Search results for "Shear zone"
showing 10 items of 101 documents
Kinematics, deformation partitioning and late Variscan magmatism in the Agly massif, Eastern Pyrenees, France
2020
International audience; In order to constrain the finite deformation pattern of the Variscan basement of the Agly massif, a detailed structural analysis over the whole Agly massif was performed. Our investigation combined geological mapping, reappraisal of published and unpublished data completed with our own structural work. Results are provided in the form of new tectonic maps and series of regional cross-sections through the Agly massif. At variance from previous studies, we identified three deformation fabrics named D1, D2 and D3. The D1 deformation is only relictual and characterized by a broadly northwest-southeast striking and eastward dipping foliation without any clear mineral and …
Development of branching brittle and ductile shear zones: A numerical study
2017
Continental collision zones are usually associated with large-scale strike-slip shear zones. In most cases these shear zones are complex and consist of multiple strands, varying in width, length, and total displacement. Here we present 2-D numerical models to simulate the formation of such shear zones at different depth levels within the crust, under either brittle (frictional/plastic) or ductile conditions. Localization of shear zones is initiated by a material contrast (heterogeneity) of the material parameters. We systematically test the rate of strain-weakening in brittle and in ductile regimes to understand its influence on the development of shear zone networks. Our simulations sugges…
Tectono-metamorphic evolution of the internal zone of the Pan-African Lufilian orogenic belt (Zambia): Implications for crustal reworking and syn-oro…
2016
Abstract The internal zone of the Pan-African Lufilian orogenic belt (Zambia) hosts a dozen uranium occurrences mostly located within kyanite micaschists in a shear zone marking the contact between metasedimentary rocks attributed to the Katanga Neoproterozoic sedimentary sequence and migmatites coring domes developed dominantly at the expense of the pre-Neoproterozoic basement. The P–T–t–d paths reconstructed for these rocks combining field observations, microstructural analysis, metamorphic petrology and thermobarometry and geochronology indicate that they have recorded burial and exhumation during the Pan-African orogeny. Both units of the Katanga metasedimentary sequence and pre-Katanga…
Zipper junctions: A new approach to the intersections of conjugate strike-slip faults
2016
Intersecting pairs of simultaneously active faults with opposing slip sense present geometrical and kinematic problems. Such faults rarely offset each other but usually merge into a single fault, even when they have displacements of many kilometers. The space problems involved are solved by lengthening the merged fault (zippering up the conjugate faults) or splitting it (unzippering). This process can operate in thrust, normal, and strike-slip fault settings. Examples of conjugate pairs of large-scale strike-slip faults that may have zippered up include the Garlock and San Andreas faults in California (USA), the North and East Anatolian faults (Turkey), the Karakoram and Altyn Tagh faults (…
Benchmarking numerical models of brittle thrust wedges
2016
International audience; We report quantitative results from three brittle thrust wedge experiments, comparing numerical resultsdirectly with each other and with corresponding analogue results. We first test whether the participatingcodes reproduce predictions from analytical critical taper theory. Eleven codes pass the stable wedgetest, showing negligible internal deformation and maintaining the initial surface slope upon horizontaltranslation over a frictional interface. Eight codes participated in the unstable wedge test that examinesthe evolution of a wedge by thrust formation from a subcritical state to the critical taper geometry. Thecritical taper is recovered, but the models show two…
The ~2730 Ma onset of the Neoarchean Yilgarn Orogeny
2017
The timing of the onset of an orogeny is commonly constrained indirectly, because early orogenic structures are rarely exposed, or are overprinted. Establishing the onset of an Archean orogeny is considerably more challenging, because of the more fragmented geological record and the general lack of consensus about Archean geodynamics. We combine existing tectono-stratigraphic data with new structural and geophysical datasets to establish the onset of the Neoarchean Yilgarn Orogeny (Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia). We show that the surface of the c. 2960–2750 Ma deep-marine Yilgarn greenstone sequence was uplifted, eroded and unconformably overlain by a c. 2730 Ma, syntectonic clastic seq…
2D Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical Modeling of (De)hydration Reactions in Deforming Heterogeneous Rock: The Periclase-Brucite Model Reaction
2020
Deformation at tectonic plate boundaries involves coupling between rock deformation, fluid flow, and metamorphic reactions, but quantifying this coupling is still elusive. We present a new two-dimensional hydro-mechanical-chemical numerical model and investigate the coupling between heterogeneous rock deformation and metamorphic (de)hydration reactions. We consider linear viscous compressible and power-law viscous shear deformation. Fluid flow follows Darcy's law with a Kozeny-Carman type permeability. We consider a closed isothermal system and the reversible (de)hydration reaction: periclase and water yields brucite. Fluid pressure within a circular or elliptical inclusion is initially bel…
Ductile strain rate measurements document long-term strain localization in the continental crust
2013
cited By 24; Quantification of strain localization in the continental lithosphere is hindered by the lack of reliable deformation rate measurements in the deep crust. Quartz-strain-rate-metry (QSR) is a convenient tool for performing such measurements once calibrated. We achieve this calibration by identifying the best piezometer-rheological law pairs that yield a strain rate in agreement with that measured on the same outcrop by a more direct method taken as a reference. When applied to two major continental strike-slip shear zones, the Ailao Shan-Red River (ASRR; southwest China) and the Karakorum (northwest India), the calibrated QSR highlights across-strike strain rate variations, from …
Intermediate-depth earthquake generation and shear zone formation caused by grain size reduction and shear heating
2015
cited By 23; The underlying physics of intermediate-depth earthquakes have been an enigmatic topic; several studies support either thermal runaway or dehydration reactions as viable mechanisms for their generation. Here we present fully coupled thermomechanical models that investigate the impact of grain size evolution and energy feedbacks on shear zone and pseudotachylite formation. Our results indicate that grain size reduction weakens the rock prior to thermal runaway and significantly decreases the critical stress needed for thermal runaway, making it more likely to result in intermediate-depth earthquakes at shallower depths. Furthermore, grain size is reduced in and around the shear z…
Shear zone junctions: Of zippers and freeways
2017
Abstract Ductile shear zones are commonly treated as straight high-strain domains with uniform shear sense and characteristic curved foliation trails, bounded by non-deforming wall rock. Many shear zones, however, are branched, and if movement on such branches is contemporaneous, the resulting shape can be complicated and lead to unusual shear sense arrangement and foliation geometries in the wall rock. For Y-shaped shear zone triple junctions with three joining branches and transport direction at a high angle to the branchline, only eight basic types of junction are thought to be stable and to produce significant displacement. The simplest type, called freeway junctions, have similar shear…