Can the vapour phase be neglected to estimate bulk salinity of halite bearing aqueous fluid inclusions?

The bulk salinity cannot be directly obtained from the dissolution temperatures of halite in highly saline fluid inclusions that contain solid, liquid, and vapour at room temperature. At least two of the following independent parameters must be determined to estimate the bulk composition and density of these inclusions: 1. dissolution temperature of halite in the presence of vapour; 2. total homogenization temperature of liquid and vapour; and 3. volume fraction of the vapour phase. A new V ^m -x diagram for phase stabilities in the H₂O-NaCl system has been constructed to obtain these bulk fluid properties from inclusions that homogenize liquid and vapour phase at higher temperatures than dissolution of halite.     

Finite strain analysis of the Zhangbaling metamorphic belt,SE China – Crustal thinning in transpression

Finite strain analysis of pebbles in the metatillite and phyllite shows that the deformation of the metatillite/phyllite zone is flattening to plane-strain dominated. Results of SPO analysis of the rigid plagioclase porphyroclasts in three perpendicular planes indicate monoclinic strain symmetry of the Zhangbaling schist and oblate geometry of the clast. Forward strain modeling of rigid clasts is performed based on the shape fabric of the clast population. Integrated results of finite strain modeling and finite strain analysis indicate that this midcrustal section experienced at least ∼18–36% thinning in the oblique convergence between North and South China blocks.     

Zircon coronas around Fe–Ti oxides: a physical reference frame for metamorphic and metasomatic reactions

Ilmenite in coronitic gabbros from the Bamble and Kongsberg sectors, southern Norway, is surrounded by zircons ranging in diameters from a fraction of a micrometer to 10 μm across. The zircons are inert during subsequent metamorphism (amphibolite- to pumpellyite–prehnite facies) and metasomatism (scapolitization and albitization) and can be found as trails in silicates (phlogopite, talc, chlorite, amphibole, albite, and tourmaline) in the altered rocks. The trails link up to form polygons outlining the former oxide grain boundary. This 3-dimensional framework of zircons is used to (a) recognize metasomatic origin of rocks, (b) quantify the mobility of elements during mineral replacement, (c) establish the growth direction of reaction fronts and to identify the reaction mechanism as dissolution–reprecipitation. Zircon coronas on Fe–Ti oxides have been described from a number of terrains and appear to be common in mafic rocks (gabbros and granulites) providing a tool for a better understanding of metasomatic and metamorphic reactions.     

True metamorphic isograds or tectonically sliced metamorphic sequence? New high-spatial resolution petrological data for the New Caledonia case study

The metamorphic belt of northern New Caledonia represents one of the best-exposed example of fossil Pacific-type subduction zone and a worldwide reference for high-pressure (HP) metamorphism and metamorphic mineral isograds, marked by a gradual evolution from very low-grade lawsonite-bearing to high-grade epidote-bearing eclogite assemblages. Despite the general agreement on the progressive increase in metamorphism, open debates hinge on the tectonic meaning of such mineral isograds, either interpreted as fossilized continuous metamorphic gradients or as major tectonic discontinuities. We present a new and extensive metamorphic dataset acquired by means of Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material and pseudosection modeling. Additional PT estimates were also obtained via traditional thermobarometry. Our dataset indicates the occurrence of two tectonometamorphic domains characterized by distinct patterns and significantly modifies the past tectonic interpretation of the HP terranes. The first domain, rich in metasediments, shows a continuous metamorphic gradient starting at ~300 °C and ~0.8 GPa and reaching the blueschist-eclogite transition at 500–520 °C and ~1.8 GPa and is only locally cut by minor tectonic breaks. The second one, rich in metaophiolites, shows a rather constant metamorphism at 520–550 °C and ~2.4 GPa. The two terranes are separated by a conspicuous pressure gap (0.6 GPa, or ~20 km), but no temperature gap exists. We therefore interpret the metamorphic mineral isograds in the blueschist, metasediment-rich unit as a continuous prograde metamorphic gradient corresponding to ~35 km of accreted material (in a cold subduction zone favoring lawsonite stability) later affected by a factor of two decompressional thinning. Only the epidote isograd, which localized strain as a result of fluid release during decompression, reflects regional reequilibrations. Importantly, no significant tectonic break affects the regional distribution of the classical mineral isograds, and the most significant metamorphic break is best depicted by a lithological contrast (metasediment-rich vs. metamafic/ultramafic-rich domains). Comparable patterns are observed in Tethyan-type orogens like the Western Alps or Corsica. This contribution provides useful insights into the mechanisms of exhumation and stacking of HP terrains and mountain building of both Pacific and Tethyan orogenic belts.     

Geochronology of fluid-induced eclogite and amphibolite facies metamorphic reactions in a subduction–collision system,Bergen Arcs,Norway

Rb–Sr multimineral isochron data for metamorphic veins allow to date separate increments of the mineral reaction history of polymetamorphic terranes. Granulite facies rocks of the Lindås nappe, Bergen Arcs, Norway, were subducted and exhumed during the Caledonian orogeny. The rocks show petrographic evidence for two distinct events of local fluid infiltration and vein formation, along fractures and shear zones. The first occurred at eclogite facies (15–21 kbar, 650–750°C) and a later one at amphibolite facies conditions (8–10 kbar, 600°C). The presence of fluids enabled local metamorphic equilibration only near fluid pathways. In fluid-absent domains, preexisting assemblages were metastably preserved. This resulted in a heterogeneity of metamorphic signatures on meter to μm-scales. Well-preserved granulite facies rocks preserve their Proterozoic Rb–Sr mineral ages, as does the U–Pb system of zircon in most lithologies. Six Rb/Sr multimineral isochron ages for eclogite facies veins and their immediate wallrocks date the fluid-induced eclogitization at 429.9 ± 3.5 Ma (2σ, weighted average, MSWD = 0.39). An eclogite facies vein has yielded metamorphic zircon with concordant U–Pb ages of 429 ± 3 Ma, identical to the U–Pb age of 427.4 ± 0.9 Ma for zircon xenocrysts in an amphibolite facies vein. Seven Rb/Sr mineral isochron ages date amphibolite-facies fluid infiltration at 414.2 ± 2.8 Ma (MSWD = 1.5), an age value testifying to residence of the rocks in the deep orogenic crust at temperatures >600°C for nearly 15 Ma. The new data show that Rb–Sr mineral isochron ages effectively date fluid-induced (re)crystallization events rather than stages of cooling. The direct link between isotopic ages and distinct petrographic equilibrium assemblages aids to constrain the evolution of rocks in the P–T-reaction-time space, which is essential for understanding exhumation histories and the internal dynamics of orogens in general.     

The future of failure: stress or strain?

Strains in rocks can be observed but ancient stresses can only be inferred. We should re-examine the potential of strain geometry as the key to understanding and interpreting common shear structures ranging from faults to plastic shear zones. The concept of failure along zero extension directions can be applied to natural structures in rocks and is predicated on strain compatibility between differently strained volumes. Zero extension directions are considered for two strain configurations, plane strain (k=1) and uniaxial shortening (k=0). The crucial difference between shear fractures, or faults, and plastic yield zones is that the former are preceded by dilatation while the latter are isovolumetric. Volume changes during deformation affect the orientations of zero extension directions and hence of the resulting structures. With isovolumetric strain, yield occurs on planes at 45° to the principal shortening direction in plane strain and at 54.7° to this axis in uniaxial shortening. Uniaxial shortening experiments on rock samples allow estimation of the relative volumetric strains when yield zones initiate. When this volumetric strain is used to estimate the orientation of shear fractures in plane strain, ca 70° dips are predicted for normal faults at high crustal levels, decreasing downwards to 45°.     

Can in situ geochemical measurements be more fit-for-purpose than those made ex situ?

It is argued that the selection of the most appropriate geochemical measurement technique should be based upon the fitness of its measurement results for any specified purpose, regardless of whether the measurement are made in situ or ex situ. Using this approach, in situ measurements made in the field are shown to have some definite advantages over those made ex situ in a laboratory. A case study is used to show that there are cases where in situ measurements can be more fit-for-purpose than their ex situ equivalents. This is primarily because the uncertainty of both types of measurement is usually limited by the uncertainty arising from the field sampling process. That uncertainty is mainly caused by small-scale heterogeneity (in space or time) in the analyte concentration within the environmental material (e.g. soil, water or air).     

Exhalative metasediments – clues to the real nature of regional metamorphic processes?

Summary Regional metamorphic petrogenetic theory is currently dominated by the hypothesis that the principal grade indicator silicates and their related minerals arise by a variety of chemical reactions. It is postulated that, with rise (or fall) in regional crustal temperature and pressure, original materials become destabilized, break down, and are dissolved in the intergranular metamorphic fluid. The resulting ions then diffuse within, and are transported by, this fluid, in due course reacting with each other to form new minerals in equilibrium with each other and the associated fluid under the new conditions and in accordance with the Phase Rule. A second mechanism, widely accepted for such as metamorphic oxide, carbonate, sulphate and sulphide minerals, but not for the principal metamorphic silicates, is that the latter form largely by in situ solid:solid transformation plus or minus SiO₂ plus or minus H₂O, rather than by the serial process indicated above. It is now proposed that a test of the reaction theory is whether or not chemical equilibrium has been established on a fine (grain) scale in materials metamorphosed to high grades. On the basis of some simple – but very precise – electron microprobe measurements on some high grade, but still finely bedded, exhalative metasedimentary rocks, it appears to fail the test.     

Are feldspar-to-mica reactions necessarily reaction-softening processes in fault zones?

Reaction-softening by mineralogical changes from feldspars to sericite has been documented from many fault zones. During external crystalline basement deformation in the Alpine orogeny, the Ser Barbier thrust and splay faults in the Pelvoux Massif experienced ultracataclasis and sericitisation. Microstructural information and geochemical data from the fault rocks suggest that different muscovitisation reactions occurred at different times within the evolution of the fault zone, and each reaction had its own impact on fault rheology. Early cataclasis aided chemical breakdown of orthoclase feldspars to muscovite, yet quartz release accompanying this process resulted in local cementation and consequent hardening of the ultracataclasite. Continued deformation was accompanied by muscovitisation of the albite feldspar, and resulted in the formation of mica-rich fault rocks which experienced progressive silica removal by the fluid with increasing deformation. At this stage, reaction-enhanced ductility dominated. Much of the early cemented ultracataclasites escaped later deformation, and their low permeability allowed preservation of their early geochemical characteristics by preventing later fluid access. Such findings demonstrate how the complex interplay between deformation processes and geochemical reactions may result in a changing rheology during fault zone evolution.     

Can field data constrain rock viscosities?

In the 1960s it looked as though the ratio of wavelength to thickness of folds along shortened competent single layers might allow constraint of the viscosity ratios between the layers and their hosts when they deformed together. In the 1970s, the possibility arose that simple field measurements of boudins and mullions might also constrain rock viscosity ratios and thereby distinguish deformation facies and map rock viscosities in pressure–temperature–time space. Even more potential tools for constraining rock viscosities appeared in the 1980s but since then progress appears to have stagnated in a welter of problems.An attempt is made to refocus attention on direct retrospective measurements of rock rheologies during natural deformations by reviewing the potential field tools for constraining rock viscosities, discussing some of their problems, and by a crude application of the most developed approach. Further advances are likely to come from iteration between modellers and structural geologists working in a variety of tectonic settings. As well as constraining the pressure–temperature–time paths of our rocks, we should also be attempting to measure their viscosities.     

Can pollution bias peatland paleoclimate reconstruction?

Peatland testate amoebae are widely used to reconstruct paleohydrological/climatic changes, but many species are also known to respond to pollutants. Peatlands around the world have been exposed to anthropogenic and intermittent natural pollution through the late Holocene. This raises the question: can pollution lead to changes in the testate amoeba paleoecological record that could be erroneously interpreted as a climatic change? To address this issue we applied testate amoeba transfer functions to the results of experiments adding pollutants (N, P, S, Pb, O₃) to peatlands and similar ecosystems. We found a significant effect in only one case, an experiment in which N and P were added, suggesting that pollution-induced biases are limited. However, we caution researchers to be aware of this possibility when interpreting paleoecological records. Studies characterising the paleoecological response to pollution allow pollution impacts to be tracked and distinguished from climate change.     

Contrast in stress–strain history during exhumation between high- and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic units in the Western Alps: Microboudinage analysis of piemontite in metacherts

Our analyses of microboudinage structures of piemontite grains embedded within six samples of metachert, one collected from an ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic unit at Lago di Cignana in Italy of the Western Alps, and the other five from surrounding high-pressure (HP) metamorphic units in Italy and France, have revealed that the structures are all symmetrical in type, and were presumably produced in coaxial strain fields. Stress–strain analyses of the microboudinaged grains revealed significant contrasts in the stress and strain histories of the UHP and HP metamorphic units, with the differential stress recorded by the UHP sample being unequivocally lower than that recorded by the five HP samples. In addition, our analyses showed that the UHP sample underwent stress-relaxation during microboudinage, whereas the five HP samples did not. On the basis of these observations and analyses we discuss the mechanical decoupling of the UHP and HP units that led to different histories in differential stress between the units during exhumation of the Western Alps.     

Accretion patterns in Holocene tropical coral reefs: do massive coral reefs in deeper water with slowly growing corals accrete faster than shallower branched coral reefs with rapidly growing corals?

It is a widely held concept that tropical coral reefs in shallower water with branched acroporid corals should accrete faster than those in deeper water dominated by massive corals. Results from a study of Holocene development of the largest Atlantic reef system, including paleo-waterdepth data, challenge these concepts. In Belize barrier and atoll reefs, reef accretion-rates range from 0.46 to 7.50 m/kyr, and average 3.03 m/kyr, as measured along 33 dated reef sections. Interestingly, accretion-rates increase with increasing paleo-waterdepth, and sections dominated by massive corals accumulated even slightly faster than those with branched acroporids. Published data from some other reef locations reveal no significant trends when plotting reef accretion-rate versus paleo-waterdepth, also indicating that the above-mentioned concepts should be questioned. Massive corals apparently are more resistant and accrete in lower disturbance conditions in slightly deeper water (5–10 m) and higher accomodation (space available for sediment deposition) as compared to shallow water (0–5 m) branched acroporids, which repeatedly get broken and leveled out during tropical cyclones.     

The qualitative zoning record of minerals. A method for determining the duration of metamorphic events?

Summary The efficacy of ion exchange in petrological systems, for example the Fe-Mg exchange between garnet and biotite, is a function of grainsize, temperature, rates of temperature change and diffusion parameters. The combination of these variables determines the final zoning profile of minerals. Therefore, zoning profiles may be used to derive one of these variables if the others are known. For example, a mineral grain that experienced a short thermal event may still preserve a zoning profile characteristic of the heating path. In contrast, if that grain experienced a long thermal event it may develop a zoning profile typical of the cooling path. Conversely, for the same temperature-time cycle, large grains may not completely equilibrate at the metamorphic peak, and in smaller grains any previous record may have been erased. This is commonly observed in natural rocks where different grains within one thin section preserve often qualitatively different zoning profiles. Thus, a critical grainsize,l _crit, may exist that separates grains with qualitatively different zoning profiles so that grains of sizel > l _crit still retain zoning information about the heating path and grains of sizel <l _crit contain only information about the cooling path. If the critical grainsize can be measured and an independent estimate for the peak metamorphic temperature exists, the duration of the thermal event may, in principle, be estimated.The applicability of this method to natural garnets is hampered by a range of uncertainties. However, a parameterisation of the critical grain size may be used to illustrate the relative importance of grain size, temperature and event duration to the equilibration of minerals. In this paper, the critical grainsize is parameterized for various temperature-time cycles and its dependence on diffusion parameters is discussed. It is shown that, for Barrovian conditions,l _crit between 0.1 and 1 mm separates garnets retaining prograde information from garnets retaining cooling path information. For illustration, we compare the results with the critical grainsize of garnets from two metamorphic terranes, the Prydz Bay region (Antarctica) and the Koralm complex (Eastern Alps). Despite the large range of uncertainties attached to the method, it is shown that the critical grainsize of garnets in both terranes is consistent with a very short duration of the last thermal event that affected the two regions.

---

Die qualitative Form von Zonierungsprofilen in Mineralen. Information über die Dauer metamorpher Ereignisse?

Zusammenfassung Zonierungsprofile von Paragenesen im Ionenaustausch, zum Beispiel das Fe-Mg Austauschsgleichgewicht zwischen Granat und Biotit, sind eine Funktion von (i) Korngröße, (ii) Temperatur, (iii) Kühl- und Heizgeschwindigkeit sowie (iv) den Diffusionskonstanen. Es sollte daher möglich sein, Zonierungsprofile dazu zu verwenden, einen dieser Parameter zu bestimmen, wenn die anderen bekannt sind. Zonierungsprofile von Kristallen die ein kurzes thermisches Ereignis erfahren haben, mögen daher prograde Information beinhalten, wogegen derselbe Kristall ein retrogrades Profil aufweisen mag, wenn er einem langlebigen thermischen Ereignis unterlag (prograd und retrograd ist hier als: bei ansteigender Temperatur und bei abfallender Temperatur definiert). In Kristallen die dem gleichen Temperatur-Zeitpfad unterworfen waren, könnten kleine Körner nur die Kühlgeschichte dokumentieren, wogegen große noch Zonierungsinformation vom Heizpfad aufweisen. In natürlichen Gesteinen wird das oft dadurch beobachtet, daß verschiedene Körner auseinem Dünnschliff qualitativ verschiedene Zonierungsprofile aufweisen. Es ist daher möglich eine kritische Korngöße,l _crit, zu definieren, die Korngrößen mit qualitativ verschiedenen Zonierungsprofilen voneinander trennt. Körner mit einem Durchmesserl > l _crit haben, zumindest teilweise, noch prograde Profile, wogegen Körner mitl <l _crit nur retrograde Information dokumentieren. Wenn man diese kritische Korngröße messen kann, sollte sie dazu benutzt werden können, etwas über die Dauer des thermischen Ereignisses auszusagen.Die Anwendbarkeit dieser Methode ist durch eine Reihe von Fehlern limitiert. Nichtsdestotrotz, ist eine Parameterisierung der kritischen Korngröße nützlich um die relative Wichtigkeit von Korngröße, Temperatur und Zeit, für die Entwicklung von Zonierungsprofilen, zu illustrieren. Unser Modell kann dazu benutzt werden, um die Größenordnung von Granaten abzuschätzen, die noch prograde Information dokumentieren können. Die Abhängigkeit der kritischen Korngröße von Diffusionsparametern und der Form des Temperatur-Zeit Pfades wird ebenfalls diskutiert. Es wird gezeigt, daß für Metamorphose in der mittleren Grünschiefer und Amphibolit fazies,l _crit zwischen 0.1 and 1 mm prograd zonierte von retrograd zonierten Granaten trennt. Um das Modell zu illustrieren, werden die Ergebnisse auf die Prydz Bay Region (Antarktis) und den Koralm Komplex (Ostalpen) angewendet. Trotz der großen Fehlergrenzen der Methode glauben wir zeigen zu können, daß die kritische Korngröße beider Terrains andeutet, daß das letzte thermische Ereignis in beiden Gebieten kurzlebig war.

---

---

With 5 Figures     

Why the OCR may reduce the small strain shear stiffness of granular materials?

The small strain shear stiffness G₀ of the soil is of interest and importance in both theory and practice. It is expected that for granular materials G₀ would slightly increases with over-consolidation ratio (OCR). However, laboratory tests indicate that G₀ may decrease with increasing OCR, especially for loose specimens, which is counterintuitive. To explore the underlying mechanism, discrete element method (DEM) is used to investigate the effect of OCR on G₀. The DEM simulations successfully capture the laboratory observations. The analyses at the particulate level reveal that the decrease in small strain stiffness is mainly due to the decreases in coordination number and the uniformity of contact force distribution during unloading process.     

Can fly-ash extend bentonite binder for iron ore agglomeration?

There is great incentive to reduce bentonite use in iron ore pelletization by improving its effectiveness. In order to make bentonite more effective, it is necessary to understand the actual binding mechanisms so that they can be properly taken advantage of. Bentonite use could also be reduced by replacing bentonite with even lower-cost binders, such as high-carbon fly-ash based binder (FBB). While FBBs can be used alone as binders, it was considered possible that mixtures of FBB and bentonite could exhibit superior binding properties. In this study, it was found that bentonite bonds by a physical mechanism, while FBB bonds by a chemical mechanism. These mechanisms were determined to be incompatible. Mixtures of the two binders resulted in reduced dry magnetite concentrate pellet compressive strengths below the industrially acceptable value of 22 N (5 lbf). Activators and accelerators, which were necessary components of the FBB, deactivated the bentonite. The compatibilities and mechanisms of the two binders are explained in this paper. The classical theory of the binding mechanism of bentonite binder is challenged by the bentonite fiber mechanism that was recently identified by the authors.     

Can an annual flood induce changes in channel geomorphology?

The present study has been a pioneering effort examining the role of an annual flood as a potent stimulus inducing changes in channel geomorphology of the Mayurakshi River, India. Twenty cross sections have been considered for the measurement of various hydro-geomorphic attributes of the river in both the pre- and post-flood conditions in 2018. The study sensed an escalating trend for channel width, width/depth ratio, and wetted perimeter while the reverse was also detected for average depth, maximum depth, cross-sectional area, and hydraulic radius. For example, the width/depth ratio recorded an increase of?~?11%, and the hydraulic radius depicted a decrease of?~?8%. Furthermore, channel asymmetry, bed asymmetry and bed relief index experienced a decrease after the flood. The sudden hydraulic impulse during monsoon flood as manifested in velocity, discharge, specific stream power, Reynolds number, Froude number increases the erosivity of the fluid. Besides the hydraulic factors, bank material (massive sandbank susceptible to hydraulic action and mixed bank constituted by alternate bands of sand and silt, and vulnerable to failure by piping action) brings substantial changes in channel morphology. Moreover, anthropogenic interventions such as sand mining are found to play a significant role in channel behaviour. The role of the multiple factors driving the morphological changes of the cross sections has been unpacked using canonical component analysis.

     

Weathering reactions and isometric log-ratio coordinates: Do they speak to each other?

The aim of this contribution is to explore the relationship among some concepts, often considered to be unrelated, such as weathering reactions, compositional data and fractals by means of distribution analysis.Weathering reactions represent the necessary transfer of heat and entropy to the environment in geochemical cycles. Compositional data express the relative abundance of chemical elements/species in a given total (i.e. volume or weight). Fractals are temporal or spatial objects with self-similarity and scale-invariance, so that internal structures repeat themselves over multiple levels of magnification or scales of measurement.Gibbs's free energy and the application of the Law Mass Action can be used to model weathering reactions, under the hypothesis of chemical equilibrium. Compositional data are obtained in the analytical phase after the determination of the concentrations of chemicals in sampled solid, liquid or gaseous materials. Fractals can be measured by using their fractal dimensions.In this paper, the presence of fractal structures is observed when the frequency distribution of isometric log-ratio coordinates is investigated, showing the logarithm of the cumulative number of samples exceeding a certain coordinate value plotted against the coordinate value itself. Isometric log-ratio coordinates (or balances) were constructed by using the sequential binary partition (SBP) method. The balances were identified to maintain, as far as possible, the similarity with a corresponding weathering reaction affecting the Arno river catchment (Tuscany, central Italy) as described by the Law of Mass Action. The emergence of fractal structures indicates the presence of dissipative systems, which require complexity, large numbers of inter-connected elements and stochasticity.     

Does AMS data from micaceous quartzite provide information about shape of the strain ellipsoid?

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) in micaceous quartzites with mean susceptibility (K _m) >50 × 10⁻⁶ SI units is known to be on account of the orientation distribution of the para/ferromagnetic minerals (e.g. micas, magnetite), which comprise the minor phase in the rocks. However, the strain in such deformed micaceous quartzites is dominantly accommodated by the quartz grains, which are the major phase in them. The objective of this paper is to explore the extent to which AMS data from micaceous quartzites provide information about the shape of the strain ellipsoid. AMS analysis of 3 quartzite blocks is performed, and the shape of the AMS ellipsoid is recorded to be oblate. From AMS data, the three principal planes of the AMS ellipsoid are identified in each block and thin sections are prepared along them. Quartz grain shape (aspect ratio, R _q), intensity of quartz and mica shape preferred orientation (κ_q and κ_mi, respectively) and 2D strain (E) recorded by quartz are measured in each section. R _q, κ_q, κ_mi and E are all noted to be minimum in the section parallel to the magnetic foliation plane as compared to the other two sections. This indicates that the quartz grains have oblate shapes in 3D and accommodated flattening strain, which is similar to the shape of the AMS ellipsoid. The role of mica in causing Zener drag and pinning of quartz grain boundaries is discussed. It is concluded that during progressive deformation, migration of pinned grain boundaries is inhibited. This causes enhanced recrystallization at the grain boundaries adjacent to the pinned ones, thus guiding the shape modification of quartz grains. A strong correlation is demonstrated between κ_q and κ_mi as well as κ_mi and E. It is inferred that fabric evolution of quartz was controlled by mica. Hence, the shape of the AMS ellipsoid, which is on account of mica, provides information about shape of the strain ellipsoid.