Development of bedding-normal boudins in the Pilot Mountains, Nevada

Boudins with long axes (BA) oriented subnormal to bedding and to associated fold axes are observed in folded rocks in a thrust sheet exposed near the base of a regionally extensive allochthon in west-central Nevada, USA. Formation of the boudins is related to development of a regional fold-set coeval with major thrusting. The axes of boudins lie at a high angle to bedding, and in some instances, boudins define tight to isoclinal folds which are geometrically associated with the regional deformation. Quartz c-axis fabrics from oriented thin-sections of the boudins indicate extension parallel to the boudin axes (BA).

These relations and other mesoscopic structural data indicate a complex deformational history for boudin development. The history involves thin layers (to become boudins) deformed in folds disharmonic to major structures within the thrust sheet followed by flattening and associated extension parallel to fold axes. During flattening, arcuation occurred within the deforming mass resulting in rotation of fold axes and boudin axes (BA) toward the axis of finite extension (X). Extension parallel to BA recorded in the petrofabrics of boudins records incremental strain axes oriented at a high angle (50°) to the finite X and is probably related to an early plane-strain state associated with disharmonic folding. The finite extension (X) is down-dip in axial planes of major folds formed during thrusting and indicates a northwest to southeast transport for the thrusts.     

Boudinage structure: some new interpretations based on elastic-plastic finite element simulations

An elastic-plastic finite element method, based on the Prandtl-Reuss equations of plastic flow and involving equivalent stresses and strains, is used to study boudinage structure. Our choice of data for the simulations was guided by published stress-strain curves for marble (matrix) and quartzite (boudin), the essential parameters being yield stress and rock ‘hardness’ (defined by the slope of the stress-strain curve). All models assume an initial fracture and slight separation and therefore only simulate post-fracture behaviour. The simulations suggest that boudin shape is determined by boudin hardness; maximum stresses are concentrated in the corners which therefore shows the most shape modification. Matrix hardness determines the amount of boudin separation. Direct comparison with natural examples is restricted to boudins suffering no significant pre-fracture plastic deformation (i.e. rectangular- and barrel-shaped boudins), although other types are likely to have the characteristics of barrel and pinch-and-swell styles. The simulations do not consider the nature and timing of boudin-defining fractures but these are important in determining the style of boudinage which ultimately develops. Some mechanical problems associated with the infilling of inter-boudin gaps by ductile rock matrix are discussed and two models proposed. The first, based on yielding fracture mechanics, is used to explain boudins with wedge-shaped (or otherwise nonmatching) ends. The second, a hydraulic model, is proposed to account for gaps between rectangular boudins that are filled by ductile rock matrix.     

Constriction structures related to viscous collision,southern Prince Charles Mountains,Antarctica

Macroscopic structures are investigated in a zone of highly contorted migmatites from the southern Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. Here, L-tectonite fabrics, rods, mullions, boudin pods, elongate enclaves, and fold hinges, are persistent linear features all plunging gently to the northeast. In contrast, amoeboid folds, ptygmatic folds and folded boudins with different orientations are the characteristic structures in transverse sections (perpendicular to the lineation). No consistent shear sense is recognised in any dimension. Together with strain and shape analysis, these observations strongly suggest that the deformation pattern is one of folding and stretching by constriction. Previous timing constraints indicate that this deformation overlapped with the waning stages of anatexis during decompression at approximately 510 Ma, up to 30 million years after initial orogeny at 540 Ma. The zone affected by constriction is several kilometres wide and has a contorted flower-like shape confined between two broad domal antiforms. In this context, the constricted zone is interpreted as a relatively late tectonic feature that could have formed via deep-seated viscous collision in response to orogenic collapse and doming.     

P-T path development derived from shearband boudin microstructure

This work focuses on the development of a regional P-T-path from the Malpica-Lamego Ductile Shear Zone, NW Portugal, based on the microstructures of shearband boudins evolved during progressive simple shear. The combination of microstructural analysis, fluid inclusion studies, crystallographic preffered orientation and fractal geometry analyses, allows to link several stages in the internal evolution of the boudin to regional P-T conditions. The boudinage process is initiated under differential stress after the original layer achieved sufficient viscosity contrast relative to the surrounding matrix. Two main transformations occur simultaneously: i) change in the external shape with continuous evolution from tabular rigid body to sigmoidal asymmetric morphology (shearband boudin) and ii) localized dynamic recrystallization in the sharp-tips of the structure (acute edge of shearband boudin), and along the boudin's margin and grain boundaries. Smaller recrystallized grains, particularly in the sharp-tip domains, accommodate most of the external strain, and larger relict grains are preserved in the centre. Dynamic recrystallization under constant strain rates and strain partitioning inside the boudins is indicated by fractal geometry based on grain boundary and grain area analysis. Progressive deformation leads to the generation of structural and textural heterogeneous domains inside the boudins, and is recorded by quartz c-axis orientation analysis and fluid inclusion studies. The last deformation episode shows the final formation of the blunt-tip domain and internal secondary shear planes. The regional P-T path begins with the crystallization of andalusite after an internal shearband boudin dilation event and ends with quartz dynamic recrystallization on boudin tips. The main deformation stage (310/315 Ma) led to reactivation of internal secondary shear zones with sillimanite crystallization.     

Re-folded structure of syn-orogenic granitoids(Padrón dome,NW Iberia):Assessing rheological evolution of cooling continental crust in a collisional setting

This contribution discusses about the rheological, kinematic and dynamic frameworks necessary to produce recumbent and upright folds from syn-orogenic granitic massifs that were formed during an early stage of magma genesis related to the onset of a migmatitic dome. Syn-kinematic granitoids occurring within the high-grade infrastructure of the Padron migmatitic dome(NW Iberia) are deformed into largescale recumbent folds(D_2) that are later affected by upright folds(D_3). Petrostructural analysis of a selected area of this dome reveals that after a period of crustal thickening(D_1), NNW-directed extensional flow gave way to recumbent folds and penetrative axial plane foliation(S_2). Superimposed subhorizontal compression resulted in upright folds(D_3). A closer view into the dynamics of the dome allows exploring the factors that may condition the nucleation of folds with contrasting geometries during progressive deformation of molten continental crust. The formation of folds affecting syn-kinematic granitoids suggests a cooling metamorphic path in migmatitic domes. Active and passive folding mechanisms require a crystallizing(cooling) magma to nucleate folds. A more competent metamorphic host inhibits fold nucleation from much less competent magmas. As it crystallizes, magma becomes more rigid(competent),and approaches viscosity values of its host. Passive folding is favored when no significant competence contrast exists between magma and host, so this folding mechanism is more likely shortly after magma genesis and emplacement. In such conditions, and under dominant subhorizontal flow accompanied by flattening(D_2),passive folding would produce isoclinal recumbent geometries. Further magma cooling introduces a shift into the rheological behavior of partially molten crust. Thereon, crystallizing magma bodies would represent significant competence contrasts relative to their host. At this point, buckling is a more likely folding mechanism, and more regular, buckle folds re-fold previous structures after significant cooling. The geometry of resulting folds is upright due to dominant subhorizontal compression(D_3) at this stage.     

Structural relations of charnockites of the Archaean Dharwar craton, southern India

Abstract Two varieties of charnockites are recognized in the Dharwar craton of southern India. The style and sequence of structures in one charnockite variety, and related intermediate to basic granulites, are similar to those in the supracrustal rocks of the Dharwar Supergroup and the adjacent Peninsular Gneiss. This style has isoclinal folds with long limbs and sharp hinges with an axial planar fabric in some instances. Additional evidence of flattening is provided by pinch-and-swell and boudinage structures, with basic granulites forming boudins in the more ductile charnockites/enderbites in the limbs of isoclinal folds. These folds are involved in near-coaxial upright folding resulting in the bending of the axial planes of the isoclinal folds and the associated boudins. All these structures are overprinted by non-coaxial upright folds with axial planes striking nearly N–S. The map pattern of charnockites suggests that this sequence of structures is present not only on a mesoscopic scale, but also on a macroscopic scale. Charnockites of this variety provide, in some instances, evidence of having been migmatized to give rise to hornblende–biotite gneiss and biotite gneiss, which form a part of the Peninsular Gneiss terrane.
The second variety comprises charnockite sensu stricto with an entirely different structural style. This type occurs in the tensional domains of the hinge zones of the later buckle folds, in the necks of foliation boudinage, in shear zones and in release joints parallel to the axial planes of the later folds in the Peninsular Gneiss. Because the non-coaxial later folds are associated with a strain pattern different from, and later than, that of the isoclinal folds of the first generation, it follows that charnockites of the Dharwar craton have evolved in at least two distinct phases, separate both in time and in process.     

Data pertinent to the phenomenon of boudinage at Bastogne in the Ardennes

Data are presented pertinent to the genesis of the boudinage structure at Bastogne. It are the geometrical relations between the structural elements, the state of strain of the boudined layer and the relations between the dimensions of individual boudins. These data are consistent with a hypothesis of boudin formation by layer-parallel elongation, preceding the folding of the layers.     

菱形石香肠简单剪切成因模式及其构造流变计

菱形石香肠虽常被作为指示剪切作用的标志,但其形成过程和流变学意义并未完全清楚。纯剪切模式作为一种已被认可的成因模式表明菱形石香肠也可能在简单剪切作用下形成。本文从石香肠与基质的流变差异出发,提出了菱形石香肠的简单剪切成因模式,建立了简单直观的平面模型,即方形石香肠置于方形基质中,后将其简单剪切变形分解为旋转和纯剪变形两步,并利用有限变形几何学知识,计算出理论的菱形石香肠剪切角和层面转动角,其与有限元数字模拟的实验结果还是较接近的。进一步的理论分析给出了利用菱形石香肠几何学参数(剪切角和层面转动角)求取石香肠与基质粘度比的方法,即菱形石香肠构造流变计,并运用它在湖北铁山地区获得石香肠的粘度是基质的4.76倍,菱形石香肠构造流变计扩展了香肠构造流变计的适用范围,提供了在野外快捷测算岩石粘度比的途径。     

Theory of chocolate tablet boudinage

Two-dimensional boudinage in a flattening type of bulk deformation, with equal layer-parallel extensions in all directions, leads to the development of roundish or polygonal outlines of boudins in plan-view. As combined experimental and theoretical studies show, chocolate tablet boudinage with two sets of mutually perpendicular boudin axes may form in different ways. (1) Unequal layer-parallel extension in the matrix results in one set of extension fractures forming perpendicular to the greatest principal stress in the matrix. Once these long narrow boudins are formed, the greatest principal stress in the brittle layer becomes approximately parallel to the long axis of the boudin. As a result a second set of fractures forms normal to the first set. (2) In lineated rocks the anisotropy of tensile strength leads to the sequential formation of two sets of extension fractures, parallel and perpendicular to the lineation. Depending on the orientation of the lineation the boudin axes may or may not be parallel to the principal stresses in the matrix. (3) Boudins with rectangular plan-view may also form when two successive events of unidirectional boudinage are superposed on one another. Irrespective of the direction of principal extensional strain rate in the matrix, the second generation extension fractures are likely to form approximately perpendicular to the first generation boudin axes.     

Stress and displacement analysis of boudinages by the finite-element method

The paper deals with the displacement and stress distribution in boudinage structures. To analyze this, the finite-element method is used. Four models are examined.The first model treats three homogeneous bands. The displacement of the central band produces a barrel-shaped structure. The tension is greatest in the central part of this band and decreases almost continuously towards the shorter edges. If the band ruptures, the rupture will occur in the central part.The second model treats a quarter of a total structure that is already in part a developed boudinage. This development is followed through 19 iterative steps. The displacement analysis demonstrates that the boudin is displaced towards the free short edge and becomes more barrel-shaped, thinner and wider. The mean stress has two, local, tensilestress maxima inside the boudin at the upper boundary: one in the gap area and the other in the matrix at the outer, short edge of the boudin.The third model treats a quarter of a developed boudinage with two materials in the matrix. Displacement analyses demonstrate that the barrel shape of the boudin becomes more pronounced when the competence contrast between boudin and matrix decreases.One axis of principal stress has a direction in every element close to the x-axis of the model. In the area marked PbS (model 6A), this axis shows a local tensile-stress maximum and a local compressive-stress maximum. In model 6B, these points are still extreme points, but the local compressive-stress maximum has changed to a local tensile-stress maximum.The fourth model treats a boudinage in which one boudin is rotated. Displacement analyses demonstrate that the boudins tend to rotate to a position in which they are parallel, diverging a little from a right angle to the angle of the applied pressure. The mean stress demonstrates a pressure shadow in the PbS area, with a slight displacement downwards in the area beside the rotated boudin.The stress distribution corresponds to the mineral distribution of the boudinage from the Udden Mine. The investigation indicates a direct relationship between grain size and stress distribution.     

Morphology and kinematics of boudinage vein systems,Great Keppel Island,Queensland

Strongly boudinaged sandstone beds in a Palaeozoic accretionary complex are exposed on Great Keppel Island, off the central Queensland coast. Viewed in profile, the boudins are folded around mesoscopic F₂ hinge zones and overprinted by S₂ foliation indicating formation either during Late Carboniferous subduction accretion (D₁) or during a previously unrecognised discrete early phase of the Permian deformation (D₂). Boudin profiles record an average stretch of 1.51, although the contribution of D₂ and later deformation is not determined. Viewed in the plane of bedding, vein traces are variable and oblique to boudin necks by an average of 12° anticlockwise. The overall en echelon arrangement of veins in boudin necks is a primary feature of the structure and cannot be attributed to later deformation. This pattern of veining indicates oblique extension of the boudin necks by low‐vorticity non‐coaxial flow within the plane of bedding. One possible setting with such kinematics is the limb of a non‐cylindrical fold.     

Factors affecting the kinematic interpretation of asymmetric boudinage in shear zones

Based on work along a major mylonite zone in the northern Appalachians and scale model studies, a new mechanism for the origin of asymmetric boudins in shear zones is proposed. Along the Honey Hill Fault in southern Connecticut, granitic sills intruded into calc-silicate gneisses and schists were oblique to the boundaries of the mylonite zone and experienced the following sequence in the production of sigmoidal boudins: (1) as the calc-silicate schists experienced mylonitization and flow, the more competent, coarse-grained granitic sills deformed by extensional fracturing and quartz veining; (2) continued extension of granitic sills was accommodated by ‘normal’ shear on early-formed quartz veins; (3) continuing extension of sills and ductile modification of the corners of boudins resulted in granitic ‘fish’ with tails which stream from the top of the boudin in the ‘down-dip’ direction and from the bottom in the ‘up-dip’ direction. Based on a variety of kinematic indicators, the sense of asymmetry of the tails is identical to that expected for recrystallization tails on sheared augen (σ structure). Models composed of silicone putty and Plasticine were created to investigate the effect of pre-shearing geometry on boudin evolution, and were deformed in a simple shear device. The models reproduce the kinematics deduced from field relations and suggest that one of the primary factors in controlling the amount of extension is the angle which early veins make with the shear zone boundary. Varying the angular relationships in the models suggests that other pre-shearing geometric factors may affect the geometry of boudins formed in this way. Boudins formed through this mechanism appear very similar to Hanmer's type II asymmetric boudins. Because the pre-shearing geometry can exert a control on boudin asymmetry, caution should be used when attempting to deduce shear sense or shear strain values from asymmetric boudinage.     

Geometry and architecture of faults in a syn-rift normal fault array: The Nukhul half-graben, Suez rift, Egypt

The geometry and architecture of a well exposed syn-rift normal fault array in the Suez rift is examined. At pre-rift level, the Nukhul fault consists of a single zone of intense deformation up to 10 m wide, with a significant monocline in the hanging wall and much more limited folding in the footwall. At syn-rift level, the fault zone is characterised by a single discrete fault zone less than 2 m wide, with damage zone faults up to approximately 200 m into the hanging wall, and with no significant monocline developed. The evolution of the fault from a buried structure with associated fault-propagation folding, to a surface-breaking structure with associated surface faulting, has led to enhanced bedding-parallel slip at lower levels that is absent at higher levels. Strain is enhanced at breached relay ramps and bends inherited from pre-existing structures that were reactivated during rifting. Damage zone faults observed within the pre-rift show ramp-flat geometries associated with contrast in competency of the layers cut and commonly contain zones of scaly shale or clay smear. Damage zone faults within the syn-rift are commonly very straight, and may be discrete fault planes with no visible fault rock at the scale of observation, or contain relatively thin and simple zones of scaly shale or gouge. The geometric and architectural evolution of the fault array is interpreted to be the result of (i) the evolution from distributed trishear deformation during upward propagation of buried fault tips to surface faulting after faults breach the surface; (ii) differences in deformation response between lithified pre-rift units that display high competence contrasts during deformation, and unlithified syn-rift units that display low competence contrasts during deformation, and; (iii) the history of segmentation, growth and linkage of the faults that make up the fault array. This has important implications for fluid flow in fault zones.     

Asymmetrical pull-aparts and foliation fish as kinematic indicators

From field observations, asymmetrical boudins, pinch-and-swell structures and ellipsoidal volumes of oblique foliation segments in anisotropic rocks lacking competent layers are potentially useful kinematic indicators in shear zones. They are derived by the modification of initially symmetrical pull-aparts and/or layering by superposed layer-parallel shearing. The response of boudins to such shear is a synthetic flow of those corner volumes lying within the extensional quadrants of the kinematic framework of the deformation into the inter-boudin gaps (Type 1 asymmetrical pull-aparts). The response of pinch-and-swell structure is a back-rotation of the ‘swells’ to form Type 2 asymmetrical pull-aparts. Discrete extensional shears in the ‘pinches’ may be either absent (Type 2A) or present (Type 2B). Analogues of Types 2A and 2B asymmetrical pull-aparts occur in anisotropic materials with no compositionally distinct competent members where ellipsoidal volumes contain back-rotated foliation segments (foliation fish).The field-based kinematic interpretation was successfully tested by laboratory experiment wherein initially symmetrical trains of pre-formed competent, internally anisotropic boudins and pinch-and-swell structures were deformed in bulk simple shear. A mechanical model is presented in terms of two material properties of the inclusions (competence/viscosity and internal rheological anisotropy) in an attempt to account for the observed flow in the experiments and the deduced flow and kinematic significance of the natural examples. In the presence of angular corners and associated geometrical stress concentrations, competence/viscosity controls the response to shear in the boudins. In the absence of angular corners, internal anisotropy controls the response to shear in the pinch-and-swell structures and in the foliation fish.     

Deformation history of the Hampden Synform in the Eastern Fold Belt of the Mt Isa terrane

The moderately metamorphosed and deformed rocks exposed in the Hampden Synform, Eastern Fold Belt, in the Mt Isa terrane, underwent complex multiple deformations during the early Mesoproterozoic Isan Orogeny (ca 1590–1500 Ma). The earliest deformation elements preserved in the Hampden Synform are first‐generation tight to isoclinal folds and an associated axial‐planar slaty cleavage. Preservation of recumbent first‐generation folds in the hinge zones of second‐generation folds, and the approximately northeast‐southwest orientation of restored L¹ ₀ intersection lineation suggest recumbent folding occurred during east‐west to northwest‐southeast shortening. First‐generation folds are refolded by north‐south‐oriented upright non‐cylindrical tight to isoclinal second‐generation folds. A differentiated axial‐planar cleavage to the second‐generation fold is the dominant fabric in the study area. This fabric crenulates an earlier fabric in the hinge zones of second‐generation folds, but forms a composite cleavage on the fold limbs. Two weakly developed steeply dipping crenulation cleavages overprint the dominant composite cleavage at a relatively high angle (>45°). These deformations appear to have had little regional effect. The composite cleavage is also overprinted by a subhorizontal crenulation cleavage inferred to have developed during vertical shortening associated with late‐orogenic pluton emplacement. We interpret the sequence of deformation events in the Hampden Synform to reflect the progression from thin‐skinned crustal shortening during the development of first‐generation structures to thick‐skinned crustal shortening during subsequent events. The Hampden Synform is interpreted to occur within a progressively deformed thrust slice located in the hangingwall of the Overhang Shear.     

STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION OF THE KULU-RAMPUR AND LARJI WINDOW ZONES, WESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA

STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION OF THE KULU-RAMPUR AND LARJI WINDOW ZONES, WESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA     

A stress-transfer model for the development of extension fracture boudinage

The term boudinage is used to describe a wide variety of extensional structures in deformed rocks. This paper is mainly concerned with boudinage resulting from through-layer extension fractures followed by separation of the layer segments, thus forming boudins with more or less rectangular cross-sections. In principle, this process is similar to the break up of fibres in fibre-reinforced composite materials extended parallel to the fibre direction. Both processes are controlled by the transfer of stress from the matrix to the fibre (or layer) and a mathematical model for fibre-matrix stress transfer (the ‘fibre-loading’ model) is well established. We have used this as a basis for developing a stress transfer model for boudinage. The only difference in the basic mathematical formulation results from geometric differences between the two systems; the geometric expressions in the fibre-loading model have, therefore, been rederived for the layer-matrix case.Stress-transfer theory predicts that the tensile stress in a layer segment rises from a minimum at the end of a segment to a maximum at the centre. This behaviour, which is clearly shown by finite-element models of boudinage structure, suggests that extension fracture boudinage develops by successive ‘mid-point’ fracturing. According to stress-transfer theory, the process will continue until a layer is reduced to segments (boudins) all of which are shorter than some critical length (for which the tensile fracture strength of the layer is equal to the tensile stress at the mid-point). In practice, successive fracturing will be influenced by two other factors: (1) in nature the controlling material properties (tensile fracture strength, elastic moduli) will not be single-valued but will have a distribution reflecting local variations in lithology and microstructure and (2) major pre-deformation flaws may be present in a layer which will control the ‘starting length’ of layer segments. These factors are incorporated with the stress-transfer theory into a statistical (Monte Carlo) model for extension fracture boudinage which results in a prediction of boudin aspect ratios. The predicted distribution compares very closely with the observed distribution of 91 quartzite boudins within Lower Carboniferous slates at Tintagel, Cornwall.The stress-transfer model implies that boudin-defining fractures occur sequentially so that inter-boudin gap lengths will be unequal. Strain estimates based on boudinage structure will vary according to which part and how much of a layer is sampled. A much improved strain estimate is possible based on sequentially closing the inter-boudin gaps. The stress-transfer theory also leads to the possibility of estimating palaeostress from boudinage structure and is the only model available which predicts an aspect ratio distribution of boudins formed by extension fracture. Other than our own, we know of no published data on boudin aspect ratio distributions. Hence, further elaboration of the model is not possible until more field data is available. We hope that our work will encourage the systematic measurement of boudinage as well as the development of alternative models.     

Fold propagation in single embedded layers

This paper investigates the folding of single competent layers embedded in a less competent matrix, where the competence contrast is about 10: 1. Folds result from buckling during layer-parallel compression. A geometrical study of natural examples shows that individual folds tend to be grouped into fold complexes.The amplitude varies from a maximum at the centre of a complex to a minimum at each end. Each complex is often centred about a sedimentary lens or nodule which may have triggered the folding and localized the complex. The formation of folds of this kind has been simulated experimentally by deformation of models made from paraffin waxes of known rheological properties. Early in the deformation of a model, buckling starts at a localized site of disturbance, producing only one fold. With further deformation, new folds appear at either side of the initial one. The buckling then propagates along the layering, further folds appearing serially in time and distance. The end result is a complex with many individual folds and a regularly periodic shape.With a competence contrast of 10: 1, the rate of fold propagation is slow, and formation of a periodic complex requires an overall shortening of at least 15%. The shapes of folds formed experimentally are similar to those formed naturally.     

The structure and metamorphism of the Red Point Metamorphic Complex—A newly discovered high-pressure metamorphic complex from the south coast of Tasmania

This study presents new data on the deformational and metamorphic history of previously unstudied Cambrian high-pressure metamorphic rocks exposed on the remote south coast of Tasmania. The Red Point Metamorphic Complex consists of two blocks of high-pressure, medium-grade metamorphic rocks including pelitic schist and minor garnet-bearing amphibolite, which are faulted against a sequence of low-grade phyllite and quartzite. The Red Point Metamorphic Complex records five phases of deformation, all of which except the first are expressed at a mesoscopic scale in both the medium- and low-grade rocks. Peak metamorphic conditions in the high-pressure epidote–amphibolite facies is recorded by medium-grade schist and amphibolite and was synchronous with the second major deformation event, which produced a pervasive schistosity and mesoscale isoclinal folds. The juxtaposition of the low- and medium-grade rocks is interpreted to have first occurred prior to the development of upright, opening folding associated with the third deformation. However, the present contacts between the two contrasting metamorphic sequences formed during widespread faulting and ductile-shear zone development associated with the fourth and fifth deformation events. The new data from the Red Point Metamorphic Complex provide insights into the structural and metamorphic history experienced by the medium-grade rocks of Tasmania during the Cambrian Tyennan Orogeny. This study demonstrates that Cambrian medium-grade metamorphic rocks are more widespread throughout Tasmania than previously realised, which represents an important step towards understanding the large-scale architecture of the Tyennan Orogen.     

Petrological evidence for the development of refolded folds during a single deformational event

The Pelona Schist, which forms the lower plate of the Vincent thrust in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California, has undergone a complex history of folding. The youngest folds in the schist (style 2 folds) range in shape from open to tight and fold both compositional layering and schistosity. These are superposed upon isoclinal folds with axial-plane schistosity (style 1 folds) that, in turn, overprint older isoclinal folds (also called style 1 folds). Samples from the hinges of style 2 folds contain two generations of muscovite. Muscovites of the older generation are parallel to the folded (style 1) schistosity. The newer muscovites recrystallized during and/or after style 2 folding. Microprobe analysis indicates that the two generations of muscovite are very similar in composition, although the new muscovites tend to have slightly higher paragonite and celadonite contents than the old muscovites. From the gross similarity of the two groups of muscovite, it is concluded that the style 1 and style 2 folds were produced during a single progressive deformation. The slightly higher paragonite and celadonite contents of the new muscovites are thought to indicate that both pressure and temperature were increasing during the deformation. This is consistent with the deformation being due to underthrusting of the Pelona Schist beneath the upper plate of the Vincent thrust.