The Role of Pre-existing Mechanical Anisotropy on Shear Zone Development within Oceanic Mantle Lithosphere: an Example from the Oman Ophiolite

Structural and fabric analysis of the well-exposed Hilti mantlesection, Oman ophiolite, suggests that shear zone development,which may have resulted from oceanic plate fragmentation, wasinfluenced by pre-existing mantle fabric present at the paleo-ridge.Detailed structural mapping in the mantle section revealed agently undulating structure with an east–west flow direction.A NW–SE strike-slip shear zone cuts across this horizontalstructure. The crystal preferred orientation (CPO) of olivinewithin the foliation is dominated by (010) axial patterns ratherthan more commonly observed (010)[100] patterns, suggestingthat the horizontal flow close to the Moho involved non-coaxialflow. Olivine CPO within the shear zone formed at low temperatureis characterized by (001)[100] patterns and a sinistral senseof shear. The olivine CPO becomes weaker with progressive mylonitizationand accompanying grain size reduction, and ultimately developsinto an ultra-mylonite with a random CPO pattern. The olivine[010]-axis is consistently sub-vertical, even where the horizontalfoliation has been rotated to a sub-vertical orientation withinthe shear zone. These observations suggest that the primarymechanical anisotropy (mantle fabric) has been readily transformedinto a secondary structure (shear zone) with minimum modification.This occurred as a result of a change of the olivine slip systemsduring oceanic detachment and related tectonics during cooling.We propose that primary olivine CPO fabrics may play a significantrole in the subsequent structural development of the mantle.Thus, the structural behavior of oceanic mantle lithosphereduring subduction and obduction may be strongly influenced byinitial mechanical anisotropy developed at an oceanic spreadingcenter. KEY WORDS: mantle lithosphere; anisotropy; shear zone; olivine CPO; Oman ophiolite     

Fabric transpositions in granite plutons — An insight from non-scaled analogue modelling

Investigations on a set of experimental models of highly viscous intrusions were carried out in order to study the internal strain pattern during vertical ascent and emplacement of granite intrusions. The strain pattern was determined by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) resulting from the orientation of magnetite particles in a liquid plaster medium. The modelled intrusions show distinct fabrics reflecting the flow of a rheologically complex, non-Newtonian material. During the vertical growth of the intrusion, constrictional vertical fabrics are transposed into flattening fabrics, and along with the development of low-intensity fabric domains are passively transported upwards. Vertical growth takes place along subvertical thrust shear zones that satisfactorily explain the discordant magmatic fabrics in granites along intrusion sides. The resulting complex fabric patterns suggest that the vertical movement of material in ascending intrusions is accommodated by various flow mechanisms operating simultaneously.     

The magnetic susceptibility anisotropy of deformed rocks from North Cornwall,England

The magnetic fabric of 306 samples from 51 sites was determined by means of a new, low-field anisotropy technique. The within-site consistency of the magnetic-fabric data was extremely high and was comparable with more tedious standard petrofabric analyses, where available, and with the structural properties of previously defined tectonic zones in North Cornwall. These data confirm the applicability of magnetic-fabric studies to structural problems, particularly in determining the orientation of the strain in the rocks. In areas of low strain, the technique appears applicable where standard petrofabric techniques are too coarse or time-consuming and indicates that direct estimates of both the magnitude and direction of the net strain ellipsoid should be possible in less deformed areas. Magnetic fabric studies therefore confirm the tectonic zonation in this region and provide a rapid method for similar structural evaluations.     

“Granite tectonics” revisited: insights from comparison of K-feldspar shape-fabric,anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), and brittle fractures in the Jizera granite,Bohemian Massif

In the Jizera granite of the Krkonoše–Jizera Plutonic Complex, northern Bohemian Massif, contrasting patterns of magmatic K-feldspar fabrics and brittle fractures characterize different structural levels of the pluton. The uppermost exposed level at ∼800–1,100 m above sea level is dominated by flat foliation that overprints two steep foliations. In contrast, K-feldspar shape-fabric in an underground tunnel (∼660 m above sea level) shows complex variations in orientation and intensity. Magnetic fabric carried by coaxial contributions of biotite, magnetite, and maghemite is homogeneous along the examined section of the tunnel, and is decoupled from the K-feldspar fabric. The Jizera granite is crosscut by two regional sets of subvertical fractures (∼NE–SW and ∼NW–SE) and by near-surface exfoliation joints. The multiple fabrics are inferred to reflect a complex magmatic strain history at different structural levels of the pluton, bearing little or no relationship to the fracture network. In contrast to the original concept of Hans Cloos (“granite tectonics”), we conclude that no simple genetic relationship exists between fabrics and fractures in plutons. An alternative classification of fractures in plutons thus should avoid relationships to magmatic fabrics and should instead consist of cooling, syntectonic, uplift, and post-uplift fractures.     

Polymineralic orientation analysis of magmatic rocks using Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction: Implications for igneous fabric origin and evolution

Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD), which provides an easy way of acquiring large numbers of individual crystallographic orientation data from different phases, has been applied to the study of magmatic fabrics. Using this technique, the crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) of plagioclase, biotite, orthopyroxene, hornblende and quartz in natural tonalites and quartzdiorites (from the Santa Olalla Igneous Complex, SW Iberia) deformed during the magmatic stage have been determined. Plagioclase is the coarser phase defining the main fabric in each sample, whereas biotite can display either the same fabric as plagioclase or a completely different one. The differences between these two phases occur because: (1) smaller phases interact with the larger ones to produce more random orientations, (2) under simple shear, finer phases can completely rotate giving a girdle included in the XZ plane, (3) finer phases can more easily preserve relict fabrics, while the coarser phases are completely reoriented by the last stress tensor. The last phases to crystallize show weak to completely random CPOs (hornblende) or completely random distributions (quartz). The study was completed with a shape preferred orientation analysis using the Intercept Method in order to detect weak magmatic lineations, and numerical modelling simulations of theoretically equivalent simple shear situations for each sample.     

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

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

Emplacement kinematics of nepheline syenites from the Terrane Boundary Shear Zone of the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt,west of Khariar,NW Orissa: Evidence from meso- and microstructures

Nepheline syenite plutons emplaced within the Terrane Boundary Shear Zone of the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt west of Khariar in northwestern Orissa are marked by a well-developed magmatic fabric including magmatic foliation, mineral lineations, folds and S-C fabrics. The minerals in the plutons, namely microcline, orthoclase, albite, nepheline, hornblende, biotite and aegirine show, by and large, well-developed crystal faces and lack undulose extinction and dynamic recrystallization, suggesting a magmatic origin. The magmatic fabric of the plutons is concordant with a solid-state strain fabric of the surrounding mylonites that developed due to noncoaxial strain along the Terrane Boundary Shear Zone during thrusting of the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt over the Bastar Craton. However, a small fraction of the minerals, more commonly from the periphery of the plutons, is overprinted by a solid state strain fabric similar to that of the host rock. This fabric is manifested by discrete shear fractures, along which the feldspars are deformed into ribbons, have undergone dynamic recrystallization and show undulose extinction and myrmekitic growth. The shear fractures and the magmatic foliations are mutually parallel to the C-fabric of the host mylonites. Coexistence of concordant solid state strain fabric and magmatic fabric has been interpreted as a transitional feature from magmatic state to subsolidus deformation of the plutons, while the nepheline syenite magma was solidifying from a crystal-melt mush state under a noncoaxial strain. This suggests the emplacement of the plutons synkinematic to thrusting along the Terrane Boundary Shear Zone. The isotopic data by earlier workers suggest emplacement of nepheline syenite at 1500 +3/−4Ma, lending support for thrusting of the mobile belt over the craton around that time.     

The analysis of finite strain using lines with an initial random orientation

The effect of homogeneous strain on random samples from an initially uniform distribution of lines in two dimensions is investigated. After doubling the data and treating each as a unit vector, the orientation and length of the resultant vector allows the orientation of the X-axis and the strain ratio to be estimated. The appropriate confidence limits of these estimates are evaluated. The method is illustrated using samples of weakly deformed desiccation cracks and a comparison with other methods of strain analysis made.     

Quantifying sample bias in clast fabric measurements

Sampling elongate clasts that protrude from a planar face for clast macro‐fabric analysis introduces a bias into reconstructed fabrics because clasts aligned perpendicular to the sampling face are over‐represented relative to those aligned parallel to the face. This study develops a probability‐based mathematical analysis to quantify sample bias for a variety of clast shapes and population fabrics, including isotropic, clustered and girdled fabric styles. Bias is expressed in terms of sample eigenvalues and eigenvectors relative to those of the parent population. Results indicate that sampling always has the effect of artificially drawing fabrics towards perpendicularity to the sampling face relative to the populations from which they are drawn. This rotation generally has the effect of artificially strengthening population fabrics, by up to 30% in the case of very weakly clustered or girdled populations. However, fabric strengthening is by no means universal and sampling alters different parent populations in different, sometimes complex, ways: the analysis in this paper identifies situations where sampling can strengthen or weaken parent fabrics, where it can rotate parent fabrics (by up to 90° in the case of a very weak population fabric), and where it can even change the style of a population fabric. For example, near‐isotropic population fabrics can appear clustered; weakly clustered and weakly girdled population fabrics can appear isotropic; weakly clustered population fabrics can appear weakly girdled; and girdled population fabrics can appear clustered. Overall, this analysis indicates that weakly orientated population fabrics are most susceptible to bias. Thus, a weakly clustered population fabric aligned parallel to a sample face is particularly susceptible to major sample bias in both fabric strength (artificially overestimated) and orientation (artificially rotated perpendicular to the face). Bias can be reduced either by sampling all the clasts from a cube‐shaped block of sediment excavated from the face, or by sampling equal numbers of clasts from the three orthogonal faces of the same sedimentary unit.     

Domainal and fabric heterogeneities in the Cap de Creus quartz mylonites

A characteristic domainal configuration is reported for both micro-structures and c-axis fabrics in the Cap de Creus pure quartz mylonites as displayed in 50 samples from the centres of different shear zones. Three types of domains are found a, b and c. Each domain has a distinct c-axis orientation pattern. These three fabric elements, also labelled a, b and c make up the total fabric. c-axis fabrics are symmetric or asymmetric with respect to the main mylonitic foliation depending on the presence or absence of the b domain and its fabric element. The boundaries of the domains are parallel to the main mylonitic foliation. Two domain types, a and b display an internal foliation defined by preferred grain boundary alignment parallel to the direction of optical orientation within the domain. The internal foliations are oblique to the main mylonitic foliation in two different senses giving the sample a herring-bone appearance. These internal foliations are shown to be related to extensional crenulations. Domains are not produced by host-controlled recrystallization. The fabric elements and corresponding domains are the expression of kinematic heterogeneities on the scale of the thin section.     

Shape preferred orientation of object populations: automatic analysis of digitized images

An automatic technique is presented for systematic shape preferred orientation (SPO) analysis of crystal fabrics in rocks. This technique is based on digitization of an image with a CCD camera and separation of an object population from its matrix. The image is analysed globally using a rotating grid that is superimposed on the square pixel grid of the computer screen. The parametric method is based on counting intercepts in all directions. The interceps rose provides information on both the orientation and strength of the SPO. Problems of hardware-related counting noise anisotropy are avoided using an original method of filtering the intercept function with a linear, sliding mask on the counting grid. The technique was tested both on single objects of different shapes and on different populations of identical objects. A very high degree of accuracy was obtained for orientation measurements. Fabric shape parameters are introduced which are specific to this intercept technique; they compare favourably with shape parameters used in axial fabric analysis.     

辽南金州拆离断层带中花岗质岩石的变形:显微构造、组构与年代学分析

花岗岩(脉)在中下地壳韧性剪切带中普遍发育,如何正确鉴别剪切带中剪切前、剪切期及剪切后花岗岩(脉)以及正确理解剪切过程中构造变形与岩浆作用之间的关系一直是一个重要课题。本文以辽南金州拆离断层带为研究对象,选取中部地壳伸展作用过程中具有不同变形表现的花岗岩(脉)开展宏观-微观构造观察、石英EBSD组构分析及锆石LA-ICP-MS年代学测试等工作,从而进一步丰富构造-岩浆关系判别准则。剪切前花岗岩(脉)多变形强烈且具有后期固态变形叠加在早期高温岩浆组构之上的特点,而剪切期的花岗岩由于侵位的时间不同,岩石的变形程度也会不同。剪切晚期侵入的岩脉遭受了较弱的晶内塑性变形,而剪切早期的岩脉可以显示岩浆流动或结晶后高温至中温固态变形。从组构特点上看,剪切前和剪切期花岗质岩石石英c轴组构大多表现为中高温组构叠加有低温组构的特点。剪切后的花岗质岩石仅发生微弱的晶内变形或未变形而显示低温或无规律的组构特征。对五个典型的样品进行年代学测试,其结果符合相应的期次划分类型。应用宏观构造、显微构造与组构分析,结合年代学测试综合分析,对于辽南变质核杂岩构造-岩浆活动性进行了精细划分,包括134~130Ma初始伸展阶段,130~115Ma峰期伸展与强烈岩浆活动阶段,以及115Ma前后伸展作用结束。     

Quartz fabrics in shear-zone mylonites: Evidence for a major imprint due to late strain increments

Geometrical relations between quartz C-axis fabrics, textures, microstructures and macroscopic structural elements (foliation, lineation, folds…) in mylonitic shear zones suggest that the C-axis fabric mostly reflects the late-stage deformation history. Three examples of mylonitic thrust zones are presented: the Eastern Alps, where the direction of shearing inferred from the quartz fabric results from a late deformation oblique to the overall thrusting; the Caledonides nappes and the Himalayan Main Central Thrust zone, where, through a similar reasoning, the fabrics would also reflect late strain increments though the direction of shearing deduced from quartz fabric remains parallel to the overall thrusting direction. Hence, the sense of shear and the shear strain component deduced from the orientation of C-axis girdles relative to the finite strain ellipsoid axes are not simply related nor representative of the entire deformation history.     

Clay fabrics in relation to the burial history of shales

Quantitative appraisal of compaction strain is essential for the study of the burial history of shales in sedimentary basins. The results of a preliminary fabric analysis of Westphalian and Zechstein shales in the Campine Basin (Belgium) show that clay fabric analysis, using an X-ray pole figure goniometer, is suitable for this purpose. Clay fabrics, in the range studied, are independent of depth and therefore cannot be used as depth indicators. This suggests that in the early stages of the burial history a stable clay fabric has to develop, which will basically remain unchanged during the subsequent burial history. The degree of clay particle preferred orientation not only reflects the compaction strain, but is also determined by mineralogical parameters: the presence of non-platy particles and the relative concentrations of the different clay minerals. This degree of preferred orientation furthermore determines the degree of fissility of the shales. These mineralogical factors limit the use of clay fabrics as truly quantitative strain markers. Their use as semi-quantitative strain markers remains advantageous, mainly because of the common occurrence of clay fabrics in the geological record. Moreover, the relative ease of measurement and the possibility of distinguishing compaction from tectonic strains favour the use of clay fabrics in the quantitative strain analysis of argillaceous rocks.     

Composite magnetic anisotropy fabrics: experiments, numerical models and implications for the quantification of rock fabrics

Magnetic fabrics from rocks with multiple mineral-preferred orientations may have anisotropy ellipsoids whose shape and orientation arise from the addition of two or more component fabrics. Our numerical models and experiments demonstrate that such composite magnetic fabrics do not directly reflect the shapes and/or orientations of the individual mineral fabrics and we provide criteria for the recognition and interpretation of composite fabrics in natural rocks. These criteria include:

1. (1) the orientation of the maximum susceptibility axis is located at the intersection of two planar fabrics, and

2. (2) the shape of the susceptibility ellipsoid changes from oblate to prolate and the degree of anisotropy decreases, as the relative intensity of two planar component fabrics becomes equal and as the angle between the planar fabrics increases.

Composite magnetic fabrics are observed in the shales and slates of the Martinsburg Formation, Lehigh Gap, Pennsylvania. Modeling of the AMS (anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility) and ARMA (anhysteretic remanent magnetization anisotropy) behavior constrains the relative degree of anisotropy of the bedding-parallel and cleavage-parallel fabrics. In particular, ARMA model results allow a good estimate of magnetite fabric strength.

We conclude that, in the presence of composite magnetic fabrics, quantitative measures of finite strain in deformed rocks are limited by the ability to accurately determine the degree of anisotropy and relative susceptibility of each component fabric. Such determinations require knowledge of the mineral(s) that are responsible for the measured magnetic fabric and their behavior during deformation.     

Strain analysis in rocks with pretectonic fabrics

A major problem in strain analysis of ellipsoidal fabrics is how to separate the effects of initial preferred orientation of objects from the effects of strain. New algebraic methods are presented here which apply to many of the situations previously analysed by graphical and iterative techniques. The algebraic solutions are simple and highlight some assumptions implicit in previous methods, and the relations between those methods. It is shown that many final ellipsoidal fabrics cannot be produced from initial fabrics which were symmetric with respect to bedding, and that a three-dimensional analysis is preferable to analysis on two-dimensional section planes.     

Microfabric analysis by manual and automated stereological procedures: a methodological approach to Antarctic tillite

Fabric analysis is commonly used to infer former movement directions of diamictons; however, analysis techniques are typically time consuming and partly subjective. Stereological analysis provides an alternative for objective determination of the preferred orientation of particles. The ability of manual and automated stereological procedures to determine the preferred orientation of particles (120–4000 µm) in tillite is assessed, using core samples from Mount Feather, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Orthogonal sets of vertical thin sections were subjected to directed secant analysis involving the determination of the number of intersections between particle outlines and a rotating series of parallel lines. The manual analysis reveals a weakly developed three-dimensional tilt angle (plunge) of 68°. This reflects the depth-averaged subglacial deformational structure of the deposit. Because the preferred orientation signal is weak, in the automated set-up this signal is obscured by the effect of digitization, hampering the reliable assessment of the orientation direction. The study shows microfabric variability within the studied cored section that is interpreted as a shear fabric. Reliable macrostructural information that might constrain ice flow directions requires a larger number of randomly or systematically drawn core samples from which averaged microstructural fabrics can be derived.     

Superposition of plane strain on an initial sedimentary fabric: an example from Laksefjord, North Norway

Shape fabric determinations in deformed grits, microconglomerates and conglomerates in the Landersfjord region of the Laksefjord Nappe, Finnmark, North Norway, have demonstrated the existence of prolate fabric ellipsoids. The correlation between shape fabric symmetry and the orientation of the principal fabric axes suggests that the fabrics are the result of a tectonic plane strain superimposed roughly coaxially on an initially oblate sedimentary fabric. A plot of the fabric ellipsoids on a three axis diagram allows the effect of the initial fabric to be removed, and the amount of strain to be determined. A contour map of the strain shows it to increase to the north and west. Models are proposed for the origin of the strain.     

Petrology and Mineral Compositions of the Middle Banded Series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana

The two olivine-bearing zones of the Middle Banded series ofthe Stillwater Complex are characterized by an increase in thenumber of cumulus minerals with height. In each, anorthositeand anorthositic troctolite dominate the lower part whereasolivine gabbro and gabbronorite form much of the upper portions.Electron microprobe analyses of cumulus minerals indicate littleor no variation of average mineral compositions with height.In addition, no significant lateral variations in cumulus mineralcompositions occur along 8 km of section. Plagioclase from throughoutthese zpnes shows the complex, reverse and oscillatory zonationpatterns also seen in plagioclase from the thick (>500 m)anorthosites that sandwich the zones. The data suggest thatthe entire Middle Banded series is genetically related and thereforerequires models for the origin of the thick anorthosites toalso explain the olivine-bearing rocks between them. However,textural features such as discordant troctolites, pegmatoids,slump structures and variably developed mineral laminations,and chemical features such as zonation in clinopyroxene producedby intergranular exchange with orthopyroxene and large within-samplevariations in the mg-number of olivine in low-olivine troctolites,indicate that significant modification of these rocks by postcumulusprocesses has taken place, thereby obscuring evidence of theirgenesis. KEY WORDS: Stillwater Complex; Middle Banded series; layered intrusions; mineral chemistry; postcumulus processes ^*Corresponding author. Telephone: (919) 681-8169. Fax: (919) 684-5833. e-mail: wpm{at}roguegeo.dukeedu     

Heterogeneous deformation and quartz crystallographic fabric transitions: natural examples from the moine thrust zone at the stack of glencoul,northern assynt

Quartz crystallographic fabric transitions in well-exposed mylonites immediately beneath the Moine Thrust at the Stack of Glencoul (NW Scotland) have been investigated by optical microscopy, X-ray texture goniometry and Orientation Distribution Function analysis. A progressive change is observed from asymmetrical kinked single girdle c-axis fabrics at 0.5 cm beneath the Moine Thrust, through asymmetrical Type I cross-girdle fabrics to symmetrical Type I cross-girdle fabrics at 30 cm beneath the thrust. This c-axis fabric transition is accompanied by a transition from asymmetrical single a-axis maximum fabrics (0.5 cm beneath the thrust) through asymmetrical two maxima fabrics to essentially symmetrical two maxima a-axis fabrics. ODF analysis of these S >L and L - S tectonites indicates that c-axis positions on the ‘leading edge’ of the fabric skeleton are related by a common (a) direction oriented within the XZ plane at a moderate angle to the lineation (X). In contrast, c-axis positions on the peripheral ‘trailing edge’ are related by a positive (r) rhomb pole oriented close to Z; (a) directions lying within this common rhomb plane progressively change through 180° in orientation traced around the c-axis fabric skeleton. Such contrasting ‘single crystal’ rhomb (a) preferred orientations on the ‘leading’ and ‘trailing’ edges of the fabric skeleton are interpreted as indicating localized (grain scale) plane strain and flattening deformation, respectively. They result in tectonites with essentially symmetrical c- and a-axis fabrics which display strongly asymmetrical positive (r) and negative (z) rhomb pole figures. The observed transition in quartz c- and a-axis fabrics is interpreted as indicating an increasing importance of non-coaxial plane-strain deformation as the Moine Thrust is approached. Even immediately (<1 cm) beneath the thrust, however, flow has still significantly departed from bulk simple shear and involved an important (heterogeneous) component of contemporaneous flattening deformation.