Limited basement involvement in Caledonian deformation, Hinnøy, Nnorth Norway, and tectonic implications

Structural and petrographic relationships on east Hinnøy, north Norway, indicate that the Caledonian nappes which are exposed directly to the east were emplaced over an older Precambrian crystalline terrane (Lofoten terrane) while at amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions. Caledonian structural and metamorphic effects disappear structurally downward away from the basal thrust of the nappe stack. The limited involvement of the basement in Caledonian deformation is explained by the limited availability of water which was introduced from external sources. The external water source is hypothetically the autochthonous and allochthonous cover, and the Precambrian Austerfjord Group metasedimentary rocks within the basement, which underwent prograde metamorphic dehydration during Caledonian orogenesis. The mechanisms by which addition of water concentrated strain in the basement probably include reaction-induced ductility-and hydrolytic weakening of the constituent silicate minerals. There are two main tectonic implications: (1) in collisional metamorphic belts, the lithosphere of the underthrusted plate may remain rigid below 15–25 km depth; and (2) the common phenomenon of detachment of crystalline thrust sheets at mid-crustal levels may be controlled in some cases by the limited access of water to pre-existing crystalline rocks, rather than by thermal structure.