Asymmetrical quartz crystallographic fabrics formed during constrictional deformation

Abstract

Numerical simulations predict unique quartz crystallographic fabric patterns for plane strain, flattening, and constriction. Multiple studies support the predictions for plane strain and flattening. To test predictions for constriction, this paper analyzes five examples of quartz crystallographic fabrics from a 1-km-wide domain of L tectonites in the Pigeon Point high-strain zone, Klamath Mountains, California, U.S.A. These samples were deformed under greenschist- to amphibolite-facies conditions. Quartz c-axis fabrics are similar to the predicted double-girdle fabrics except that amphibolite-facies samples exhibit c-axis maxima and are distinctly asymmetrical about the elongation lineations. Activation of different slip systems combined with small deviations from pure constriction account for the c-axis maxima, and noncoaxial flow accounts for the fabric asymmetry. The simple-shear component is randomly oriented in geographic coordinates throughout the domain of L tectonites. These data confirm that numerical simulations predict the quartz c-axis fabric geometry developed during constriction for some deformation conditions, and they confirm the quartz a-axis patterns predicted for constriction for the first time. These data also demonstrate that the relationship between quartz crystallographic fabrics and strain geometry is not straightforward, and they indicate that a-axis fabrics may be more useful indicators of strain geometry variations.