Search results for "shear zone"
showing 10 items of 101 documents
Strain analysis and vorticity of flow in the Northern Sardinian Variscan Belt: Recognition of a partitioned oblique deformation event
2008
Abstract A field example of strain partitioning has been analysed along the Nurra–Asinara transect of the NW Sardinian Variscan chain (Italy). The section in the Nurra–Asinara area is in a continuous sequence of tectono-metamorphic complexes made of low- to high-grade metamorphic rocks affected by a polyphase tectonic history. The principal fabric of the area is controlled by a D2 progressive deformation phase in which the strain is partitioned into folds and shear zone domains. The D2 stretching lineation and shear sense show a clear change from south to north. The principal meso- and micro-structures, vorticity gauges and a quantitative kinematic analysis of local strain suggest that the …
Fluid migration above a subducted slab - Thermodynamic and trace element modelling of fluid-rock interaction in partially overprinted eclogite-facies…
2011
Abstract The amount and composition of subduction zone fluids and the effect of fluid–rock interaction at a slab–mantle interface have been constrained by thermodynamic and trace element modelling of partially overprinted blueschist-facies rocks from the Sesia Zone (Western Alps). Deformation-induced differences in fluid flux led to a partial preservation of pristine mineral cores in weakly deformed samples that were used to quantify Li, B, Sr and Pb distribution during mineral growth, -breakdown and modification induced by fluid–rock interaction. Our results show that Li and B budgets are fluid-controlled, thus acting as tracers for fluid–rock interaction processes, whereas Sr and Pb budge…
Mylonites Derived From Parent Rocks Other Than Granites and Gneisses
2009
Most mylonites shown in this atlas are derived from granites and gneisses. This is not a coincidence; the mineralogy of these rocks favours the formation of mylonites because of the contrasting behaviour of quartz and biotite on the one hand (forming matrix) and feldspar and muscovite on the other hand (forming porphyroclasts). Another group of rocks that readily forms mylonites are impure quartzites in which resistant minerals tend to form fish-like structures, again, by strong contrast in rheological behaviour.
Conflicting shear sense indicators in shear zones; the problem of non-ideal sections
1996
Abstract Deflection of pre-existing planar structures such as foliations or veins by ductile shear zones is geometrically very similar to the curvature of newly developed shear zone-restricted foliations in zones that cut a rock with a random fabric. Sense of curvature of shear zone-restricted foliations can be used to determine shear sense, but the deflection of pre-existing planar structures is less reliable. Two examples are presented of shear zones in Australia where both types of structures seem to represent conflicting shear sense. This conflict can be attributed to a geometrical effect which causes deflection of older structures in an opposite direction to shear sense on outcrop surf…
Two-dimensional apparent microfabric of the basal Late Weichselian till and associated shear zone: case study from western Latvia
2008
The examination of glacial sediments in thin sections has become a common procedure in recent years. Apparent sand grain orientation (microfabric) in thin sections is one of the key elements marking certain microstructures. In an attempt to make till micromorphology studies less subjective and investigate the orientation of sand-sized particles in tills, we have developed an image analysis procedure to measure and analyse the spatial distribution of the till microfabric. We studied 13 thin sections of the Weichselian subglacial till and basal shear zone outcropping in the Baltic Sea bluffs at the Ziemupe site in western Latvia. The results were visualized as a two-dimensional grid of rose d…
Long-term deformation and fluid-enhanced mass transport in a Variscan peridotite shear zone in the Ivrea Zone, northern Italy: a microtextural, petro…
1995
The microtextural, petrological and geochemical study of a ductile shear zone in the phlogopite peridotite of Finero/Ivrea Zone (northern Italy) reveals the long-term deformation of this zone. The zone is divided into a protomylonitic and an ultramylonitic part. Both parts reflect different periods of deformation, although the orientation of the mineral lineations does not change. In the coarse-grained part (period 1) the deformation started under granulite facies conditions (about 775°C). Olivine, ortho- and clinopyroxene and phlogopite recrystallized dynamically. In the ultramylonitic part relics of the granulite facies event and evidence for a continuous or two-stage deformation history …
Stable Isotope Transport and Contact Metamorphic Fluid Flow
2001
Stable isotopes are a powerful tool for deciphering the fluid histories of metamorphic terranes. The nature of fluid flow, fluid sources, and fluid fluxes can be delineated in well-constrained studies. Observed isotopic gradients in metamorphic rocks and minerals can thus shed light on many processes involved in mass-transport including diffusion, recrystallization, fluid infiltration, volatilization, metasomatism, and heat flow. Modeling of fluid flow and mineral exchange kinetics offers greatly enhanced understanding of metamorphic processes that can be tested and refined by application of new micro-analytical techniques. This review will concentrate on the principles of stable isotope fl…
Numerical modelling of asymmetric boudinage
2002
Abstract Asymmetric boudinage structures are commonly used as shear sense indicators but their development is incompletely understood. This paper describes the influence of initial shape and kinematic parameters on the evolution of boudin trains using a numerical approach based on the finite difference code FLAC. Boudin trains are simulated as a series of competent objects embedded in a soft matrix subjected to general monoclinic ductile flow. Deformation of boudin trains includes heterogeneous stretching, rotation of boudins and offset along the neck regions. The sense of relative boudin offset is mainly influenced by the initial orientation of the interboudin plane in the boudinaging laye…
Dilatant plasticity applied to Alpine collision: ductile void growth in the intraplate area beneath the Eifel volcanic field
1998
The Eifel is located in the middle of the European plate far away from any active plate boundary, yet it appears to be a maximum of intraplate tectonic activity. A map of intraplate seismic energy flow shows that the Eifel is linked to the Alpine collisional belt via a narrow seismoactive shear zone. Two parallel Quaternary volcanic zones (the East Eifel Volcanic Zone EEVZ and the West Eifel Volcanic Zone WEVZ) line up with the seismogenic shear zone. Xenoliths ejected from these volcanic lineaments indicate upper mantle shearing by dynamic recrystallization textures and metasomatized chemistry. Important CO2-dominated mantle degassing observed in mineral springs, lakes or dry degassing sug…
Structural relations and PbPb zircon ages for the Makuti gneisses: evidence for a crustal-scale Pan-African shear zone in the Zambezi Belt, northwes…
1999
Abstract The Makuti Group of northwest Zimbabwe is composed of mafic and intermediate biotite-rich gneisses interlayered with quartzofeldspathic gneisses of granitic composition, and minor sedimentary units. The gneisses have experienced a multi-staged metamorphic history, including an early high temperature-high pressure event and subsequent reworking at upper- to mid-amphibolite-facies conditions. They are positioned along the strongly deformed, southern margin of the east-west trending Zambezi Belt, and have been correlated with supracrustal gneiss units along the northern margin of the Zimbabwe Craton. The Makuti Group is characterised by an intensely developed gneissic layering and com…