Reorientation mechanisms of phyllosilicates in the mudstone-to-slate transition at Lehigh Gap, Pennsylvania

Abstract

The mudstone-to-slate transition of the Martinsburg Formation at Lehigh Gap, Pennsylvania, was re-examined using a new transmission-mode X-ray texture goniometer, supplemented by SEM, XRD, and optical studies. Three mesoscopic zones are recognized in the outcrop: (I) mudstone, (II) transition, and (III) slate zone. In the mudstone zone, the mica basal planes are parallel to bedding whereas the preferred orientation of the chlorite basal planes is up to 30° shallower than bedding. The angular difference between chlorite and mica decreases towards the transition zone, becoming subparallel at ca. 50 m from the contact with the overlying Shawangunk Formation. In the transition zone, the preferred orientations of both mica and chlorite are intermediate to bedding and cleavage orientations, which is consistent with mechanical reorientation of phyllosilicates. This is supported by a decrease in March strain with a minimum at ca. 95 m from the contact for both mica and chlorite. SEM observations similarly show the importance of grain rotation in large detrital grains. In the slate zone, both chlorite and mica orientations are parallel to cleavage. Chlorite and mica in the cleavage orientation of the slate zone have high Fe contents, whereas low-Fe mica and Mg > Fe chlorite dominate in the mudstone and transition zone, which indicates that dissolution-neocrystallization is the dominant mechanism in the slate zone. Thus, mechanical rotation of large detrital grains is important in the early stages of cleavage development, with dissolution—neocrystallization occurring at all stages and becoming dominant in the more evolved stages.