| Abstract: | A simple and highly accurate finite-strain measurement technique is presented. The principle behind the technique is that the longer the dimension of a strain indicator in a certain orientation, the higher the probability of its being intersected by a plane perpendicular to this orientation. Strain indicators have to be counted in any three mutually perpendicular orientations and their populations are analytically transferred into the parameters describing the strain ellipses in the three orientations. Strain indicators might be of any shape, but they must have had predeformational random distribution and random orientation.The geological implications of the technique are discussed. The technique is applied to deformed Upper Cretaceous chalk from Dorset (southern England) using microfossils as strain indicators. |
