the temperatures of the processes (predominantly < 225°C), promoted by the fault dynamics (mainly fluid-related alterations). The retrograde alteration also affected the fluid-accessible zones of the original rocks, with growth of the same clay minerals.
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