Plastic stress relaxation around solid inclusions in pyrope

Misfit between primary (syngenetic) inclusions and pyrope host is usually due to differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion and compressibilities. It is shown that the misfit stresses are relieved by the generation and rearrangement of dislocations. Zones of plastic flow have been recognized around inclusions in pyropes from Bohemian garnet peridotites and in kimberlite pyropes from South Africa and Yakutia. The extent of plastic yield is determined by the history of the pyrope in the ductile regime. Implications for using the piezothermometric method of Rosenfeld and Chase (1961) which is based upon the elastic strain, are discussed.Publications No. 38 in the Norwegian Geotraverse Project.