Eclogitic metagabbro from the Lanzada Window, eastern Central Alps: confirmation of subduction beneath the Malenco Unit

Epidote-rich eclogitic metagabbro forms a small body within the Lanzada Window, upper Val Malenco, where it is associated with serpentinites and supracrustal rocks of the Lanzada–Santa Anna Zone (LSZ), which lies structurally beneath the Malenco unit. Conventional garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometry and garnet–clinopyroxene–phengite geobarometry indicate that the peak-metamorphic mineral assemblage (garnet + omphacite + epidote + phengite + titanite + apatite + pyrite) equilibrated at ca. 2.0 GPa and 525 °C. The bulk composition is Ca-rich (wollastonite-normative), suggesting that the rock underwent Ca-metasomatism prior to high-P metamorphism. The presence of eclogite within the LSZ strengthens the correlation of the LSZ with the blueschist-bearing Avers Bundnerschiefer, and confirms the former existence of a southerly-dipping subduction zone beneath the Malenco unit.