Application of SEM-EBSD to regional scale shear zone analysis: A case study of the Bhavani Shear Zone,South India

The Bhavani Shear Zone (BSZ), part of the Palghat-Cauvery shear system of southern India, comprises a number of subparallel shear zones ranging in width from a few centimetres to tens of metres. These shear zones are characterised by progressive mylonitisation and shear fabrics corresponding to increasing strain, as documented by grain size reduction, flattening, elongation and dimensional preferred orientation of constituent minerals (quartz, hornblende, biotite, plagioclase and orthoclase). However, SEM-EBSD measured crystal preferred orientations (CPO) of these minerals are more complex and indicate interchange of maximum (X) and intermediate (Y) tectonic axes during different phases of deformation, with the minimum axis (Z) remaining approximately constant. The tectonic evolution of the BSZ and the disposition of the surrounding Archaean and Pan-African granulites are interpreted therefore in terms of polyphase deformation involving both dip-slip and strike-slip movement events in a multiply reactivated setting. SEM-EBSD CPO analysis provides clearer indication of potentially conflicting movement directions that are otherwise poorly constrained by shear markers and shear sense indicators.     

The effect of ductile deformation on the kinetics and mechanisms of the aragonite-calcite transformation

Abstract The effect of ductile deformation (dislocation creep) on the kinetics of the aragonite-calcite transformation has been studied at 1 atm (330° C and 360° C) and 900-1500 MPa (500° C) using undeformed and either previously or simultaneously deformed samples (500° C and a strain rate of 10^-6 s). Deformation enhances the rate of the transformation of calcite to aragonite, but decreases the rate of transformation of aragonite to calcite. The difference results from a dependence of transformation rate on grain size, coupled with a difference in the accommodation mechanisms, climb versus recry-stallization, of these minerals during dislocation creep. Dislocation climb is relatively easy in calcite and thus plastic strain results in high dislocation densities without significant grain size reduction. The rate of transformation to aragonite is enhanced primarily because of the increase in nucleation sites at dislocations and subgrain boundaries. In aragonite, on the other hand, dislocation climb is difficult and thus plastic strain produces extensive dynamic recry-stallization resulting in a substantial grain size reduction. The transformation of aragonite is inhibited because the increase in calcite nucleation sites at dislocations and/or new grain boundaries is more than offset by the inability of calcite to grow across high angle grain boundaries. Thus the net effect of ductile deformation by dislocation creep on the kinetics of polymorphic phase transformations depends on the details of the accommodation mechanism.     

The effect of deformation on the TitaniQ geothermobarometer: an experimental study

We performed high strain (up to 47 %) axial compression experiments on natural quartz single crystals with added rutile powder (TiO₂) and ~0.2 wt% H₂O to investigate the effects of deformation on the titanium-in-quartz (TitaniQ) geothermobarometer. One of the objectives was to study the relationships between different deformation mechanisms and incorporation of Ti into recrystallized quartz grains. Experiments were performed in a Griggs-type solid-medium deformation apparatus at confining pressures of 1.0–1.5 GPa and temperatures of 800–1,000 °C, at constant strain rates of 1 × 10^?6 or 1 × 10^?7 s^?1. Mobility of Ti in the fluid phase and saturation of rutile at grain boundaries during the deformation experiments are indicated by precipitation of secondary rutile in cracks and along the grain boundaries of newly recrystallized quartz grains. Microstructural analysis by light and scanning electron microscopy (the latter including electron backscatter diffraction mapping of grain misorientations) shows that the strongly deformed quartz single crystals contain a wide variety of deformation microstructures and shows evidence for subgrain rotation (SGR) and grain boundary migration recrystallization (GBMR). In addition, substantial grain growth occurred in annealing experiments after deformation. The GBMR and grain growth are evidence of moving grain boundaries, a microstructure favored by high temperatures. Electron microprobe analysis shows no significant increase in Ti content in recrystallized quartz grains formed by SGR or by GBMR, nor in grains grown by annealing. This result indicates that neither SGR nor moving grain boundaries during GBMR and grain growth are adequate processes to facilitate re-equilibration of the Ti content in experimentally deformed quartz crystals at the investigated conditions. More generally, our results suggest that exchange of Ti in quartz at low H₂O contents (which may be realistic for natural deformation conditions) is still not fully understood. Thus, the application of the TitaniQ geothermobarometer to deformed metamorphic rocks at low fluid contents may not be as straightforward as previously thought and requires further research.     

The influence of stress history on the grain size and microstructure of experimentally deformed quartzite

Deformation of middle crustal shear zones likely varies with time as a result of the stress build-up and release associated with earthquakes and post-seismic deformation, but the processes involved and their microstructural signature in the rock record are poorly understood. We conducted a series of experiments on quartzite at 900 °C to characterize microstructures associated with changes in stress and strain rate, and to investigate the feasibility of carrying out grain size piezometry in natural rocks that experienced analogous changes. Differential stress (referred to simply as “stress”) was varied in two-stage experiments by changing strain rate and by stopping the motor and allowing stress to relax. The two-stage samples preserve a microstructural record that can be interpreted quantitatively in terms of stress history. The microstructure associated with a stress increase is a bimodal distribution of recrystallized grain sizes. The smaller grains associated with the second deformation stage accurately record the stress of the second stage, and the surviving coarse grains remain similar in size to those formed during the earlier stage. The transient microstructure associated with stress decrease is a “partial foam” texture containing a larger concentration of stable 120° triple junctions than occur in samples deformed at a relatively constant strain rate. Our results indicate that microstructures preserved in rocks that experienced relatively simple, two-stage deformation histories can be used to quantitatively assess stress histories.Grain growth rates during deformation are similar to rates observed in previous isostatic growth experiments, supporting theoretical approaches to recrystallized grain size, such as the wattmeter theory (Austin and Evans, 2007), that incorporate static growth rates. From an analysis of the experimental data for quartz recrystallized grain size, we find: 1) Recrystallized grain size quickly reaches a value consistent with ambient deformation conditions. We argue that this explains a good match between average grain sizes predicted by the wattmeter after complete recrystallization and the recrystallized grain sizes of the experiments. 2) The present formulation of the wattmeter overestimates the rates at which porphyroclasts recrystallize by as much as an order of magnitude, and 3) owing to problems with extrapolation of grain growth data for quartz, the wattmeter is not presently applicable to natural samples deformed at low temperatures. We present a simplified flow law for quartz, and suggest that the change in slope of the quartz piezometer at high stress (regime 1) is related to a switch to a linear viscous rheology.     

A natural example of the simultaneous operation of free-face dissolution and pressure solution

The dissolution of crinoid columnals during tectonic deformation of the Appalachian Plateau was enhanced by stress-induced changes of chemical potential of calcite in solution at the surface of the crinoid columnal. Pressure solution on the outside surface occurred within areas of highest normal stress developed at grain to grain contacts whereas free-face dissolution on the inside bore (the axial canal) of the columnal occurred where parts of the crystal lattice next to the surface were subject to the highest strain, as indicated by the presence of mechanical twins. For free-face dissolution, the chemical potential of the solute is affected more by the larger strain energy associated with mechanical twinning than strain energy from elastic strain prior to mechanical twinning of the crystal lattice. These observations suggest that free-face dissolution as well as pressure solution may contribute significantly to dissolution during rock deformation by diffusive mass transfer.     

Strain analysis using quartz deformation bands

Quartz deformation bands are kink bands in quartz crystals. A deformation band develops as a region of localized crystal-plastic deformation with boundaries perpendicular to the slip plane and slip direction, which usually is along an -axis in the basal plane. Under cross-polarized light, the difference in crystallographic orientation between a deformation band and its host is indicated by a difference in extinction positions. The displacement between the c axis in a deformation band and the c axis in the host represents the angular shear of the deformation band in the direction of the c axis in the host grain. Assuming the deformation is homogeneous at the grain scale, the angular shear of the grain (the gauge) is calculated by multiplying the angular shear of the deformation band by the ratio of the sheared part to the whole grain. Using the strain-gauge method for three-dimensional infinitesimal strain analysis, a minimum number of five grains measured on universal stage is needed to solve for the deviatoric strain components of the aggregate if the strain is homogeneous in the aggregate. Data from more than five grains are used to find the best-fit strain components by a least-squares method. The principal strains and their orientations are found from these strain components by calculating the eigenvalues and eigenvectors. A 3-D strain ellipsoid also is obtained from strain ellipses in three perpendicular planes determined from the two-dimensional flat-stage measurements by the Wellman method. Both the strain-gauge method and the Wellman method are tested by using synthetic data sets and applied to a naturally deformed sample. Both methods give similar results; the established Wellman method thus confirms the strain-gauge calculation.     

Examination of microstructural features of Norwegian cataclastic rocks and their use for predicting alkali-reactivity in concrete

The microstructural features of various Norwegian rock samples have been studied and quantified by different techniques. The majority of the rocks studied were different types of cataclastic rocks. Expansion results from a modified version of the NBRI Mortar-Bar Test for alkali reactivity are used for correlation with the quantitative parameters. The aim is to identify microstructural features in the various rock types which promote the alkaliaggregate reaction, and to subsequently use these findings to improve and provide guidelines for engineering practice in order to predict and make more accurate determinations of potentially reactive aggregates. The deformation processes of rocks involve the general process of straining of quartz, grain size reduction and subgrain development. This is characteristic of mylonitisation. This study demonstrates that the grain size reduction of quartz enhances reactivity by increasing the surface area of quartz grain boundaries available for reaction, and thus giving an overall increase in surface energy. Subgrain development will, besides the high surface area, contribute even more to an enhanced reactivity, due to the high dislocation density associated with the quartz subgrain boundaries. The total grain boundary area of quartz, and the mean grain size of quartz appear to be the most favourable quantitative parameters related to the expansion of different rock types. The measurement of the total grain boundary area of quartz, will enhance the value and improve the effectiveness of the petrographical examination as an engineering tool to screen potentially reactive aggregates.     

Experimental deformation of partially melted granitic aggregates

Abstract The effects of varying amounts of partial melt on the deformation of granitic aggregates have been tested experimentally at conditions (900°C, 1500 MPa, 10^-4 to 10^-6/s) where melt-free samples deform by dislocation creep, with microstructures approximately equivalent to those of upper greenschist facies. Experiments were performed on samples of various grain sizes, including an aplite (150 μm) and sintered aggregates of quartz-albitemicrocline (10–50 and 2–10 μm). Water was added to the samples to obtain various amounts of melt (1–15% in the aplite, 1–5% in the sintered aggregates). Optical and TEM observations of the melt distribution in hydrostatically annealed samples show that the melt in the sintered aggregates is homogeneously distributed along an interconnected network of triple junction channels, while the melt in the aplites is inhomogeneously distributed. The effect of partial melt on deformation depends an melt amount and distribution, grain size and strain rate. For samples deformed with ? 1% melt, all grain sizes exhibit microstructures indicative of dislocation creep. For samples deformed with 3–5% melt, the 150 μm and 10–50 μm grain size samples also exhibit dislocation creep microstructures, but the 2–10 μm grain size samples exhibit abundant TEM-scale evidence of dissolution-precipitation and little evidence of dislocation activity, suggesting a switch in deformation mechanism to predominantly melt-enhanced diffusion creep. At natural strain rates melt-enhanced diffusion creep would predominate at larger grain sizes, although probably not for most coarse-grained granites. The effects of melt percentage and strain rate have been studied for the 150 μm aplites. For samples with ? 5 and 10% melt, deformation at 10^–6/s squeezes excess melt out of the central compressed region allowing predominantly dislocation creep. Conversely, deformation at 10^-5/s produces considerable cataclasis presumably because the excess melt cannot flow laterally fast enough and a high pore fluid pressure results. For samples with 15% melt, deformation at both strain rates produces cataclasis, presumably because the inhomogeneous melt distribution resulted in regions of decoupled grains, which would produce high stress concentrations at point contacts. At natural strain rates there should be little or no cataclasis if an equilibrium melt texture exists and if the melt can flow as fast as the imposed strain rate. However, if the melt is confined and cannot migrate, a high pore fluid pressure should promote brittle deformation.     

Dating deformation using crushed alkali feldspar: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of shear zones in the Wyangala Batholith,NSW, Australia

Diffusion parameters have been estimated for K-feldspar in and adjacent to mylonite shear zones in the Wyangala Batholith. The parameters obtained suggest that deformation during mylonitisation would have caused argon systematics to reset because diffusion distances were reduced by cataclasis, deformation and/or recrystallisation. However, the mineral lattice remained sufficiently retentive to allow subsequently produced radiogenic argon to be retained. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology is thus able to constrain operation of these biotite-grade ductile shear zones to the period from ca 380 Ma to ca 360 Ma, at the end of the Tabberabberan Orogeny.     

Post-deformational annealing of calcite rocks

The evolution of microstructure and crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) during post-deformational annealing was studied on three calcite rock types differing in purity and grain size: Carrara marble (98% calcite, mean grain size of 115 μm), Solnhofen limestone (96%, 5 μm) and synthetic calcite aggregates (99%, 7 μm). Samples were first deformed in torsion at 727 °C at a shear strain rate of 3 × 10^{− 4} s^{− 1} to a shear strain of 5 and subsequently heat-treated at 727 °C for various durations between 0 and 24 h. Microstructures and CPOs were analysed by optical microscopy, image analysis and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD).All rock types deformed in the dislocation creep field at the same applied conditions, but their microstructures and CPOs after deformation and after annealing differed depending on starting grain size and material composition. In Carrara marble and in the synthetic calcite aggregate, a strong CPO developed during deformation accompanied by dynamic recrystallisation with significant changes in grain size. During annealing, widespread grain growth and subtle changes of CPO occurred, and equilibrated foam microstructures were approached after long annealing times. The CPO is the only feature in annealed samples indicating an earlier deformation phase, although it is not always identical to the CPO formed during deformation. In the more impure Solnhofen limestone, secondary phases on grain boundaries suppressed grain boundary mobility and prevented both the formation of a recrystallisation CPO during deformation and grain size modification during deformation and annealing.     

Polyphase deformation of the massive sulphide ore of the Black Angel Mine,central West Greenland

The massive Fe-Zn-Pb sulphide sheets constituting the Angel Zone ore body of the Black Angel Mine, show evidence of three phases of deformation at greenschist facies metamorphic grade. During an early phase an originally layered sulphide ore type was isoclinally folded. Subsequent thrusting parallel to the ore body transformed the layered ore into massive and porphyroclastic ore tectonites. Late, open folds refolded the earlier structures and caused localized differential mobilization of the sulphides. The microstructures of the layered ore tectonite indicate a period with static grain growth, interpreted as the result of prograde metamorphism, followed by a dynamic recrystallization under low stress and at low strain rates, which is correlated with the early isoclinal folding. The microstructures of the massive and the porphyroclastic ore tectonites indicate syntectonic recrystallization under high stress and at high strain rates, corresponding to the thrusting of the ore bodies. The microstructures of the mobilized sulphides show evidence of repeated plastic/cataclastic deformation and recrystallization, corresponding to highly variable strain and strain rate conditions during the mobilization. Post-deformational annealing took place at elevated temperature and was largely controlled by inhibition-dependent grain growth and to a minor extent by orientation-dependent grain growth.     

粒度与岩石流变相关性研究进展

粒度对岩石的粘度、应变率和流变机制及转换具有重要的影响。在相同条件下,粒度越大,粘度越高。在粒度灵敏性变形中,粒度的变化有时对岩石应变率的影响也是显著的。大部分天然岩石是由不同粒度的矿物颗粒组成,不同粒度的颗粒在变形中可能受不同的变形机制控制,包含粒度分布参数的复合流动律改进了人们对天然岩石流变性的认识。岩石的变形过程同时也是粒度的不断修正过程,粒度的演化具有稳态化的趋势。     

Microstructural evidence of low‐strain,time‐transgressive subglacial deformation

Microstructural analyses were used to investigate the formation of a macroscale‐massive till at Knud Strand in Denmark. More than 100 thin sections were examined and microstructures mapped and counted for quantitative comparison and interpretation. Microstructures indicative of both brittle (grain lineations, edge‐to‐edge crushed grains) and ductile (turbate structures) deformation are evenly distributed in vertical profiles through the till, suggesting that strain contributed to its formation. Discrete shears (grain lineations and plasmic fabric) probably accommodated most deformation, whereas rotational deformation was less prominent. The microshear geometry fits the predicted Coulomb–Mohr failure criterion, indicating that till behaves as a plastic material. Strain estimate of ca. 10¹ from micromorphological proxies is two–three orders of magnitude lower than expected if the till was subjected to pervasive deformation. A hybrid of lodgement and time‐transgressive deformation is envisaged as the till‐forming processes. Our data suggest that even abundant evidence of microscale deformation at continuing high levels of strain may only record the latest process of deposition and deformation and therefore not fully reflect the complexity of till genesis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

多相糜棱岩内第二相对应变局部化的影响——以秦岭群花岗质糜棱岩为例

糜棱岩韧性变形发生的应变局部化过程,尤其是多相糜棱岩第二相对基质相变形的影响一直是显微构造研究难点.研究表明糜棱岩借助颗粒边界滑移实现多相混合,形成多矿物相集合体.在多相糜棱岩内,第二相在基质相颗粒边界施加齐纳阻力,牵制基质相颗粒边界的迁移速率,破坏基质相颗粒的动态平衡过程,使基质相颗粒位于古应力计对应的颗粒粒度以下,...     

Strain localisation in the subcontinental mantle — a ductile alternative to the brittle mantle

It is now admitted that the high strength of the subcontinental uppermost mantle controls the first order strength of the lithosphere. An incipient narrow continental rift therefore requires an important weakening in the subcontinental mantle to promote lithosphere-scale strain localisation and subsequent continental break-up. Based on the classical rheological layering of the continental lithosphere, the origin of a lithospheric mantle shear/fault zone has been attributed to the existence of a brittle uppermost mantle. However, the lack of mantle earthquakes and the absence of field occurrences in the mantle fault zone led to the idea of a ductile-related weakening mechanism, instead of brittle-related, for the incipient mantle strain localisation. In order to provide evidence for this mechanism, we investigated the microstructures and lattice preferred orientations of mantle rocks in a kilometre-scale ductile strain gradient in the Ronda Peridotites (Betics cordillera, Spain). Two main features were shown: 1) grain size reduction by dynamic recrystallisation is found to be the only relevant weakening mechanism responsible for strain localisation and 2), with increasing strain, grain size reduction is coeval with both the scattering of orthopyroxene neoblasts and the decrease of the olivine fabric strength (LPO). These features allow us to propose that grain boundary sliding (GBS) partly accommodates dynamic recrystallisation and subsequent grain size reduction.A new GBS-related experimental deformation mechanism, called dry-GBS creep, has been shown to accommodate grain size reduction during dynamic recrystallisation and to induce significant weakening at low temperatures (T < 800 °C). The present microstructural study demonstrates the occurrence of the grain size sensitive dry-GBS creep in natural continental peridotites and allows us to propose a new rheological model for the subcontinental mantle. During dynamic recrystallisation, the accommodation of grain size reduction by three competing deformation mechanisms, i.e., dislocation, diffusion and dry-GBS creeps, involves a grain size reduction controlled by the sole dislocation creep at high temperatures (> 800 °C), whereas dislocation creep and dry-GBS creep, are the accommodating mechanisms at low temperatures (< 800 °C). Consequently, weakening is very limited if the grain size reduction occurs at temperatures higher than 800 °C, whereas a large weakening is expected in lower temperatures. This large weakening related to GBS creep would occur at depths lower than 60 km and therefore provides an explanation for ductile strain localisation in the uppermost continental mantle, thus providing an alternative to the brittle mantle.     

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

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

Fold trains in a glacier of salt in southern Iran

A substantial glacier of rock salt flows downslope north eastwards from the salt dome at Kuh-e-Namak (Dashti), and this work describes and attempts to rationalise the deformation structures within it. The crystalline halite in both the salt dome and the glacier consists of layers of different colours, grain size and relatively insoluble mineral content. The colour bands develop folds which, together with tectonic slides, thin and multiply the colour bands in successive zones down the length of the glacier.The folds occur as trains in which the individual components increase in maturity as they move downstream. The folds characteristically mature over short distances and become isoclinal between successive fold generation zones so that refolding is rarely obvious. All the folds seen can be attributed to changes in the boundary conditions of the glacier—either of a general or local nature. Some folds can be explained in terms of either a former increase in volume or the current wasting of the salt sheet—but most obviously relate to irregularities in the bedrock channel negotiated by the salt during its downslope flow. Expressed in these terms most folds form where the salt glacier decelerates, and become inconspicuous where it accelerates.The relative volume of the glacier slowed by each bedrock irregularity impeding its flow decreases systematically down its length. This is thought to be due to a general decrease in competence of the rock salt down the length of the glacier as a result of a decrease in the grain size of the halite and the relative increase in the proportion of insoluble minerals due to the loss of halite by solution. The downstream decrease in grain size is similar to the process of mylonitisation in other rocks, and tends to be concentrated in particular parts of each fold generation zone.A foliation is defined to differing degrees in various parts of the glacier by shape fabrics in one or more of the glacier's three components: porphyroclastic remnants of the coarse grained transparent halite characteristic of the salt dome, a fine grained halite groundmass, and the entrained insoluble minerals. The clear halite porphyroclasts appear least susceptible to strain but their presence controls whether or not the colour bands fold near irregularities in the bedrock channel.Similarities between the structures in the salt glacier and those developed in various other rocks are obvious.     

Very low temperature,natural deformation of fine grained limestone: a case study from the Lucania region,southern Apennines,Italy

The deformation behavior of fine grained limestones from the Monte Sirino area (Lucania region) of the southern Apennines has been analysed by constraining microstructural observations and crystallographic fabrics with data on the metamorphic conditions of deformation. X-ray and infrared analysis of clay minerals, together with illite ‘crystallinity’ data, suggest that the studied rocks underwent very low grade metamorphism in the deep diagenetic zone. The limestones consist of very fine grained (<10 μm) aggregates of micrite. Elliptically-shaped radiolarians, preserved as moulds with coarser (>20 μm) crystalline fillings, provide common strain markers. Optical microstructures and strain analysis indicate heterogeneous intracrystalline strain in the coarser (>50 μm) calcite. On the other hand, SEM and TEM observations, and crystallographic fabrics determined by X-ray texture goniometry, indicate a deformation involving not only intracrystalline slip, but also an important component of grain boundary sliding in the fine grained matrix. The inferred microscopic deformation mechanisms are compared with constitutive flow laws derived from experimental studies. For the maximum inferred temperature of deformation of 250 °C and geologic strain rates of 10^–13–10^–15 s^–1, deformation mechanism maps for calcite suggest twinning and other glide mechanisms to be active in grains larger than about 5–10 μm. Smaller grains would be mostly deformed by grain size sensitive creep mechanisms, which include both diffusion mass transfer processes and grain boundary sliding. Deformation features observed in the study limestones are compatible with the prediction of such temperature-dependent mechanism maps.     

Very low temperature,natural deformation of fine grained limestone: a case study from the Lucania region,southern Apennines,Italy

Abstract

The deformation behavior of fine grained limestones from the Monte Sirino area (Lucania region) of the southern Apennines has been analysed by constraining microstructural observations and crystallographic fabrics with data on the metamorphic conditions of deformation. X-ray and infrared analysis of clay minerals, together with illite ‘crystallinity’ data, suggest that the studied rocks underwent very low grade metamorphism in the deep diagenetic zone. The limestones consist of very fine grained (<10 μm) aggregates of micrite. Elliptically-shaped radiolarians, preserved as moulds with coarser (>20 μm) crystalline fillings, provide common strain markers. Optical microstructures and strain analysis indicate heterogeneous intracrystalline strain in the coarser (>50 μm) calcite. On the other hand, SEM and TEM observations, and crystallographic fabrics determined by X-ray texture goniometry, indicate a deformation involving not only intracrystalline slip, but also an important component of grain boundary sliding in the fine grained matrix. The inferred microscopic deformation mechanisms are compared with constitutive flow laws derived from experimental studies. For the maximum inferred temperature of deformation of 250 °C and geologic strain rates of 10^?13?10^?15 s^?1, deformation mechanism maps for calcite suggest twinning and other glide mechanisms to be active in grains larger than about 5?10 μm. Smaller grains would be mostly deformed by grain size sensitive creep mechanisms, which include both diffusion mass transfer processes and grain boundary sliding. Deformation features observed in the study limestones are compatible with the prediction of such temperature-dependent mechanism maps. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

华北克拉通基底花岗质片麻岩变形和流变学研究——以辽西寺儿堡地区为例

辽西寺儿堡镇新太古代花岗质片麻岩内发育的宏观、微观构造变形特征表明该地区曾遭受了强烈的韧性变形改造。花岗质岩石变形程度在初糜棱岩–糜棱岩之间,岩石经历了SWW向左行剪切作用改造。岩石中石英有限应变测量判别结果表明,构造岩类型为L-S型,为平面应变。岩石的剪应变平均值为1.43,运动学涡度值为0.788~0.829,指示岩石形成于以简单剪切为主的一般剪切变形中。此外,石英颗粒以亚颗粒旋转重结晶和颗粒边界迁移重结晶作用为主,长石颗粒塑性拉长,部分发生膨凸式重结晶作用;石英组构特征(EBSD)揭示石英以中–高温柱面滑移为主;石英颗粒边界具有明显的分形特征,分形维数值为1.151~1.201,指示了中高温变形条件。综合石英、长石的变形行为、石英组构特征以及分形法Kruhl温度计的判别结果,推断辽西寺儿堡镇新太古代花岗质片麻岩经历过480~600℃的中高温变形,其同构造变质相为高绿片岩相-低角闪岩相。花岗质岩石的古差异应力为10.62~12.21 MPa,估算的应变速率为10~(–11.67)~10~(–13.34) s~(–1),即缓慢的变形,可能记录早期中高温、低应变速率的韧性变形过程,反映华北克拉通基底中下部地壳变形特征。