| Abstract: | Magnetic anisotropy measurements have been made on fifty-four oriented samples from the Carna and Screeb areas of the Galway Granite, and from the Ardara pluton and the Main Granite (including the Trawenagh Bay Granite) in Donegal. The origin of magnetic anisotropy in plutonic magnetic rocks is discussed, and it is concluded that it is probably due to grain alignment of inequant magnetite, which may occur either as free grains or as secondary inclusions in ferromagnesian minerals. The grain alignment may occur either whilst the magma is essentially fluid, giving a magnetic lineation transverse to the flow, or at a much later stage of consolidation during plastic deformation, in which case the magnetic lineation parallels the direction of greatest elongation. The results of the measurements are consistent with macroscopic foliations and lineations where these have been observed, but also indicate the existence of fabrics too weak to observe by conventional methods. This is because the magnetic method assesses the alignment of a very large number of grains, and is therefore much more sensitive than conventional fabric analysis. The weak fabrics can be qualitatively explained in terms consistent with other evidence relating to the emplacement of the granites, and experimental work now in progress may make possible a more quantitative interpretation. |
