On the petrology of brittle precursors of shear zones – An expression of concomitant brittle deformation and fluid–rock interactions in the ‘ductile’ continental crust?

The inherited localization model for shear zone development suggests that ductile deformation in the middle and lower continental crust is localized on mechanical anisotropies, like fractures, referred to as shear zone brittle precursors. In the Neves area (Western Tauern Window, Eastern Alps), although the structural control of these brittle precursors on ductile strain localization is well established, the relative timing of the brittle deformation and associated localized fluid flow with respect to ductile deformation remains in most cases a matter of debate. The present petrological study, carried out on a brittle precursor of a shear zone affecting the Neves metagranodiorite, aims to determine whether brittle and ductile deformations are concomitant and therefore relate to the same tectonic event. The brittle precursor consists of a 100–500 µm wide recrystallized zone with a host mineral‐controlled stable mineral assemblage composed of plagioclase–garnet–quartz–biotite–zoisite±white mica±pyrite. Plagioclase and garnet preserve an internal compositional zoning interpreted as the fingerprint of Alpine metamorphism and fluid–rock interactions concomitant with the brittle deformation. Phase equilibrium modelling of this garnet‐bearing brittle precursor shows that metamorphic garnet and plagioclase both nucleated at 0.6 ± 0.05 GPa, 500 ± 20°C and then grew along a prograde path to 0.75 ± 0.05 GPa, 530 ± 20°C. These amphibolite facies conditions are similar to those inferred from ductile shear zones from the same area, suggesting that both brittle and ductile deformation were active in the ductile realm above 500°C for a depth range between 17 and 21 km. We speculate that the Neves area fulfils most of the required conditions to have hosted slow earthquakes during Alpine continental collision, that is, coupled frictional and viscous deformation under high‐fluid pressure conditions ~450°C. Further investigation of this potential geological record is required to demonstrate that slow earthquakes may not be restricted to subduction zones but are also very likely to occur in modern continental collision settings.     

Rheological stratification of the Indian continental lithosphere: Role of diffusion creep

Dynamic recrystallization and reduction in grain-size at large strains, e.g. in shear zones, leads to rheological weakening of the lithosphere and facilitates intense ductile deformation. In the present work, we include this effect into the rheological models of the Indian continental lithosphere to analyse its role in modifying the rheological structure and strength of the Indian lithosphere. The results computed by using quartz and felspar rheologies for the upper and lower crust, respectively, and grain-size dependent olivine rheology for the upper mantle, indicate an increase in the ductility of the mantle lithosphere.     

Strain localization as a key to reconciling experimentally derived flow-law data with dynamic models of continental collision

Published strength profiles predict strength discontinuities within and/or at the base of continental crust during compression. We use finite element models to investigate the effect of strength discontinuities on continental collision dynamics. The style of deformation in model crust during continued subduction of underlying mantle lithosphere is controlled by: (1) experimental flow-law data; (2) the crustal geotherm; (3) strain localization by erosion; (4) strain-softening and other localization effects. In the absence of erosion and other factors causing strain localization, numerical models with typical geothermal gradients and frictional/ductile rheologies predict diffuse crustal deformation with whole-scale detachment of crust from mantle lithosphere. This prediction is at odds with earlier model studies that only considered frictional crustal rheologies and showed asymmetric, focused crustal deformation. Without localization, model deformation is not consistent with that observed in small collisional orogens such as the Swiss Alps. This suggests that strain localization by a combination of erosion and rheological effects such as strain softening must play a major role in focusing deformation, and that strength profiles derived under constant strain rates and uniform material properties cannot be used to infer crustal strength during collision dynamics.     

Damage formation associated with bending under a constant moment

Deformation within the Earth's lithosphere is largely controlled by the rheology of the rock. Fracture and faulting are characterized by elastic rheologies with brittle mechanisms, while folding and flow are characterized by plastic and/or viscous rheologies due to ductile mechanisms. However, it has been recognized that deformation that resembles ductile behavior can be produced within the confines of the brittle lithosphere. Specific examples are folds that form in the shallow crust, steep hinges at subduction zones that are accompanied by seismicity, and large-scale deformation at plate boundaries. In these cases, the brittle lithosphere behaves elastically with fracture and faulting yet produces ductile behavior. In this paper, we attempt to simulate such ductile behavior in elastic materials using continuum damage mechanics. Engineers utilize damage mechanics to model the continuum deformation of brittle materials. We utilize a modified form of damage mechanics that represents a reduction in frictional strength of preexisting fractures and faults. We use this empirical approach to simulate the bending of the lithosphere under the application of a constant moment.We use numerical simulations to obtain elastostatic solutions for plate bending and where the longitudinal stress at a particular node exceeds a yield stress, we apply damage to reduce Young's modulus at the node. Damage is calculated at each time step by a power-law relationship of the ratio of the yield stress to the longitudinal stress and the yield strain to the longitudinal strain. This results in the relaxation of the material due to increasing damage. To test our method, we apply our damage rheology to an infinite plate deforming under a constant bending moment. We simulate a wide range of behaviors from slow relaxation to instantaneous failure, over timescales that span six orders of magnitude. Using this method, stress relaxation produces elastic-perfectly plastic behavior in cases where failure does not occur. For cases of failure, we observe a rapid increase in damage leading to failure, analogous to the acceleration of microcrack formation and acoustic emissions prior to failure. The changes in the rate of damage accumulation in failure cases are similar to the changes in b-values of acoustic emissions observed in triaxial compression tests of fractured rock and b-value changes prior to some large earthquakes. Thus continuum damage mechanics can simulate the phenomenon of ductile behavior due to brittle mechanisms as well as observations of laboratory experiments and seismicity.     

岩石扩散蠕变及其地质意义

总结了近十年来岩石扩散蠕变显微构造鉴别特征，研究方法的最新进展，矿物颗粒大小和流体（包括熔体和水）等是影响扩散蠕变的重要因素。扩散蠕变与位错蠕变和超塑性变形有密切关系，它的研究对大陆裂谷化过程，大陆碰撞带中岩石圈地幔强度弱化，中下地壳韧性剪切应变局限化以及与相变有关的矿物粒度细小化作用的分布有重要应用意义。     

韧性剪切带内的流体与岩石相互作用研究进展

构造变形与流体联合控制成矿作用的机制是矿床学界关注的热点问题之一。作为大陆岩石圈中的应变局部化带,剪切带中一般都渗透着大量流体,流体与岩石的相互作用及其化学效应和物理效应,导致了矿物化学不平衡和组分的迁移,引起岩石化学成分重新调整。文章通过对韧性剪切带内的流体作用、剪切带内的成分与体积变化、剪切变形与成矿模拟实验总结,讨论了剪切变形过程中的力学-化学作用、剪切构造应力和流体在构造成岩成矿过程中的行为。因此,要加强构造应力对温度、岩石物理性质、地球化学相平衡和水岩体系的相关参量方面影响的综合研究。      

西藏阿里札达韧性剪切带特征及其X光岩组分析

文中简述了西藏阿里札达盆地的地质背景、区域地层和札达韧性剪切带的基本特征。采用X射线衍射法对札达韧性剪切带中的石英、方解石和白云母等三种矿物,进行了X光岩组分析,确定了韧性变形岩石的组构特征、韧性剪切带的属性和变形岩石的应变类型,以及韧性剪切带形成时的温压条件。研究表明,韧性变形岩石均具不对称组构,反映韧性带属于南盘(下盘)俯冲型韧性剪切带,韧性变形是在高温、高压、低应变速率条件下发生的,处于>10km的地壳深度,岩石应变类型以压扁应变为主。     

Rock mechanics observations pertinent to the rheology of the continental lithosphere and the localization of strain along shear zones

Emphasized in this paper are the deformation processes and rheologies of rocks at high temperatures and high effective pressures, conditions that are presumably appropriate to the lower crust and upper mantle in continental collision zones. Much recent progress has been made in understanding the flexure of the oceanic lithosphere using rock-mechanics-based yield criteria for the inelastic deformations at the top and base. At mid-plate depths, stresses are likely to be supported elastically because bending strains and elastic stresses are low. The collisional tectonic regime, however, is far more complex because very large permanent strains are sustained at mid-plate depths and this requires us to include the broad transition between brittle and ductile flow. Moreover, important changes in the ductile flow mechanisms occur at the intermediate temperatures found at mid-plate depths.Two specific contributions of laboratory rock rheology research are considered in this paper. First, the high-temperature steady-state flow mechanisms and rheology of mafic and ultramafic rocks are reviewed with special emphasis on olivine and crystalline rocks. Rock strength decreases very markedly with increases in temperature and it is the onset of flow by high temperature ductile mechanisms that defines the base of the lithosphere. The thickness of the continental lithosphere can therefore be defined by the depth to a particular isotherm T_c above which (at geologic strain rates) the high-temperature ductile strength falls below some arbitrary strength isobar (e.g., 100 MPa). For olivine T_c is about 700°–800°C but for other crustal silicates, T_c may be as low as 400°–600°C, suggesting that substantial decoupling may take place within thick continental crust and that strength may increase with depth at the Moho, as suggested by a number of workers on independent grounds. Put another way, the Moho is a rheological discontinuity. A second class of laboratory observations pertains to the general phenomenon of ductile faulting in which ductile strains are localized into shear zones. Ductile faults have been produced in experiments of five different rock types and is generally expressed as strain softening in constant-strain-rate tests or as an accelerating-creep-rate stage at constant differential stress. A number of physical mechanisms have been identified that may be responsible for ductile faulting, including the onset of dynamic recrystallization, phase changes, hydrothermal alteration and hydrolytic weakening. Microscopic evidence for these processes as well as larger-scale geological and geophysical observations suggest that ductile faulting in the middle to lower crust and upper mantle may greatly influence the distribution and magnitudes of differential stresses and the style of deformation in the overlying upper continental lithosphere.     

Structures,kinematic analysis,rheological parameters and temperature-pressure estimate of the Mesozoic Xingcheng-Taili ductile shear zone in the North China Craton

The NE to ENE trending Mesozoic Xingcheng-Taili ductile shear zone of the northeastern North China Craton was shaped by three phases of deformation. Deformation phase D₁ is characterized by a steep, generally E–W striking gneissosity. It was then overprinted by deformation phase D₂ with NE-sinistral shear with K-feldspar porphyroclasts forming a subhorizontal low-angle stretching lineation on a steep foliation. During deformation phase D₃, lateral motion accommodated by ENE sinistral strike-slip shear zones dominated. Associated fabrics developed at upper greenschist metamorphic facies conditions and show the deformation characteristics of middle- to shallow crustal levels. In some parts, the older structures have been in turn overprinted by late-stage sinistral D₃ shearing. Finite strain and kinematic vorticity in all deformed granitic rocks indicate a prolate ellipsoid (L-S tectonites) near plane strain. Simple shear-dominated general shear during D₃ deformation is probably of general significance. The quartz c-axis textures indicate prism-gliding with a dominant rhomb <a> slip and basal <a> slip system formed mainly at low-middle temperatures. Mineral deformation behavior, quartz c-axis textures, quartz grain size and the Kruhl thermometer demonstrate that the ductile shear zone developed under greenschist facies metamorphic conditions at deformation temperatures ranging from 400 to 500 °C. Dislocation creep is the main deformation mechanism at a shallow crustal level. Fractal analysis showed that the boundaries of recrystallized quartz grains had statistically self-similarities. Differential stresses deduced from dynamically recrystallized quartz grain size are at around 20–39 MPa, and strain rates in the order of 10⁻¹² to 10⁻¹⁴ s⁻¹. This indicates deformation of granitic rocks in the Xingcheng-Taili ductile shear zone at low strain rates, which is consistent with most other ductile shear zones. Hornblende-plagioclase thermometer and white mica barometer indicate metamorphic conditions of medium pressures at around ca. 3–5 kbar and temperatures of 400–500 °C within greenschist facies conditions. The main D₃ deformation of the ENE-trending sinistral strike-slip ductile shearing is related to the roll-back of the subducting Pacific plate beneath the North China Craton.     

Influence of shear heating on microstructurally defined plate boundary shear zones

In plate-boundary scale ductile shear zones defined by microstructural weakening, shear heating may lead to a temperature increase over 5 m.y. of up to 80 °C just below the brittle ductile transition, up to 120 °C just below the Moho, and to thermal boundary zones tens of km wide on either side of the shear zone. Where rock strength is highest, shear zones are narrow (∼1 km), and thermal gradients within the shear zone itself are low, so there is no tendency for increased localization. Heating results in thermal weakening, but this is partly offset by grain growth related to the decrease in stress. In shear zones of the order of 10 km width, shear stress, strain rate, and hence heat generation are lower, and thermal gradients are insufficient to cause additional strain localization. Temperature increases in the mid-crust are of the order of 10 °C, insufficient to cause partial melting or an increase in metamorphic grade. In the upper mantle, shear zones may be 50 km or more wide, and the temperature increase is less than 20 °C in 5 m.y., but temperature differences between center and margin may enhance the strain rate at the center by up to 18%.     

How does shear zone nucleate? An example from the Suretta nappe (Swiss Eastern Alps)

In order to address the question of the processes involved during shear zone nucleation, we present a petro-structural analysis of millimetre-scale shear zones within the Roffna rhyolite (Suretta nappe, Eastern central Alps). Field and microscopic evidences show that ductile deformation is localized along discrete fractures that represent the initial stage of shear zone nucleation. During incipient brittle deformation, a syn-kinematic metamorphic assemblage of white mica + biotite + epidote + quartz precipitated at ca. 8.5 ± 1 kbar and 480 ± 50 °C that represent the metamorphic peak conditions of the nappe stacking in the continental accretionary wedge during Tertiary Alpine subduction. The brittle to ductile transition is characterized by the formation of two types of small quartz grains. The Qtz-IIa type is produced by sub-grain rotation. The Qtz-IIb type has a distinct CPO such that the orientation of c-axis is perpendicular to the shear fracture and basal and rhombhoedric slip systems are activated. These Qtz-IIb grains can either be formed by recrystallization of Qtz-IIa or by precipitation from a fluid phase. The shear zone widening stage is characterized by a switch to diffusion creep and grain boundary sliding deformation mechanisms. During the progressive evolution from brittle nucleation to ductile widening of the shear zone, fluid–rock interactions play a critical role, through chemical mass-transfer, metasomatic reactions and switch in deformation mechanisms.     

中天山北缘大型右旋走滑韧剪带研究

中天山北缘是一个近 EW向的大型右旋走滑韧剪带。宏、微观构造尺度的运动学研究表明 ,该带经历过至少二期韧性变形作用。第一期为从南向北的逆冲推覆韧剪变形 ,时代为中—晚志留世 ,以米什沟剖面为代表 ,对应于早古生代洋壳从北向南俯冲及稍后吐哈陆块朝中天山岛弧的碰撞事件。第二期为沿 EW方向的右旋走滑韧性变形 ,其构造形迹广泛分布于中天山北缘带各个地段 ;北天山石炭纪火山岩已卷入该期构造活动 ,走滑时代为晚石炭世—早二叠世 ,对应于晚石炭世塔里木与西伯利亚两大板块碰撞造山诱发的陆内变形、走滑剪切。走滑带中新生白云母 4 0 Ar/39Ar年龄为 ( 2 69± 5) Ma。剪切面理、拉伸线理、矿物韧剪构造、石英 C轴组构提供了构造运动学证据 ;地层不整合及同位素测年值提供了变形时间证据。二叠纪以后的构造事件也影响到中天山北缘带 ,但只有脆性变形形迹 ,无韧性剪切。最后对本区古生代构造演化进行了讨论     

Localized rheological weakening by grain-size reduction during lithospheric extension

Grain-size reduction may be a possible mechanism for the origin of localized deformation in the ductile regime. I investigated the effects of grain-size reduction due to dynamic recrystallization, cataclasis, and syntectonic metamorphic reaction on the stress envelope in the lithospheric mantle during extension by using a simple one-dimensional model. In this model, the lithosphere extends uniformly with a constant strain rate, and a fall in rock strength appears as a decrease in stress. Because grain-size distribution at the onset of extension is unknown, I regarded the steady state grain-size due to dynamic recrystallization as the initial size. Then, I evaluated the maximum effects of grain-size reduction by dynamic recrystallization during extension, and consequently examined the effects of grain-size reduction by cataclasis and metamorphic reaction under conditions when dynamic recrystallization occurs significantly. I find that it is difficult to bring about localized rheological weakening by grain-size reduction owing to dynamic recrystallization. In contrast, grain-size reduction by cataclasis can cause localized weakening during extension. There is a wide-ranging rate of grain-size reduction by means of cataclasis that causes localized weakening just below the Moho. I specified the reaction from spinel-lherzolite to plagioclase-lherzolite that plays a role in grain-size reduction by syntectonic metamorphism. The reaction occurs at depths less than 35 km, which is independent of the initial thermal state of the lithosphere. Localized rheological weakening can occur if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) grain-size before the reaction is greater than 0.7 mm under dry conditions and greater than 0.5 mm under wet conditions, and it decreases down to those values by the reaction; (2) grain-size decreases down to less than initial grain-size, when the dominant deformation mechanism is GSS creep at the onset of extension. It is also noted that dry conditions are more favourable for localized weakening.     

石英C轴组构指示北大别造山后伸展期中-下地壳流变形式

造山带中-下地壳韧性流变形式反映深部岩石圈构造活动形式,是造山带深部岩石圈运动学及动力学研究的重要内容。前人对板块俯冲阶段造山带中-下地壳流动开展了较为深入的研究,但对造山后伸展期中-下地壳流变形式及其深部动力学认识不足。本次工作对北大别造山后伸展期中-下地壳岩石开展了详尽的构造观察和石英C轴组构分析,研究造山后伸展期中-下地壳流变形式。本次研究表明,中-下地壳流变带内岩石变形从边界区域的简单剪切变形为主导逐渐转变为在核部区域以纯剪切变形为主。流变带内部岩石变形特征表明北大别中-下地壳流变带的流变形式是介于活动边界条件下的透入性剪切流动和固定边界条件下韧性垮塌流动的过渡形式。这一流变形式可能是深俯冲太平洋板块的绕屈回撤和加厚造山带地壳活化韧性垮塌叠加的结果。     

Coupled extrusion of sub‐arc lithospheric mantle and lower crust during orogen collapse: a case study from Fiordland,New Zealand

The Anita Peridotite is a ~20 km long by 1 km wide exhumed fragment of spinel facies sub‐arc lithospheric mantle that is enclosed entirely within the ≤4 km wide ductile Anita Shear Zone, and bounded by quartzofeldspathic lower crustal gneisses in Fiordland, south‐western New Zealand. Deformation textures, grain growth calculations and thermodynamic modelling results indicate the mylonitic peridotite fabric formed during rapid cooling, and therefore likely during extrusion. However, insights into the exhumation process are gained through examination of aluminous garnet‐bearing meta‐sedimentary gneisses also enclosed within the shear zone. P–T calculations indicate that prior to mylonitization the gneisses enclosing the peridotite equilibrated at 675–746 °C in the sillimanite stability field (stage I), before being buried to near the base of thickened arc crust (stage II; ~686 ± 26 °C and 10.7 ± 0.8 kbar). From this point on, the peridotite unit and the quartzofeldspathic rocks share a deformation history involving extensive recrystallization (stage III) within the Anita Shear Zone. Coupled exhumation of these portions of lower crust and upper mantle occurred during regional thinning of over‐thickened lithosphere at c. 104 Ma (U–Pb zircon). Our favoured model for the exhumation process involves heterogeneous transpressive deformation within the translithospheric Anita Shear Zone, which provided a conduit for ductile extrusion through the crust.     

Dynamic models of continental rifting with melt generation

Active or passive continental rifting is associated with thinning of the lithosphere, ascent of the asthenosphere, and decompressional melting. This melt may percolate within the partially molten source region, accumulate and be extracted. Two-dimensional numerical models of extension of the continental lithosphere–asthenosphere system are carried out using an Eulerian visco-plastic formulation. The equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy are solved for a multi-component (crust–mantle) and two-phase (solid–melt) system. Temperature-, pressure-, and stress-dependent rheologies based on laboratory data for granite, pyroxenite and olivine are used for the upper and lower crust, and mantle, respectively. Rifting is modelled by externally prescribing a constant rate of widening with velocities between 2.5 and 40 mm/yr. A typical extension experiment is characterized by 3 phases: 1) distributed extension, with superimposed pinch and swell instability, 2) lithospheric necking, 3) continental break up, followed by oceanization. The timing of the transition from stages 1) to 2) depends on the presence and magnitude of a localized perturbation, and occurs typically after 100–150 km of total extension for the lithospheric system studied here. This necking phase is associated with a pronounced negative topography (“rift valley”) and a few 100 m of rift flanks. The dynamic part of this topography amounts to about 1 km positive topography. This means, if rifting stops (e.g. due to a drop of external forces), immediate additional subsidence by this amount is predicted. Solidification of ascended melt beneath rift flanks leads to basaltic enrichment and underplating beneath the flanks, often observed at volcanic margins. After continental break up, a second time-dependent upwelling event off the rift axis beneath the continental margins is found, producing further volcanics. Melting has almost no or only a small accelerating effect on the local extension value (β-value) for a constant external extension rate. Melting has an extremely strong effect on the upwelling velocity within asthenospheric wedge beneath the new rift. This upwelling velocity is only weakly dependent on the rifting velocity. The melt induced sublithospheric convection cell is characterized by downwelling flow beneath rift flanks. Melting increases the topography of the flanks by 100–200 m due to depletion buoyancy. Another effect of melting is a significant amplification of the central subsidence due to an increase in localized extension/subsidence. Modelled magma amounts are smaller than observed for East African Rift System. Increasing the mantle temperature, as would be the case for a large scale plume head, better fits the observed magma volumes. If extension stops before a new ocean is formed, melt remains present, and convection remains active for 50–100 Myr, and further subsidence is significant.     

The interaction between reaction and deformation: an experimental study using a biotite + plagioclase + quartz gneiss

Metamorphic reactions commonly accompany ductile deformation of crustal rocks. We performed an experimental study to determine: (i) the effect of syn-deformation reaction on strain weakening and localization, and (ii) the effect of crystal plastic deformation on reaction extent and distribution. Experiments were conducted on a fine-grained gneiss (58 vol.% quartz, forming the interconnected matrix, 13 vol.% biotite, 28 vol.% plagioclase and 1 vol.% garnet/Fe-Ti oxides). General shear experiments were performed at 745 and 800 °C, 1.5 GPa, two strain rates, and shear strain ( γ ) from 0.6 to 5, yielding three suites with initial phase strength contrast between the matrix quartz and weak biotite of 45×, 25× and 10×; hydrostatic experiments were performed on cores and powders at 750 and 800 °C and 1.5–2 GPa for the same times. At these conditions, biotite reacts with plagioclase and quartz to form garnet, K-feldspar and water (no melt was observed). Greater reaction extent was observed in deformed samples than in equivalent hydrostatic samples, because of the increased surface area and internal strain energy. In all of the deformed samples, reaction contributes to strain weakening, due principally to a switch to grain boundary sliding in the fine-grained reaction products. The degree to which syn-deformational reaction causes strain weakening and localization in this polyphase aggregate depends on the phase strength contrast and how it evolves. In samples with low-phase strength contrast, strain and reaction are homogeneously distributed; however, in samples with high-phase strength contrast, ductile strain and reaction interact positively to produce a narrow ductile shear zone. Similar concentration of reaction is observed in some natural ductile shear zones.     

Role of chemical processes on shear zone formation: an example from the Grimsel metagranodiorite (Aar massif,Central Alps)

Alpine deformation in the Grimsel granodiorite (Aar massif, Central Alps) at greenschist facies conditions (6.5 ± 1 kbar for 450°C ± 25°C) is characterized by the development of a network of centimetre to decametre localized shear zones that surround lenses of undeformed granodiorite. Localization of deformation is assumed to be the result of a first stage of extreme localization on brittle precursors (nucleation stage) followed by a transition to ductile deformation and lateral propagation into the weakly deformed granodiorite (widening stage). A paradox of this model is that the development of the ductile shear zone is accompanied by the crystallization of large amounts of phyllosilicates (white mica and chlorite) that maintains a weak rheology in the localized shear zone relative to the host rock so that deformation is localized and prevents shear zone widening. We suggest that chemical processes, and more particularly, the metamorphic reactions and metasomatism occurring during re‐equilibration of the metastable magmatic assemblage induced shear zone widening at these P–T–X conditions. These processes (reactions and mass transfer) were driven by the chemical potential gradients that developed between the thermodynamically metastable magmatic assemblage at the edge of the shear zone and the stable white mica and chlorite rich ultramylonite formed during the first stage of shear zone due to localized fluid infiltration metasomatism. P–T and chemical potential projections and sections show that the process of equilibration of the wall rocks (μ–μ path) occurs via the reactions: kf + cz + ab + bio + MgO + H₂O = mu + q + CaO + Na₂O and cz + ab + bio + MgO + H₂O = chl + mu + q + CaO + Na₂O. Computed phase diagram and mass balance calculations predict that these reactions induce relative losses of CaO and Na₂O of ～100% and ～40% respectively, coupled with hydration and a gain of ～140% for MgO. Intermediate rocks within the strain gradient (ultramylonite, mylonite and orthogneiss) reflect various degrees of re‐equilibration and metasomatism. The softening reaction involved may have reduced the strength at the edge of the shear zone and therefore promoted shear zone widening. Chemical potential phase diagram sections also indicate that the re‐equilibration process has a strong influence on equilibrium mineral compositions. For instance, the decrease in Si‐content of phengite from 3.29 to 3.14 p.f.u, when white mica is in equilibrium with the chlorite‐bearing assemblage, may be misinterpreted as the result of decompression during shear zone development while it is due only to syn‐deformation metasomatism at the peak metamorphic condition. The results of this study suggest that it is critical to consider chemical processes in the formation of shear zones particularly when deformation affects metastable assemblages and mass transfer are involved.     

中国大陆岩石圈壳幔韧性剪切带系统

众多地震测深剖面的地质构造解析显示,大陆岩石圈存在既有显著差异又有密切联系的两套断裂系统,即以地壳表层脆性剪切带为主的浅层断裂系统和以切割莫霍界面的壳幔韧性剪切带为主的深部断裂系统。根据地震测深速度结构特征,结合深部构造岩石地球化学的综合研究,将切割莫霍界面或壳幔过渡带的壳幔韧性剪切带划分为三类(俯冲带、缝合带和剪切带)五型(大陆岩石圈边缘海沟俯冲带、大陆岩石圈碰撞缝合带、挤压型壳幔韧性剪切带、伸展型壳幔韧性剪切带和走滑型壳幔韧性剪切带)。建立起中国大陆岩石圈构造变形由地壳表层向深部扩展以及由壳幔过渡带向地壳中上部扩展的岩石圈双向扩展模式。壳幔韧性剪切带既是无机成因天然气等深部流体的通道,又是地震活动区的发震构造之一,因此研究大陆岩石圈壳幔韧性剪切带具有重要学术价值和实际意义。     

西藏阿里雅鲁藏布江缝合带韧性剪切带的磁组构特征

应用磁组构测量方法,厘定、划分了札达地区印度河—雅鲁藏布江缝合带内的韧性剪切带,两条强韧性带分别位于缝合带北缘和南缘,均具有南盘(下盘)俯冲、平面右旋扭动运动特征和压扁型应变特征。韧性剪切发生于65Ma以前,它们应是印—欧两大板块俯冲-碰撞剪切应变产物,是板块缝合带的重要组成部分。