Fabric and seismic properties of carrara marble mylonite

Abstract

Shear deformation in calcite-rich rocks can produce strong lattice preferred orientations (LPO), which result in a high anisotropy of bulk seismic properties because of the high elastic anisotropy of calcite (32% Vp anisotropy). Deformed rocks often show also strong shape preferred orientations (SPO). Theories for averaging the elastic properties have not yet satisfactorily predicted the contribution to the seismic anisotropy caused by the SPO alone.A calcite mylonite from Carrara (Italy) was investigated, which is characterised by a strong SPO and a weak LPO. It was composed of about 80% calcite, then white mica, quartz and hematite. Flattening of mica and of calcite grains defined the mylonitic foliation, and elongation of calcite grains defined the lineation. On average calcite grains have aspect ratios of about 2.5:1.6:1, and grain sizes of about 10 μm. At 400 MPa confining pressure, the measured Vp (km/s) parallel to the lineation (X direction) was highest (6.63), lower in the intermediate Y direction (6.47); the Vp normal to the foliation (Z direction) was lowest (6.30). This yielded a Vp anisotropy of 5%. The LPO, determined by automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), was very weak (texture index 1.1), with intensities between 0.6 and 1.6 m.r.d. in the c-axis pole figure. Extrapolation of the texture index to an infinite number of orientation measurements indicated that the observed variations were mostly random noise in the orientation distributions and that the bulk rock texture was random. The Vp anisotropy of the Voigt, Reuss and Hill averages calculated from this calcite LPO is predicted to be close to zero. Adding 5% of muscovite with (001) perfectly aligned parallel to the foliation, we calculated a total anisotropy of 2.8%. The anisotropy calculated for the special directions X, Y and Z remained at 2.6% only.It was concluded that the measured seismic anisotropy cannot be explained by the LPO of calcite and by 5% of mica alone. It is also attributed to the strong SPO and to further grain boundary effects.