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.     

Garnet porphyroblast timing and behaviour during fold evolution: implications from a 3-D geometric analysis of a hand-sample scale fold in a schist

Detailed 3‐D analysis of inclusion trails in garnet porphyroblasts and matrix foliations preserved around a hand‐sample scale, tight, upright fold has revealed a complex deformation history. The fold, dominated by interlayered quartz–mica schist and quartz‐rich veins, preserves a crenulation cleavage that has a synthetic bulk shear sense to that of the macroscopic fold and transects the axis in mica‐rich layers. Garnet porphyroblasts with asymmetric inclusion trails occur on both limbs of the fold and display two stages of growth shown by textural discontinuities. Garnet porphyroblast cores and rims pre‐date the macroscopic fold and preserve successive foliation inflection/intersection axes (FIAs), which have the same trend but opposing plunges on each limb of the fold, and trend NNE–SSW and NE–SW, respectively. The FIAs are oblique to the main fold, which plunges gently to the WSW. Inclusion trail surfaces in the cores of idioblastic porphyroblasts within mica‐rich layers define an apparent fold with an axis oblique to the macroscopic fold axis by 32°, whereas equivalent surfaces in tabular garnet adjacent to quartz‐rich layers define a tighter apparent fold with an axis oblique to the main fold axis by 17°. This potentially could be explained by garnet porphyroblasts that grew over a pre‐existing gentle fold and did not rotate during fold formation, but is more easily explained by rotation of the porphyroblasts during folding. Tabular porphyroblasts adjacent to quartz‐rich layers rotated more relative to the fold axis than those within mica‐rich layers due to less effective deformation partitioning around the porphyroblasts and through quartz‐rich layers. This work highlights the importance of 3‐D geometry and relative timing relationships in studies of inclusion trails in porphyroblasts and microstructures in the matrix.     

Spiral and staircase inclusion trail axes within garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts from schists of the Bolton Syncline, Connecticut: timing of porphyroblast growth and the effects of fold development

In the Littleton Formation, garnet porphyroblasts preserve three generations of growth that occurred before formation of the Bolton Syncline. Inclusion trails of foliations overgrown by these porphyroblasts are always truncated by the matrix foliation suggesting that garnet growth predated the matrix foliation. In contrast, many staurolite porphyroblasts grew synchronously with formation of the Bolton Syncline. However, local rim overgrowths of the matrix foliation suggest that some staurolite porphyroblasts continued to grow after development of the fold during younger crenulation producing deformations. The axes of curvature or intersection of foliations defined by inclusion trails inside the garnet porphyroblasts lie oblique to the axial plane of the Bolton Syncline but do not change orientation across it. This suggests the garnets were not rotated during the subsequent deformation associated with fold development or during even younger crenulation events. Three samples also contain a different set of axes defined by curvature of inclusion trails in the cores of garnet porphyroblasts suggesting a protracted history of garnet growth. Foliation intersection axes in staurolite porphyroblasts are consistently orientated close to the trend of the axial plane of the Bolton Syncline on both limbs of the fold. In contrast, axes defined by curvature or intersection of foliations in the rims of staurolite porphyroblasts in two samples exhibit a different trend. This phase of staurolite growth is associated with a crenulation producing deformation that postdated formation of the Bolton Syncline. Measurement of foliation intersection axes defined by inclusion trails in both garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts has enabled the timing of growth relative to one another and to the development of the Bolton Syncline to be distinguished in rocks where other approaches have not been successful. Consistent orientation of foliation intersection axes across a range of younger structures suggests that the porphyroblasts did not rotate relative to geographical coordinates during subsequent ductile deformation. Foliation intersection axes in porphyroblasts are thus useful for correlating phases of porphyroblastic growth in this region.     

Sigmoidal inclusion trails, punctuated fabric development, and interactions between metamorphism and deformation

Porphyroblast inclusion fabrics are consistent in style and geometry across three Proterozoic metamorphic field gradients, comprising two pluton-related gradients in central Arizona and one regional gradient in northern New Mexico. Garnet crystals contain curved ‘sigmoidal’ inclusion trails. In low-grade chlorite schists, these trails can be correlated directly with matrix crenulations of an older schistosity (S1). The garnet crystals preferentially grew in crenulation hinges, but some late crenulations nucleated on existing garnet porphyroblasts. At higher grade, biotite, staurolite and andalusite porphyroblasts occur in a homogeneous S2 foliation primarily defined by matrix biotite and ilmenite. Biotite porphyroblasts have straight to sigmoidal inclusion trails that also represent the weakly folded S1 schistosity. Staurolite and andalusite contain distinctive inclusion-rich and inclusion-poor domains that represent a relict S2 differentiated crenulation cleavage. Together, the inclusion relationships document the progressive development of the S2 fabric through six stages. Garnet and biotite porphyroblasts contain stage 2 or 3 crenulations; staurolite and andalusite generally contain stage 4 crenulations, and the matrix typically contains a homogeneous stage 6 cleavage. The similarity of inclusion relationships across spatially and temporally distinct metamorphic field gradients of widely differing scales suggests a fundamental link between metamorphism and deformation. Three end-member relationships may be involved: (1) tectonic linkages, where similar P-T-time histories and similar bulk compositions combine to produce similar metamorphic and structural signatures; (2) deformation-controlled linkages, where certain microstructures, particularly crenulation hinges, are favourable environments for the nucleation and/or growth of porphyroblasts; and (3) reaction-controlled linkages, where metamorphic reactions, particularly dehydration reactions, are associated with an increase in the rate of fabric development. A general model is proposed in which (1) garnet and biotite porphyroblasts preferentially grow in stage 2 or 3 crenulation hinges, and (2) chlorite-consuming metamorphic reactions lead to pulses in the rate of fabric evolution. The data suggest that fabric development and porphyroblast growth may have been quite rapid, of the order of several hundreds of thousands of years, in these rocks. These microstructures and processes may be characteristic of low-pressure, first-cycle metamorphic belts.     

Rotation of porphyroblasts in non-coaxial deformation: insights from computer simulations

Porphyroblast inclusion trails have the potential to provide critical information about tectonometamorphic events. Recently, however, traditional interpretations of inclusion trails have been called into question by the suggestions that porphyroblasts do not rotate during non-coaxial deformation and that apparent spiral inclusion trails can be generated in coaxial deformation. We present a new computer model that simulates inclusion trail development. Model results suggest: (1) that the extent of porphyroblast rotation is controlled by conditions at the porphyroblast-matrix boundary; (2) that curved inclusion trails may develop in unrotated porphyroblasts; (3) that classic "snowball" inclusion trails are most simply explained by rotational growth histories; and (4) that some of the observations used to support the view that porphyroblasts do not rotate (e.g. weakly sigmoidal inclusion trails, apparent truncations of inclusion trails) can be accounted for by variations in the growth rate of rotating porphyroblasts.     

The development of spiral‐shaped inclusion trails during multiple metamorphism and folding

Three periods of mineral growth and three generations of spiral‐shaped inclusion trails have been distinguished within folded rocks of the Qinling‐Dabie Orogen, China, using the development of three successive and differently trending sets of foliation intersection axes preserved in porphyroblasts (FIAs). This progression is revealed by the consistent relative sequence of changes in FIA trends from the core to rim of garnet porphyroblasts in samples with multiple FIAs. The first and second formed sets of FIAs trend oblique to the axial planes of macroscopic folds that dominate the outcrop pattern in this region. The porphyroblasts containing these FIAs grew prior to the development of the macroscopic folds, yet the FIAs do not change orientation across the fold hinges. The youngest formed FIAs (set 3) lie subparallel to the axial planes of these folds and the porphyroblasts containing these FIAs formed in part as the folds developed. The deformation associated with all three generations of spiral‐shaped inclusion trails in garnet porphyroblasts involved the formation of subhorizontal and subvertical foliations against porphyroblast rims accompanied by periods of garnet growth; pervasive structures have not necessarily formed in the matrix away from the porphyroblasts. The macroscopic folds are heterogeneously strained from limb to limb, doubly plunging and have moderately dipping axial planes. The consistent orientation of Set 1 FIAs indicates that the development of spiral‐shaped inclusion trails in porphyroblasts with FIAs belonging to Set 2 did not involve rotation of the previously formed porphyroblasts. The consistent orientation of Sets 1 and 2 FIAs indicate that the development of spiral‐shaped inclusion trails in porphyroblasts with FIAs belonging to Set 3 did not involve rotation of the previously formed porphyroblasts during folding. This requires a fold mechanism of progressive bulk inhomogeneous shortening and demonstrates that spiral‐shaped inclusion trails can form outside of shear zones.     

Behaviour of rigid objects during deformation and metamorphism: a test using schists from the Bolton syncline, Connecticut, USA

The behaviour of spherical versus highly ellipsoidal rigid objects in folded rocks relative to one another or the Earth’s surface is of particular significance for metamorphic and structural geologists. Two common porphyroblastic minerals, garnet and staurolite, approximate spherical and highly ellipsoidal shapes respectively. The motion of both phases is analysed using the axes of inflexion or intersection of one or more foliations preserved as inclusion trails within them (we call these axes FIAs, for foliation inflexion/intersection axes). For staurolite, this motion can also be compared with the distribution of the long axes of the crystals. Schists from the regionally shallowly plunging Bolton syncline commonly contain garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts, whose FIAs have been measured in the same sample. Garnet porphyroblasts pre-date this fold as they have inclusion trails truncated by all matrix foliations that trend parallel to the strike of the axial plane. However, they have remarkably consistent FIA trends from limb to limb. The FIAs trend 175° and lie 25°NNW from the 020° strike of the axial trace of the Bolton syncline. The plunge of these FIAs was determined for six samples and all lie within 30° of the horizontal. Eleven of these samples also contain staurolite porphyroblasts, which grew before, during and after formation of the Bolton syncline as they contain inclusion trails continuous with matrix foliations that strike parallel to the axial trace of this fold. The staurolite FIAs have an average trend of 035°, 15°NE from the 020° strike of the axial plane of this fold. The total amount of inclusion trail curvature in staurolite porphyroblasts, about the axis of relative rotation between staurolite and the matrix (i.e. the FIA), is greater than the angular spread of garnet FIAs. Although staurolite porphyroblasts have ellipsoidal shapes, their long axes exhibit no tendency to be preferentially aligned with respect to the main matrix foliation or to the trend of their FIA. This indicates that the axis of relative rotation, between porphyroblast and matrix (the FIA), was not parallel to the long axis of the crystals. It also suggests that the porphyroblasts were not preferentially rotated towards a single stretch direction during progressive deformation. Five overprinting crenulation cleavages are preserved in the matrix of rocks from the Bolton syncline and many of these result from deformation events that post-date development of this fold. Staurolite porphyroblast growth occurred during the development of all of these deformations, most of which produced foliations. Staurolite has overgrown, and preserved as helicitic inclusions, crenulated and crenulation cleavages; i.e. some inclusion trail curvature pre-dates porphyroblast growth. The deformations accompanying staurolite growth involved reversals in shear sense and changing kinematic reference frames. These relationships cannot all be explained by current models of rotation of either, or both, the garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts. In contrast, we suggest that the relationships are consistent with models of deformation paths that involve non-rotation of porphyroblasts relative to some external reference frame. Further, we suggest there is no difference in the behaviour of spherical or ellipsoidal rigid objects during ductile deformation, and that neither garnet nor staurolite have rotated in schists from the Bolton syncline during the multiple deformation events that include and post-date the development of this fold.     

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.     

Deformation partitioning and porphyroblast rotation in meta-morphic rocks: a radical reinterpretation

Abstract Most porphyroblasts never rotate during ductile deformation, provided they do not internally deform during subsequent events, with the exception of relatively uncommon but spectacular examples of spiralling garnets. Instead, the surrounding foliation rotates and reactivates due to partitioning of the deformation around the porphyroblast. Consequently, porphyroblasts commonly preserve the orientation of early foliations and stretching lineations within strain shadows or inclusion trails, even where these structures have been rotated or obliterated in the matrix due to subsequent deformation. These relationships can be readily used to help develop an understanding of the processes of foliation development and they demonstrate the prominent role of reactivation of old foliations during subsequent deformation. They can also be used to determine the deformation history, as porphyroblasts only rotate when the deformation cannot partition and involves progressive shearing with no combined bulk shortening component.     

递增变质作用中变斑晶形成的时间标志——兼论阿尔泰地区变质带形成顺序

根据变质构造和镜下显微组构的研究,提出了与Zwart,H.J.(1962,1963)的变斑晶包体S形构造成因观点不同的解释。结合包体和基质矿物成分、组构特征建立了递增变质作用中变斑状特征变质矿物形成的相对时间标志。以此确定了阿尔泰变质地带递增变质作用过程中一系列特征变质矿物及其相应的变质带的形成顺序。     

Growth and deformation of porphyroblasts in the Foothills terrane, central Sierra Nevada, California: negotiating a microstructural minefield

Abstract The main porphyroblastic minerals in schists and phyllites of the Foothills terrane, Western Metamorphic Belt, central Sierra Nevada, California, are cordierite and andalusite (mostly chiastolite). Less commonly, biotite, muscovite, chlorite, garnet or staurolite are also present as porphyroblasts. The variety of porphyroblast and matrix microstructures in these rocks makes them suitable for testing three modern hypotheses on growth and deformation of porphyroblasts: (1) porphyroblast growth is always syndeformational; (2) porphyroblasts nucleate only in low-strain, largely coaxially deformed, quartz-rich (Q) domains of a crenulation foliation and are dissolved in active high-strain, non-coaxially deformed, mica-rich (M) domains, the spacing between which limits the size of the porphyroblasts; and (3) porphyroblasts generally do not rotate, with respect to geographical coordinates, during deformation, provided they do not deform internally, so that they may be used as reliable indicators of the orientation of former regional structural surfaces, even on the scale of orogenic belts. Some porphyroblast–matrix relationships in the Foothills terrane are inconsistent with hypotheses 1 and 2, and others are equivocal. For example, in many rocks it cannot be determined whether the porphyroblasts grew where the strain had already been partitioned into M and Q domains, whether the porphyroblasts caused this partitioning, or both. Although most porphyroblasts appear to be syndeformational, as predicted by hypothesis 1, observations that do not support the general application of hypotheses 1 and 2 to rocks of the Foothills terrane include: (a) lack of residual crenulations in many strain-shadows and alternative explanations where they are present; (b) absence of porphyroblasts smaller than the distance between nearest mica-rich domains; (c) nucleation of crenulations on existing porphyroblasts, rather than nucleation of porphyroblasts between existing crenulations; (d) presence of micaceous ‘arcs’in an undifferentiated matrix against some porphyroblasts, suggesting static growth; (e) absence of crenulations in porphyroblastic rocks showing sedimentary bedding; and (f) porphyroblasts with very small, random inclusions, which are probably pre-deformational. Similarly, porphyroblasts that have overgrown sets of crenulations and porphyroblasts with micaceous ‘arcs’are probably post-deformational, at least on the scale of a large thin section and probably over much larger areas, judging from mesoscopic structural evidence. Some porphyroblasts in rocks of the Foothills terrane do not appear to have rotated, with respect to geographical coordinates, during matrix deformation, in accordance with hypothesis 3, at least on the scale of a large thin section. However, other porphyroblasts evidently have rotated. In some instances, this appears to be due to mutual interference, but many apparently rotational porphyroblasts are too far apart to have interfered with each other, which indicates that the rotation was associated with deformation of the matrix. The occurrence of planar bedding surfaces adjacent to porphyroblasts about which bedding and/or foliation surfaces are folded suggests rotation of the porphyroblasts during non-coaxial flow parallel to bedding, rather than crenulation of the matrix foliation around static porphyroblasts. It appears that porphyroblasts may rotate during deformation if the matrix is relatively homogeneous, so that the strain is effectively non-coaxial. This may occur after homogenization of a matrix in response to the strongest degree of crenulation folding, whereas the same porphyroblasts may have been inhibited from rotating previously, when strain accumulation was partitioned in the matrix.     

Inclusion trail patterns in porphyroblasts from the Foothills Terrane,California: a record of orogenesis or local strain heterogeneity?

A major problem with the current use of porphyroblast–matrix microstructural relationships to infer orogenic histories, such as multiple orthogonal orogenic events, is that other evidence for these events is typically lacking. For example, a comparison of regional relationships and local structures formed in and adjacent to porphyroblasts present in contact aureoles in the Foothills Terrane, Sierra Nevada, California, shows that: (1) except in shear zones, contact aureoles and local zones along lithological contacts, the Foothills Terrane has a single regional cleavage, although locally formed by multiple processes; (2) the regional cleavage and locally developed porphyroblast inclusion trails have variable orientations, and neither dataset supports the formation of dominantly subhorizontal and subvertical cleavages in this orogen; (3) structural and metamorphic heterogeneities occur at all scales and can markedly affect inclusion trail patterns in porphyroblasts; (4) complex porphyroblast growth features and internal inclusion trail patterns can form in porphyroblasts that grow during short time intervals in contact aureoles, indicating that local complexity in porphyroblasts does not imply regional complexity. Because of these conclusions, multiple datasets, rather than data acquired only from porphyroblasts, should be considered when attempting to understand the evolution of orogens. Furthermore, using microstructural information preserved only in porphyroblasts to infer orogenic processes and plate motions is generally unjustified.     

Reference frame, angular momentum, and porphyroblast rotation

Rotation of small rigid objects in a deforming ductile matrix can produce two different types of microstructure: a shape fabric due to alignment of the principal axes of a population of elongate objects and the inclusion trail microstructure preserved in syntectonic porphyroblasts. We use numerical modeling to show that inclusion trails of elongate porphyroblasts are expected to be extremely complex. In contrast, snowball garnets are readily interpretable. But misuse of reference frame and kinematic misconceptions have obfuscated the discussion on the formation of porphyroblast inclusion trails in general and snowball garnet inclusion trails in particular. We clarify this point. Models for snowball garnet formation that are based on the notion of garnets being irrotational with respect to the earth can be rejected on a geometrical and kinematic basis. Further, the notion that rigid objects embedded in a deforming ductile matrix generally do not rotate is unsound—it violates the fundamental physical law of balance of angular momentum.     

Two-stage growth of porphyroblastic biotite and garnet in the Barrovian metapelites of the Imjingang belt, central Korea

Porphyroblastic biotite and garnet in the Barrovian metapelites of the Imjingang belt, Korea, were investigated to unravel the sequence and mechanism of mineral growth. Poikiloblastic biotite contains straight inclusion trails (S_i) discontinuous to the major foliation, and develops clear zones at the grain margin. These microstructures suggest an initial growth of biotite between two contractional deformations (D_n−1 and D_n) followed by an overgrowth during D_n. Although garnet poikiloblasts contain variable S_i patterns, their major growth is likely to have occurred during D_n on the basis of compositional relationships among variable garnet types. Early poikiloblasts of both minerals were formed by chemical replacement of the matrix that consisted mainly of chlorite, muscovite and quartz. Subsequent growth of biotite was governed by a crack-filling mechanism, and was accompanied by the production of extensional cracks inside or around biotite, providing fluid pathways. The overgrowth of garnet was favoured at the biotite–garnet interface, and the consequence was a partial replacement of inclusion-poor garnet after biotite subsequent to D_n. In addition, clear zones and pressure shadows as well as the matrix around biotite porphyroblasts were replaced by garnet, suggesting an inheritance of various pre-existing microstructures in the S_i pattern of garnet. Further attention is thus required for any attempt to delineate the microstructural interaction between deformation and metamorphism, particularly in a sample containing early-grown porphyroblasts. Microstructural evidence for the two-stage growth of biotite and garnet is present up to the kyanite zone, indicating that this growth mechanism is prevalent during progressive metamorphism of Barrovian metapelites.     

Rotated staurolite porphyroblasts in the Littleton Schist at Bolton, Connecticut, USA

Staurolite porphyroblasts, 1.5–8cm in length and 0.3–2cm in width, in the Littleton Schist at Bolton, Connecticut, contain curved quartz inclusion trails which document synkinematic rotations of at least 135°. The orientations of long axes of these staurolite crystals define a weak preferred orientation in a plane approximately parallel to the external foliation. Serial sections of four differently orientated crystals and U-stage measurements of the orientations of their inclusion trails demonstrate that the inflection hinge line and the statistical 'symmetry axis' characterizing the foliation within a porphyroblast are unrelated to the orientations of external crenulations and are, in all cases, parallel to the long axis of the porphyroblast. The cumulative rotation reflected in the curvature of the inclusion trails is a maximum in a c -axis section through the initial core of a crystal. The amount of rotation about the c -axis decreases linearly along the length of the crystal away from the nucleation site.
The sense and amount of rotation recorded by a porphyroblast is related to its orientation. A tightly constrained transition from clockwise to anticlockwise rotation defines a slip direction that coincides with the preferred orientation of the staurolite c -axes. The total rotation reflected by the inclusion trails increases as a function of the angle between the c -axes of the staurolite crystals and the slip direction.
Initially random staurolite porphyroblasts rotated during growth, as a consequence of laminar shear in the surrounding viscous matrix. This interpretation is quantitatively consistent with: the staurolite preferred orientation; its coincidence with the apparent slip direction; the correlation between both the sense and the amount of rotation and the orientation of the long axis of the porphyroblast; and the twisted conical shape of the family of surfaces defined by the inclusion trails.     

Sequential growth of cordierite and andalusite porphyroblasts, Cooma Complex, Australia: microstructural evidence of a prograde reaction

Abstract Low-pressure prograde metamorphism of pelitic rocks in the Cooma Complex, south-east Australia, has produced cordierite-andalusite schists at intermediate grades. The first foliation (S₁) is preserved largely as inclusion trails in cordierite porphyroblasts. Microstructural evidence indicates that the cordierite porphyroblasts grew during the early stages of development of a crenulation-foliation (S₂) and that andalusite porphyroblasts grew during the development of a later crenulation-foliation (S₃). Microstructural evidence also indicates that the andalusite was a product of the prograde reaction: cordierite + muscovite ± andalusite + biotite + quartz. The occurrence of the products of this reaction in 'beard'structures between cordierite microboudins formed by extension in S₃ confirms that the andalusite grew during the development of S₃. The investigation shows that porphyroblast-matrix relationships can preserve the orientation of an early S-surface that has been largely obliterated from the matrix, as well as providing relatively direct evidence of sequential mineral growth and metamorphic reactions.     

Microstructural features of albite porphyroblasts as indicators of sequential Barrovian metamorphic mineral growth in the Caledonides of the SW Scottish Highlands

Inclusion – porphyroblast and porphyroblast – porphyroblast relationships show that abundant albite in mica schists in the Caledonides of the SW Scottish Highlands are part of the Barrovian metamorphic assemblage. Growth early in the D2 deformational phase of porphyroblast cores followed the growth of Mn‐rich garnet but preceded the growth of porphyroblasts of the index mineral almandine. Two sets of inclusion trails in the albite correspond to the regionally expressed S1 and S2. Straight trails of muscovite, chlorite, quartz, epidote and the earliest growth of biotite make up S1. Crenulated trails express deformation of S1 early in D2 with muscovite, chlorite, biotite, quartz, epidote and the Mn‐rich garnet associated with the development of S2 crenulation cleavage. The geometries of these trails uniquely record early stages of D2 deformational history. An _0?3 growth is related to the temporal coincidence of the formation of S1–S2 crenulation cleavage hinges as favourable sites for nucleation and the release of large amounts of water from prograde reactions during tectonothermal reconstitution of first cycle immature sediments with a volcanic component. The main characteristics of the regionally expressed D2 schistosity were developed during the major grain coarsening that followed both albite and almandine porphyroblast growth. Essentially inclusion‐free An _4?19 rims grew on the inclusion‐containing cores in the almandine zone in the later stages of schistosity growth and unoriented porphyroblasts of muscovite, biotite and chlorite indicate that mineral growth extended from the later stages of D2 to post‐D2. Previous interpretations of the albite porphyroblast growth having been during D4 to post‐D4 contemporaneous with retrogression are inconsistent with the microstructural evidence.     

Flow kinematics in the deeper part of a subduction channel, as inferred from inclusion trails in plagioclase porphyroblasts from the Sambagawa metamorphic rocks, south-west Japan

The subduction and exhumation of accretionary prism metasedimentary rocks are accompanied by large‐strain ductile deformations which may be recorded in microstructures. Porphyroblast microstructures have been a key to unravel the kinematics in such deformed belts. Shape‐preferred orientation (SPO) of epidote and amphibole inclusions that define S‐shaped trails in prograde cores of plagioclase porphyroblasts were analysed from the high‐P/T Sambagawa metamorphic rocks. Inclusions are found to be elongate parallel to the [010] and [001] directions, respectively, and their long‐axis orientations define an internal foliation S_i (best‐fit great circle) and lineation L_i (maximum on the S_i). S‐shaped inclusion trails in the orthogonal sections do not exhibit the same geometries, but rather are grouped into two types, where the foliation intersection axes (FIAs) are nearly perpendicular and parallel to L_i, respectively. These two types of S‐shaped inclusion trails are seen in the sections inclined at low and high angles to the L_i, respectively. However, the latter type commonly consists of composite trails, where the S_i is first rotated about an FIA perpendicular to the L_i (i.e. unique axis), and then about an FIA parallel to the L_i. The S‐shaped inclusion trails are interpreted to have formed by the successive overgrowth of matrix minerals and rotation of the plagioclase porphyroblast cores about a unique axis in non‐coaxial deformation. The rotation of S_i about an FIA nearly parallel to the L_i is perhaps an apparent rotation, caused by the deflection of foliation around the growing prismatic plagioclase grain prior to inclusion into the porphyroblast. This study has for the first time documented the 3‐D geometry of S‐shaped inclusion trails in porphyroblasts from accretionary prism metasedimentary rocks and identified their origin, which helps to understand the flow kinematics in the deeper part of a subduction channel.     

Distinguishing and correlating multiple phases of metamorphism across a multiply deformed region using the axes of spiral, staircase and sigmoidal inclusion trails in garnet

Schists from the Appalachian Orogen in south-east Vermont have undergone multiple phases of garnet growth. These phases can be distinguished by the trend and relative timing of f oliation i nflexion or i ntersection a xes (FIAs) of foliations preserved as inclusion trails in garnet porphyroblasts. The relative timing of different generations of FIAs is determined from samples containing porphyroblasts with two or three differently trending FIAs developed outwards from core to rim (multi-FIA porphyroblasts). Schists from south-east Vermont show a consistent pattern of relative clockwise rotation of FIA trends from oldest to youngest. Four populations or sets of FIAs can be distinguished on the basis of their relative timings and trends. From oldest to youngest, the four sets have modal peaks trending SW–NE, W–E, NNW–SSE and SSW–NNE. These peaks show that each of the four FIA sets has a statistically consistent trend at all scales across a 35×125 km area containing numerous mesoscopic and macroscopic folds. The FIAs of Set 4 are defined by inclusion trails that are continuous with matrix foliations, have trends subparallel to most folds and are inferred to have developed contemporaneously with these structures. Conversely, Sets 1 to 3 are oblique to and pre-date most matrix foliations and folds. All four FIA sets occur in Siluro-Devonian rocks and must have formed in the Acadian Orogeny. The lack of statistically significant differences in the distribution of FIA trends across the study area and their consistent relative timings in multi-FIA porphyroblasts, despite a complex regional deformation history involving numerous phases of folding at all scales, suggest the porphyroblasts have not rotated relative to one another. The change in FIA trend with time resulted from rotation of the kinematic reference frame of bulk flow, possibly as a consequence of the reorganization of lithospheric plates responsible for Acadian orogenesis. Recognition of distinct generations of FIAs provides a means of distinguishing different phases of porphyroblast growth. Four periods of garnet porphyroblast growth occurred in the schists of south-east Vermont. This growth was heterogeneously distributed on the cm²–m² scale. No single porphyroblast records all stages of growth, and adjacent samples from the same or dissimilar rock types commonly contain porphyroblasts that preserve different sequences of growth. Factors that may have been responsible for switching porphyroblast growth on and off at this scale include: (i) subtle differences in bulk chemical composition; (ii) oscillating levels of heat, owing to the buffering effect of endothermic garnet-forming reactions; (iii) channelized infiltration of fluids with localized fluid buffering of bulk composition; and (iv) cyclic controls on the rates of diffusion and material transport of reactants, either by channelized fluid flow or by a changing pattern of microfracturing during foliation development. Consistency in FIA trend and relative timing provide a new method for potentially distinguishing and correlating successive metamorphic events, or even phases of metamorphism within a progressive tectonothermal event, along and across orogens. Using a consistent pattern of core to rim changes in FIA trend, multiple phases of growth of a single porphyroblastic mineral can be quantitatively distinguished, allowing correlation of different phases of growth around and across macroscopic folds. The relative timing of growth of different porphyroblastic minerals can also be quantitatively determined using FIA data and correlated around and across macroscopic folds. Conceptually, the paragenetic history preserved in each generation of porphyroblast growth, in the form of chemical zoning and the minerals in inclusion trails, could be combined to produce a more detailed P–T–t–deformation path than previously determined.     

剪切带中变斑晶的生长及包裹体痕迹的演化

韧性剪切带中,由于变形分解作用的存在,岩石发生递进变形过程中,产于共轴或非共轴递进缩短带内的变斑晶不发生旋转,而变斑晶内的包裹体痕迹是递进变形过程中遗留在变斑晶内的变形变质痕迹。利用未旋转斑晶中的包裹体痕迹可以确定早期面理的取向,寻找构造演化的时间标志,确定变形变质的关系及其演化史。对北祁连托勒牧场大型走滑韧性剪切带中石榴石、黑云母等变斑晶及包裹体痕迹的研究,揭示了变斑晶的生长和包、裹体痕迹与褶劈理的演化有着重要联系以及剪切变形过程中变形变质演化史、应变速率的变化。递进变形相应地发生递增变质,但两者存在着一定的差异性。