Ductile Shear Zone

(),
Textures, and Transposition

()
J yr-Ching Hu, Department of Geosciences
National Taiwan University
Moine Thrust in Scotland
http://jaeger.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/Im
ages/Geological/Structural/mylonites/my
lonite.jpg
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geowe
b/participants/Dutch/VTrips/Scot75May25
-28.HTM
Ductile Shear Zone
A tabular band of definable width in which there is
considerably higher strain than in the surrounding rock.
The total strain within a shear zone typically has a large
component of simple shear(), where rocks on
one side of the zone are displaced relative to those on
the other side.
In its ideal form, a shear zone is bounded by two parallel
boundaries, outside of which there is no strain. In real
examples, shear zone boundaries are gradational.
Ductile Shear Zone
The adjective ductile is used because the strain
accumulates by ductile process, which range from
cataclasis () to crystal-plasticity ()
to diffusion.
A shear zone is like a fault in the sense that it
accumulates relative displacement of rock bodies, but
unlike a fault, displacement in a ductile deformation
mechanisms and no throughgoing fracture is formed.
The absence of a single fracture is a consequence of
movement under relatively high temperature conditions
or low strain rates.
Sibson-Scholz fault model
Brittle process
and cataclastic
flow
Geothermal
Gradient of
20
o
C/km-30
o
C/km
Crustal strength
450
o
c
Brittle-plastic
transition
Change in fault character with depth for a
steeply dipping fault
Changes in the deformation behavior of quartz
aggregates with depth
Distribution of the main types of fault rocks with the
depth in the crust
Synoptic model of a shear zone
Brittle process, cataclastic flow, frictional
regime and plastic regime
Brittle process (): Occur along the discontinuity
in the few kms below Earths surface which result in
earthquakes if the frictional resistance () on
discrete fracture planes is overcome abruptly.
Cataclastic flow (): A ductile process that
displacement occurs by movement on many small
fractures.
Frictional regime (): Frictional processes dominate
the deformation at upper levels of discontinuity and this
crustal segment. This region is pressure sensitive.
Brittle process, cataclastic flow, frictional
regime and plastic regime
Plastic regime ():: With depth, crystal-plastic and
diffusional processes such as recrystallization and
super-plastic creep, become increasing important due to
increase of temperature.
Below a depth of 10-15 km for normal geothermal
gradients (20
o
C/km-30
o
C/km) in Qtz-dominated rocks.
Deformation in plastic regime is mostly temperature
sensitive.
Frictional-plastic (-) and
brittle-plastic transitions (-)
Frictional-plastic transition or brittle-plastic
transition: transition zone between a dominantly
frictional and dominantly plastic regime.
Brittle-plastic transition (-) and
brittle-ductile transition (-)
Brittle-ductile transition is in common use, it is
technically not correct, because ductile
processes (such as cataclasis) may occur in the
frictional regime.
Mylonites ()
Rigid clasts of varied lithologies in a fine-grained, crystal-plastically deformed
marble matrix. (Grenville Orogen, Ontario, Canada)
Mylonites ()
A fault rock type with a relatively fine grain size
as compared to the host rock and resulting from
crystal-plastic processes.
Dynamic recrystallization occurs at different
temperatures
Calcite 250
o
C
Quartz 300
o
C
Feldspar 450
o
C
Types of Mylonites
Mylonite: 50-90% matrix
Protomylonite (): < 50% matrix
Ultramylonite (): 90-100% matrix
Blastomylonite ()(blastos meaning growth)
and clastomylonite () (klastos meaning
broken): Describe mylonites containing large grains
surrounded by a fine-grained matrix and grew during
mylonitization or remained from original rock.
Shear-sense indicators
Ductile shear zones concentrate displacement at
deeper levels in the crust, where recognized
markers that determine offset are often absent.
Sense of displacement: describes the relative
motion of opposite sides of the zone (left-lateral
or right-lateral).
Magnitude of displacement: distance over which
one side moves relative to the other.
Plane of Observation
Mylonitic foliation
Internal reference frame
Most mylonites contains at least one foliation
and lineation which we use as an internal
reference
In the field we look for outcrop surfaces (or cut an
oriented sample in the lab) that are perpendicular
to mylonitic foliation and parallel to the lineation.
We assume that the lineation coincides with the
movement direction of the shear zone.
Plane of Observation
From the opposite side:
Left-lateral, why?
The displacement sense is the same in geographic
coordinates, it is a good habit to analyze surfaces in the
same orientation.
Types of Shear-sense indicators
(1) Grain-tail complexes
(2) Disrupted grains
(3) Foliations
(4) Textures (or crystallographic fabrics)
(5) Folds
Grain-Tail Complexes
A K-feldspar clast with a tail of fine-grained plagioclase of
the o-type complex (California, USA)
Grain-Tail Complexes: Rotated
porphyroblasts ()
o-type: characterized by
wedge-shaped tails that
do not cross the
reference plane when
tracing the tail away
from the grain
o-type: the tail wraps
around the grain such
that if cross cuts
reference plane when
tracing the tail away
from the grain
Rotate the Greek letter o

over 90
o
Snowball garnet
Diagnostic forms of porphyroblasts
S
e
: solid lines, external foliation
S
i
: dashed lines,
internal foliation
Progressive development of snowball textures
How do we preserve a spiral pattern in garnet and what
can it tell us?
Metamorphism is synkinematic.
Assignment: Reading 13.4
Deformation and metamorphism
Evolution of a o-type complex to o-type
grain-tail complex
Mixed occurrence of o-type
complex to o-type:
Rate of recrystallization or
neocrystallization and rotation of
grain
1. Rail formation is fast
relative to rotation: o-type
2. The rotation of grain, the
tail is dragged along and
wrap around the grain : o-
type
Fractured Grains and Mica Fish
Synthetic fractures (bookshelf-type or domino-type):
Fractures oriented at low angles to the mylonitic
foliation have a displacement sense that is consistent
with the overall shear sense of the zone.
Fractured Grains and Mica Fish
Antithetic fractures: Fractures at angles greater than
45
o
to the mylonitic foliation show an opposite sense
of movement.
1. Large phyllosilicate
grains: Mica and biotite
in quartzo-feldspathic
rocks and phlogopite
in marbles
2. Micas are
connected by a
mylonitic foliation and
their basal planes
(0001) oriented at an
oblique angle to
mylonitic foliation
Stair-stepping geometry
Basal planes of mica
Formation of mica
fish: Fish flash
Characteristic geometry of C-S and C-C
structures in a dextral shear zone
1. Most mylonites show at least one well-developed
foliations at low angle to the boundary of shear zone.
2. S-foliation: S comes from French word for foliation,
schistosit.
3. C-foliation: C comes from French word for shear,
cisaillement.
Characteristic geometry of C-S and C-C
structures in a dextral shear zone
3. C-foliation: Discrete shear displacement that is
oblique to the shear zone boundary.
Summary
diagram of shear-
sense indicators
Strain in Shear Zone: Rotated Grains
Snowball granets: o-type grain-tail complexes; in particular
the mineral garnet show this behavior , in which trapped
matrix grains eventually produce a spiraling trails.
Analog Experiment
| = tan

=
| = O tan

= O
O : mechanical coupling between
matrix and grain
Strain in Shear Zone: Rotated Grains
Analog Experiment
| = O tan

= O
O =1, full coupling (clean ball bearing)
O =0, no coupling
0< O

<1, partial coupling (greasy ball bearing)
O

=0.5: Assume that grain rotate in a viscous
(Newtonian) fluid, considerable slippage occur at
contact between matrix and grain.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous strain in
shear zone
Deflection of the mylonitic foliation
Drenville Orogen, Ontario Canda. Width of view is ~20 cm.
Strain in Shear Zone: Deflected foliations
Shear zone is characterized by a mylonitic foliation (S-
foliation) that is at ~45
o
to the shear-zone boundary
Wk = 1
Kinematic vorticity number
Prefect shear zone
Angular relationship
(|) between foliation
and shear-zone
boundary, and shear
strain
= 2/tan2|
Progressive simple shear
Strain in Shear Zone: Deflected foliations
Nonperfect simple shear (or general shear)
General shear with a shortening component is called
transperssion and an extensional component is
called transtension
Component of pure shear
Non-commutative nature of strain tensor
Superimposing simple
shear on pure shear
Superimposing pure
shear on simple shear
Simultaneously adding
simple and pure shear
Development of a crystallographic-preferred
orientation by dislocation glide:
C-axis
ABCD: crystallographic glide planes
o: angle of shear along glide plane
|: angle of finite extension axis
|: rotation angle of the c-axis with
respect to an external ref. system
: rotation angle
of material line
BC
The Symmetry Principle: Curie Principle
Pierre Curie
1859-1906
Orthorhomic: 3 two-fold axes or 3 symmetry planes
Coaxial strain: Incremental and finite strain
ellipsoids differ only in shape, not in orientation
Monoclinic: 1 two-fold axis or 1 symmetry plane
cube
cube
Relationship between shape,
crystallographic, S and C
Randomly oriented
C: shear plane
S: mylonitic foliation
When shearing the aggregate, a pattern emerges in which the
majority of c-axes rotate toward an orientation perpendicular to
the bulk shear plane.
Simple shear
A dimensional-preferred fabric is formed that
define the mylonitic foliation (S-foliation).
Foliation in shear zone and associated
crystallographic fabrics
S-foliation deflection: Angular
relationship between S and C
decreases with increasing shear strain
(S and C approach parallelism).
C-axis girdle
C-axis girdle
Corresponding a-axis
patterns show n change.
Asymmetric c-axis fabrics
E-twinning dominate calcite deformation Basal slip occurred
Reference: Mylonitic foliation S
Fold Transposition in a layer rock that undergoes
non-coaxial, layer-parallel displacement
Foliation-parallel shear
With increasing shear, the oblique (short) limb of the
asymmetric fold rotates back into a foliation-parallel orientation.
Fold Transposition in a layer rock that undergoes
non-coaxial, layer-parallel displacement
Foliation-parallel shear
The resulting perturbation gives rise to a new fold that is
superimposed on the original structure.
Continued shear reorients the fold pattern back into a layer
reorients the fold pattern back into a layer-parallel
orientation.
Fold Transposition
Highlight two aspects of folds in shear zone:
(1) Fold symmetry may be representative for the
sense of shear:
Z-vergence: Right-lateral shear zone.
S-vergence: Left-lateral shear zone
A possibility, not a rule.
At high sear strains the vergence of small folds
may actually reverse.
Fold Transposition
Highlight two aspects of folds in shear zone:
(2) Folding is a progressive process, resulting in
complex patterns of folding and refolding.
Fold transposition occurs at all scales, from
microfolds to kilometer-scale folds.
Transposed mafic

layer in granitic gneiss:
Snake outcrop
Mafic (dark) layer is traced
as a single bed refolded
numerous times
Reversal in fold vergence (from S-shape to Z-
shape) with increasing shear strain in a right-
lateral shear zone
Z-vergence: Right-lateral
shear zone.
S-vergence: Left-lateral
shear zone.
Fold Transposition:
Folds in areas of high strain
are often disrupted,
preserving only isolated
hinges or fold hooks.
Competent layer
Progressive shortening: thinning of limbs
And locally hinges become detached.
Fold hooks
boudinage
Are there criteria to recognize
transposition?
Clues:
1. Regular repetition of lithologies;
2. Parallel between foliation and bedding;
3. Occurrence of minor isoclinal folds and
fold hooks.
An example of an early stage of
transposition
Newfoundland, Canada
Sheath Folds

()
Restricted to regions of high shear, it can define
shear sense in ductile shear zones.
A special type of double-plunging folds (

), where the hinge line is bent around by as
much as 180
o
.
Layering in a sheath fold is everywhere at a high
angle to the profile plane (), which give
the characteristic eye-shaped outcrop pattern.
Sheath Folds

()
Formed when the hinge line () of a fold
rotates passively into the direction of shear,
while the axial surface () rotates toward
the shear plane .
The location of nose of sheath folds points in the
direction of movement, but this can be determined
only when the folds are fully exposed.
Most commonly, sheath folds define the direction
of shear rather than shear sense, with the hinge
line approximately parallel to the shear direction.
Conical geometry of a sheath folds
Lowest amount of
shear at the left
highest shear
strain at the right
Stretching lineation
Lower-hemisphere
projections
Shear plane
Hinge line measurements
Shear direction
Assignment 1
Reading: 12.3.5
Drawing and explain the Figure 12.12 Summary
diagram of shear sense indicators in a sinistral
shear zone
Assignment 2
Structural Analysis: An interactive course for Earth
Science Student by Declan G. De Paor
Chapter 14: shear sense indicators
(1) Offset markers; (2) Riedel shears;
(3) Domino fault; (4) Inclusion trail;
(5) o

grains; (6) o

grains; (7) Mica fish;
(8) Sheath folds; (9) Asymmetric folding;
(9) Bedding/foliation; (10) Restraining bends;
(11) Releasing bends; (12) Terminations;
(13) En echelon array; (14) S-C foliation