Interpretation of porphyroblast inclusion trails: limitations imposed by growth kinetics and strain rates

Porphyroblast inclusion trails provide important information about the tectonometamorphic evolution of a metamorphic rock. However, there remains considerable controversy over whether porphyroblasts rotate during bulk non-coaxial deformation.
With reference to an area of the Scandinavian Caledonides and utilizing existing data from theoretical and experimental modelling, this study demonstrates that both 'straight' and 'S-shaped' inclusion trails are consistent with an interpretation in terms of syndeformational porphyroblast growth in a regime approximating to Newtonian simple shear. At crustal strain rates of 10^-14 s^-1 and porphyroblast growth times of 0.1–1.0 Ma, it is shown that a maximum of 5-9 angular rotation would occur during growth. At faster strain rates of 10^-12 s^-1 (e.g. those in a shear zone) porphyroblast angular rotations of 90 are shown to occur in 0.1–0.25 Ma (i.e. times comparable with or faster than porphyroblastesis). In view of this, 'S-shaped' inclusion trails are to be expected in porphyroblasts growing in active shear zones or other situations of high shear strain, whereas 'straight' inclusion trails can be interpreted as static overgrowth of an existing fabric or as syndeformational porphyroblastesis at low strain rates.