A microstructural study of fault rocks from the SAFOD: Implications for the deformation mechanisms and strength of the creeping segment of the San Andreas Fault

The San Andreas Fault zone in central California accommodates tectonic strain by stable slip and microseismic activity. We study microstructural controls of strength and deformation in the fault using core samples provided by the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) including gouge corresponding to presently active shearing intervals in the main borehole. The methods of study include high-resolution optical and electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence mapping, X-ray powder diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, white light interferometry, and image processing.The fault zone at the SAFOD site consists of a strongly deformed and foliated core zone that includes 2–3 m thick active shear zones, surrounded by less deformed rocks. Results suggest deformation and foliation of the core zone outside the active shear zones by alternating cataclasis and pressure solution mechanisms. The active shear zones, considered zones of large-scale shear localization, appear to be associated with an abundance of weak phases including smectite clays, serpentinite alteration products, and amorphous material. We suggest that deformation along the active shear zones is by a granular-type flow mechanism that involves frictional sliding of microlithons along phyllosilicate-rich Riedel shear surfaces as well as stress-driven diffusive mass transfer. The microstructural data may be interpreted to suggest that deformation in the active shear zones is strongly displacement-weakening. The fault creeps because the velocity strengthening weak gouge in the active shear zones is being sheared without strong restrengthening mechanisms such as cementation or fracture sealing. Possible mechanisms for the observed microseismicity in the creeping segment of the SAF include local high fluid pressure build-ups, hard asperity development by fracture-and-seal cycles, and stress build-up due to slip zone undulations.     

Surface roughness evolution on experimentally simulated faults

To investigate the physical processes operating in active fault zones, we conduct analogue laboratory experiments where we track the morphological and mechanical evolution of an interface during slip. Our laboratory friction experiments consist of a halite (NaCl) slider held under constant normal load that is dragged across a coarse sandpaper substrate. This set-up is a surrogate for a fault surface, where brittle and plastic deformation mechanisms operate simultaneously during sliding. Surface morphology evolution, frictional resistance and infra-red emission are recorded with cumulative slip. After experiments, we characterize the roughness developed on slid surfaces, to nanometer resolution, using white light interferometry. We directly observe the formation of deformation features, such as slip parallel linear striations, as well as deformation products or gouge. The striations are often associated with marginal ridges of positive relief suggesting sideways transport of gouge products in the plane of the slip surface in a snow-plough-like fashion. Deeper striations are commonly bounded by triangular brittle fractures that fragment the salt surface and efficiently generate a breccia or gouge. Experiments with an abundance of gouge at the sliding interface have reduced shear resistance compared to bare surfaces and we show that friction is reduced with cumulative slip as gouge accumulates from initially bare surfaces. The relative importance of these deformation mechanisms may influence gouge production rate, fault surface roughness evolution, as well as mechanical behavior. Finally, our experimental results are linked to Nature by comparing the experimental surfaces to an actual fault surface, whose striated morphology has been characterized to centimeter resolution using a laser scanner. It is observed that both the stress field and the energy dissipation are heterogeneous at all scales during the maturation of the interface with cumulative slip. Importantly, we show that the formation of striations on fault planes by mechanical abrasion involves transport of gouge products in the fault plane not only along the slip direction, but also perpendicular to it.     

Transpressive Structures in the Ghadir Shear Belt,Eastern Desert,Egypt: Evidence for Partitioning of Oblique Convergence in the Arabian‐Nubian Shield during Gondwana Agglutination

Transpressional deformation has played an important role in the late Neoproterozoic evolution of the ArabianNubian Shield including the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. The Ghadir Shear Belt is a 35 km-long, NW-oriented brittleductile shear zone that underwent overall sinistral transpression during the Late Neoproterozoic. Within this shear belt, strain is highly partitioned into shortening, oblique, extensional and strike-slip structures at multiple scales. Moreover, strain partitioning is heterogeneous along-strike giving rise to three distinct structural domains. In the East Ghadir and Ambaut shear belts, the strain is pure-shear dominated whereas the narrow sectors parallel to the shear walls in the West Ghadir Shear Zone are simple-shear dominated. These domains are comparable to splay-dominated and thrust-dominated strike-slip shear zones. The kinematic transition along the Ghadir shear belt is consistent with separate strike-slip and thrustsense shear zones. The earlier fabric(S1), is locally recognized in low strain areas and SW-ward thrusts. S2 is associated with a shallowly plunging stretching lineation(L2), and defines ～NW-SE major upright macroscopic folds in the East Ghadir shear belt. F2 folds are superimposed by ～NNW–SSE tight-minor and major F3 folds that are kinematically compatible with sinistral transpressional deformation along the West Ghadir Shear Zone and may represent strain partitioning during deformation. F2 and F3 folds are superimposed by ENE–WSW gentle F4 folds in the Ambaut shear belt. The sub-parallelism of F3 and F4 fold axes with the shear zones may have resulted from strain partitioning associated with simple shear deformation along narrow mylonite zones and pure shear-dominant deformation in fold zones. Dextral ENEstriking shear zones were subsequently active at ca. 595 Ma, coeval with sinistral shearing along NW-to NNW-striking shear zones. The occurrence of upright folds and folds with vertical axes suggests that transpression plays a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the Ghadir shear belt. Oblique convergence may have been provoked by the buckling of the Hafafit gneiss-cored domes and relative rotations between its segments. Upright folds, fold with vertical axes and sinistral strike-slip shear zones developed in response to strain partitioning. The West Ghadir Shear Zone contains thrusts and strikeslip shear zones that resulted from lateral escape tectonics associated with lateral imbrication and transpression in response to oblique squeezing of the Arabian-Nubian Shield during agglutination of East and West Gondwana.     

准噶尔盆地南缘断裂带显微构造特征与活动时代

对准噶尔盆地南缘霍尔果斯-玛纳斯-吐谷鲁逆断裂带中的断层泥和构造岩显微构造进行了研究,并对断裂带中的石膏、石英脉和断层泥进行了ESR测年。显微构造研究表明,断裂带至少经历了3期构造变形,断层泥和石英碎粒中既发育有线状擦痕、阶步等粘滑活动显微构造,也发育有剪切滑动、定向排列等蠕滑活动变形现象。ESR测年结果显示,霍尔果斯-玛纳斯-吐谷鲁逆断裂带形成于1.5Ma前,在0.4~1.0 Ma和0.08~0.12 Ma期间进行了二次再调整。断裂活动时间与青藏高原阶段性隆升的时间一致,说明准噶尔盆地南缘霍尔果斯-玛纳斯-吐谷鲁逆断裂带的形成与青藏高原的隆升过程密切相关。      

The origin of large or great thrust-type earthquakes along subducting plate boundaries

Seismicity, deformation, state of stress, and abundance of fluids along subducting plate boundaries are reviewed, and the origin of large or great thrust-type earthquakes is discussed based on the recent experimental results on the slip behavior of halite and serpentine gouges.Shallow subducting plate boundaries above 20–25 km in depth are characterized by low seismicity, low tectonic stress, inter-plate decoupling, ductile deformation associated with the formation of metamorphic schistosity (except at very shallow depths), metamorphism suggesting solution processes on massive scale, and presence of abundant H₂O. It is argued that these unique features are due to pressure-solution processes, to high fluid pressure, to low strength and stable behavior of clayey sediments under wet environments, and/or to the deformation of soft, unconsolidated sediments at very shallow depths. The low seismicity in this zone is in marked contrast with major strike-slip faults along which large earthquakes occur at depths shallower than 15–20 km. It is emphasized that these unique features are expected only for restricted regions where there is constant supply of H₂O due to progressive metamorphism or where fluids in the rocks are trapped and cannot escape to the surface.Large or great thrust-type earthquakes in subduction zones initiate at depths of 30–50 km, below the shallow decoupled zone. In this focal depth range, the supply of H₂O during progressive metamorphism perhaps diminishes downwards, the overriding and subducting plates are coupled and stick to each other during much of the inter-seismic period, and the resistance to slip (or shear stress) is presumably high. It is suggested that these earthquakes begin to occur at a depth where the plate-boundary zone becomes fairly dry. Deformation at these depths appears to be predominantly ductile, so that the earthquakes cannot be regarded simply as a brittle phenomenon. (1) Creep instability i.e., instability associated with plastic deformation, and (2) dehydration-induced instability are the most likely mechanisms for initiating the earthquakes, and both have some experimental support. Stick-slip of halite gouge while undergoing ductile deformation primarily by intracrystalline gliding is described and discussed as a supporting evidence for (1). Shear resistance of halite gouge increases with increasing confining pressure in stick-slip regimes. Hence the observed stick-slip may be a semi-brittle phenomenon with respect to the pressure dependence of the shear resistance, although the deformation texture cannot be distinguished from that formed by pressure-insensitive flow. Serpentine gouge exhibits violent stick-slip upon its decomposition under dry, not wet, environments, supporting the mechanism (2) above. Exact mechanisms which lead to the unstable fault motion are poorly understood as yet, but stick-slip of both halite and serpentine gouges is recognized only when the slip-rate dependence of friction is negative i.e., lower friction at faster slip rate, consistent with the theoretical prediction of Rice and Ruina (1983). There is a possibility that the thrust-type earthquakes can be explained essentially within the framework of fault constitutive laws developed by Dieterich (1979) and Ruina (1983).     

剪切带断层泥特征及其在胶东金矿床研究中的应用

剪切带断层泥是中低温热液蚀变的产物。研究表明,断层泥的形成演化与剪切带水-力行为间存在强烈的作用与反馈。断层泥的粒度分布、矿物组成以及孔渗结构受断裂带构造变形和流体作用的控制。同时,由于具有组成和结构上的特性,断层泥可以通过增强岩石各向异性和储存或释放流体而改变断裂带剪切强度和流体压力。以胶东金矿集中区为例,讨论了剪切带构造变形、流体输运-反应与断层泥形成演化的耦合作用,及其对剪切带流变学行为及金矿化形成和分布的影响。     

西南三江地区新生代走滑造山

本文系统论述了西南三江地区那邦、高黎贡山、崇山-澜沧江、点苍山-哀牢山-红河剪切走滑带、区域性伸展与变质核杂岩、新生代盆地及走滑过程中的碱性岩浆活动等特征,认为西南三江地区经历了挤压收缩变形(60～40Ma)、走滑伸展热隆(40～38Ma)、走滑剪切深熔(38～23Ma)、走滑剪切伸展(23～11Ma)、走滑剥蚀隆升(...     

The role of bedding in the evolution of meso- and microstructural fabrics in fault zones

To investigate the role of bedding in the evolution of meso- and microstructural fabrics in fault zones, detailed microscopic, mineralogical, and geochemical analyses were conducted on bedding-oblique and bedding-parallel faults that cut a folded Neogene siliceous mudstone that contains opal-CT, smectite, and illite. An analysis of asymmetric structures in the fault gouges indicates that the secondary fractures associated with each fault exhibit contrasting characteristics: those of the bedding-oblique fault are R₁ shears, whereas those of the bedding-parallel fault are reactivated S foliation. The bedding-oblique fault shows the pervasive development of S foliation, lacks opal-CT, and has low SiO₂/TiO₂ ratios only in gouge, whereas the bedding-parallel fault exhibits these characteristics in both gouge and wall rocks. The development of S foliation and the lack of silica can result from local ductile deformation involving the sliding of phyllosilicates, coupled with pressure solution of opal-CT. Although such deformation can occur in gouge, the above results indicate that it may occur preferentially along bedding planes, preceding the formation of a gouge/slip surface. Thus, in sedimentary rocks that contain phyllosilicates and soluble minerals, bedding can influence the rheological evolution of meso- and microstructural fabrics in fault zones.     

Gas permeability evolution of cataclasite and fault gouge in triaxial compression and implications for changes in fault-zone permeability structure through the earthquake cycle

We report the results of permeability measurements of fault gouge and tonalitic cataclasite from the fault zone of the Median Tectonic Line, Ohshika, central Japan, carried out during triaxial compression tests. The experiments revealed marked effects of deformation on the permeability of the specimens. Permeability of fault gouge decreases rapidly by about two orders of magnitude during initial loading and continues to decrease slowly during further inelastic deformation. The drop in permeability during initial loading is much smaller for cataclasite than for gouge, followed by abrupt increase upon failure, and the overall change in permeability correlates well with change in volumetric strain, i.e., initial, nearly elastic contraction followed by dilatancy upon the initiation of inelastic deformation towards specimen failure. If cemented cataclasite suffers deformation prior to or during an earthquake, a cataclasite zone may change into a conduit for fluid flow. Fault gouge zones, however, are unlikely to switch to very permeable zones upon the initiation of fault slip. Thus, overall permeability structure of a fault may change abruptly prior to or during earthquakes and during the interseismic period. Fault gouge and cataclasite have internal angles of friction of about 36° and 45°, respectively, as is typical for brittle rocks.     

Shear localization,velocity weakening behavior,and development of cataclastic foliation in experimental granite gouge

Microstructural aspects of room-temperature deformation in experimental Westerly granite gouge were studied by a set of velocity stepping rotary-shear experiments at 25 MPa normal stress. The experiments were terminated at: (a) 44 mm, (b) 79 mm, and (c) 387 mm of sliding, all involving variable-amplitude fluctuations in friction. Microstructural attributes of the gouge were studied using scanning (SEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), image processing, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses. The gouge was velocity weakening at sliding distances >10 mm as a core of cataclasites along a through-going shear zone developed within a mantle of less deformed gouge in all experiments. Unlike in experiment (a), the cataclasites in experiments (b) and (c) progressively developed a foliation defined by stacks of shear bands. The individual bands showed an asymmetric particle-size grading normal to shearing direction. These microstructures were subsequently disrupted and reworked by high-angle Riedel shears. While the microstructural evolution affected the effective thickness and frictional strength of the gouge, it did not affect its overall velocity dependence behavior. We suggest that the foliation resulted from competing shear localization and frictional slip hardening and that the velocity dependence of natural fault gouge depends upon compositional as well as microstructural evolution of the gouge.     

Tunnelling in difficult ground: a case study from Dranaz tunnel, Sinop, Turkey

This paper presents a case study of the instability mechanisms, and the excavation sequence, re-qualification and reinforcement methods adopted to pass through a short segment of a nearly 2-km tunnel built as part of a new 55-km state highway in northern Turkey. The instability problems were encountered during tunnel excavation due to the failure to recognize the fact that alteration in stress field and resulting deformation could cause dilation and increase in the permeability of claystone-shale layers and local fault gouge zones, and in turn significant reduction in shear strength. Change in natural drainage pattern and capillarity exacerbated saturation and the consequent strength reduction. The 92-m³ loose material flowed into the tunnel due to the collapse and caused 2.5 months of delay in completion of the tunnel. Longitudinal and oblique cracks observed in shotcrete were attributed to the reduction in modulus upon saturation, which caused a large cumulative deformation of approximately 110 mm at a section about 30 m behind the collapse face.

It is concluded that early detection or prediction of potentially problematic zones (via probe drilling and monitoring) in tunnelling is of paramount importance, especially through mixed or difficult ground conditions characterized by alternating layers, folding, faulting and localized zones of high water pressure. Because mechanical detection methods cannot be fully relied upon, availability of experienced personnel to predict and deal with such instability problems effectively and promptly is the best insurance for successful completion of tunnelling contracts.     

Slip sense inversion on active strike-slip faults in southwest Japan and its implications for Cenozoic tectonic evolution

Analyses of deflected river channels, offset of basement rocks, and fault rock structures reveal that slip sense inversion occurred on major active strike-slip faults in southwest Japan such as the Yamasaki and Mitoke fault zones and the Median Tectonic Line (MTL). Along the Yamasaki and Mitoke fault zones, small-size rivers cutting shallowly mountain slopes and Quaternary terraces have been deflected sinistrally, whereas large-size rivers which deeply incised into the Mio-Pliocene elevated peneplains show no systematically sinistral offset or complicated hairpin-shaped deflection. When the sinistral offsets accumulated on the small-size rivers are restored, the large-size rivers show residual dextral deflections. This dextral offset sense is consistent with that recorded in the pre-Cenozoic basement rocks. S–C fabrics of fault gouge and breccia zone developed in the active fault zones show sinistral shear sense compatible with earthquake focal mechanisms, whereas those of the foliated cataclasite indicate a dextral shear sense. These observations show that the sinistral strike-slip shear fabrics were overprinted on dextral ones which formed during a previous deformation phase. Similar topographic and geologic features are observed along the MTL in the central-eastern part of the Kii Peninsula. Based on these geomorphological and geological data, we infer that the slip sense inversion occurred in the period between the late Tertiary and mid-Quaternary period. This strike-slip inversion might result from the plate rearrangement consequent to the mid-Miocene Japan Sea opening event. This multidisciplinary study gives insight into how active strike-slip fault might evolves with time.     

Clay–clast aggregates in fault gouge: An unequivocal indicator of seismic faulting at shallow depths?

A common problem encountered in studies of gouge-bearing natural faults is the difficulty of ascertaining whether the observed gouge was sheared seismically or aseismically; this problem arises because of the scarcity of indicators of fault slip rates for gouge. Recently, clay–clast aggregates (CCAs; a CCA comprises a clastic core mantled by a rim of ultrafine particles) were proposed as a possible indicator of seismic slip in gouge, on the basis of shear experiments on gouge at seismic slip rates. To examine the processes and conditions of CCA formation, we conducted rotary shear experiments on quartz and quartz–bentonite gouges under normal stresses (0.3–3.0 MPa) and slip rates (0.0005–1.3 m s⁻¹), and in both room-humidity (room-dry) and water-saturated (wet) conditions. We found that CCAs could be produced in room-dry gouges even at the lowest slip rates, which are considerably slower than actual seismic slip rates. This finding demonstrates that thermal pressurization and fluidization at elevated temperature during seismic slip are not necessarily needed for the formation of CCAs, contrary to previous views. Given the occurrence of CCAs over a wide range of slip rates, we suggest that the presence of CCAs is not an unequivocal indicator of fault slip at seismic slip rates.     

Principal fault zone width and permeability of the active Neodani fault, Nobi fault system, Southwest Japan

The internal structure and permeability of the Neodani fault, which was last activated at the time of the 1891 Nobi earthquake (M8.0), were examined through field survey and experiments. A new exposure of the fault at a road construction site reveals a highly localized feature of the past fault deformation within a narrow fault core zone. The fault of the area consists of three zone units towards the fault core: (a) protolith rocks; (b) 15 to 30 m of fault breccia, and (c) 200 mm green to black fault gouge. Within the fault breccia zone, cataclastic foliation oblique to the fault has developed in a fine-grained 2-m-wide zone adjacent to the fault. Foliation is defined by subparallel alignment of intact lozenge shaped clasts, or by elongated aggregates of fine-grained chert fragments. The mean angle of 20°, between the foliation and the fault plane suggests that the foliated breccia accommodated a shear strain of γ<5 assuming simple shear for the rotation of the cataclastic foliation. Previous trench surveys have revealed that the fault has undergone at least 70 m of fault displacement within the last 20,000 years in this locality. The observed fault geometry suggests that past fault displacements have been localized into the 200-mm-wide gouge zone. Gas permeability analysis of the gouges gives low values of the order of 10⁻²⁰ m². Water permeability as low as 10⁻²⁰ m² is therefore expected for the fault gouge zone, which is two orders of magnitude lower than the critical permeability suggested for a fault to cause thermal pressurization during a fault slip.     

准噶尔盆地南缘霍尔果斯和吐谷鲁断裂带断层泥分形特征与断裂活动关系

根据采集的天然断层泥样品 ,对准噶尔盆地南缘霍尔果斯和吐谷鲁逆断裂带中断层泥进行了显微构造、显微形貌和分形研究。研究结果表明 ,断层泥至少存在三期变形 ;同时断层泥和石英碎粒中既发育有线状擦痕、阶步等典型的粘滑活动显微构造 ,也发育有剪切滑动、定向排列等典型的蠕滑活动变形现象 ,说明了断裂活动的长期性和复杂性。断层泥的分形研究表明 ,霍尔果斯和吐谷鲁断裂带断层泥分维值分别在 2 .17～ 2 .6 3和 2 .76～ 2 .89变化 ,分维值与断层运动方式粘滑或蠕滑不存在因果关系。因此 ,断层泥分维值能否作为判别断裂活动方式值得进一步研究。     

胶东地区控矿剪切带脆性变形时代的Ar-Ar年代学及其对成矿的制约

胶东地区是典型的剪切带型金矿集中区,精确厘定该地区控矿剪切带的活动时代,可为探讨剪切带与金矿成因关系提供关键的时限约束,并且对矿床成矿模式的建立具有至关重要的意义。大量矿床地质证据显示胶东地区控矿剪切带中脆性变形活动对金矿体的形成具有直接影响,但其脆性变形时代尚不十分清楚。据此,本文在详细研究金矿体赋存特征的基础上,系统选取胶东焦家、玲珑、邓格庄、乳山这四个金矿区控矿剪切带断层泥中白云母进行⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar年代学研究。定年结果显示,胶东地区焦家剪切带、招平剪切带以及牟乳剪切带的脆性变形时代分别为110.3±1.5Ma、122.8±1.7Ma、119.6±1.2Ma~115.8±1.4Ma。其中焦家剪切带的脆性变形时代明显晚于招平和牟乳剪切带,可能代表了焦家蚀变岩型矿化形成后易遭受后期的构造叠加。综合胶东各金矿区控矿剪切带变形时代、岩体侵位时代、成矿时代及剪切带活动特征和矿体产出特征,本文认为在多期岩体侵位以及控矿剪切带递进变形过程中,剪切带韧性变形区中由高压流体作用产生的同期脆性破裂可形成脉型矿化,如乳山金矿;而在脆-韧性和脆性变形区中发生的大规模脆性变形可导致脉型和蚀变岩型矿化的形成,如玲珑、邓格庄和焦家金矿。但随着剪切带的递进变形和隆升剥蚀,后期多期次的脆性构造变形叠加,可导致多种矿化类型出现在同一构造部位,如焦家金矿中石英脉型和蚀变岩型矿化。     

Secondary cleavages in ductile shear zones

Secondary cleavages developed at late stages in ductile shear zones show several features that are inconsistent with progressive simple shear in the zone. These are: the orientation of a single secondary cleavage oblique to the shear zone boundaries; conjugate sets with opposite senses of shear, and multiple sets with the same sense of shear. These features can be explained if the bulk flow is partitioned into slip along discrete failure planes parallel to the primary foliation (S), coaxial stretching along the foliation, and spin.     

Shear fracture pattern and microstructural evolution in transpressional fault zones from field and laboratory studies

Zones of transpressional shear deformation accommodate strike-slip and oblique-slip displacements. Field work in a transpressive shear zone, and transpressional analogue clay-box modelling, show that a P-oriented foliation and associated P-shears are preferentially developed over the more common R₁ Riedel-shears. The Carboneras fault system (CFS) in SE Spain is a left-lateral transpressional shear zone with an internal geometry characterized by first-order Y-oriented faults and widespread P-oriented second-order faults. The mesoscopic to microscopic gouge fabric reflects the regional architecture of the shear zone being dominated by a pervasive Poriented foliation and discrete Y- and P-shears. Friction experiments carried out to investigate the textural evolution of gouge fabrics showed four textural stages of fabric development, from foliation formation to extreme shear localization resulting in cross-gouge failure. Transpression clay-box models favoured the formation of secondary P-oriented shear fractures and P-oriented shear lenses. Further deformation caused differential shear lens rotation and shear lens orientations closer to the mean displacement direction. Our field studies and laboratory analogue experiments indicate that shear zones dominated by P-shears are diagnostic of a transpressional deformation regime.     

Parallel stretching lineations and fold axes oblique to a shear displacement direction—a model and observations

Spatial variations in shear strain rate are expected in ductile shear zones. Where the variation is a change in shear strain perpendicular to the displacement direction, the effect is to rotate the shear slip planes. This is a mechanism for giving a rotation of fold axes into parallelism with the slip and extension direction in a rock. If such a variation in shear strain affects rocks with a strong planar anisotropy it is possible to produce a fabric with an apparent stretching lineation parallel to fold axes, but both significantly oblique to the slip direction. A possible example of this is seen in strongly deformed quartz-mica schists from Syros, Greece, where a stretching lineation is seen parallel to fold hinges over a range of fold axes orientations of at least 40°.     

Pure shear to simple shear-dominated transpression during the Eburnean major D2 deformation,Daléma sedimentary basin,eastern Senegal

Field studies in the Palaeoproterozoïc Daléma basin, Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier, reveal that the main tectonic feature comprises alternating large shear zones relatively well-separated by weakly deformed surrounding rock domains. Analysis of the various structures in relation to this major D₂ phase of Eburnean deformation indicates partitioning of sinistral transpressive deformation between domains of dominant transcurrent and dominant compressive deformation. Foliation is mostly oblique to subvertical and trending 0–30° N, but locally is subhorizontal in some thrust-motion shear zones. Foliation planes of shear zones contain a superimposed subhorizontal stretching lineation which in places cross-cuts a steeply plunging stretching lineation which is clearly expressed in the metasedimentary rocks of weakly deformed surrounding domains. In the weakly deformed domains, the subhorizontal lineation is absent, whereas the oblique to subvertical lineation is more fully developed. Finite strain analyses of samples from surrounding both weakly deformed and shearing domains, using finite strain ratio and the Fry method, indicate flattened ellipsoid fabrics. However, the orientation of the long axis (X) of the finite strain ellipsoid is horizontal in the shear zones and oblique within the weakly deformed domains. Exceptionally, samples from some thrust zones indicate a finite strain ellipsoid in triaxial constriction fabrics with a subhorizontal long axis (X). In addition, the analysis of the strain orientation starting from semi-ductile and brittle structures indicates that a WNE–ESE (130° N to 110° N) orientation of strain shortening axis occurred during the Eburnean D₂ deformation.