A re-evaluation of the peak P–T conditions of eclogite-facies metamorphism of the Paleozoic Acatlán Complex (Mexico) reveals deeper subduction

Eclogites in the Acatlán Complex, southern Mexico, record the subduction history of the complex. Previous studies indicate that the proto-Acatlán Complex reached < 50 km depth during subduction. Yet, a recent study reported higher pressures for a single eclogite, questioning the maximum depth reached by the complex during subduction. In this work, I re-calculate eclogite pressure and temperature (P–T) conditions using thermobarometric methods applicable to eclogite-facies mafic rocks to a set of eclogites cropping out throughout the high-pressure belt of the Acatlán Complex—the Piaxtla Suite. I find that Acatlán eclogites record substantially—and systematically—greater pressures than previously reported. Calculations show that eclogites from the central part of the Piaxtla Suite (in the Piaxtla area) record consistent pressures of ~ 2.0 GPa and temperatures ranging between 460 and 675 °C. Eclogites from the northern part of the Piaxtla Suite (Mimilulco and Santa Cruz Organal areas) lack phengite, thus pressures were not calculated; temperatures calculated for these rocks at a fixed pressure (2.0 GPa) yield contrasting temperatures (511 °C and 870 °C, respectively). Mimilulco eclogite likely records similar pressures (~ 2.0 GPa) to other Piaxtla eclogites, whereas the pressures of Santa Cruz Organal eclogites might have been different, and likely experiencing a different thermal history compared to the rest of the eclogites from the Piaxtla Suite. Overall, these results indicate that the Acatlán Complex subducted to greater depths than previously thought implying a faster burial—exhumation cycle of the proto-Acatlán Complex.