“Granite tectonics” revisited: insights from comparison of K-feldspar shape-fabric, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), and brittle fractures in the Jizera granite, Bohemian Massif

Abstract

In the Jizera granite of the Krkonose–Jizera Plutonic Complex, northern Bohemian Massif, contrasting patterns of magmatic K-feldspar fabrics and brittle fractures characterize different structural levels of the pluton. The uppermost exposed level at ∼800–1,100 m above sea level is dominated by flat foliation that overprints two steep foliations. In contrast, K-feldspar shape-fabric in an underground tunnel (∼660 m above sea level) shows complex variations in orientation and intensity. Magnetic fabric carried by coaxial contributions of biotite, magnetite, and maghemite is homogeneous along the examined section of the tunnel, and is decoupled from the K-feldspar fabric. The Jizera granite is crosscut by two regional sets of subvertical fractures (∼NE–SW and ∼NW–SE) and by near-surface exfoliation joints. The multiple fabrics are inferred to reflect a complex magmatic strain history at different structural levels of the pluton, bearing little or no relationship to the fracture network. In contrast to the original concept of Hans Cloos (“granite tectonics”), we conclude that no simple genetic relationship exists between fabrics and fractures in plutons. An alternative classification of fractures in plutons thus should avoid relationships to magmatic fabrics and should instead consist of cooling, syntectonic, uplift, and post-uplift fractures.