| Abstract: | The subjectivity of ellipse fitting in many strain techniques has hindered the determination of fabric anisotropy and tectonic strain. However, many sets of x, y co-ordinates can be approximated as an ellipse using a least-squares algorithm to calculate a best-fit ellipse and associated average radial error. For instance, the two dimensional shape of many objects can be approximated as an ellipse by entering digitized co-ordinates of the object margin into the ellipse algorithm.The rim of maximum point density in a normalized Fry diagram is defined by normalized center-to-center distances between touching or nearly touching objects. The enhanced normalized Fry (ENFry) method automates ellipse fitting by entering center-to-center distances between these “touching” objects into the least-squares ellipse algorithm. For homogeneously deformed populations of 200 objects, the ENFry method gives an accurate and precise measure of whole-rock fabric anisotropy, particularly for low ellipticities. When matrix strain exceeds clast strain, manual ellipse fitting of normalized Fry plots gives more accurate matrix anisotropies.The mean object ellipse (MOE) method calculates the best-fit ellipse from the geometry of the objects. Three points from the margin of each object ellipse, centered at the origin and expanded or reduced to unit volume, are used to calculate the best-fit fabric ellipse. The MOE method is very precise for small data sets, making it a good method for mapping heterogenous object strain. However, least-squares calculations maximize the influence of distal and spurious ellipticities, causing the MOE method to overestimate the fabric ellipticity of most aggregates. |
