Calcite strains, kinematic indicators, and magnetic flow fabric of a Proterozoic pseudotachylyte swarm, Minnesota River valley, USA

Near Granite Falls, Minnesota sub-parallel pseudotachylyte, mafic dikes, and calcite veins crosscut Archean granulite facies rocks in the Minnesota River valley adjacent to the north-dipping Yellow Medicine Shear Zone (YMSZ; N80°E) that separates the Montevideo and Morton tectonic terranes. The docking of these two Archean terranes occurred prior to intrusion of the 2.067 Ga Kenora-Kabetogama dike swarm as demonstrated by aeromagnetic anomalies (correlated with field exposures) that cross the YMSZ without offset. Tectonic adjustments along the YMSZ associated with the Penokean Orogeny ( 1.8 Ga) are likely responsible for pseudotachylyte formation.Pseudotachylyte is exposed in 22 sub-parallel veins ( N80°E, 90°) each less than 2 cm wide across an outcrop width of 45 m. The pseudotachylyte matrix is commonly banded, and contains crystal fragments (quartz, plagioclase, amphibole, rutile, apatite, ilmenite, ulvöspinel), magnetite microlites, flow banding swirls, amygdules (filled with calcite, ankerite and siderite), collapsed vesicles, and abundant lithic clasts. Pseudotachylyte formed in a number of phases. Kinematic reconstruction is complex, utilizing winged porphyroclasts, S-C structures in the country rock, and fault drag indicators along the pseudotachylyte zones. Dextral motion along the YMSZ is the most common observation. Mechanically twinned calcite within amygdules in the pseudotachylyte preserves horizontal shortening normal to the pseudotachylyte strike. Calcite veins are apparently contemporaneous with the pseudotachylyte; one set preserves twinning strains identical to the calcite amygdule strains, and the second set contains a horizontal, vein-parallel (N70°E) shortening strain. The pseudotachylyte contains a flow fabric, as determined by AMS techniques, that is a proxy for vertical flow (K_max is vertical). The Kenora-Kabetogama dikes, identified geochemically, are locally parallel to the pseudotachylyte and the adjacent YMSZ tectonic suture and preserve a vertical-to-horizontal, dike-parallel AMS fabric from east (Franklin) to west (Granite Falls). Hornblende andesite dikes (055°, 1.8 Ga) are not found south of the suture, are not associated with pseudotachylyte and have a different paleopole and AMS fabric.     

Pseudotachylyte petrogenesis: constraints from the Sudbury impact structure

 Pseudotachylytes and their host rocks from the North Range of the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure have been investigated using analytical scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and XRF spectrometry. The results show that the pseudotachylytes were produced in high-speed slip zones by the frictional comminution and selective melting of wall rock lithologies. The preferential assimilation of hydrous ferromagnesian phases during frictional melting produced relatively basic melts, leaving the more mechanically resistant quartz and, to a lesser extent, plagioclase as included mineral clasts. Three distinct assemblages are identified within the pseudotachylytes: (a) pre-impact (>1.85 Ga) rock and mineral clasts derived from host lithologies; (b) a syn- to immediately post-impact (1.85 Ga), rapidly cooled, quartz + sanidine + labradorite + phlogopitic biotite matrix assemblage, formed due to crystallization from a melt at 800–900°C and (c) a post-impact (<1.85 Ga) retrograde assemblage which overprints both clasts and matrices. Field evidence indicates that most pseudotachylyte formed in large-displacement fault systems during gravitational collapse of the impact-generated transient cavity. The Sudbury pseudotachylytes, like endogenic pseudotachylytes, were generated by frictional melting on fault surfaces. The difference is primarily one of scale. Large (km) displacements occurring on impact-induced ring faults can generate immense volumes of friction melt resulting in spectacular pseudotachylyte bodies up to 0.5 km thick and more than 10 km long. Received: 15 March 1996 / Accepted: 15 June 1996     

Paradoxical pseudotachylyte – Fault melt outside the seismogenic zone

Fault generated melt, pseudotachylyte, is an established indicator of palaeoseismic faulting. The existing consensus that frictionally induced melting occurs within the classic seismogenic zone contrast the contention over how pseudotachylyte forms within the ductile regime. Central to this issue is whether all pseudotachylyte originates as pressure-dependent frictional melt along slip surfaces, or if pressure-independent processes have roles in its formation. Propagation of high-velocity slip into deeper crustal levels provides a satisfactory explanation for pseudotachylyte at depth, but does not of itself rationalize earthquake nucleation outside the classic seismogenic zone. Pseudotachylyte from the Minas Fault Zone, Nova Scotia, Canada is used to demonstrate the formation and preservation of fault-related melt under lower crustal conditions. Microstructures retain evidence of intense dislocation glide with minimal climb, and ductile disaggregation of the host; the latter are consistent with intracrystalline deformation in the Peierls stress-controlled glide regime. It remains unclear whether the crystal plasticity serves only as a precursory stage to rupture and high-velocity slip or is itself responsible for both instability and the thermal transient. There are similarities between accelerating plastic slip leading to rupture and aseismic creep bursts (tremor) that emphasize the mechanistic complexity of deep faulting, and the need to extend consideration beyond that of a simple brittle-ductile response. The occurrence of tremor bursts fall within the depth range of “paradoxical” pseudotachylyte and provides a circumstantial link between active tectonics and the geologic record that merits examination.     

Pressure-related feedback processes in the generation of pseudotachylytes

Pseudotachylyte formation is typically viewed as a self-limiting process. Quantitative models have demonstrated that frictional melting is possible at seismic slip rates, but once a thin film of melt forms on a seismic fault plane, the dramatic decrease in fault friction is thought to suppress further melting. Volumes of melt-generated pseudotachylyte observed in field studies, however, are in many cases substantially larger than the amounts of frictional melt predicted by theoretical models. This suggests that previously unrecognized physical processes may enhance melting during seismic slip. Localized decompression at dilational jogs may be one such phenomenon. Transient unloading could play two important roles in the dynamics of pseudotachylyte generation. First, by setting up significant fluid pressure gradients, it would lead to rapid migration of the melt to sites of low pressure, thereby reestablishing frictional contact across the fault surface and favoring further melt generation. Second, at significant depths, sudden depressurization might lead to in situ decompression melting.     

Ultracataclasis, sintering, and frictional melting in pseudotachylytes from East Greenland

Large volumes of pseudotachylyte (an intrusive, fault-related rock interpreted to form by a combination of cataclasis and melting) occur in Tertiary normal faults and accommodation zones along 400 km of the East Greenland volcanic rifted margin. Analysis of representative pseudotachylyte samples reveals a wide range of mesoscopic and microscopic textures, mineralogies, and chemistries in the aphanitic pseudotachylyte matrix. Three distinct types of pseudotachylyte (referred to as angular, rounded and glassy) are identified based on these characteristics. Angular pseudotachylyte (found primarily in dike-like reservoir zones) is characterized by angular grains visible on all scales, with micron-scale fragments of mica and amphibole. Its matrix is enriched in Fe₂O₃, MgO, and TiO₂ relative to the host rock, with minor increases in CaO, K₂O, and small decreases in Na₂O. Rounded pseudotachylyte is found in reservoir zones, injection veins (pseudotachylyte-filled extension fractures), and fault veins (small faults with pseudotachylyte along their surfaces). It is characterized by smooth-surfaced, compacted grains on microscopic scales, and encloses rounded, interpenetrative lithic clasts on outcrop scale. Its matrix is enriched in Fe₂O₃, MgO, TiO₂, and Al₂O₃ relative to the host rock, with minor depletion in Na₂O and K₂O. Glassy pseudotachylyte is found primarily along fault surfaces. Its matrix is characterized by isotropic, conchoidally fractured material containing microscopic, strain-free amphibole phenocrysts, and is enriched in TiO₂, Al₂O₃, K₂O, Fe₂O₃, MgO, CaO, and Na₂O relative to the host rock. These observations suggest that angular pseudotachylyte was produced by cataclasis, with enrichment in metallic oxides resulting from preferential crushing of mechanically weak amphibole and mica minerals found in the gneissic host rock. Cataclasis and concomitant frictional heating resulted in the textural and chemical modification of angular pseudotachylyte by sintering or melting, producing rounded and glassy pseudotachylyte, respectively. Compositional and textural observations constrain the temperatures reached during frictional heating (700–900°C) which in turn delimit the amount of frictional heat imparted to the pseudotachylytes during slip. Our results suggest that the East Greenland pseudotachylytes formed during small seismic events along faults at shallow crustal levels. Consistent relative ages and widespread occurrence of pseudotachylyte-bearing faults in East Greenland suggest that widespread microseismicity accompanied the early development of this volcanic rifted margin.     

Do faults preserve a record of seismic slip: A second opinion

Exhumed fault zones offer insights into deformation processes associated with earthquakes in unparalleled spatial resolution; however it can be difficult to differentiate seismic slip from slow or aseismic slip based on evidence in the rock record. Fifteen years ago, Cowan (1999) defined the attributes of earthquake slip that might be preserved in the rock record, and he identified pseudotachylyte as the only reliable indicator of past earthquakes found in ancient faults. This assertion was based on models of frictional heat production (Sibson, 1975, 1986) providing evidence for fast slip. Significant progress in fault rock studies has revealed a range of reaction products which can be used to detect frictional heating at peak temperatures less than the melt temperature of the rock. In addition, features formed under extreme transient stress conditions associated with the propagating tip of an earthquake rupture can now be recognized in the rock record, and are also uniquely seismic. Thus, pseudotachylyte is no longer the only indicator of fossilized earthquake ruptures.We review the criteria for seismic slip defined by Cowan (1999), and we determine that they are too narrow. Fault slip at rates in the range 10⁻⁴−10¹ m/s is almost certainly dynamic. This implies that features reproduced in experiments at rates as low as 10⁻⁴ m/s may be indicators of seismic slip. We conclude with a summary of the rock record of seismic slip, and lay out the current challenges in the field of earthquake geology.     

Subduction zone intermediate-depth seismicity: Insights from the structural analysis of Alpine high-pressure ophiolite-hosted pseudotachylyte (Corsica,France)

Pseudotachylyte in the Cima di Gratera ophiolite, Alpine Corsica, is distributed in the peridotite unit and in the overlying metagabbro unit and was formed under blueschist to eclogite metamorphic facies conditions, corresponding to a 60–90 km depth range. Peridotite pseudotachylyte is clustered in fault zones either beneath the tectonic contact with overlying metagabbros or at short distance from it. Fault zones are either parallel to the contact or make an angle of 55° to it. Displacement sense criteria associated with fault veins indicate top-to-the-west or top-to-the-northwest reverse senses. Cataclasite flanking most veins was formed before or coevally with frictional melting and likely mechanically weakened the peridotite, facilitating subsequent seismic rupture. In the basal part of the metagabbro unit, post-mylonitization pseudotachylyte can be distinguished from pre-mylonitization pseudotachylyte formed earlier. In the equant metagabbro above the mylonitic sole, only one episode of pseudotachylyte formation can be identified. Kinematics associated with metagabbro pseudotachylyte remain unknown. The geometry and kinematics of the pseudotachylyte veins from the peridotite unit and to a lesser extent from the metagabbro unit are similar to modern seismic ruptures of the upper parts of the Wadati-Benioff zones such as in the Pacific plate beneath NE Japan.     

Dating pseudotachylyte of the Asuke Shear Zone using zircon fission-track and U–Pb methods

Zircon fission-track (FT) and U–Pb analyses were performed on zircon extracted from a pseudotachylyte zone and surrounding rocks of the Asuke Shear Zone (ASZ), Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The U–Pb ages of all four samples are  67–76 Ma, which is interpreted as the formation age of Ryoke granitic rocks along the ASZ. The mean zircon FT age of host rock is 73 ± 7 (2σ) Ma, suggesting a time of initial cooling through the zircon closure temperature. The pseudotachylyte zone however, yielded a zircon FT age of 53 ± 9 (2σ) Ma, statistically different from the age of the host rock. Zircon FTs showed reduced mean lengths and intermediate ages for samples adjacent to the pseudotachylyte zone. Coupled with the new zircon U–Pb ages and previous heat conduction modeling, the present FT data are best interpreted as reflecting paleothermal effects of the frictional heating of the fault. The age for the pseudotachylyte coincides with the change in direction of rotation of the Pacific plate from NW to N which can be considered to initialize the NNE–SSW trending sinistral–extensional ASZ before the Miocene clockwise rotation of SW Japan. The present study demonstrates that a history of fault motions in seismically active regions can be reconstructed by dating pseudotachylytes using zircon FT thermochronology.     

断裂岩岩石磁学研究进展

断裂岩的岩石磁学研究可以揭示地震断裂作用的物理和化学环境,对于探讨地震断裂作用机制具有重要作用。本文在断裂岩岩石磁学最新文献的基础上,结合笔者及所在研究团队在龙门山断裂带获得的研究成果,综述了断裂岩的岩石磁学研究进展。大量研究发现断层泥和假玄武玻璃通常具有磁化率值或剩磁强度异常特征。顺磁性矿物在摩擦热或流体作用下形成新的铁磁性矿物是断层泥和假玄武玻璃高磁化率值或高剩磁强度的主要原因;地震断裂摩擦熔融作用中形成的单质铁是假玄武玻璃中高磁化率值或高剩磁强度异常的另一个重要原因。蠕滑断裂和出露于浅地表的断裂带中可见一些具有低磁化率值异常的断层泥,原因可能是流体作用或断裂带未经历高温摩擦热。断裂岩的岩石磁学研究为地震断裂带的应力应变、形成温度、摩擦热效应、流体作用、形成深度和氧化还原特征等提供了重要信息,可用于分析地震断裂的孕震和发震环境。综合岩石磁学测试和微米至纳米尺度的超显微学研究,并辅助地震断裂岩的摩擦实验、高温热模拟实验等研究可以更好地获得断裂岩的岩石磁学信息。     

Fault-zone structure and weakening processes in basin-scale reverse faults: The Moonlight Fault Zone,South Island,New Zealand

The >200 km long Moonlight Fault Zone (MFZ) in southern New Zealand was an Oligocene basin-bounding normal fault zone that reactivated in the Miocene as a high-angle reverse fault (present dip angle 65°–75°). Regional exhumation in the last c. 5 Ma has resulted in deep exposures of the MFZ that present an opportunity to study the structure and deformation processes that were active in a basin-scale reverse fault at basement depths. Syn-rift sediments are preserved only as thin fault-bound slivers. The hanging wall and footwall of the MFZ are mainly greenschist facies quartzofeldspathic schists that have a steeply-dipping (55°–75°) foliation subparallel to the main fault trace. In more fissile lithologies (e.g. greyschists), hanging-wall deformation occurred by the development of foliation-parallel breccia layers up to a few centimetres thick. Greyschists in the footwall deformed mainly by folding and formation of tabular, foliation-parallel breccias up to 1 m wide. Where the hanging-wall contains more competent lithologies (e.g. greenschist facies metabasite) it is laced with networks of pseudotachylyte that formed parallel to the host rock foliation in a damage zone extending up to 500 m from the main fault trace. The fault core contains an up to 20 m thick sequence of breccias, cataclasites and foliated cataclasites preserving evidence for the progressive development of interconnected networks of (partly authigenic) chlorite and muscovite. Deformation in the fault core occurred by cataclasis of quartz and albite, frictional sliding of chlorite and muscovite grains, and dissolution-precipitation. Combined with published friction and permeability data, our observations suggest that: 1) host rock lithology and anisotropy were the primary controls on the structure of the MFZ at basement depths and 2) high-angle reverse slip was facilitated by the low frictional strength of fault core materials. Restriction of pseudotachylyte networks to the hanging-wall of the MFZ further suggests that the wide, phyllosilicate-rich fault core acted as an efficient hydrological barrier, resulting in a relatively hydrous footwall and fault core but a relatively dry hanging-wall.     

Distinctive diamagnetic fabrics in dolostones evolved at fault cores,the Dead Sea Transform

We resolve the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) axes along fault planes, cores and damage zones in rocks that crop out next to the Dead Sea Transform (DST) plate boundary. We measured 261 samples of mainly diamagnetic dolostones that were collected from 15 stations. To test the possible effect of the iron content on the AMS we analyzed the Fe concentrations of the samples in different rock phases. Dolostones with mean magnetic susceptibility value lower than −4 × 10⁻⁶ SI and iron content less than ∼1000 ppm are suitable for diamagnetic AMS-based strain analysis. The dolostones along fault planes display AMS fabrics that significantly deviate from the primary “sedimentary fabric”. The characteristics of these fabrics include well-grouped, sub-horizontal, minimum principal AMS axes (k₃) and sub-vertical magnetic foliations commonly defined by maximum and intermediate principal AMS axes (k₁ and k₂ axes, respectively). These fabrics are distinctive along fault planes located tens of kilometers apart, with strikes ranging between NNW-SSE and NNE-SSW and different senses of motion. The obtained magnetic foliations (k₁–k₂) are sub-parallel (within ∼20°) to the fault planes. Based on rock magnetic and geochemical analyses, we interpret the AMS fabrics as the product of both shape and crystallographic anisotropy of the dolostones. Preferred shape alignment evolves due to mechanical rotation of subordinate particles and rock fragments at the fault core. Preferred crystallographic orientation results from elevated frictional heating (>300 °C) during faulting, which enhances c-axes alignment in the cement-supported dolomite breccia due to crystal-plastic processes. The penetrative deformation within fault zones resulted from the local, fault-related strain field and does not reflect the regional strain field. The analyzed AMS fabrics together with fault-plane kinematics provide valuable information on faulting characteristics in the uppermost crust.     

An anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabric record of till kinematics within a Late Weichselian low Baltic till,southern Sweden

Herein we report on the results of an anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabric case‐study of two Late Weichselian tills exposed in a bedrock quarry in Dalby, Skåne, southern Sweden. The region possesses a complex glacial history, reflecting alternating and interacting advances of the main body of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) and its ice lobes from the Baltic basin, perhaps driven by streaming ice. AMS till fabrics are robust indicators of ice‐flow history and till kinematics, and provide a unique tool to investigate till kinematics within and amongst till units. The till section investigated here contains ~8 m of the Dalby Till – a dark grey silt‐clay rich till deposited during one or more Baltic advance – overlain by ~1.5 m of the regional surface diamicton. AMS fabrics within the lower part of the Dalby Till conform to the regional surface fluting, and reflect sustained flow from the ENE with progressive increases in basal strain. A boulder‐rich horizon approximately 3 m from the base of the till marks a restricted excursion in till fabric direction, fabric strength and style of strain. Ice flow is from the SW and W in the upper section. We interpret these fabrics to record shifting ice flow and bed conditions at the margins of the Young Baltic Advance ice lobe in southern Sweden, prior to a short‐lived re‐advance of the main body of the SIS over mainland Sweden recorded by the surface diamicton.     

Conditions of Formation and Crystallization Kinetics of Highly Oxidized Pseudotachylytes from the High Tatras (Slovakia)

Tectonic activity during the Miocene exhumation of the Tatragranitoid basement resulted in frictional melting of granite.The activity marks the early stages of the faulting that isresponsible for uplift of the High Tatras. As indicated by pre-existingcataclasite metamorphic mineral assemblages, the ambient pressurewas about 250–300 MPa, corresponding to depths between10 and 12 km. The pseudotachylytes are Fe rich, highly oxidizedand crystalline. The matrix composition suggests disequilibriumpartial melting of a biotite-dominated assemblage. Oxygen isotopiccompositions of a pseudotachylyte sample and its constituentminerals show equilibration with the host granodiorite and allowfor the introduction of oxidizing external water rather thanoxidation as a result of the dissociation of free water liberatedduring melting. The kinetic information extracted from hematitecrystal-size distributions (CSDs) that are preserved in feldspathicmatrices shows that crystals in most places were accumulatedwhile the system was open. The melt was highly mobile and proneto strong differentiation. The hematite crystals reach a maximumof 26 vol. % (45 wt % Fe₂O₃). In rare places where the flowceased, the system became closed and produced distinct CSDs.The longest apparent crystallization times (90 s) are recordedmostly in pools in the central parts of the pseudotachylyteswhereas the shortest times (10 s) come from rims and tips offractures. The estimated hematite growth rate was about fiveorders of magnitude higher than that of ilmenite in lava lakes.Such extreme crystallization rates result from high undercoolingsassociated with high cooling rates. Very high cooling ratesare promoted by the extremely high surface/volume ratios ofthe pseudotachylyte sheets. KEY WORDS: pseudotachylyte; hematite; kinetics; High Tatra; Slovakia     

The geochemistry of pseudotachylyte and its host rocks from the West Rand Goldfield, Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa: implications for pseudotachylyte genesis

The chemical composition of the pseudotachylyte in the West Rand Goldfield of the Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa, is closely related to the composition of the host rocks and this is reflected in the colour of the pseudotachylyte. Grey pseudotachylyte is generally hosted by and similar in composition to quartzites of the Witatersrand Supergroup, whereas maroon pseudotachylyte has a similar relationship to the mafic lava of the Ventersdorp Supergroup. In some instances, the composition of the pseudotachylyte is intermediate between these two host rock types and a mixing process is proposed.

A study of the ferrous to ferric iron ratio provides limited evidence that pseudotachylyte is slightly more reduced than the rocks from which they have been derived.

The only elements that are consistently enriched in the pseudotachylyte, irrespective of host rock composition, are S, Pb and Au. It is speculated that this indicates the existence of a sulphide-bearing fluid phase along the fault zone either prior to or during pseudotachylyte formation.

Geochemical and petrographic evidence favour an origin by frictional fusion rather than ultracomminution for the pseudotachylyte from the West Rand Goldfield.     

The use of the anisotropy of magnetic remanence in the resolution of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility into its ferromagnetic and paramagnetic components

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) is often controlled by both ferromagnetic (sensu lato) and paramagnetic minerals. The anisotropy of magnetic remanence (AMR) is solely controlled by ferromagnetic minerals. Jelínek (Trav. Geophys. 37 (1993)) introduced a tensor derived from the isothermal AMR whose normalized form equals the normalized susceptibility tensor provided that the ferromagnetic fraction is represented by multi-domain magnetite. The present paper shows the close correlation between these tensors for a collection of strongly magnetic specimens containing multi-domain magnetite. In addition, acceptable correlation between the tensors was also found for a collection of specimens containing single-domain magnetite. A new method is developed for the AMS resolution into ferromagnetic and paramagnetic components using the AMR. Some examples are presented of this resolution in mafic microgranular enclaves in granodiorite and in gneisses of the KTB borehole.     

Transient discontinuities revisited: pseudotachylyte, plastic instability and the influence of low pore fluid pressure on deformation processes in the mid-crust

Occurrences of pseudotachylyte cyclically introduced as melts into the Outer Hebrides thrust are demonstrably synkinematic with crystal-plastic mylonites. Classical interpretations of these rock types as, respectively, products of pressure-dependent frictional melting and thermally-activated intracrystalline deformation create a paradox in that these processes are, to a large extent, mutually exclusive. Detailed microstructural and microcompositional analyses of host mylonites and primary and deformed pseudotachylyte were carried out by light and electron microscopy. The ambient shear zone environment in which pseudotachylyte formed was determined to comprise temperatures in the order of 500 ° C and stresses of 140–210 MPa, on which were imposed much higher transient stresses in response to heterogeneous, non-uniform flow. The latter conditions are sufficient for the development of plastic instabilities in feldspar-rich crust, if pore fluid pressures are sufficiently low. The latter is consistent with the absence of hydration during exhumation observed in the rocks under study. Low pore fluid pressure during thrust exhumation of deep crust enables activation of high-strength ductile processes dominated by dislocation glide which may be a prerequisite to instability. Whereas other studies have demonstrated the possible occurrence of such melt-generating instabilities, it is believed that this study provides the first example in which the calculated potential for instability formation is consistent with the deformation microstructures and estimated pressure-temperature conditions. Grain-size reduction to produce ultramylonites dominated by grainsize-sensitive flow is achieved by both deformation-induced dynamic recrystallization and crystallization of instability-generated melts.     

The inception and growth of leucosomes: microstructure at the start of melt segregation in migmatites

The beginning stages of melt segregation and the formation of leucosomes are rarely preserved in migmatites. Most arrays of leucosomes record a more advanced stage where flow dominates over segregation. However, the early stages in the formation of leucosomes and the segregation of melt are preserved in a partially melted meta‐argillite from the metatexite zone (>800 °C) of the contact aureole around the Duluth Complex, Minnesota. The rock contains 2.4 modal% leucosome in a matrix consisting of 40.5% in situ neosome and 57.1% cordierite + plagioclase framework. The domainal microstructure in the matrix is a pre‐anatectic feature resulting from the bulk composition. Terminal chlorite reactions produced a large volume of cordierite which, with plagioclase, formed a framework that enclosed patches of biotite + quartz + plagioclase ± K‐feldspar. Upon melting, these fertile domains became patches of in situ neosome. Plagioclase in the neosome is less sodic than in the leucosome, hence segregation of melt occurred during crystallization, not melting. Segregation was delayed because the cordierite + plagioclase framework was strong enough to resist dilatation and compaction until after crystallization started. The leucosomes are small (i.e. they are microleucosomes) and display a systematic progression in morphology as length and aspect ratio increase from ~1 to 19 mm and from ~2.5 to >30 respectively. Small equant micropores form first, and in places these coalesce into small (~1 mm, aspect ratio ~2.5), isolated, blunt‐ended, elliptical microleucosomes. In the next stage, micropores develop ahead of, and at ~45° to the left and right of the blunt tip of a microleucosome; one of these develops into an elliptical leucosome and an en echelon array of either a left‐ or right‐stepping elliptical microleucosome forms. Each elliptical microleucosome in the en echelon arrays is separated by a bridge of matrix. Next, microleucosomes of greater length (>4 mm) and aspect ratio (>5) form when the bridges of cordierite + plagioclase matrix rupture and the elliptical microleucosomes link together to form a zigzag‐shaped microleucosome. Finally, still longer microleucosomes with greater aspect ratios (~30) are formed by the joining of zigzag arrays. Such a progression is characteristic of the way ductile fractures grow. The segregation of melt was driven by the pressure gradient between the dilatant fracture and an adjacent in situ neosome, which drew melt to the growing fracture, thereby creating a microleucosome. The microleucosomes are filled arrays of ductile fractures. Melt was contiguous only between microleucosomes and adjacent patches of in situ neosome. The length‐scale of segregation was ~5 mm, the size of a typical patch of in situ neosome, and restricted by the surrounding impermeable cordierite + plagioclase framework. The melt in the microleucosome was the most fractionated and the last to crystallize. All microleucosomes contain entrained minerals as a consequence of their mechanism of growth. Rupture of the bridges resulted in the entrainment of pre‐anatectic phases. However, microleucosomes that cross patches of in situ neosome are also contaminated with peritectic phases that were transported with the melt.     

Origin of migmatites by deformation-enhanced melt infiltration of orthogneiss: a new model based on quantitative microstructural analysis

A detailed field study reveals a gradual transition from high‐grade solid‐state banded orthogneiss via stromatic migmatite and schlieren migmatite to irregular, foliation‐parallel bodies of nebulitic migmatite within the eastern part of the Gföhl Unit (Moldanubian domain, Bohemian Massif). The orthogneiss to nebulitic migmatite sequence is characterized by progressive destruction of well‐equilibrated banded microstructure by crystallization of new interstitial phases (Kfs, Pl and Qtz) along feldspar boundaries and by resorption of relict feldspar and biotite. The grain size of all felsic phases decreases continuously, whereas the population density of new phases increases. The new phases preferentially nucleate along high‐energy like–like boundaries causing the development of a regular distribution of individual phases. This evolutionary trend is accompanied by a decrease in grain shape preferred orientation of all felsic phases. To explain these data, a new petrogenetic model is proposed for the origin of felsic migmatites by melt infiltration from an external source into banded orthogneiss during deformation. In this model, infiltrating melt passes pervasively along grain boundaries through the whole‐rock volume and changes completely its macro‐ and microscopic appearance. It is suggested that the individual migmatite types represent different degrees of equilibration between the host rock and migrating melt during exhumation. The melt topology mimicked by feldspar in banded orthogneiss forms elongate pockets oriented at a high angle to the compositional banding, indicating that the melt distribution was controlled by the deformation of the solid framework. The microstructure exhibits features compatible with a combination of dislocation creep and grain boundary sliding deformation mechanisms. The migmatite microstructures developed by granular flow accompanied by melt‐enhanced diffusion and/or melt flow. However, an AMS study and quartz microfabrics suggest that the amount of melt present did not exceed a critical threshold during the deformation to allow free movements of grains.     

Paleoecological implications of two closely associated egg types from the Upper Cretaceous St. Mary River Formation,Montana

Two closely associated egg types occur at the same locality in the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) St. Mary River Formation in north central Montana. These specimens represent the first fossil eggs described from this formation. At least fifteen small ovoid eggs or egg portions are scattered through a 25 cm interval of rock. Five significantly larger, round eggs overlie these smaller eggs and are in close proximity to one another on a single bedding plane. The best preserved egg of the smaller size measures 36 mm × 62 mm and exhibits the prismatic, two-layered eggshell structure of a theropod egg. The dispersed distribution and inconsistent angles of these small eggs likely resulted from disturbance by subsequent nesting activity and/or possibly nest predation. At least twelve additional small prismatic eggs also occur at this site. We assign the small eggs as a new oogenus and oospecies, Tetonoolithus nelsoni, within the Prismatoolithidae. The large round eggs measure 130 mm in diameter and the eggshell displays substantial diagenetic alteration. These eggs likely belonged to a hadrosaur due to their similarity in egg size, shape, and eggshell thickness to Maiasaura eggs from the stratigraphically lower Two Medicine Formation. Eggs at different stratigraphic levels at this site indicate that conditions favorable to both dinosaur species persisted for an extended period of time. However, determining whether these dinosaurs occupied the nesting site at the same or different years remains beyond the resolution of the rock record.     

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and magnetic properties of obsidians: volcanic implications

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), hysteresis and thermomagnetic curves of two sets of obsidians with contrasting bulk compositions are reported in this work. The cooling and deformation history of one of those obsidians is perfectly known, as these specimens were produced in the laboratory using material from a basaltic lava flow. The other samples are occurrences of a more silicic composition and for which the AMS has been documented to have a close relationship with the distribution of microlites. The results of our measurements indicate that although the deformation and cooling histories of the lava might influence the exact composition of the ferromagnetic fraction, the relationship between the AMS and the deformation history does not seem to be altered. Furthermore, the results of this work indicate that the AMS can be associated to a population of ferromagnetic minerals of a submicroscopic size, despite of which it can be very well defined and yield large degrees of anisotropy. It is suggested that the AMS associated to such population of small grains might indeed be the origin of the AMS of other igneous rocks that have an optically observable fraction of mineral grains, although until present it had been overlooked in most instances. Use of tests designed to identify the contribution of a superparamagnetic fraction (SP) in the magnetic properties of a rock can help us to identify the presence of such a SP-related AMS in other cases.