Magnetic fabric in ilmeniterich norites of the Bjerkreimer-Sokndal Layered Intrusion, Norway

The Bjerkreim-Sokndal (BKS) is a layered intrusion, located in the Mid- Proterozoic Egersund anorthosite-norite province within the Sveconorwegian province of the Baltic Shield, south Norway. The layered intrusion formed by influxes of more primitive magma into more evolved magma to produce six Megacyclic units (MCU), each of which can be divided into up to six subunits. From bottom to top in each megacycle the rocks consist of early plagioclase-rich norites, intermediate hemo-ilmenite-rich norites and later magnetite-rich norites. Aeromagnetic maps over the intrusion show large negative and positive anomalies. A negative anomaly with amplitude to - 13000 nT at 60m above ground is associated with hemo-ilmenite-rich norite layer MCU Ive. This layer IVe contains plagioclase, orthopyroxene, hemoilmenite, magnetite, and minor clinopyroxene, biotite, apatite and sulfides. Multi-domain (MD) magnetite makes up 2–3% of the rock. The negative magnetic anomaly associated with MCU IVe reaches its most negative value on the east limb of the Bjerkreim Lobe near Heskestad. The anomaly at Heskestad is part of a longer negative anomaly, which follows MCU IVe for more than 20 km around a large syncline. The average NRM intensity decreases from 25AM−1 along the east fold limb to 10AM−1 towards the hinge area to 7AM−1 at the hinge. The BKS has a penetrative deformation fabric within the syncline with the weakest deformation found in the hinge area and the strongest on the east limb. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to determine the lattice-preferred orientation (LPO) of orthopyroxene and ilmenite. The (100)-planes of the orthopyroxenes are found to lie parallel to a foliation in the rock, which is subparallel to the cumulate layering. Orthopyroxene c-axes form the steep lineation within the foliation plane. The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) was measured for samples that were taken at five locations from the eastern limb to the hinge area of the syncline to investigate if the change in NRM intensity could be related to magnetic fabric.conferenc

Large-strain deformation and strain partitioning in polyphase rocks: Dislocation creep of olivine magnesiowüstite aggregates

International audienceAggregates composed of olivine and magnesiowüstite have been deformed to large strains at high pressure and temperature to investigate stress and strain partitioning, phase segregation and possible localization of deformation in a polyphase material. Samples with 20 vol.% of natural olivine and 80 vol.% of (Mg0.7Fe0.3)O were synthesized and deformed in a gas-medium torsion apparatus at temperatures of 1127 °C and 1250 °C, a confining pressure of 300 MPa and constant angular displacement rates equivalent to constant shear strain rates of 1 3.3 × 10? 4 s? 1. The samples deformed homogeneously to total shear strains of up to ? ? 15. During constant strain rate measurements the flow stress remained approximately stable at 1250 °C while it progressively decreased after the initial yield stress at the lower temperature. Mechanical data, microstructures and textures indicate that both phases were deforming in the dislocation creep regime. The weaker component, magnesiowüstite, controlled the rheological behavior of the bulk material and accommodated most of the strain. Deformation and dynamic recrystallization lead to grain refinement and to textures that were not previously observed in pure magnesiowüstite and may have developed due to the presence of the second phase. At 1127 °C, olivine grains behaved as semi-rigid inclusions rotating in a viscous matrix. At 1250 °C, some olivine grains remained largely undeformed while deformation and recrystallization of other grains oriented for a-slip on (010) resulted in a weak foliation and a texture typical for pure dry olivine aggregates. Both a-slip and c-slip on (010) were activated in olivine even though the nominal stresses were up to 2 orders of magnitude lower than those needed to activate these slip systems in pure olivine at the same conditions

Fluid-assisted fracturing, cataclasis, and resulting plastic flow in mylonites from the Moresby Seamount detachment, Woodlark Basin

The Moresby Seamount detachment (MSD) in the Woodlark Basin (offshore Papua New Guinea) is a large active low-angle detachment excellently exposed at the seafloor, and cutting through mafic metamorphic rocks. Hydrothermal infiltration of quartz followed by that of calcite occurred during cataclastic deformation. Subsequent deformation of these a priori softer minerals leads to mylonite formation in the MSD. This study aims at a better understanding of the deformation mechanism switch from cataclastic to plastic flow. Deformation fabrics of the fault rocks were analyzed by light-optical microscopy. Rheologically critical phases were mapped to determine distributions and area proportions, and EBSD was used to measure crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO). Strong calcite CPOs indicate dominant dislocation creep. Quartz CPOs, however, are weak and more difficult to interpret, suggesting at least some strain accommodation by diffusion creep mechanisms. When quartz aggregates are intermixed with the polymineralic mylonite matrix diffusion creep grain boundary sliding may be dominant. The syntectonic conversion from mafic cataclasites to more siliceous and carbonaceous mylonites induced by hydrothermal processes is a critical weakening mechanism enabling the MSD to at least intermittently plastic flow at low shear stresses. This is probably a crucial process for the operation of low-angle detachments in hydrated and dominantly mafic crust

Marble decay induced by thermal strains: simulations and experiments

International audienceThermoelastic behavior of different marble types was analyzed using computational modeling and experimental measurements. Eight marble samples with different composition, grain size, grain boundary geometry, and texture were investigated. Calcitic and dolomitic marbles were considered. The average grain size varies from 75 μm to 1.75 mm; grain boundary geometry differs from nearly equigranular straight grain boundaries to inequigranular-interlobate grain boundaries. Four typical marble texture types were observed by EBSD measurements: weak texture; strong texture; girdle texture and high-temperature texture. These crystallographic orientations were used in conjunction with microstructure-based finite element analysis to compute the thermoelastic responses of marble upon heating. Microstructural response maps highlight regions and conditions in the marble fabric that are susceptible to degradation phenomena. This behavior was compared to the measured thermal expansion behavior, which shows increasing residual strains upon repetitive heating-cooling cycles. The thermal expansion behavior as a function of temperature changes can be classified into four categories: (a) isotropic thermal expansion with small or no residual strain; (b) anisotropic thermal expansion with small or no residual strain; (c) isotropic thermal expansion with a residual strain; and (d) anisotropic thermal expansion with residual strain. Thermal expansion coefficients were calculated for both simulated and experimental data and also modeled from the texture using the MTEX software. Fabric parameters control the amount and directional dependence of the thermal expansion. Marbles with strong texture show higher directional dependence of the thermal expansion coefficients and have smaller microstructural values of the maximum principal stress and strain energy density, the main precursors of microcracking throughout the marble fabric. In contrast, marbles with weak texture show isotropic thermal expansion behavior, have a higher propensity to microcracking, and exhibit higher values of maximum principal stress and strain energy density. Good agreement between the experimental and computational results is observed, demonstrating that microstructure-based finite-element simulations are an excellent tool for elucidating influences of rock fabric on thermoelastic behavior

Deformation inside a paleosubduction channel – Insights from microstructures and crystallographic preferred orientations of eclogites and metasediments from the Tauern Window, Austria

The Eclogite Zone, of the Tauern Window is an exhumed subduction channel comprising eclogites with different grades of retrogression in a matrix of high-pressure metasediments. The rocks were exposed to 600 °C and 20–25 kbars, and then retrogressed during their exhumation, first under blueschist facies and later under amphibolite facies metamorphism. To gain insights into the deformation within the subduction channel during subduction and exhumation, both fresh and retrogressed eclogites, as well as the surrounding metasediments were investigated with respect to their deformation microstructures and crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs). Pristine and retrogressed eclogites show grain boundary migration and subgrain rotation recrystallization microstructures in omphacite. A misorientation axes analysis reveals the activity of complementary deformation mechanisms including grain boundary sliding and dislocation creep. The omphacite CPOs of the eclogites correspond to dominant SL-fabrics characteristic of plane strain deformation, though there are local variations towards flattening or constriction within the paleosubduction channel. The glaucophane CPOs in retrogressed eclogites match those of omphacite, suggesting that a constant strain geometry persisted during exhumation at blueschist facies conditions. Plastic deformation of the host high-pressure metasediments outlasted that of the eclogites, as indicated by white mica fabrics and quartz CPO. The latter is consistently asymmetric, pointing to the operation of non-coaxial deformation. The microstructures and CPO data indicate a continuous plastic deformation cycle with eclogite and blueschist facies metamorphism related to subduction and exhumation of the different rock units