Microstructural evolution of the Seridó Belt, NE-Brazil: the effect of two tectonic events on development of c-axis preferred orientation in quartz

The polyphase evolution of the Seridó Belt (NE-Brazil) includes D₁ crust formation at 2.3–2.1 Ga, D₂ thrust tectonics at 1.9 Ga and crustal reworking by D₃ strike-slip shear zones at 600 Ma. Microstructural investigations within mylonites associated with D₂ and D₃ events were used to constrain the tectono-thermal evolution of the belt. D₂ shear zones commenced at deeper crustal levels and high amphibolite facies conditions (600–650 °C) through grain boundary migration, subgrain rotation and operation of quartz c-prism slip. Continued shearing and exhumation of the terrain forced the re-equilibration of high-T fabrics and the switching of slip systems from c-prism to positive and negative a-rhombs. During D₃, enhancement of ductility by dissipation of heat that came from syn-D₃ granites developed wide belts of amphibolite facies mylonites. Continued shearing, uplift and cooling of the region induced D₃ shear zones to act in ductile-brittle regimes, marked by fracturing and development of thinner belts of greenschist facies mylonites. During this event, switching from a-prism to a-basal slip indicates a thermal path from 600 to 350 °C. Therefore, microstructures and quartz c-axis fabrics in polydeformed rocks from the Seridó Belt preserve the record of two major events, which includes contrasting deformation mechanisms and thermal paths.     

Shear zone origin of quartzite mylonite and mylonitic pegmatite in the Coyote Mountains metamorphic core complex,Arizona

Mylonites derived largely from granite, pegmatite and sedimentary quartzite occupy a 500 m thick, gently N-dipping zone along the northern flank of the Coyote Mountains, west of Tucson, in southeastern Arizona. The quartzite mylonites are exceptionally well developed and occur as discrete layers and lenses, 2–5 m thick, within yet thicker, boudinaged, sill-like lenses of mylonitic pegmatite. Mylonitization took place in the Tertiary within a normal-slip ductile shear zone. The shear zones formed in response to regional extension of continental crust. Extension is along a north-south line, and N-directed sense of shear is revealed by mica fish, oblique foliations in dynamically recrystallized quartz aggregates, and asymmetric quartz c-axis fabrics. The microstructures and c-axis fabrics, taken together, disclose that ductile and brittle deformation was achieved by intense, penetrative, non-coaxial laminar flow dominated by progressive simple shear.     

Quartz c-axis fabric development and large-scale post-nappe folding (Wandfluhhorn Fold,Penninic nappes)

Quartz c-axis fabrics have been investigated within a suite of quartz veins and monomineralic layers around a major post-nappe fold hinge (the Wandfluhhorn Fold) in the Bosco area (Swiss-Italian border) within the lower Penninic nappes.Two kinematic domains which are separated by the axial plane trace of the Wandfluhhorn Fold are recognized; on the lower limb the measured quartz c-axis fabric asymmetry indicates a sense of shear in which the overlying layers move to the southwest (i.e. top-to-SW) whereas on the upper limb the shear sense is reversed with the top moving to northeast. The shear direction (N60°E–N80°E), however, is constant in both areas and oblique to an older stretching lineation as well as to the D₃ fold hinge. Such a distribution of asymmetric quartz c-axis fabrics and the constant orientation of their interpreted shear direction, which is apparent only from the fabric data and not from field evidence, indicates fabric development pre- or early syn-Wandfluhhorn folding, with subsequent folding and modification of the existing textures and possibly rotation of the initial fold axis.An overall westward-directed shear has been suggested for the whole of the Lepontine Alps. However, this study demonstrates that this simple general pattern has been modified locally by later folding. It also demonstrates that the dominant lineation may be a finite stretching lineation due to more than one phase of deformation and is not necessarily related to any particular transport direction.     

Deformation partitioning during folding and transposition of quartz layers

Banded iron formation (BIF) from the Quadrilátero Ferrı́fero (southeastern Brazil) shows a compositional layering with alternating iron-rich and quartz-rich layers. This layering was intensively folded and transposed at a centimeter/millimeter scale through a component of bedding-parallel shear related to flexural slip at middle to high greenschist facies conditions (400–450 °C). The microstructure and c-axis fabrics of normal limbs, inverted limb and hinge zones of a selected isoclinal fold were analyzed combining optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and digital image analysis. In the normal limbs, recrystallized quartz grains show undulose extinction, relatively dry grain boundaries, c-axes at high angle to foliation and a pervasive grain shape fabric (GSF) indicating operation of crystal-plastic processes. In the inverted limb, quartz grains show more serrated and porous (“wet”) grain boundaries; the GSF is similar to that of the normal limb, but c-axes are oriented at 90° to those of the normal limb. We interpreted these characteristics as reflecting operation of solution-precipitation deformation in inverted limbs, as a consequence of grains having been rotated to an orientation that was hard to basal 〈a〉 glide, but easy to dissolution-precipitation creep. This deformation partitioning between crystal-plasticity and solution-transfer during folding/transposition of quartz may explain the common occurrence of layered quartz rocks, where individual layers show alternating c-axis fabrics with opposite asymmetries but a consistent GSF orientation. Such characteristics may reflect an earlier event of pervasive folding/transposition of a preexisting layering.     

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.     

Interaction of flexural shear,S–C fabrics,and oblique shear during folding of micaceous quartzite

This paper investigates the geometry, microstructure, and c-axis fabrics of an outcrop scale, micaceous quartzite fold produced under greenschist facies metamorphic conditions in the Moeda quartzite, Quadrilátero Ferrı́fero granite–greenstone terrain, southeastern Brazil. The fold limbs show development of opposed S–C fabrics and asymmetric quartz c-axis fabrics compatible with flexural slip along the fold surface. Towards the fold hinge, there is an increasing presence of oblique shear bands (here named S-bands) which gradually change to crenulations within the hinge zone. The oblique S-bands are interpreted to have formed through connection of several S-planes, increasing accommodation of antithetical shear along these S-planes and offset of the initial C-planes at intermediate stages of folding. This mechanism represents a kinematic inversion in the role played by the two sets of foliations in S–C structures. Our observations support flexural slip for early stages of folding. However, with progressive closure of the fold, the flexural slip mechanism involves increasing contributions from oblique shear on the S-bands, thus approximating an intermediate situation between flexural slip and passive folding (shear parallel to the axial plane).     

Fabric development during shear deformation in the Main Central Thrust Zone, NW-Himalaya, India

Quartz microfabrics and associated microstructures have been studied on a crustal shear zone—the Main Central Thrust (MCT) of the Himalaya. Sampling has been done along six traverses across the MCT zone in the Kumaun and Garhwal sectors of the Indian Himalaya. The MCT is a moderately north-dipping shear zone formed as a result of the southward emplacement of a part of the deeply rooted crust (that now constitutes the Central Crystalline Zone of the Higher Himalaya) over the less metamorphosed sedimentary belt of the Lesser Himalaya. On the basis of quartz c- and a-axis fabric patterns, supported by the relevant microstructures within the MCT zone, two major kinematic domains have been distinguished. A noncoaxial deformation domain is indicated by the intensely deformed rocks in the vicinity of the MCT plane. This domain includes ductilely deformed and fine-grained mylonitic rocks which contain a strong stretching lineation and are composed of low-grade mineral assemblages (muscovite, chlorite and quartz). These rocks are characterized by highly asymmetric structures/microstructures and quartz c- and a-axis fabrics that indicate a top-to-the-south sense that is compatible with south-directed thrusting for the MCT zone. An apparently coaxial deformation domain, on the other hand, is indicated by the rocks occurring in a rather narrow belt fringing, and structurally above, the noncoaxial deformation domain. The rocks are highly feldspathic and coarse-grained gneisses and do not possess any common lineation trend and the effects of simple shear deformation are weak. The quartz c-axis fabrics are symmetrical with respect to foliation and lineation. Moreover, these rocks contain conjugate and mutually interfering shear bands, feldspar/quartz porphyroclasts with long axes parallel to the macrosopic foliation and the related structures/microstructures, suggesting deformation under an approximate coaxial strain path.On moving towards the MCT, the quartz c- and a-axis fabrics become progressively stronger. The c-axis fabric gradually changes from random to orthorhombic and then to monoclinic. In addition, the coaxial strain path gradually changes to the noncoaxial strain path. All this progressive evolution of quartz fabrics suggests more activation of the basal, rhomb and a slip systems at all structural levels across the MCT.     

The reliability of asymmetric c-axis fabrics of quartz to determine sense of vorticity

Asymmetric c-axis fabrics of quartz are commonly used to determine sense of vorticity in ductile shear zones. This method seems to work if the fabric pattern resembles a model fabric proposed by Lister and Hobbs (1980). Usually, however, c-axis fabrics are rather vague. The reliability of such vague fabrics was tested in a major shear zone with known sense of vorticity. Only 62% of the c-axis fabrics predict the correct sense. Great care should therefore be taken in applying this method to determine sense of vorticity.     

Strain path partitioning within thrust sheets: microstructural and petrofabric evidence from the Moine Thrust zone at Loch Eriboll,northwest Scotland

Quartz c axis fabrics and microstructures have been investigated within a suite of quartzites collected from the Loch Eriboll area of the Moine Thrust zone and are used to interpret the detailed processes involved in fabric evolution. The intensity of quartz c axis fabrics is directly proportional to the calculated strain magnitude. A correlation is also established between the pattern of c axis fabrics and the calculated strain symmetry.Two kinematic domains are recognized within one of the studied thrust sheets which outcrops immediately beneath the Moine Thrust. Within the upper and central levels of the thrust sheet coaxial deformation is indicated by conjugate, mutually interfering shear bands, globular low strain detrital quartz grains whose c axes are aligned sub-parallel to the principal finite shortening direction (Z) and quartz c axis fabrics which are symmetric (both in terms of skeletal outline and intensity distribution) with respect to mylonitic foliation and lineation. Non-coaxial deformation is indicated within the more intensely deformed and recrystallized quartzites located near the base of the thrust sheet by single sets of shear bands and c axis fabrics which are asymmetric with respect to foliation and lineation.Tectonic models offering possible explanations for the presence of kinematic (strain path) domains within thrust sheets are considered.     

Relationships between strain and quartz crystallographic fabrics in the Roche Maurice quartzites of Plougastel,western Brittany

An integrated microstructural and petrofabric study of the plastically deformed and partially recrystallized Roche Maurice quartzites of Plougastel, western Brittany, has revealed a clear correlation between the pattern of c-axis fabrics displayed by detrital quartz grains and the symmetry of the calculated strain ellipsoid. In specimens with flattening (k = 0) strains, c axes lie on a small circle girdle (opening angle 28–42°) centred about the principal finite shortening direction (Z). For specimens that exhibit approximate plane strain (k = 1), cross-girdle c-axis fabrics consisting of a small circle girdle centred about Z and connected through the intermediate principal extension direction (Y) were detected.Within individual specimens c-axis fabrics of syntectonically recrystallized new quartz grains within the matrix are similar to those of detrital quartz grains. c axes of new grains located within the relatively undeformed sections of the host detrital grains are commonly orientated at angles between 10 and 40° to the host c axis and are, in addition, statistically orientated at a higher angle to Z than their host c axes. These relationships are interpreted as indicating that both host grain control and the local strain (and/or stress) field may have influenced the process of recrystallization; the relative influence of these factors is, however, unknown.Microstructural and petrofabric studies indicate that the Roche Maurice quartzites have been subjected to essentially coaxial strain histories. The role of syntectonic recrystallization in facilitating continued plastic deformation in quartzites subjected to such strain histories is considered.     

Transition from subduction- to exhumation-related fabrics in glaucophane-bearing eclogites, Oman: evidence from relative fabric chronology and Ar/Ar ages

Controversy over the age of peak metamorphism and therefore the tectonic evolution of the Arabian margin relates to the polydeformed and polymetamorphosed nature of glaucophane-bearing eclogites from the Saih Hatat window beneath the allochthonous Samail ophiolite in NE Oman. These eclogites contain relicts of earlier fabrics, structures and metamorphic assemblages and provide a record of change from subduction to exhumation. The eclogites are part of a mafic layer that was disrupted into boudins up to 0.5 km in length within a lower plate shear zone (As Sifah shear zone). The megaboudins not only preserve the relicts of the highest grade of metamorphism but also an early ENE-trending lineation and sheathlike isoclines enveloped by the flat-lying schistosity. The boudin-bearing layer is isoclinally folded with calc-schist, mafic schist and quartz–mica schist, where the regional folds have axes parallel to the NE-trending stretching lineation (a-type folds). Textural evidence suggests multiple growth events for garnet and clinopyroxene, requiring polymetamorphism of the mafic layers that formed the eclogite megaboudins. The surrounding calc-schist and quartz–mica schist are both intensely deformed with transposition foliation containing an NE-trending lineation in phengite and asymmetric shear indicators such as C′-type shear bands and asymmetric pressure shadows around garnets, that give top-to-the-NE sense of shear. Although consistent ENE-trending lineations in all the boudins suggest that they have largely acted as passive, nonrotating rigid bodies, the presence of NE-vergent asymmetric mesofolds, extensive dynamic recrystallisation, multiple generations of phengites and a range of ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar apparent ages within the megaboudins suggest, however, that they have not acted entirely passively during the later deformation. Phengites isolated from the high-P/low-T fabrics show groupings in ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar apparent ages interpreted as distinct metamorphic/cooling intervals at 140–135, 120–98 and 92–80 Ma. Microstructural relations suggest that age groupings younger than 100 Ma reflect phengite growth during exhumation with the top-to-the-NE shearing. The older ages (120–110 Ma) from fabrics that give top-to-the-S shear sense may reflect growth during the subduction phase. The combination of groupings of apparent argon ages older than the crystallisation age of the Samail Ophiolite, the suggestion of different geothermal gradients, and superposed metamorphism suggest that the eclogites and garnet blueschists formed as a result of underthrusting along a break that was not directly related to the metamorphic sole of the ophiolite. The glaucophane–eclogites are interpreted as having formed at different times under varying pressure–temperature conditions during underthrusting with variations in the rate of underthrusting, allowing thermal equilibration and/or rapid cooling at different crustal levels.     

Quartz <Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis>-axis texture mapping of mylonitic metapelite with rod structures (Calabria,southern Italy): Clues for hidden shear flow direction

This quantitative microstructural study deals with textures of quartz domains within a mylonitized metapelite collected near a thrust surface corresponding to the tectonic contact between two metamorphic units, which crop out in the Aspromonte Massif, southern Calabria (Italy). The sample investigated lacks a mesoscopic stretching lineation. Therefore, quartz c-axis fabrics were investigated in two mutually orthogonal thin sections (a) parallel to the quartz rod lineation and perpendicular to the foliation (YZ plane) and (b) perpendicular to the quartz rods and perpendicular to the foliation (XZ plane); the data were generated using classical (manual measurements of quartz c-axis using U-stage) and modern methods (Computer Integrated Polarization microscopy). Both these sections show oblique foliations at ca. 40° from the main shear plane, implying that the actual X direction (stretching lineation that is absent on the mesoscopic scale) must lie between these two sections. Quartz c-axis data from the YZ section when rotated by 90° are similar with those from the XZ section. Hence, the data from the two sections are merged. These data when rotated by an angle of 50° from the direction of quartz rod lineation, gives an asymmetrical pattern indicating top-to-the-North sense of shear. This was confirmed by investigating quartz c-axis patterns in a section striking NS and perpendicular to the foliation. Based on the study it is thus concluded that this method can be used to do kinematic analysis in rocks that are devoid of stretching lineations. Apart from the above, the advantages and disadvantages of the classical and modern methods of quartz c-axis analysis are discussed.     

Comparison of quartz microfabric with strain in recrystallized quartzite

The relationship between quartz c-axis microfabric and strain is examined in six specimens of recrystallized quartzite conglomerate in which strain was measured using pebble shapes. Four rocks subjected to plane strain display a direct relationship between the strength of preferred orientation and the strain intensity. The c-axis distributions in these rocks, as well as a rock subjected to moderate extensional strain, are crossed-girdles with maxima near the intermediate principal strain axis and connecting girdles at acute angles to the direction of maximum shortening. A rock subjected to moderate flattening strain has several maxima clustered near the direction of maximum shortening and a weak connecting girdle through the intermediate principal strain axis.These results are generally similar to those of other studies comparing strain and tectonite fabrics and also with experimental and computer simulation studies of fabrics. The degree of preferred orientation is related to total strain, and therefore microfabrics in quartzites may be cautiously interpreted as qualitative indicators of strain intensity. Uncertainties are greater, however, for correlations of fabric patterns with shapes of the strain ellipsoid. An observed increase in recrystallized grain sizes with increasing strain suggests that flow stress was lower in the more strained rocks.     

Differential Evolution of High-Pressure and Ultrahigh-Pressure Metapelites from Habutengsu,Chinese Western Tianshan: Phase Equilibria Modelling and 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology

Metapelite is one of the predominant rock types in the high-pressure–ultrahigh-pressure(HP–UHP) metamorphic belt of western Tianshan, NW China; however, the spatial and temporal variations of this belt during metamorphism are poorly understood. In this study, we present comparative petrological studies and 40Ar/39 Ar geochronology of HP and UHP pelitic schist exposed along the Habutengsu valley. The schist mainly comprises quartz, white mica, garnet, albite and bluish amphibole. In the Mn O–Na2O–Ca O–K2O–Fe O–Mg O–Al2O3–Si O2–H2O(Mn NCKFMASH) system, P–T pseudosections were constructed using THERMOCALC 333 for two representative pelitic schists. The results demonstrate that there was a break in the peak metamorphic pressures in the Habutengsu area. The northern schist has experienced UHP metamorphism, consistent with the presence of coesite in the same section, while the southern one formed at lower pressures that stabilized the quartz. This result supports the previous finding of a metamorphic gradient through the HP–UHP metamorphic belt of the Chinese western Tianshan by the authors. Additionally, phengite in the northern schist was modelled as having a Si content of 3.55–3.70(a.p.f.u.) at the peak stage, a value much higher than that of oriented matrix phengite(Si content 3.32–3.38 a.p.f.u.). This indicates that the phengite flakes in the UHP schist were subjected to recrystallization during exhumation, which is consistent with the presence of phengite aggregates surrounding garnet porphyroblast. The 40Ar/39 Ar age spectra of white mica(dominantly phengite) from the two schists exhibit similar plateau ages of ca. 315 Ma, which is interpreted as the timing of a tectonometamorphic event that occurred during the exhumation of the HP–UHP metamorphic belt of the Chinese western Tianshan.     

The tectono‐metamorphic evolution of the very low‐grade hangingwall constrains two‐stage gneiss dome formation in the Montagne Noire (Southern France)

The Montagne Noire in the southernmost French Massif Central is made of an ENE‐elongated gneiss dome flanked by Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks. The tectonic evolution of the gneiss dome has generated controversy for more than half a century. As a result, a multitude of models have been proposed that invoke various tectonic regimes and exhumation mechanisms. Most of these models are based on data from the gneiss dome itself. Here, new constraints on the dome evolution are provided based on a combination of very low‐grade petrology, K–Ar geochronology, field mapping and structural analysis of the Palaeozoic western Mont Peyroux and Faugères units, which constitute part of the southern hangingwall of the dome. It is shown that southward‐directed Variscan nappe‐thrusting (D₁) and a related medium‐P metamorphism (M₁) are only preserved in the area furthest away from the gneiss dome. The regionally dominant pervasive tectono‐metamorphic event D₂/M₂ largely transposes D₁ structures, comprises a higher metamorphic thermal gradient than M₁ (transition low‐P and medium‐P metamorphic facies series) and affected the rocks between c. 309 and 300 Ma, post‐dating D₁/M₁ by more than 20 Ma. D₂‐related fabrics are refolded by D₃, which in its turn, is followed by dextral‐normal shearing along the basal shear zone of both units at c. 297 Ma. In the western Mont Peyroux and Faugères units, D₂/M₂ is largely synchronous with shearing along the southern dome margin between c. 311 and 303 Ma, facilitating the emplacement of the gneiss dome into the upper crust. D₂/M₂ also overlaps in time with granitic magmatism and migmatization in the Zone Axiale between c. 314 and 306 Ma, and a related low‐P/high‐T metamorphism at c. 308 Ma. The shearing that accompanied the exhumation of the dome therefore was synchronous with a peak in temperature expressed by migmatization and intrusion of melts within the dome, and also with the peak of metamorphism in the hangingwall. Both, the intensity of D₂ fabrics and the M₂ metamorphic grade within the hangingwall, decrease away from the gneiss dome, with grades ranging from the anchizone–epizone boundary to the diagenetic zone. The related zonation of the pre‐D₃ metamorphic field gradients paralleled the dome. These observations indicate that D₂/M₂ is controlled by the exhumation of the Zone Axiale, and suggest a coherent kinematic between the different crustal levels at some time during D₂/M₂. Based on integration of these findings with regional geological constraints, a two‐stage exhumation of the gneiss dome is proposed: during a first stage between c. 316 and 300 Ma dome emplacement into the upper crust was controlled by dextral shear zones arranged in a pull‐apart‐like geometry. The second stage from 300 Ma onwards was characterized by northeast to northward extension, with exhumation accommodated by north‐dipping detachments and hangingwall basin formation along the northeastern dome margin.     

Time‐scale of deformation and intertectonic phases revealed by P–T–D–t relationships in the orogenic middle crust of the Orlica‐Śnieżnik Dome,Polish/Czech Central Sudetes

A section of the orogenic middle crust (Orlica‐?nie?nik Dome, Polish/Czech Central Sudetes) was examined to constrain the duration and significance of deformation (D) and intertectonic (I) phases. In the studied metasedimentary synform, three deformation events produced an initial subhorizontal foliation S1 (D₁), a subsequent subvertical foliation S2 (D₂) and a late subhorizontal axial planar cleavage S3 (D₃). The synform was intruded by pre‐, syn‐ and post‐D₂ granitoid sheets. Crystallization–deformation relationships in mica schist samples document I_1–2 garnet–staurolite growth, syn‐D₂ staurolite breakdown to garnet–biotite–sillimanite/andalusite, I_2–3 cordierite blastesis and late‐D₃ chlorite growth. Garnet porphyroblasts show a linear Mn–Ca decrease from the core to the inner rim, a zone of alternating Ca–Y‐ and P‐rich annuli in the inner rim, and a Ca‐poor outer rim. The Ca–Y‐rich annuli probably reflect the occurrence of the allanite‐to‐monazite transition at conditions of the staurolite isograd, whereas the Ca‐poor outer rim is ascribed to staurolite demise. The reconstructed P–T path, obtained by modelling the stability of parageneses and garnet zoning, documents near‐isobaric heating from ~4 kbar/485 °C to ~4.75 kbar/575 °C during I_1–2. This was followed by a progression to 4–5 kbar/580–625 °C and a subsequent pressure decrease to 3–4 kbar during D₂. Pressure decrease below 3 kbar is ascribed to I_2–3, whereas cooling below ~500 °C occurred during D₃. In the dated mica schist sample, garnet rims show strong Lu enrichment, oscillatory Lu zoning and a slight Ca increase. These features are also related to allanite breakdown coeval with staurolite appearance. As Lu‐rich garnet rims dominate the Lu–Hf budget, the 344 ± 3 Ma isochron age is ascribed to garnet crystallization at staurolite grade, near the end of I_1–2. For the dated sample of amphibole–biotite granitoid sheet, a Pb–Pb single zircon evaporation age of 353 ± 1 Ma is related to the onset of plutonic activity. The results suggest a possible Devonian age for D₁, and a Carboniferous burial‐exhumation cycle in mid‐crustal rocks that is broadly coeval with the exhumation of neighbouring HP rocks during D₂. In the light of published ages, a succession of telescoping stages with time spans decreasing from c. 10 to 2–3 Ma is proposed. The initially long period of tectonic quiescence (I_1–2 phase, c. 10 Ma) inferred in the middle crust contrasts with contemporaneous deformation at deeper levels and points to decoupled P–T–D histories within the orogenic wedge. An elevated gradient of ~30 °C km^?1 and assumed high heating rates of c. 20 °C Ma^?1 are explained by the protracted intrusion of granitoid sheets, with or without deformation, whereas fast vertical movements (2–3 Ma, D₂ phase) in the crust require the activity of deformation phases.     

Crystallographic orientations of high-angle grain boundaries in dynamically recrystallized quartz: First results

The crystallography and geometry of high-angle grain boundaries from dynamically recrystallized quartz have been studied. On the basis of combined electron backscatter diffraction and universal stage measurements, the complete crystallographic orientation of the grain boundaries could be calculated. The u-stage rotation of the grain boundaries to a vertical position reveals that they are never curved but always consist of straight segments. Our results show that these segments preferentially occupy rhombohedral, trapezohedral and bipyramidal orientations, i.e., orientations in a  25–50° girdle to the c-axis. A specific, albeit low, number of segments with special crystallographic orientation, with respect to a neighbouring quartz grain, often shows another special orientation with respect to the other neighbouring grain. Preferred combinations of grain boundary orientations related to both neighbouring grains are (i) low-index rhombohedral and high index trapezohedral, (ii) low-index bipyramidal and low-index trapezohedral or high-index rhombohedral, and (iii) low-index trapezohedral and low or high index trapezohedral. In certain cases, such as at triple junctions, the boundaries occupy specific trapezohedral orientations with a constant angle to the c-axis. This argues for energy isotropy of trapezohedral planes with the same angle to the quartz c-axis. In general, good match coincidence site lattice (CSL) orientations are not preferentially occupied so that most of the studied grain boundaries represent general boundaries. The formation of straight segments in special crystallographic orientations indicates the crystallographic control and implies an energy reduction of certain general boundaries.     

大别山超高压变质岩的变形历史及折返过程

大别山南部的超高压变质岩在其形成及折返过程中经过5期变形。D₁变形为榴辉岩相前变形,形成于扬子板块北缘陆壳基底的俯冲过程中;D₂变形形成于折返初期(220-210Ma)即超高压变质岩在浮力驱动下折返至下地壳底部的过程中,变形以块状榴辉岩的糜棱岩化及层状榴辉岩和基质的紧密-同斜褶皱为特征;D₃变形发生在折返中期(200-180Ma)即超高压变质岩在南北陆块持续碰撞作用下被挤出并向北逆冲折返至中地壳的过程中,变形以榴辉岩的布丁化和基质的强烈韧性剪切变形为特征;D₄变形是折返晚期(130-110Ma)超高压变质岩在地壳浅部伸展体制下向南滑脱所致;在折返至近地表时,超高压变质岩受到NE向断层(D₅)的切割。     

Structural analysis of sheath-folds in a meta-chert from the Western Italian Alps

A detailed meso- and microscopic structural investigation of a laminated manganiferous meta-chert from the Western Italian Alps has resulted in the recognition of five deformation phases. During the third phase large subhorizontal shear movements took place, resulting in reorientation of pre-existing structures and sheath-fold formation. This was accompanied by a decrease in pressure, reflected by the zoning of blue-amphiboles and by microboudinage and the formation of stretching cracks in minerals. The orientation of amphiboles, together with some evidence from quartz c-axis fabrics suggest that the deformation took place by simple shear. During the late stages of sheath-fold formation the deformation became non-rotational.