Early Namaqua low-pressure metamorphism: deformation and porphyroblast growth in the Zoovoorby staurolite schist, South Africa

This paper describes the deformation and metamorphism recorded in the Zoovoorby staurolite schist, a sliver of pelitic supracrustal material in the 1.3–1.0 Ga eastern Namaqua Province, South Africa. The supracrustal Biesjepoort Group, of which the schist is a part, has undergone at least four phases of deformation (D₁–D₄). D₁ and D₂ are preserved in the pelitic schists; staurolite and garnet grew during D₁, with staurolite growth persisting to the very earliest D₂ crenulation. Andalusite, found in more Mg-rich schists, grew during D₂, overprinting both S₁ schistosity and S₀ banding. S₂ has been rotated both with respect to S₁ (preserved as parallel orientated inclusion trails in garnet and staurolite) and with respect to its original orientation (preserved as open D₂ crenulations in staurolite). Staurolite is dissolved against S₂ in zones of progressive shear. The pseudomorphing of staurolite and andalusite by cordierite, and the preservation of relic grains of both minerals in a wide range of garnet–cordierite pelites throughout the eastern Namaqua Province infers that what is preserved fortuitously in the Zoovoorby locality is representative of the early metamorphic history of a much larger terrane. The high thermal gradients needed to attain estimated conditions of 540–550° C and 1.6–2.4 kbar require substantial heat input. Large amounts of foliated (syn-D₂) granite amongst the supracrustal succession are inferred to be the result of delamination of a thickened crust at a destructive plate margin, generating an elevated thermal gradient during D₁–D₂ times.     

Plagioclase porphyroblast growth and its relation to deformation in the Alhamilla unit (Sierra Alhamilla, Betic Cordilleras, SE Spain)

Abstract. Plagioclase porphyroblasts from silvergrey schists belonging to the Nevado Filabride Complex in the Sierra Alhamilla (Betic Zone, SE Spain) are interpreted as having been formed preand synkinematically with respect to the second phase of deformation. Different types of inclusion patterns represent 'snap-shots'(high growth-rate/strain-rate ratio features) of the formation of a diffentiated crenulation cleavage during this second phase of deformation, by the processes of kinking, crenulation and associated differentiation.
Regional considerations indicate an Alpine age for this tectono-metamorphic event, which can be explained by the'hot emplacement'of the higher Nevado Filabride units. The observed structural evolution is not consistent with a pre-Alpine polyphase deformation history.     

Fan-shaped staurolite in the Bolton syncline, eastern Connecticut: evidence for porphyroblast rotation during growth

Fan‐shaped polycrystalline staurolite porphyroblasts, 3–4 cm in length and 0.5 cm in width, occur together with centimetre‐sized euhedral prismatic staurolite porphyroblasts in pelitic schists of the Littleton Formation on the western overturned limb of the Bolton syncline in eastern Connecticut. The fans consist of intergrown planar splays of [001] elongated prisms, which are crudely radial from a single apex. The apical angles of the radial groupings range up to 70°. The orientations of the individual staurolite prisms are related by a rigid rotation about an axis perpendicular to the fan plane. The zone axes [001] always lie in the plane of the fan. Although the angle between the [100] zone axes of the individual prisms is uniform in each fan, it ranges from +30° to ?30° in different fans. Internally, the fans display: (i) remnants of a passively captured S_i foliation defined by disc‐shaped quartz blebs (type 1 inclusions) and layers of very fine carbonaceous material and tabular ilmenite platelets; (ii) bent staurolite blades and undulose extinction along low‐angle (010) subgrain boundaries near the apex of the fans; (iii) wedge‐shaped dilatational zones containing equigranular inclusion‐free quartz, mica and staurolite, and (iv) growth‐related quartz inclusion trails roughly perpendicular to a crystal face (type 2 inclusions). The S_i inclusion trails are typically perpendicular to the fan surface, radiate parallel to the blades, and show little to no curvature except at the very edge of the fans where they abruptly curve through nearly 90° into parallelism with an external S_e foliation. Careful examination of the three‐dimensional geometry of fans based on U‐stage measurements, serial sections and two‐circle optical goniometric measurements permits a detailed reconstruction of their sequential development. The origin of a fan involves limited intracrystalline deformation and brittle crack dilation, spalling, rotation, and growth of small marginal fragments and of new staurolite along wedge‐shaped zones along the S_i inclusion surfaces. Fans preferentially develop in porphyroblasts in which S_i is subparallel to the 010 cleavage. These internal features reflect the rotation and deformation of a brittle porphyroblast relative to syn‐growth shear stresses.     

The last million years of deformation in part of the New Zealand plate-boundary zone

Tectonic deformation of Pleistocene sediments is occurring within the plate-boundary zone in the North Island of New Zealand. Folds, associated with an active fault, are forming mainly by flexural-slip, and contain comformable and unconformable relations which show that the folding started ca 1.0 Ma. Simple geometric models of fold growth indicate that the fold structure has shortened at an average rate of 0.76 ± 0.1 mm a⁻¹ across 4.5 km, though with an increase in the last 100 Ka of about 1.8 times the average rate, which is entirely compatible with the rate of shortening observed in the last 50 years from retriangulation studies. Areas for 15 km to the southeast of the fold structures show significantly lower horizontal shortening rates. The strain rates across the plate-boundary zone vary both with position and time, with a negative correlation between the uplift pattern and the inferred geological shortening rates. This can be explained by the presence of large semi-rigid blocks within the plate-boundary zone which are back-tilting and overriding weaker more rapidly deforming areas. The available evidence suggests that a large proportion of the deformation is occurring seismically.     

Timing of porphyroblast growth in the Fleur de Lys Supergroup, Newfoundland

Abstract In the Fleur de Lys Supergroup, western Newfoundland, inclusion trails in garnet and albite porphyroblasts indicate that porphyroblasts overgrew a crenulation foliation, without rotation, probably during the deformation event that produced the crenulations. Further deformation of the matrix resulted in strong re-orientation and retrograde metamorphism of the matrix foliation, which is consequently highly oblique to the crenulation foliation preserved in the porphyroblasts. The resulting matrix foliation locally preserves relics of the early crenulations, and also has itself been crenulated later in places. Thus the porphyroblasts grew before the later stages of deformation, rather than during the final stage, as had been suggested previously. The new interpretation is consistent with available ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages which indicate a late Ordovician-early Silurian metamorphic peak, rather than the Devonian peak suggested by previous workers. The inclusion patterns and microprobe data indicate normal outward growth of garnet porphyroblasts from a central nucleus, rather than as a series of veins as proposed by de Wit (1976a, b). However, the observations presented here support growth of porphyroblasts without rotation, which is implied by the de Wit model.     

Lack of porphyroblast rotation in the Otago schists, New Zealand: implications for crenulation cleavage development, folding and deformation partitioning

Porphyroblasts of garnet and plagioclase in the Otago schists have not rotated relative to geographic coordinates during non-coaxial deformation that post-dates their growth. Inclusion trails in most of the porphyroblasts are oriented near-vertical and near-horizontal, and the strike of near-vertical inclusion trails is consistent over 3000 km². Microstructural relationships indicate that the porphyroblasts grew in zones of progressive shortening strain, and that the sense of shear affecting the geometry of porphyroblast inclusion trails on the long limbs of folds is the same as the bulk sense of displacement of fold closures. This is contrary to the sense of shear inferred when porphyroblasts are interpreted as having rotated during folding.
Several crenulation cleavage/fold models have previously been developed to accommodate the apparent sense of rotation of porphyroblasts that grew during folding. In the light of accumulating evidence that porphyroblasts do not generally rotate, the applicability of these models to deformed rocks is questionable.
Whether or not porphyroblasts rotate depends on how deformation is partitioned. Lack of rotation requires that progressive shearing strain (rotational deformation) be partitioned around rigid heterogeneities, such as porphyroblasts, which occupy zones of progressive shortening or no strain (non-rotational deformation). Therefore, processes operating at the porphyroblast/matrix boundary are important considerations. Five qualitative models are presented that accommodate stress and strain energy at the boundary without rotating the porphyroblast: (a) a thin layer of fluid at the porphyroblast boundary; (2) grain-boundary sliding; (3) a locked porphyroblast/matrix boundary; (4) dissolution at the porphyroblast/matrix boundary, and (5) an ellipsoidal porphyroblast/shadow unit.     

The problem, significance and implications for metamorphism of 60 million years of multiple phases of staurolite growth

Microstructural measurements of FIAs in staurolite reveal at least 3 periods of growth in the Proterozoic Colorado Front Range and 5 in the Paleozoic Western Maine. Dated monazite inclusions in staurolite have an absolute age of 1760±12 Ma (FIA 1), 1720±7 Ma (FIA 2), 1682±18 Ma (FIA 3) in Colorado, and 408±10 Ma (FIA 2), 388±8 Ma (FIA 3), 372±6 Ma (FIA 4), 352±4 Ma (FIA 5) in Maine, supporting the multiple periods of deformation and metamorphism indicated by the FIA succession in each region. Multiple phases of growth by similar reactions in the same as well as in diverse adjacent rocks in both regions suggest that PT and X are not the only factors controlling the commencement and cessation of metamorphic reactions. The FIAs preserved by the staurolite porphyroblasts indicate that the local partitioning of deformation at the scale of a porphyroblast was the eventual controlling factor on whether or not the staurolite forming reactions took place.     

The problem,significance and implications for metamorphism of 60 million years of multiple phases of staurolite growth

Microstructural measurements of FIAs in staurolite reveal at least 3 periods of growth in the Proterozoic Colorado Front Range and 5 in the Paleozoic Western Maine. Dated monazite inclusions in staurolite have an absolute age of 1760±12 Ma (FIA 1), 1720±7 Ma (FIA 2), 1682±18 Ma (FIA 3) in Colorado, and 408±10 Ma (FIA 2), 388±8 Ma (FIA 3), 372±6 Ma (FIA 4), 352±4 Ma (FIA 5) in Maine, supporting the multiple periods of deformation and metamorphism indicated by the FIA succession in each region. Multiple phases of growth by similar reactions in the same as well as in diverse adjacent rocks in both regions suggest that PT and X are not the only factors controlling the commencement and cessation of metamorphic reactions. The FIAs preserved by the staurolite porphyroblasts indicate that the local partitioning of deformation at the scale of a porphyroblast was the eventual controlling factor on whether or not the staurolite forming reactions took place.     

Microstructural controls and the role of graphite in matrix/ porphyroblast exchange during synkinematic andalusite growth in a granitoid aureole

Abstract In the contact metamorphic aureole of the Tinaroo Batholith (north Queensland, Australia), mylonitic rocks were metamorphosed during a regional folding/crenulation event (D₂) synchronous with the emplacement of muscovite-bearing granitoids. Prismatic and skeletal andalusite porphyoblasts grew in carbonaceous schists, mainly from the dissolution of staurolite. Muscovite, quartz and biotite played a dual role in this reaction, acting in a catalytic capacity as well as reactants or products. Staurolite was replaced by coarse-grained muscovite ± biotite, whereas andalusite locally replaced quartz ± muscovite ± biotite, with diffusion of H, Al, Si, Mg, Fe and K ionic species linking sites of dissolution and growth. Graphite contributed to the reaction mechanism in a number of ways. Accumulations of graphite in front of advancing andalusite crystal faces led to skeletal growth and the formation of chiastolite structure, where incremental growth occurred on adjacent {110} faces, with subsequent filling in and inclusion of graphite along the diagonal zones. The presence of graphite in some layers in the schist matrix prevented recrystallization of strained muscovite grains. The muscovite grains in these layers, in contrast to adjacent thin non-graphitic layers, were preferentially replaced by quartz. This resulted in muscovite-depletion haloes in graphitic layers around andalusite porphyroblasts. Somewhat arcuate zones of graphite, concentrated during dissolution of quartz along a crenulation cleavage, occur on some andalusite faces. Reactivation of the mylonitic foliation during the formation of D₂ crenulations led to a preferential dissolution of quartz in zones of progressive shearing localized near andalusite porphyroblasts and hence the accumulation of graphite. Lack of deflection of the pre-existing mylonitic foliation and anastomosing of the axial planes of D₂ crenulations around andalusite porphyroblasts demonstrate not only the timing of growth, but also that growing porphyroblasts do not push aside existing foliations.     

Episodic metamorphic reactions during orogenesis: the control of deformation partitioning on reaction sites and reaction duration

Abstract Textural ‘unconformities’or truncations are common in porphyroblasts with complex inclusion trails. They reflect cycles of successive foliations that develop against competent porphyroblasts during orogenesis and are preserved by successive growth increments. Their truncational character results from shear and dissolution along a particular foliation generating a differentiated crenulation cleavage. The increment of porphyroblast growth that follows a textural ‘unconformity’may or may not mark a significant compositional change, depending on the amount of movement of the rock through P–T space between cleavage-forming events. Although historically interpreted to result from a significant metamorphic hiatus, most textural unconformities indicate that the reactions involved in the formation of these minerals are episodic during continuous prograde metamorphism, starting and stopping as a function of the stage of crenulation of the matrix foliation and the pattern of deformation partitioning. Such episodic reaction behaviour can only occur for multivariant reactions, or successive but different univariant reactions. The reason why garnet is the most common porphyroblast to exhibit evidence for episodic reactions is probably the fact that it grows by multivariant reactions over a much wider P–T range than most other common porphyroblast phases. Porphyroblast growth is micrometasomatic. It is episodic because a significant reduction of strain occurs within domains of progressive shortening each time continuous progressive shearing domains form on their margins. This stops microfracture development across the progressive shortening domains, thereby preventing rapid access and interaction of fluid, ions and complexes with porphyroblast boundaries. Shifting patterns of deformation partitioning and resulting small-scale juxtaposition of different compositional layers spreads the duration and location of multivariant reactions and causes differential timing of porphyroblast growth along a particular stratigraphic horizon. It may also locally preserve metastable metamorphic assemblages. In regionally metamorphosing/deforming pelites, near-simultaneous cessation of porphyroblast growth on all rims, once continuous differentiated progressive shearing domains have formed nearby, precludes fluid recirculation as a significant process for removal of material during cleavage development. Alternatively, diffusion of simple molecules and dissociated ions along actively shearing and micro-gaped phyllosilicates, with recomplexing in fluid-filled microfractures, readily explains the control of deformation partitioning on reaction site and reaction duration.     

Episodic porphyroblast growth in the Fleur de Lys Supergroup, Newfoundland: timing relative to the sequential development of multiple crenulation cleavages

Inclusion trails in garnet and albite porphyroblasts in the Fleur de Lys Supergroup preserve successive generations of microstructures, some of which correlate with equivalent microstructures in the matrix. Microstructure–porphyroblast relationships provide timing constraints on a succession of seven crenulation cleavages (S1–S7) and five stages of porphyroblast growth. Significant destruction and alteration of early fabrics has occurred during the microstructural development of the rock mass. Garnet porphyroblasts grew episodically through four growth stages (G1–G4) and preserve a succession of five fabrics (S1–S5) as inclusion trails. Garnet growth during each of the four growth phases did not occur on all pre-existing porphyroblasts, resulting in contrasting growth histories between individual garnet porphyroblasts from the same outcrop. Albite porphyroblasts grew during a single stage of growth and have overgrown microstructures continuous with the matrix. The garnet and albite porphyroblast inclusion trails record a succession of crenulation cleavages without any rotation of the porphyroblasts relative to other porphyroblasts in the population.
Complex microstructural histories are best resolved by preparing multiple oriented thin sections from a large number of samples of different rock types within the area of study. The succession of matrix foliations must be understood, as it provides the most useful time-frame against which to measure the relative timing of phases of porphyroblast growth. Comparable microstructures must be identified in different porphyroblasts and in the rock matrix.     

Fifty years of organisational change in container shipping: regional shift and the role of family firms

Spectacular growth has marked the industry initiated by Malcolm McLean with the sailing of the Ideal-X in 1956. While the growth of container shipping has been typically seen in terms of technological advances, increasing vessel capacity, traffic growth, financial performance and competitiveness, it has been shaped also by organisational transformations. This paper provides an overview of the major companies that make up the container shipping industry, tracing the rapid adoption of containerisation by American carriers to its diffusion to Europe and then Asia. While several carriers belong to business conglomerates, the most dynamic in recent years have been those that are those that possess a family structure. About 12 of the present top 20 carriers are largely family controlled, including 4 out of the top 5. Unlike other capital intensive industries, where the power has shifted towards corporate governance, the container shipping industry retains a strong individualistic entrepreneurial character. At a time when North American ownership in container shipping is no more, the spirit of innovation began 50 years ago by an American visionary is still evident in the entrepreneurial dynamism of many of the industry leaders.     

The effects of porphyroblast growth on the effective viscosity of metapelitic rocks: implications for the strength of the middle crust

Numerical models are used to examine the effects of porphyroblast growth on the rheology of compositionally layered rocks (metapelites and metapsammites) and by extension the middle crust during prograde metamorphism. As porphyroblast abundance increases during prograde metamorphism, metapelitic layers will strengthen relative to porphyroblast‐free metapelitic units, and potentially relative to quartzofeldspathic metapsammitic units. As metapelitic layers become stronger, the integrated strength of compositionally layered successions increases, potentially causing large volumes of mid‐crustal rock to strengthen, altering the strain‐rate distribution in the middle crust and affecting the geodynamic evolution of an orogenic belt. The growth of effectively rigid porphyroblasts creates strength heterogeneities in the layer undergoing porphyroblast growth, which leads to complex strain‐rate distributions within the layer. At the orogen scale, the strengthening of large crustal volumes (on the order of thousands of cubic kilometres) changes the strain‐rate distribution, which may change exhumation rates of high‐grade metamorphic rocks, the geothermal structure and the topography of the orogen. The presence of a strong zone in the middle crust causes strain‐rate partitioning around the zone, suppressed uplift rates within and above the zone and leads to the development of a basin on the surface.     

The growth, collapse and quiescence of Teno volcano, Tenerife: new constraints from paleomagnetic data

Tenerife basically consists of three Miocene shield volcanoes, the Anaga, the Teno and Central shield, as well as the Pliocene Cañadas volcano. The temporal evolution and structural significance of each volcano with respect to the history of Tenerife is still a matter of debate. We present paleomagnetic results in order to enhance the view of the volcanic history of the Teno volcano by means of magnetostratigraphy. It is found that the initial subaerial phase shows reverse magnetizations throughout. After two major sector collapses, dominantly normally magnetized lavas extruded. Comparisons of observed magnetic polarities with the geomagnetic polarity timescale show that these volcanic activities occurred within 0.4 Myr between 6.3 and 5.9 Ma. Significantly younger flows, ～ 5.3 Myr old according to their radiometric age, revealed again normal polarity throughout. The absence of inversely magnetized lavas in-between the two normal periods indicates a volcanic hiatus or erosional phase. The evolutionary sequence and the estimated high production rates for the initial building phase are similar as would be expected for a hotspot volcano. The average geomagnetic field for 6.0 ± 0.2 Ma is close to an axial dipole field showing a slight far-sided/right-handed effect. The field strength, determined by Thellier-type intensity determinations, corresponds to a virtual axial dipole moment of 4.9 × 10²² A m². This value is approximately half of the present day field strength, but similar to values obtained for the mid-Miocene. It also corresponds to the proposed tertiary low-field level of the geomagnetic dipole moment.     

Apparent oxygen isotope equilibrium during progressive foliation development and porphyroblast growth in metapelites: implications for stable isotope and conventional thermometry

The assumption of oxygen isotope and major element equilibrium during prograde metamorphism was tested using staurolite‐grade pelitic schists that have undergone sequential porphyroblast growth and multiple episodes of recrystallization of matrix minerals and foliation development. Textural relationships are used to infer a metamorphic history that involves garnet growth followed by staurolite growth, with each porphyroblast growth event followed by at least one period of recrystallization of matrix minerals. Conventional geothermobarometry using Qtz–Grt–Pl–Ms–Bt ± St equilibria yields peak P–T conditions of c. 625 °C at 9–11 kbar, consistent with KMnFMASH petrogenetic grid predictions for stability of the assemblage Grt + St + Bt. Qtz–Grt oxygen isotope fractionations yield apparent temperatures of c. 590 °C and Qtz–St fractionations yield an apparent temperature of c. 595 °C. Diffusional modelling indicates that quartz isotopic compositions were reset by c. 30 °C via retrograde isotopic diffusional exchange with micas. The isotopic temperatures appear to be in excellent agreement with one another, and suggest oxygen isotope equilibrium was attained between garnet and staurolite at c. 625 °C. However, the agreement of Qtz–Grt and Qtz–Str isotopic temperatures is not consistent with petrographic observations (garnet grew before staurolite) and petrogenetic grid constraints that predict that garnet grows over a temperature interval of c. 525–550 °C. Given that: (i) oxygen diffusion rates in staurolite and garnet are slow enough to render an individual porphyroblast effectively closed to exchange after it forms; and (ii) matrix minerals are able to exchange isotopes via recrystallization during each period of deformation; garnet and staurolite could not have simultaneously achieved oxygen isotope equilibrium with each other or with minerals in the recrystallized matrix. Thus, the Qtz–Grt fractionations, which yield apparent temperatures that are in apparent agreement with peak metamorphic temperature and apparent temperatures for Qtz–St fractionations, cannot be fractionations resulting from equilibrium isotopic exchange. Instead, they are apparent fractionations between porphyroblasts formed at different temperature and times in the prograde P–T–D path, and quartz that recrystallized and exchanged with micas and plagioclase during several phases of deformation.     

Two phases of Paleoproterozoic orogenesis in the Tarim Craton: Implications for Columbia assembly

Paleoproterozoic orogenic pulses associated magmatism and metamorphism provide important constraints on the assembly of Columbia. New zircon UPb ages and whole-rock geochemistry results are reported from the Tarim craton, an externally positioned landmass within the Columbia supercontinent. Two samples of low-grade metagranites collected from borehole samples yielded crystallization ages of 1851 ± 9 Ma and 1850.4 ± 9.1 Ma. High-grade metamorphosed granites yielded discordia with upper intercept ages of 1822 ± 52 Ma and 1843 ± 58 Ma, and amphibolitic rocks yielded a concordant age of 1915 ± 30 Ma from the outcrops in southwestern Tarim. Together with previously published data, we propose the following sequence of events in Tarim. Magmatism in the Tarim craton took place during two narrow time intervals. The first phase of magmatism occurred between 1.96 and 1.90 Ga and was followed by a slightly younger magmatic pulse between 1.86 and 1.80 Ga. The latter intrusive phase was followed immediately by ca. 1.8 Ga metamorphism, which is widespread throughout the Tarim craton. We are unable to discriminate any regional age differences between the northern and southern regions of the Tarim Craton. Elemental and zircon Hf isotopes suggest that the magmatic sources were mainly derived from partial melting of the Paleoproterozoic-Neoarchean reworked crust, while variable mantle-derived magma involved in the earliest 1.96–1.90 Ga igneous rocks. The earliest magmatic phase is geodynamically related to subduction setting, whereas the younger phase (1.86–1.80) formed in a continental collisional setting. This process suggests an orogeny at ca. 1.96–1.90 Ga with the amalgamation between the southern and northern terranes, and a collisional orogeny between 1.86 and 1.80 Ga as Tarim becomes a peripheral part of the Columbia supercontinent. The two stages of orogenic activities argue for the amalgamation of the Tarim craton followed by the assembly of Columbia.     

辽东半岛辽河群变泥质岩变质变形研究: 对古元古代造山作用及折返过程的启示

前寒武纪造山带解析是地球科学研究的重点。胶-辽-吉造山带作为华北克拉通最具代表性的造山带之一,是研究前寒武纪造山过程和物质折返的理想场所。本文以辽东半岛辽河群为研究对象,以变质变形为研究手段,系统解析胶-辽-吉造山带的造山及折返过程。含夕线石榴黑云片麻岩(样品18TZH49)位于造山带核心部分,其岩相学观察和相平衡模拟表明,其峰期和峰后变质阶段矿物组合分别为Sil+Grt+Pl+Bi+Qz+Ilm+Melt和St+Grt+Pl+Bi+Chl+Qz+Ilm,变质温压条件为720~780℃/5.9~6.9kbar和540~565℃/3~4.1kbar,从峰期到峰后记录了一个降温降压的顺时针P-T演化轨迹。锆石U-Pb年代学研究表明其退变质年龄为1851Ma。结合南、北辽河群其他变泥质岩研究工作,提出造山带北部北辽河群泥质岩经历低角闪岩相变质作用,以典型的巴罗式变质带为特征;造山带南部南辽河群经历角闪岩相至麻粒岩相变质作用,退变质特征明显。从构造角度来说,北辽河群受向北逆冲推覆构造影响,显示向龙岗基底的运动学特征;造山带核心部位的南、北辽河群直立褶皱发育,指示地壳强烈收缩过程;南辽河群受向南逆冲推覆构造影响,显示向南侧狼林陆块的运动学特征。变质变形及年代学共同指示,辽河群经历1.95~1.90Ga造山作用,构造增厚作用使不同类型岩石相互叠置并发生不同程度变质作用。随后,~1.85Ga发生造山后伸展作用,不同变质等级岩片剥露于地表。

     

Sequential growth of deformation bands in carbonate grainstones in the hangingwall of an active growth fault: Implications for deformation mechanisms in different tectonic regimes

Deformation bands in porous sandstones have been extensively studied for four decades, whereas comparatively less is known about deformation bands in porous carbonate rocks, particularly in extensional settings. Here, we investigate porous grainstones of the Globigerina Limestone Formation in Malta, which contain several types of deformation bands in the hangingwall of the Maghlaq Fault: (i) bed-parallel pure compaction bands (PCB); (ii) pressure solution-dominated compactive shear bands (SCSB) and iii) cataclasis-dominated compactive shear bands (CCSB). Geometric and kinematic analyses show that the bands formed sequentially in the hangingwall of the evolving Maghlaq growth fault. PCBs formed first due to fault-controlled subsidence and vertical loading; a (semi-)tectonic control on PCB formation is thus documented for the first time in an extensional setting. Pressure solution (dominating SCSBs) and cataclasis (dominating CCSBs) appear to have operated separately, and not in concert. Our findings therefore suggest that, in some carbonate rocks, cataclasis within deformation bands may develop irrespective of whether pressure solution processes are involved. We suggest this may be related to stress state, and that whereas pressure solution is a significant facilitator of grain size reduction in contractional settings, grain size reduction within deformation bands in extensional settings is less dependent on pressure solution processes.