Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-375-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-375-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Mar 2016
Research article |
| 09 Mar 2016
Brittle grain-size reduction of feldspar, phase mixing and strain localization in granitoids at mid-crustal conditions (Pernambuco shear zone, NE Brazil)
Gustavo Viegas
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth
University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK
Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Lago
562, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Luca Menegon
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth
University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK
Carlos Archanjo
Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Lago
562, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Related authors
No articles found.
Henning Lorenz, Jan-Erik Rosberg, Christopher Juhlin, Iwona Klonowska, Rodolphe Lescoutre, George Westmeijer, Bjarne S. G. Almqvist, Mark Anderson, Stefan Bertilsson, Mark Dopson, Jens Kallmeyer, Jochem Kück, Oliver Lehnert, Luca Menegon, Christophe Pascal, Simon Rejkjær, and Nick N. W. Roberts
Sci. Dril., 30, 43–57, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-43-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-43-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides project provides insights into the deep structure and bedrock of a ca. 400 Ma old major orogen to study deformation processes that are hidden at depth from direct access in modern mountain belts. This paper describes the successful operations at the second site. It provides an overview of the retrieved geological section that differs from the expected and summarises the scientific potential of the accomplished data sets and drill core.
Francesca Prando, Luca Menegon, Mark Anderson, Barbara Marchesini, Jussi Mattila, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 11, 489–511, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-489-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-489-2020, 2020
Barbara Marchesini, Paolo Stefano Garofalo, Luca Menegon, Jussi Mattila, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 10, 809–838, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-809-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-809-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We documented the role of fluids in the initial embrittlement of the Svecofennian basement and subsequent strain localization and fault evolution at the brittle–ductile transition zone. We studied the fault rocks of a deeply exhumed fault system characterized by mixed brittle–ductile deformation. Results from fluid inclusions, mineral chemistry, and geothermometry of synkinematic minerals document the ingress of distinct fluid batches and fluid pressure oscillations.
Alberto Ceccato, Luca Menegon, Giorgio Pennacchioni, and Luiz Fernando Grafulha Morales
Solid Earth, 9, 1399–1419, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1399-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1399-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Metamorphic fine-grained reaction products make continental crust rocks weaker. Microstructural processes related to the transformation of strong K-feldspar into weak aggregates of plagioclase and quartz during crustal deformation have been investigated through electron microscopy. Rheological calculations show that the occurrence of even small amounts of weak aggregates, whose deformation is mainly diffusion-assisted, would lead to a decrease in rock viscosity of several orders of magnitude.
James Gilgannon, Florian Fusseis, Luca Menegon, Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, and Jim Buckman
Solid Earth, 8, 1193–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We examine rocks from the middle crust to explore how fluids circulate and influence a rock’s response to larger-scale tectonic movements. A model is developed in which fluids deep in the Earth migrate to clusters of pores generated during those movements. We document how distinct pores form in a specific order in association with local changes in how quartz deforms. The porosity evolves out of the deformation, changing the rate the rock moved under tectonic forces.
Giancarlo Molli, Luca Menegon, and Alessandro Malasoma
Solid Earth, 8, 767–788, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-767-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-767-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new case study on the role of brittle precursors in nucleating shear zone. Our studied sample shows a high-pressure, low-temperature (HP/LT) microscale ultramylonite developed by brittle precursors induced during deformation within a host HP/LT granitic mylonite. We infer that the studied structures may be considered as a small-scale example of fault structures related to stick-slip strain accommodation during subduction of continental crust.
H. J. Kjøll, G. Viola, L. Menegon, and B. E. Sørensen
Solid Earth, 6, 681–699, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-681-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-681-2015, 2015
Related subject area
Structural geology
Driven magmatism and crustal thinning of coastal southern China in response to subduction
Selection and characterization of the target fault for fluid-induced activation and earthquake rupture experiments
Naturally fractured reservoir characterisation in heterogeneous sandstones: insight for uranium in situ recovery (Imouraren, Niger)
Influence of water on crystallographic preferred orientation patterns in a naturally-deformed quartzite
Multiscalar 3D temporal structural characterisation of Smøla island, mid-Norwegian passive margin: an analogue for unravelling the tectonic history of offshore basement highs
Localized shear versus distributed strain accumulation as shear-accommodation mechanisms in ductile shear zones: Constraining their dictating factors
Extensional fault geometry and evolution within rifted margin hyper-extended continental crust leading to mantle exhumation and allochthon formation
Impact of faults on the remote stress state
Subduction plate interface shear stress associated with rapid subduction at deep slow earthquake depths: example from the Sanbagawa belt, southwestern Japan
Multiple phase rifting and subsequent inversion in the West Netherlands Basin: implications for geothermal reservoir characterization
Analogue modelling of basin inversion: implications for the Araripe Basin (Brazil)
Geomorphic expressions of active rifting reflect the role of structural inheritance: A new model for the evolution of the Shanxi Rift, North China
Natural fracture patterns at Swift Reservoir anticline, NW Montana: the influence of structural position and lithology from multiple observation scales
Rapid hydration and weakening of anhydrite under stress: implications for natural hydration in the Earth's crust and mantle
Analogue experiments on releasing and restraining bends and their application to the study of the Barents Shear Margin
Structural framework and timing of the Pahtohavare Cu ± Au deposits, Kiruna mining district, Sweden
Does the syn- versus post-rift thickness ratio have an impact on the inversion-related structural style?
Inversion of accommodation zones in salt-bearing extensional systems: insights from analog modeling
Structural control of inherited salt structures during inversion of a domino basement-fault system from an analogue modelling approach
Kinematics and time-resolved evolution of the main thrust-sense shear zone in the Eo-Alpine orogenic wedge (the Vinschgau Shear Zone, eastern Alps)
Role of inheritance during tectonic inversion of a rift system in basement-involved to salt-decoupled transition: analogue modelling and application to the Pyrenean–Biscay system
Water release and homogenization by dynamic recrystallization of quartz
Hydrothermal activity of the Lake Abhe geothermal field (Djibouti): Structural controls and paths for further exploration
Time-dependent frictional properties of granular materials used in analogue modelling: implications for mimicking fault healing during reactivation and inversion
Large grain-size-dependent rheology contrasts of halite at low differential stress: evidence from microstructural study of naturally deformed gneissic Zechstein 2 rock salt (Kristallbrockensalz) from the northern Netherlands
Analogue modelling of the inversion of multiple extensional basins in foreland fold-and-thrust belts
A contribution to the quantification of crustal shortening and kinematics of deformation across the Western Andes ( ∼ 20–22° S)
Rift thermal inheritance in the SW Alps (France): insights from RSCM thermometry and 1D thermal numerical modelling
The Luangwa Rift Active Fault Database and fault reactivation along the southwestern branch of the East African Rift
Clustering has a meaning: optimization of angular similarity to detect 3D geometric anomalies in geological terrains
Shear zone evolution and the path of earthquake rupture
Mechanical compaction mechanisms in the input sediments of the Sumatra subduction complex – insights from microstructural analysis of cores from IODP Expedition 362
Detecting micro fractures: a comprehensive comparison of conventional and machine-learning-based segmentation methods
Multiscale lineament analysis and permeability heterogeneity of fractured crystalline basement blocks
Structural characterization and K–Ar illite dating of reactivated, complex and heterogeneous fault zones: lessons from the Zuccale Fault, Northern Apennines
How do differences in interpreting seismic images affect estimates of geological slip rates?
Progressive veining during peridotite carbonation: insights from listvenites in Hole BT1B, Samail ophiolite (Oman)
Tectonic evolution of the Indio Hills segment of the San Andreas fault in southern California, southwestern USA
Structural diagenesis in ultra-deep tight sandstones in the Kuqa Depression, Tarim Basin, China
Variscan structures and their control on latest to post-Variscan basin architecture: insights from the westernmost Bohemian Massif and southeastern Germany
Multi-disciplinary characterizations of the BedrettoLab – a new underground geoscience research facility
Biotite supports long-range diffusive transport in dissolution–precipitation creep in halite through small porosity fluctuations
De-risking the energy transition by quantifying the uncertainties in fault stability
Virtual field trip to the Esla Nappe (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain): delivering traditional geological mapping skills remotely using real data
Marine forearc structure of eastern Java and its role in the 1994 Java tsunami earthquake
Roughness of fracture surfaces in numerical models and laboratory experiments
Impact of basement thrust faults on low-angle normal faults and rift basin evolution: a case study in the Enping sag, Pearl River Basin
Evidence for and significance of the Late Cretaceous Asteroussia event in the Gondwanan Ios basement terranes
Investigating spatial heterogeneity within fracture networks using hierarchical clustering and graph distance metrics
Dating folding beyond folding, from layer-parallel shortening to fold tightening, using mesostructures: lessons from the Apennines, Pyrenees, and Rocky Mountains
Jinbao Su, Wenbin Zhu, and Guangwei Li
Solid Earth, 15, 1133–1141, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1133-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1133-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The late Mesozoic igneous rocks in the South China Block exhibit flare-ups and lulls, which form in compressional or extensional backgrounds. The ascending of magma forms a mush-like head and decreases crustal thickness. The presence of faults and pre-existing magmas will accelerate emplacement of underplating magma. The magmatism at different times may be formed under similar subduction conditions, and the boundary compression forces will delay magma ascent.
Peter Achtziger-Zupančič, Alberto Ceccato, Alba Simona Zappone, Giacomo Pozzi, Alexis Shakas, Florian Amann, Whitney Maria Behr, Daniel Escallon Botero, Domenico Giardini, Marian Hertrich, Mohammadreza Jalali, Xiaodong Ma, Men-Andrin Meier, Julian Osten, Stefan Wiemer, and Massimo Cocco
Solid Earth, 15, 1087–1112, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1087-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1087-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We detail the selection and characterization of a fault zone for earthquake experiments in the Fault Activation and Earthquake Ruptures (FEAR) project at the Bedretto Lab. FEAR, which studies earthquake processes, overcame data collection challenges near faults. The fault zone in Rotondo granite was selected based on geometry, monitorability, and hydro-mechanical properties. Remote sensing, borehole logging, and geological mapping were used to create a 3D model for precise monitoring.
Maxime Jamet, Gregory Ballas, Roger Soliva, Olivier Gerbeaud, Thierry Lefebvre, Christine Leredde, and Didier Loggia
Solid Earth, 15, 895–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-895-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-895-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study characterizes the Tchirezrine II sandstone reservoir in northern Niger. Crucial for potential uranium in situ recovery (ISR), our multifaceted approach reveals (i) a network of homogeneously distributed orthogonal structures, (ii) the impact of clustered E–W fault structures on anisotropic fluid flow, and (iii) local changes in the matrix behaviour of the reservoir as a function of the density and nature of the deformation structure.
Jeffrey M. Rahl, Brendan Moehringer, Kenneth S. Befus, and John S. Singleton
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1567, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1567, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At the high temperatures present in the deeper crust, minerals such as quartz can flow much like silly putty. The detailed mechanisms of how atoms are reorganized depends upon several factors, such as the temperature and the rate of which the mineral changes shape. We present observations from a naturally-deformed rock showing that the amount of water present also influences the type of deformation in quartz, with implications for geological interpretations.
Matthew S. Hodge, Guri Venvik, Jochen Knies, Roelant van der Lelij, Jasmin Schönenberger, Øystein Nordgulen, Marco Brönner, Aziz Nasuti, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 15, 589–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-589-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-589-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Smøla island, in the mid-Norwegian margin, has complex fracture and fault patterns resulting from tectonic activity. This study uses a multiple-method approach to unravel Smøla's tectonic history. We found five different phases of deformation related to various fracture geometries and minerals dating back hundreds of millions of years. 3D models of these features visualise these structures in space. This approach may help us to understand offshore oil and gas reservoirs hosted in the basement.
Pramit Chatterjee, Arnab Roy, and Nibir Mandal
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1077, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1077, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the strain accumulation processes in ductile shear zones is essential to explain the failure mechanisms at great crustal depths. This study explores the rheological and kinematic factors determining the varying modes of shear accommodation in natural shear zones. Numerical simulations suggest that an interplay of the following parameters: initial bulk viscosity, bulk shear rate, and internal cohesion governs the dominance of one accommodation mechanism over the other.
Júlia Gómez-Romeu and Nick Kusznir
Solid Earth, 15, 477–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-477-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-477-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the extensional fault geometry and its evolution during the stretching and thinning of continental crust and lithosphere leading to continental breakup. We focus on the fault-controlled processes that thin and rupture the final 10 km of continental crust at magma-poor margins prior to mantle exhumation. We show that isostatic fault rotation in response to extension is fundamental to understanding the formation of tectonic structures observed on seismic reflection data.
Karsten Reiter, Oliver Heidbach, and Moritz O. Ziegler
Solid Earth, 15, 305–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-305-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-305-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
It is generally assumed that faults have an influence on the stress state of the Earth’s crust. It is questionable whether this influence is still present far away from a fault. Simple numerical models were used to investigate the extent of the influence of faults on the stress state. Several models with different fault representations were investigated. The stress fluctuations further away from the fault (> 1 km) are very small.
Yukinojo Koyama, Simon R. Wallis, and Takayoshi Nagaya
Solid Earth, 15, 143–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-143-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-143-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Stress along a subduction plate boundary is important for understanding subduction phenomena such as earthquakes. We estimated paleo-stress using quartz recrystallized grain size combined with deformation temperature and P–T paths of exhumed rocks. The obtained results show differential stresses of 30.8–82.7 MPa consistent over depths of 17–27 km in the paleo-subduction boundary. The obtained stress may represent the initial conditions under which slow earthquakes nucleated in the same domain.
Annelotte Weert, Kei Ogata, Francesco Vinci, Coen Leo, Giovanni Bertotti, Jerome Amory, and Stefano Tavani
Solid Earth, 15, 121–141, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-121-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
On the road to a sustainable planet, geothermal energy is considered one of the main substitutes when it comes to heating. The geological history of an area can have a major influence on the application of these geothermal systems, as demonstrated in the West Netherlands Basin. Here, multiple episodes of rifting and subsequent basin inversion have controlled the distribution of the reservoir rocks, thus influencing the locations where geothermal energy can be exploited.
Pâmela C. Richetti, Frank Zwaan, Guido Schreurs, Renata S. Schmitt, and Timothy C. Schmid
Solid Earth, 14, 1245–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1245-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1245-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Araripe Basin in NE Brazil was originally formed during Cretaceous times, as South America and Africa broke up. The basin is an important analogue to offshore South Atlantic break-up basins; its sediments were uplifted and are now found at 1000 m height, allowing for studies thereof, but the cause of the uplift remains debated. Here we ran a series of tectonic laboratory experiments that show how a specific plate tectonic configuration can explain the evolution of the Araripe Basin.
Malte Froemchen, Ken J. W. McCaffrey, Mark B. Allen, Jeroen van Hunen, Thomas B. Phillips, and Yueren Xu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2563, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2563, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Shanxi Rift is a young active rift in North China that formed superimposed on a Proterozoic orogen. The impact of these structures on the active rift faults is poorly constrained. Here we quantify the landscape response to active faulting and compare these to published maps of inherited structures. We find that inherited structures played an important role in the segmentation of the Shanxi Rift and in the development of Rift Interaction Zones, the most active regions of the Shanxi Rift.
Adam J. Cawood, Hannah Watkins, Clare E. Bond, Marian J. Warren, and Mark A. Cooper
Solid Earth, 14, 1005–1030, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1005-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1005-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here we test conceptual models of fracture development by investigating fractures across multiple scales. We find that most fractures increase in abundance towards the fold hinge, and we interpret these as being fold related. Other fractures at the site show inconsistent orientations and are unrelated to fold formation. Our results show that predicting fracture patterns requires the consideration of multiple geologic variables.
Johanna Heeb, David Healy, Nicholas E. Timms, and Enrique Gomez-Rivas
Solid Earth, 14, 985–1003, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-985-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-985-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Hydration of rocks is a key process in the Earth’s crust and mantle that is accompanied by changes in physical traits and mechanical behaviour of rocks. This study assesses the influence of stress on hydration reaction kinetics and mechanics in experiments on anhydrite. We show that hydration occurs readily under stress and results in localized hydration along fractures and mechanic weakening. New gypsum growth is selective and depends on the stress field and host anhydrite crystal orientation.
Roy Helge Gabrielsen, Panagiotis Athanasios Giannenas, Dimitrios Sokoutis, Ernst Willingshofer, Muhammad Hassaan, and Jan Inge Faleide
Solid Earth, 14, 961–983, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-961-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-961-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Barents Shear Margin defines the border between the relatively shallow Barents Sea that is situated on a continental plate and the deep ocean. This margin's evolution history was probably influenced by plate tectonic reorganizations. From scaled experiments, we deduced several types of structures (faults, folds, and sedimentary basins) that help us to improve the understanding of the history of the opening of the North Atlantic.
Leslie Logan, Ervin Veress, Joel B. H. Andersson, Olof Martinsson, and Tobias E. Bauer
Solid Earth, 14, 763–784, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-763-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-763-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Pahtohavare Cu ± Au deposits in the Kiruna mining district have a dubious timing of formation and have not been contextualized within an up-to-date tectonic framework. Structural mapping was carried out to reveal that the deposits are hosted in brittle structures that cut a noncylindrical, SE-plunging anticline constrained to have formed during the late-Svecokarelian orogeny. These results show that Cu ± Au mineralization formed more than ca. 80 Myr after iron oxide–apatite mineralization.
Alexandra Tamas, Dan M. Tamas, Gabor Tari, Csaba Krezsek, Alexandru Lapadat, and Zsolt Schleder
Solid Earth, 14, 741–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-741-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-741-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Tectonic processes are complex and often difficult to understand due to the limitations of surface or subsurface data. One such process is inversion tectonics, which means that an area initially developed in an extension (such as the opening of an ocean) is reversed to compression (the process leading to mountain building). In this research, we use a laboratory method (analogue modelling), and with the help of a sandbox, we try to better understand structures (folds/faults) related to inversion.
Elizabeth Parker Wilson, Pablo Granado, Pablo Santolaria, Oriol Ferrer, and Josep Anton Muñoz
Solid Earth, 14, 709–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-709-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-709-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This work focuses on the control of accommodation zones on extensional and subsequent inversion in salt-detached domains using sandbox analogue models. During extension, the transfer zone acts as a pathway for the movement of salt, changing the expected geometries. When inverted, the salt layer and syn-inversion sedimentation control the deformation style in the salt-detached cover system. Three natural cases are compared to the model results and show similar inversion geometries.
Oriol Ferrer, Eloi Carola, and Ken McClay
Solid Earth, 14, 571–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-571-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-571-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using an experimental approach based on scaled sandbox models, this work aims to understand how salt above different rotational fault blocks influences the cover geometry and evolution, first during extension and then during inversion. The results show that inherited salt structures constrain contractional deformation. We show for the first time how welds and fault welds are reopened during contractional deformation, having direct implications for the subsurface exploration of natural resources.
Chiara Montemagni, Stefano Zanchetta, Martina Rocca, Igor M. Villa, Corrado Morelli, Volkmar Mair, and Andrea Zanchi
Solid Earth, 14, 551–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-551-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Vinschgau Shear Zone (VSZ) is one of the largest and most significant shear zones developed within the Late Cretaceous thrust stack in the Austroalpine domain of the eastern Alps. 40Ar / 39Ar geochronology constrains the activity of the VSZ between 97 and 80 Ma. The decreasing vorticity towards the core of the shear zone, coupled with the younging of mylonites, points to a shear thinning behavior. The deepest units of the Eo-Alpine orogenic wedge were exhumed along the VSZ.
Jordi Miró, Oriol Ferrer, Josep Anton Muñoz, and Gianreto Manastchal
Solid Earth, 14, 425–445, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-425-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-425-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using the Asturian–Basque–Cantabrian system and analogue (sandbox) models, this work focuses on the linkage between basement-controlled and salt-decoupled domains and how deformation is accommodated between the two during extension and subsequent inversion. Analogue models show significant structural variability in the transitional domain, with oblique structures that can be strongly modified by syn-contractional sedimentation. Experimental results are consistent with the case study.
Junichi Fukuda, Takamoto Okudaira, and Yukiko Ohtomo
Solid Earth, 14, 409–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We measured water distributions in deformed quartz by infrared spectroscopy mapping and used the results to discuss changes in water distribution resulting from textural development. Because of the grain size reduction process (dynamic recrystallization), water contents decrease from 40–1750 wt ppm in host grains of ~2 mm to 100–510 wt ppm in recrystallized regions composed of fine grains of ~10 µm. Our results indicate that water is released and homogenized by dynamic recrystallization.
Bastien Walter, Yves Géraud, Alexiane Favier, Nadjib Chibati, and Marc Diraison
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-397, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-397, 2023
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Lake Abhe in southwestern Djibouti is known for its exposures of massive hydrothermal chimneys and hot springs on the lake’s eastern shore. This study highlights the control of the main structural faults of the area on the development of these hydrothermal features. This work contributes to better understand hydrothermal fluid pathways in this area and may help further exploration for the geothermal development of this remarkable site.
Michael Rudolf, Matthias Rosenau, and Onno Oncken
Solid Earth, 14, 311–331, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-311-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Analogue models of tectonic processes rely on the reproduction of their geometry, kinematics and dynamics. An important property is fault behaviour, which is linked to the frictional characteristics of the fault gouge. This is represented by granular materials, such as quartz sand. In our study we investigate the time-dependent frictional properties of various analogue materials and highlight their impact on the suitability of these materials for analogue models focusing on fault reactivation.
Jessica Barabasch, Joyce Schmatz, Jop Klaver, Alexander Schwedt, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 14, 271–291, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-271-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed Zechstein salt with microscopes and observed specific microstructures that indicate much faster deformation in rock salt with fine halite grains when compared to salt with larger grains. This is important because people build large cavities in the subsurface salt for energy storage or want to deposit radioactive waste inside it. When engineers and scientists use grain-size data and equations that include this mechanism, it will help to make better predictions in geological models.
Nicolás Molnar and Susanne Buiter
Solid Earth, 14, 213–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-213-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-213-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Progression of orogenic wedges over pre-existing extensional structures is common in nature, but deciphering the spatio-temporal evolution of deformation from the geological record remains challenging. Our laboratory experiments provide insights on how horizontal stresses are transferred across a heterogeneous crust, constrain which pre-shortening conditions can either favour or hinder the reactivatation of extensional structures, and explain what implications they have on critical taper theory.
Tania Habel, Martine Simoes, Robin Lacassin, Daniel Carrizo, and German Aguilar
Solid Earth, 14, 17–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-17-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-17-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Central Andes are one of the most emblematic reliefs on Earth, but their western flank remains understudied. Here we explore two rare key sites in the hostile conditions of the Atacama desert to build cross-sections, quantify crustal shortening, and discuss the timing of this deformation at ∼20–22°S. We propose that the structures of the Western Andes accommodated significant crustal shortening here, but only during the earliest stages of mountain building.
Naïm Célini, Frédéric Mouthereau, Abdeltif Lahfid, Claude Gout, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 14, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the peak temperature of sedimentary rocks of the SW Alps (France), using Raman spectroscopy on carbonaceous material. This method provides an estimate of the peak temperature achieved by organic-rich rocks. To determine the timing and the tectonic context of the origin of these temperatures we use 1D thermal modelling. We find that the high temperatures up to 300 °C were achieved during precollisional extensional events, not during tectonic burial in the Western Alps.
Luke N. J. Wedmore, Tess Turner, Juliet Biggs, Jack N. Williams, Henry M. Sichingabula, Christine Kabumbu, and Kawawa Banda
Solid Earth, 13, 1731–1753, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1731-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1731-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mapping and compiling the attributes of faults capable of hosting earthquakes are important for the next generation of seismic hazard assessment. We document 18 active faults in the Luangwa Rift, Zambia, in an active fault database. These faults are between 9 and 207 km long offset Quaternary sediments, have scarps up to ~30 m high, and are capable of hosting earthquakes from Mw 5.8 to 8.1. We associate the Molaza Fault with surface ruptures from two unattributed M 6+ 20th century earthquakes.
Michał P. Michalak, Lesław Teper, Florian Wellmann, Jerzy Żaba, Krzysztof Gaidzik, Marcin Kostur, Yuriy P. Maystrenko, and Paulina Leonowicz
Solid Earth, 13, 1697–1720, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1697-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1697-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
When characterizing geological/geophysical surfaces, various geometric attributes are calculated, such as dip angle (1D) or dip direction (2D). However, the boundaries between specific values may be subjective and without optimization significance, resulting from using default color palletes. This study proposes minimizing cosine distance among within-cluster observations to detect 3D anomalies. Our results suggest that the method holds promise for identification of megacylinders or megacones.
Erik M. Young, Christie D. Rowe, and James D. Kirkpatrick
Solid Earth, 13, 1607–1629, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1607-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1607-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Studying how earthquakes spread deep within the faults they originate from is crucial to improving our understanding of the earthquake process. We mapped preserved ancient earthquake surfaces that are now exposed in South Africa and studied their relationship with the shape and type of rocks surrounding them. We determined that these surfaces are not random and are instead associated with specific kinds of rocks and that their shape is linked to the evolution of the faults in which they occur.
Sivaji Lahiri, Kitty L. Milliken, Peter Vrolijk, Guillaume Desbois, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 13, 1513–1539, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1513-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1513-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the mechanism of mechanical compaction is important. Previous studies on mechanical compaction were mostly done by performing experiments. Studies on natural rocks are rare due to compositional heterogeneity of the sedimentary succession with depth. Due to remarkable similarity in composition and grain size, the Sumatra subduction complex provides a unique opportunity to study the micromechanism of mechanical compaction on natural samples.
Dongwon Lee, Nikolaos Karadimitriou, Matthias Ruf, and Holger Steeb
Solid Earth, 13, 1475–1494, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1475-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1475-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research article focuses on filtering and segmentation methods employed in high-resolution µXRCT studies for crystalline rocks, bearing fractures, or fracture networks, of very small aperture. Specifically, we focus on the identification of artificially induced (via quenching) fractures in Carrara marble samples. Results from the same dataset from all five different methods adopted were produced and compared with each other in terms of their output quality and time efficiency.
Alberto Ceccato, Giulia Tartaglia, Marco Antonellini, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 13, 1431–1453, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1431-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Earth's surface is commonly characterized by the occurrence of fractures, which can be mapped, and their can be geometry quantified on digital representations of the surface at different scales of observation. Here we present a series of analytical and statistical tools, which can aid the quantification of fracture spatial distribution at different scales. In doing so, we can improve our understanding of how fracture geometry and geology affect fluid flow within the fractured Earth crust.
Giulio Viola, Giovanni Musumeci, Francesco Mazzarini, Lorenzo Tavazzani, Manuel Curzi, Espen Torgersen, Roelant van der Lelij, and Luca Aldega
Solid Earth, 13, 1327–1351, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1327-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1327-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A structural-geochronological approach helps to unravel the Zuccale Fault's architecture. By mapping its internal structure and dating some of its fault rocks, we constrained a deformation history lasting 20 Myr starting at ca. 22 Ma. Such long activity is recorded by now tightly juxtaposed brittle structural facies, i.e. different types of fault rocks. Our results also have implications on the regional evolution of the northern Apennines, of which the Zuccale Fault is an important structure.
Wan-Lin Hu
Solid Earth, 13, 1281–1290, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1281-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1281-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Having a seismic image is generally expected to enable us to better determine fault geometry and thus estimate geological slip rates accurately. However, the process of interpreting seismic images may introduce unintended uncertainties, which have not yet been widely discussed. Here, a case of a shear fault-bend fold in the frontal Himalaya is used to demonstrate how differences in interpretations can affect the following estimates of slip rates and dependent conclusions.
Manuel D. Menzel, Janos L. Urai, Estibalitz Ukar, Thierry Decrausaz, and Marguerite Godard
Solid Earth, 13, 1191–1218, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1191-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1191-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mantle rocks can bind large quantities of carbon by reaction with CO2, but this capacity requires fluid pathways not to be clogged by carbonate. We studied mantle rocks from Oman to understand the mechanisms allowing their transformation into carbonate and quartz. Using advanced imaging techniques, we show that abundant veins were essential fluid pathways driving the reaction. Our results show that tectonic stress was important for fracture opening and a key ingredient for carbon fixation.
Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl, Steffen G. Bergh, and Arthur G. Sylvester
Solid Earth, 13, 1169–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1169-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The San Andreas fault is a major active fault associated with ongoing earthquake sequences in southern California. The present study investigates the development of the Indio Hills area in the Coachella Valley along the main San Andreas fault and the Indio Hills fault. The Indio Hills area is located near an area with high ongoing earthquake activity (Brawley seismic zone), and, therefore, its recent tectonic evolution has implications for earthquake prediction.
Jin Lai, Dong Li, Yong Ai, Hongkun Liu, Deyang Cai, Kangjun Chen, Yuqiang Xie, and Guiwen Wang
Solid Earth, 13, 975–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-975-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
(1) Structural diagenesis analysis is performed on the ultra-deep tight sandstone. (2) Fracture and intergranular pores are related to the low in situ stress magnitudes. (3) Dissolution is associated with the presence of fracture.
Hamed Fazlikhani, Wolfgang Bauer, and Harald Stollhofen
Solid Earth, 13, 393–416, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-393-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-393-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Interpretation of newly acquired FRANKEN 2D seismic survey data in southeeastern Germany shows that upper Paleozoic low-grade metasedimentary rocks and possible nappe units are transported by Variscan shear zones to ca. 65 km west of the Franconian Fault System (FFS). We show that the locations of post-Variscan upper Carboniferous–Permian normal faults and associated graben and half-graben basins are controlled by the geometry of underlying Variscan shear zones.
Xiaodong Ma, Marian Hertrich, Florian Amann, Kai Bröker, Nima Gholizadeh Doonechaly, Valentin Gischig, Rebecca Hochreutener, Philipp Kästli, Hannes Krietsch, Michèle Marti, Barbara Nägeli, Morteza Nejati, Anne Obermann, Katrin Plenkers, Antonio P. Rinaldi, Alexis Shakas, Linus Villiger, Quinn Wenning, Alba Zappone, Falko Bethmann, Raymi Castilla, Francisco Seberto, Peter Meier, Thomas Driesner, Simon Loew, Hansruedi Maurer, Martin O. Saar, Stefan Wiemer, and Domenico Giardini
Solid Earth, 13, 301–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Questions on issues such as anthropogenic earthquakes and deep geothermal energy developments require a better understanding of the fractured rock. Experiments conducted at reduced scales but with higher-resolution observations can shed some light. To this end, the BedrettoLab was recently established in an existing tunnel in Ticino, Switzerland, with preliminary efforts to characterize realistic rock mass behavior at the hectometer scale.
Berit Schwichtenberg, Florian Fusseis, Ian B. Butler, and Edward Andò
Solid Earth, 13, 41–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Hydraulic rock properties such as porosity and permeability are relevant factors that have an impact on groundwater resources, geological repositories and fossil fuel reservoirs. We investigate the influence of chemical compaction upon the porosity evolution in salt–biotite mixtures and related transport length scales by conducting laboratory experiments in combination with 4-D analysis. Our observations invite a renewed discussion of the effect of sheet silicates on chemical compaction.
David Healy and Stephen Paul Hicks
Solid Earth, 13, 15–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The energy transition requires operations in faulted rocks. To manage the technical challenges and public concern over possible induced earthquakes, we need to quantify the risks. We calculate the probability of fault slip based on uncertain inputs, stresses, fluid pressures, and the mechanical properties of rocks in fault zones. Our examples highlight the specific gaps in our knowledge. Citizen science projects could produce useful data and include the public in the discussions about hazards.
Manuel I. de Paz-Álvarez, Thomas G. Blenkinsop, David M. Buchs, George E. Gibbons, and Lesley Cherns
Solid Earth, 13, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a virtual geological mapping course implemented in response to travelling and social restrictions derived from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The course was designed to replicate a physical mapping exercise as closely as possible with the aid of real field data and photographs collected by the authors during previous years in the Cantabrian Zone (NW Spain). The course is delivered through Google Earth via a KMZ file with outcrop descriptions and links to GitHub-hosted photographs.
Yueyang Xia, Jacob Geersen, Dirk Klaeschen, Bo Ma, Dietrich Lange, Michael Riedel, Michael Schnabel, and Heidrun Kopp
Solid Earth, 12, 2467–2477, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2467-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2467-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The 2 June 1994 Java tsunami earthquake ruptured in a seismically quiet subduction zone and generated a larger-than-expected tsunami. Here, we re-process a seismic line across the rupture area. We show that a subducting seamount is located up-dip of the mainshock in a region that did not rupture during the earthquake. Seamount subduction modulates the topography of the marine forearc and acts as a seismic barrier in the 1994 earthquake rupture.
Steffen Abe and Hagen Deckert
Solid Earth, 12, 2407–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2407-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2407-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use numerical simulations and laboratory experiments on rock samples to investigate how stress conditions influence the geometry and roughness of fracture surfaces. The roughness of the surfaces was analyzed in terms of absolute roughness and scaling properties. The results show that the surfaces are self-affine but with different scaling properties between the numerical models and the real rock samples. Results suggest that stress conditions have little influence on the surface roughness.
Chao Deng, Rixiang Zhu, Jianhui Han, Yu Shu, Yuxiang Wu, Kefeng Hou, and Wei Long
Solid Earth, 12, 2327–2350, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2327-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2327-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses seismic reflection data to interpret the geometric relationship and evolution of intra-basement and rift-related structures in the Enping sag in the northern South China Sea. Our observations suggest the primary control of pre-existing thrust faults is the formation of low-angle normal faults, with possible help from low-friction materials, and the significant role of pre-existing basement thrust faults in fault geometry, paleotopography, and syn-rift stratigraphy of rift basins.
Sonia Yeung, Marnie Forster, Emmanuel Skourtsos, and Gordon Lister
Solid Earth, 12, 2255–2275, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2255-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We do not know when the ancient Tethys Ocean lithosphere began to founder, but one clue can be found in subduction accreted tectonic slices, including Gondwanan basement terranes on the island of Ios, Cyclades, Greece. We propose a 250–300 km southwards jump of the subduction megathrust with a period of flat-slab subduction followed by slab break-off. The initiation and its subsequent rollback of a new subduction zone would explain the onset of Oligo–Miocene extension and accompanying magmatism.
Rahul Prabhakaran, Giovanni Bertotti, Janos Urai, and David Smeulders
Solid Earth, 12, 2159–2209, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2159-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Rock fractures are organized as networks with spatially varying arrangements. Due to networks' influence on bulk rock behaviour, it is important to quantify network spatial variation. We utilize an approach where fracture networks are treated as spatial graphs. By combining graph similarity measures with clustering techniques, spatial clusters within large-scale fracture networks are identified and organized hierarchically. The method is validated on a dataset with nearly 300 000 fractures.
Olivier Lacombe, Nicolas E. Beaudoin, Guilhem Hoareau, Aurélie Labeur, Christophe Pecheyran, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 12, 2145–2157, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2145-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2145-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper aims to illustrate how the timing and duration of contractional deformation associated with folding in orogenic forelands can be constrained by the dating of brittle mesostructures observed in folded strata. The study combines new and already published absolute ages of fractures to provide, for the first time, an educated discussion about the factors controlling the duration of the sequence of deformation encompassing layer-parallel shortening, fold growth, and late fold tightening.
Cited articles
Archanjo, C. J., Bouchez, J. L., Corsini, M., and Vauchez, A.: The Pombal
granite pluton: magnetic
fabric, emplacement and relationships with the Brasiliano strike-slip
setting of NE Brazil (Paraiba
State), J. Struct. Geol., 16, 323–335, 1994.
Behrmann, J. H. and Mainprice, D.: Deformation mechanisms in a
high-temperature quartz-feldspar
mylonite: evidence for superplastic flow in the lower continental crust,
Tectonophysics, 140, 297–305, 1987.
Bercovici, D. and Ricard, Y.: Mechanisms for the generation of plate
tectonics by two-phase grain
damage and pinning, Phys. Earth Planet. In., 202–203,
27–55, 2012.
Bons, P. and den Brok, B.: Crystallographic preferred orientation
development by dissolution
precipitation creep, J. Struct. Geol., 22, 1713–1722, 2000.
Bürgmann, R. and Dresen, G.:
Rheology of the lower crust and upper mantle: evidence from rock mechanics, geodesy, and
field observations, Annu. Rev. Earth Pl. Sc., 36, 531–567, 2008.
Casini, L. and Funedda, A.: Potential of pressure solution for strain
localization in the Baccu Locci
shear zone (Sardinia, Italy), J. Struct. Geol., 66, 188–204, 2014.
Czaplinska, D., Piazolo, S., and Zibra, I.: The influence of phase and
grain size distribution on the
dynamics of strain localization in polymineralic rocks, J. Struct. Geol., 72, 15–32, 2015.
Davison, I., McCarthy, M., Powell, D., Torres, H. F., and Santos, C. A.:
Laminar flow in shear zones: the Pernambuco shear zone, NE Brazil, J. Struct. Geol., 17,
149–161, 1995.
Fitz Gerald, J. D. and Stünitz, H.: Deformation of granitoids at
low-metamorphic grade. I: Reactions
and grain size reduction, Tectonophysics, 221, 269–297, 1993.
Fliervoet, T., White, S., and Drury, M.: Evidence for dominant
grain-boundary sliding deformation in
greenschist and amphibolite-grade polymineralic ultramylonites from the
Redbank Deformed Zone,
Central Australia, J. Struct. Geol., 19, 1495–1520, 1997.
Fukuda, J. and Okudaira, T.: Grain-size-sensitive creep of plagioclase
accompanied by solution precipitation and mass transfer under
mid-crustal conditions, J. Struct. Geol., 51, 61–73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2013.03.006, 2013.
Fukuda, J., Okudaira, T., Satsukawa, and T., Michibayashi:
Solution-precipitaton of K-feldspar in
deformed granitoids and its relationship to the distribution of water,
Tectonophysics, 532–535, 175–185, 2012.
Fusseis, F., Regenauer-Lieb, K., Liu, J., Hough, R. M., and De Carlo, F.:
Creep cavitation can establish
a dynamic granular fluid pump in ductile shear zones, Nature, 459, 974–977, 2009.
Goncalves, P., Oliot, E., Marquer, D., and Connolly, J. A. D.: Role of
chemical processes on shear zone
formation: an example from the Grimsel metagranodiorite (Aar massif, Central
Alps), J. Metamorph. Geol., 30, 703–722, 2012.
Gueydan, F., Leroy, Y. M., Jolivet, L., and Agard, P.: Analysis of
continental midcrustal strain
localization induced by reaction-softening and microfracturing, J.
Geophys. Res., 108, 2064, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000611, 2003.
Handy, M. R., Hirth, G., and Bürgmann, R.: Continental fault structure
and rheology from the frictional
to-viscous transition downward, in: Dahlem Workshop
Reports, edited by: Handy, M. R., Hirth, G., and Hovius, N.,
The MIT Press, Cambridge, USA, 139–181, 2007.
Heidelbach, F., Post, A., and Tullis, J.: Crystallographic preferred
orientation in albite samples
deformed experimentally by dislocation and solution precipitation creep,
J. Struct. Geol., 22, 1649–1661, 2000.
Herwegh, M., Linckens, J., Ebert, A., Berger, A., and Brodhag, S. H.: The
role of second phases for controlling microstructural evolution in polymineralic rocks: a
review, J. Struct. Geol., 33, 1728–1750, 2011.
Hippertt, J. F.: Microstructures and c-axis fabrics indicative of quartz
dissolution in sheared quartzites and phyllonites, Tectonophysics, 229,
141–163, https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(94)90026-4, 1994,
Hirth, G., Teyssier, C., and Dunlap, J.: An evaluation of quartzite flow
laws based on comparisons
between experimentally and naturally deformed rocks, Int. J.
Earth Sci., 90, 77–87, https://doi.org/10.1007/s005310000152, 2001.
Holland, T. and Blundy, J.: Non-ideal interactions in calcic amphiboles
and their bearing on
amphibole-plagioclase thermometry, Contrib. Mineral. Petr., 116, 433–447, 1994.
Kilian, R., Heilbronner, R., and Stunitz, H.: Quartz grain size reduction
in a granitoid rock and the
transition from dislocation to diffusion creep, J. Struct. Geol., 33, 1265–1284, 2011.
Ingles, J., Lamouroux, C., Soula, J.-C., Guerrero, N., and Debat, P.:
Nucleation of ductile shear zones
in a granodiorite under greenschist facies conditions, Néouvielle
massif, Pyrenees, France, J. Struct. Geol., 21, 555–575, 1999.
Mancktelow, N. and Pennacchioni, G.: The influence of grain boundary
fluids on the microstructure
of quartz-feldspar mylonites, J. Struct. Geol., 26, 47–69, 2004.
Mehl, L. and Hirth, G.: Plagioclase preferred orientation in layered
mylonites: evaluation of flow laws
for the lower crust, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B05202,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005075, 2008.
Menegon, L. and Pennacchioni, G.: Local shear zone pattern and bulk
deformation in the Gran
Paradiso metagranite (NW Italian Alps), Int. J. Earth
Sci., 99, 1805–1825, 2010.
Menegon, L., Pennacchioni, G., and Stunitz, H.: Nucleation and growth of
myrmekite during ductile
shear deformation in metagranites, J. Metamorph. Geol., 24,
553–568, 2006.
Menegon, L., Pennacchioni, G., and Spiess, R.: Dissolution-precipitation
creep of K-feldspar in mid
crustal granite mylonites, J. Struct. Geol., 30, 565–579, 2008a.
Menegon, L., Pennacchioni, G., Heilbronner, R., and Pitarello, L.:
Evolution of quartz microstructure
and c-axis crystallographic preferred orientation within ductileely deformed
granitoids (Arolla unit,
Western Alps), J. Struct. Geol., 30, 1332–1347, 2008b.
Menegon, L., Nasipuri, P., Stünitz, H., Behrens, H., and Ravna, E.: Dry
and strong quartz during
deformation of the lower crust in the presence of melt, J.
Geophys. Res., 116, B10410,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008371, 2011.
Menegon, L., Stunitz, H., Nasipuri, P., Heilbronner, R., and Svahnberg, H.:
Transition from fracturing
to viscous flow in granulite facies perthitic feldspar (Lofoten, Norway),
J. Struct. Geol., 48, 95–112, 2013.
Menegon, L., Fusseis, F., Stunitz, H., and Xiao, X.: Creep cavitation
bands control porosity and fluid
flow in lower crustal shear zones, Geology, 43, 227–230, 2015.
Montesi, L.: Fabric development as the key for forming ductile shear
zones and enabling plate
tectonics, J. Struct. Geol., 50, 254–266, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2012.12.011, 2013.
Negrini, M., Stunitz, H., Nasipuri, P., Menegon, L., and Morales, L. F. G.:
Semibrittle deformation and
partial melting of perthitic K-feldspar: an experimental study, J.
Geophys. Res., 119, 3478–3502, 2014.
Neves, S. P.: Constraints from zircon geochronology on the tectonic
evolution of the Borborema
Province (NE Brazil): widespread intracontinental Neoproterozoic reworking
of a Paleoproterozoic
accrectionary orogeny, J. S. Am. Earth Sci., 58, 150–164, 2015.
Neves, S. P., Vauchez, A., and Ferraud, G.: Tectono-thermal evolution,
magma emplacement and shear zone development in the Caruaru area (Borborema Province, NE
Brazil), Precambrian Res., 99,
1–32, 2000.
Offerhaus, L. J., Wirth, R., and Dresen, G.: High temperature creep of
polycrystalline albite, in: Deformation mechanisms, Rheology
and Tectonics, edited by: de Meer, S., Drury, M. R., de Bresser, J. H. P., and Pennock, G.
M.,
Utrecht Univ., the Netherlands, 124 pp., 2001.
Okudaira, T. and Shigematsu, N.: Estimates of stress and strain rate in
mylonites based on the
boundary between the fields of grain-size sensitive and insensitive creep,
J. Geophys. Res., 117, B03210, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008799, 2012.
Oliot, E., Goncalves, P., and Marquer, D.: Role of plagioclase and
reaction softening in a metagranite
shear zone at mid-crustal conditions (Gotthard Massif, Swiss Central Alps),
J. Metamorph. Geol., 28, 849–871, 2010.
Park, Y., Yoo, S.-H., and Ree, J.-H.: Weakening of deforming granitic rocks
with layer development in the middle crust, J. Struct. Geol., 28, 919–928, 2006.
Passchier, C. W. and Trouw, R. A. J.: Microtectonics, Springer-Verlag,
Heidelberg, 2005.
Pennacchioni, G. and Mancktelow, N. S.: Nucleation and initial growth
of a shear zone network within compositionally and structurally heterogeneous granitoids under
amphibolite facies conditions,
J. Struct. Geol., 29, 1757–1780, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2007.06.002, 2007.
Pennacchioni, G., Menegon, L., Leiss, B., Nestola, F., and Bromiley, G.:
Development of crystallographic preferred orientation and microstructure during plastic
deformation of natural coarse
grained quartz veins, J. Geophys. Res., 115, B12405,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JB007674, 2010.
Platt, J.: Rheology of two-phase systems: a microphysical and
observational approach, J. Struct. Geol., 77, 213–227, 2015.
Ree, J.-H., Kim, H. S., Han, R., and Jung, H.: Grain-size redudction of
feldspars by fracturing and neocrystallization in a low-grade granitic mylonite and its rheological
effect, Tectonophysics, 407, 227–237, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2005.07.010, 2005.
Rybacki, E. and Dresen, G.: Dislocation and diffusion creep of synthetic
anorthite aggregates, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 26.017–26.036, 2000.
Rybacki, E. and Dresen, G.: Deformation mechanism maps for feldspar
rocks, Tectonophysics, 382, 173–187, 2004.
Rosenbaum, G., Menegon, L., Glodny, J., Vasconcelos, P., Ring, U.,
Massironi, M., Thiede, D., and Nasipuri, P.: Dating deformation in the Gran Paradiso massif (NW Italian Alps):
implications for the exhumation of high-pressure rocks in a collisional belt, Lithos, 144–145,
130–144, 2012.
Schmid, S. and Casey, M.: Complete fabric analysis of some commonly
observed quartz c-axis patterns, in: Mineral and Rock Deformationl:
Laboratory Studies, edited by: Hobbs, B. and Heard, H., the
Paterson volume, Geophysical Monograph, 36, 263–286. 1986.
Spruzeniece, L. and Piazolo, S.: Strain localization in brittle-ductile shear
zones: fluid-abundant vs. fluid-limited conditions (an example from Wyangala
area, Australia), Solid Earth, 6, 881–901, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-881-2015, 2015.
Stormer, J.: A practical two-feldspar geothermometer, Am. Mineral., 60,
667–674, 1975.
Stünitz, H.: Syndeformational recrystallization – dynamic or compositionally
induced?, Contrib. Mineral. Petr., 131, 219–236, 1998.
Stünitz, H. and Tullis, J.: Weakening and strain localization produced by
syn-deformational reaction of plagioclase, Int. J. Earth Sci., 90, 136–148,
2001.
Simpson, C. and Wintsch, R. P.: Evidence for deformation induced K-feldspar
replacement by myrmekite, J. Metamorph. Geol., 7, 261–275, 1989.
Stipp, M. and Tullis, J.: The recrystallized grain size piezometer for
quartz, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 2088, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL018444, 2003.
Stipp, M., Stunitz, H., Heilbronner, R., and Schmid, S.: The eastern Tonale
fault zone: a “natural laboratory” for crystal plastic deformation of
quartz over a temperature range from 250 to 700 °C, J. Struct.
Geol., 24, 1861–1884, 2002.
Stipp, M., Tullis, J., Scherwath, M., and Behrmann, J.: A new perspective on
paleopiezometry: dynamically recrystallized grain size distributions indicate
mechanism changes, Geology, 38, 759–762, 2010.
Sullivan, W. A., Boyd, A. S., and Monz, M. E.: Strain localization in
homogeneous granite near the brittle-ductile transition: a case study of the
Kellyland fault zone, Maine, USA, J. Struct. Geol., 56, 70–88, 2013.
Tödheide, K.: Water at high temperatures and pressures, in: Water: A
Comprehensive Treatise, edited by: Franks, F., vol. 1, chap. 13, 463–514,
Springer, New York, 1972.
Tommasi, A., Vauchez, A., Fernandes, L. A. D., and Porcher, C. C.:
Magma-assisted strain localization in an orogen-pararell transcurrent shear
zone of southern Brazil, Tectonics, 13, 421–437, 1994.
Trepmann, C., Stockhert, B., Dorner, D., Moghadam, R., Kuster, M., and
Roller, K.: Simulating coseismic deformation of quartz in the middle crust
and fabric evolution during postseismic stress relaxation – an experimental
study, Tectonophysics, 442, 83–104, 2007.
Tsurumi, J., Hosonoma, H., and Kanagawa, K.: Strain localization due to a
positive feedback of deformation and myrmekite-forming reaction in granite
and aplite mylonites along the Hatagawa Shear Zone of NE Japan, J. Struct.
Geol., 25, 557–574, 2003.
Tullis, J.: Deformation of granitic rocks; experimental studies and natural examples, in:
Plastic deformation of minerals and rocks, Rev. Mineral. Geochem.,
51, 51–95, 2002.
Tullis, J., Yund, R., and Farver, J.: Deformation-enhanced fluid distribution
in feldspar aggregates and implications for ductile shear zones, Geology, 24,
63–66, 1996.
Vauchez, A. and Egydio-Silva, M.: Termination of a continental-scale
strike-slip fault in partially melted crust: the West Pernambuco shear zone,
northeast Brazil, Geology, 20, 1007–1010, 1992.
Vauchez, A., Neves, S. P., Caby, R., Corsini, M. E., Egydio Silva, M.,
Arthaud, M., and Amaro, V. E.: The Borborema shear zone system, NE Brazil, J.
S. Am. Earth Sci., 8, 247–266, 1995.
Viegas, G., Archanjo, C. J., and Vauchez, A.: Fabrics of migmatites and the
relationships between partial melting and deformatio in high-grade
transpressional shear zones: The Espinho Branco anatexite (Borborema Prince,
NE Brazil), J. Struct. Geol., 48, 45–56, 2013.
Warren, J. and Hirth, G.: Grain size sensitive deformation mechanisms in
naturally deformed peridotites, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 248, 438–450. 2006.
Wintsch, R. P. and Yi, K.: Dissolution and replacement creep: a significant
deformation mechanism in mid-crustal rocks, J. Struct. Geol., 24, 1179–1193,
2002.
Whitney, J. A. and Stormer, J. C.: Two-feldspar geothermometry, geobarometry
in mesozonal granitic intrusions: three examples from the Piedmont of
Georgia, Contrib. Mineral. Petr., 63, 51–64, 1977.
Zibra, I., Kruhl, J., Montanini, A., and Tribuzio, R.: Shearing of magma
along a high-grade shear zone: evolution of microstructures during the
transition from magmatic to solid-state flow, J. Struct. Geol., 37, 150–160,
2012.
Short summary
This paper presents microstructural and chemical data of mylonitic granitoids deformed at the brittle-ductile transition in the continental crust. Through a combination of microstructures, chemical analyses and modelling of the strength of constituent phases, we were able to show that strain localisation in shear zones may be triggered primarily by brittle failure, without the need for reaction-softening mechanisms promoted by metamorphic fluids.
This paper presents microstructural and chemical data of mylonitic granitoids deformed at the...
