How ductile are ductile shear zones?

Abstract

Three premises of ductile deformation in the middle and lower crust are widely accepted: (1) rocks flow with power-law viscous rheology, (2) localization in ductile shear zones involves strain softening, and (3) fluid flows into and is channelized within ductile shear zones. Ductile (viscous) shear zones should therefore initially develop along planes of maximum shear stress, strain soften, and rotate as material planes into the field of progressive extension. However, the mean stress or pressure within a weak, elongate viscous band being stretched is higher than the surrounding matrix, and this is difficult to reconcile with premise (3). In contrast, Mohr-Coulomb brittle faults always have lower pressure within the fault zone. Flow of fluid and melt into high-temperature shear zones therefore implies that “ductile” shear zones are not perfectly viscous but have a pressure-dependent viscoplastic rheology. The continued pressure dependence may reflect significant microcracking on the grain scale even when localized deformation does not produce larger-scale discrete fractures.