Extensional Shear Research Articles

Reply to the discussion by Mesri on “Influence of state and compressibility on liquefied strength of sands”

I highly appreciate Professor Mesri’s discussion regarding some of the salient details and limitations of the analytical approach presented in my paper (Sadrekarimi 2013). I have provided further clarification of these points in the following paragraphs. The objective of the paper is to illustrate the combined influence of state (cs) and compressibility (cs) parameters on the undrained critical shear strength, su(critical), and that cs on its own is insufficient to characterize and describe sand potential for liquefaction flow failure. As stated in the conclusions of the paper “The critical-state parameter method should be only used for identifying strain-softening sands (cs > 0) and the evaluation of su(critical) for a particular sand deposit rather than among several different sands. A state–compressibility ratio (cs/cs) is introduced in this study that is a more inclusive parameter for evaluating liquefaction susceptibility, postliquefaction strength, and the likelihood for the occurrence of a catastrophic liquefaction flow failure. In summary, although the outcome of this study does not provide any direct solution to any stability problem, it illustrates the significance of soil shearing–compressibility (cs) in the failure of cohesionless soils.” The intention of the paper is not to encourage the direct application of eq. (6) to field cases or design. I fully agree that the major limitation of using eq. (6) to estimate su(critical) is the difficulty of estimating cs and cs of in situ soils. Equation (6) is highly sensitivity to variations of cs and cs and small inaccuracies in assessing the field values of these parameters could result in significant errors in estimating su(critical)/nc from this equation. The discusser has suggested that eq. (6) be evaluated by comparison with su(critical)/vc mobilized in the field in terms of (N1)60 or qc1. This may not be possible at this time, as accurate information regarding the in situ cs and cs of soils involved in past liquefaction flow failures is very limited and possibly inaccurate. For example, compared to su(critical)/vc estimated from eq. (6), (N1)60based correlations (Mesri 2007) overestimate su(critical)/vc for the Suncor Tar Island Dyke (cs/cs = 1.014; (N1)60 = 4–15), and underestimate it for the North Dyke of Wachusett Dam (cs/cs = 0.700; (N1)60 = 4–10). The alternative forms of eq. (6), presented by eqs. (D1) and (D2) of the discussion, could be a promising future step towards the estimation of in situ su(critical)/vc . In the following plots (Figs. R1 and R2), I compare these equations with su(critical)/ vc –ucs/ vc pairs for Toyoura sand from direct simple shear (DSS), hollow cylindrical torsional shear (HCTS), triaxial compression shear (TxC), and triaxial extension shear (TxE) tests (Yoshimine

Plastic Deformation of Semicrystalline Polyethylene under Extension, Compression, and Shear Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Plastic deformation of the stack of alternating crystal and amorphous layers typical of semicrystalline polyethylene is studied by molecular dynamics simulation. A previous investigation of the semicrystalline layered stack undergoing isochoric extension1 is extended here to include several new modes of deformation: isostress extension, isostress compression, and isochoric shear, at 350 K and deformation rates of 5 × 107 and 5 × 106 s–1. The observed stress–strain responses are interpreted in terms of the underlying structural evolution of the material for each mode of deformation. Under tensile deformation, crystallographic slip was observed at low strains (0 < e3 < 0.08) regardless of deformation rate. Different yield mechanisms were observed for the different deformation rates. To explain the response at intermediate strains (0.08 < e3 < 0.26), we introduce the concept of “bridging entanglements”, which are temporary, physical bridges between crystal lamellae comprising entanglements involving chain se...

Deformation characteristics and formation mechanism of the Yunmengshan metamorphic core complex

The Yunmengshan metamorphic core complex in the middle part of the Yanshan Fold and Thrust Belt records crust extension processes of the eastern North China Craton during its peak destruction. Development of the metamorphic core complex was controlled by the generally NNE-striking Dashuiyu Shear Zone. The shear zone dips SE and becomes shallower NE-wards, leading to exposures of a ductile shear zone in the southern and middle parts and brittle faults in the northern part. Exposure structures, microstructures, and quartz C- axis fabrics indicate that the ductile shear zone belongs to an extensional shear zone with a top-to-the-SE shear sense. Deformation temperatures of 300-520 ℃ suggest a midcrustal origin for the ductile shear zone. A ductile deformation belt in the footwall of the shear zone is only as wide as 1-3 km, indicating no widespread mid-crustal ductile flow in the region during the deformation. Zircon U-Pb dating of dykes and plutons as well as hornblende and biotite 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating demonstrate that the metamorphic core complex originated at 135 Ma and experienced intense shearing of the Dashuiyu Shear Zone, development of the supradetachment basins, and synkinematic intrusion during 135-125 Ma. The metamorphic core complex was subjected to rapid exhumation during 125-114 Ma when the Dashuiyu Shear Zone suffered continuous activity and passive doming. The shear zone and its hanging wall were cut or replaced by a series of brittle faults when they were uplifted to a brittle regime, showing that exhumation took place in continuous extensional activities. The metamorphic core complex turned into slow exhumation in an extensional regime in the following latest Early Cretaceous. The evolution history suggests that the Yunmengshan metamorphic core complex was developed by the rolling-hinge model, a common formation mechanism for intraplate metamorphic core complexes in the North China Craton, under the continuous NW-SE extension during the Early Cretaceous (135-100 Ma).

Predicting onset of cyclic instability of loose sand with fines using instability curves

This study utilises the equivalent granular state parameter, ψ⁎, as a key parameter for studying static and cyclic instability and their linkage. ψ⁎ can be considered as a generalisation of the state parameter as first proposed by Been and Jefferies so that the influence of fines content in addition to stress and density state can be captured. Test results presented in this study conclusively showed that ψ⁎ at the start of undrained shearing and ηIS, the stress ratio at onset of static instability, can be described by a single relationship irrespective of fines content for both compression and extension shearing. This single relationship is referred as instability curve. However, the instability curve in extension shearing is different from that of compression. In this paper, the capacity of the instability curve in predicting triggering of cyclic instability was evaluated experimentally. An extensive series of undrained one-way (compression) and non-symmetric two-way cyclic triaxial tests, in addition to monotonic triaxial tests in both compression and extension were conducted for this evaluation. Furthermore, a published database for Hokksund sand with fines was also used. Test results show that cyclic instability was triggered shortly after the cyclic effective stress path crossed the estimated ηIS-zone(s) as obtained from instability curve(s) irrespective of whether instability occurs in the compression or extension side.

Fold and fabric relationships in temporally and spatially evolving slump systems: A multi-cell flow model

Folds generated in ductile metamorphic terranes and within unlithified sediments affected by slumping are geometrically identical to one another, and distinguishing the origin of such folds in ancient lithified rocks is therefore challenging. Foliation is observed to lie broadly parallel to the axial planes of tectonic folds, whilst it is frequently regarded as absent in slump folds. The presence of foliation is therefore often considered as a reliable criterion for distinguishing tectonic folds from those created during slumping. To test this assertion, we have examined a series of well exposed slump folds within the late Pleistocene Lisan Formation of the Dead Sea Basin. These slumps contain a number of different foliation types, including an axial–planar grain-shape fabric and a crenulation cleavage formed via microfolding of bedding laminae. Folds also contain a spaced disjunctive foliation characterised by extensional displacements across shear fractures. This spaced foliation fans around recumbent fold hinges, with kinematics reversing across the axial plane indicating a flexural shear fold mechanism. Overall, the spaced foliation is penecontemporaneous with each individual slump where it occurs, although in detail it is pre, syn or post the local folds. The identification of foliations within undoubted slump folds indicates that the presence or absence of foliation is not in itself a robust criterion to distinguish tectonic from soft-sediment folds. Extensional shear fractures displaying a range of temporal relationships with slump folds suggests that traditional single-cell flow models, where extension is focussed at the head and contraction in the lower toe of the slump, are a gross simplification. We therefore propose a new multi-cell flow model involving coeval second-order flow cells that interact with neighbouring cells during translation of the slump.

Microstructural, compositional and petrophysical properties of mylonitic granodiorites from an extensional shear zone (Rhodope Core complex, Greece)

AbstractAt the southern boundary of the Rhodope Massif, NE Greece, the Kavala Shear Zone (KSZ) represents an example of the Eastern Mediterranean deep-seated extensional tectonic setting. During Miocene time, extensional deformation favoured syntectonic emplacement and subsequent exhumation of plutonic bodies. This paper deals with the strain-related changes in macroscopic, geochemical and microstructural properties of the lithotypes collected along the KSZ, comprising granitoids from the pluton, aplitic dykes and host rock gneisses. Moreover, we investigated the evolution of seismic anisotropy on a suite of granitoid mylonites as a result of progressive strain. Isotropic compressional and shear wave velocities (Vp,Vs) and densities calculated from modal proportions and single-crystal elastic properties at given pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions are compared to respective experimental data including the directional dependence (anisotropy) of wave velocities. Compared to the calculated isotropic velocities, which are similar for all of the investigated mylonites (average values:Vp~ 5.87 km s−1,Vs~ 3.4 km s−1,Vp/Vs= 1.73 and density = 2.65 g cm−3), the seismic measurements give evidence for marked P-wave velocity anisotropy up to 6.92% (at 400 MPa) in the most deformed rock due to marked microstructural changes with progressive strain, as highlighted by the alignment of mica, chlorite minerals and quartz ribbons. The highest P- and S-wave velocities are parallel to the foliation plane and lowest normal to the foliation plane. Importantly,Vpremains constant within the foliation with progressive strain, but decreases normal to foliation. The potential of the observed seismic anisotropy of the KSZ mylonites with respect to detectable seismic reflections is briefly discussed.

Quaternary extension in the Rio Grande rift at elevated strain rates recorded in travertine deposits, central New Mexico

Calcite-filled extension veins and shear fractures are preserved in numerous travertine deposits along the western margin of the Albuquerque Basin of the Rio Grande rift. Calcite veins are banded and show geometries suggesting incremental cracking and calcite precipitation. U-series and 234U model ages from calcite infillings indicate that vein formation was active in the Quaternary, from ca. 2 Ma to ca. 250 ka. Vein orientations are systematic within each deposit and record a dominant extension direction that was horizontal and varied from E-W to NW-SE, consistent with both the regional finite extensional strain in the rift and with the global positioning system (GPS)–constrained deformation field. Three sites contain three orthogonal vein sets that crosscut one another nonsystematically, suggesting alternating times of: (1) regional E-W horizontal extension (dominant), (2) alternating N-S and E-W vertical veins that suggest vertical s1 and s2 » s3, and (3) horizontal veins that are interpreted to reflect times of highest pore fluid pressures and subequal principal stresses. One site contains conjugate normal faults that also record the dominant E-W extensional tectonic stress. Quaternary extensional strain rates calculated from vein opening for three locations range from 3.2 ± 1.4 × 10–16 s–1 to 3.2 × 10-15 ± 2.7 × 10–16 s–1, which are up to ∼40 times higher than the long-term (Oligocene–Holocene) finite strain rates calculated for different basins of the Rio Grande rift (8.5 × 10–17 to 4.5 × 10–16 s–1), and up to ∼100 times higher than modern strain rates measured by GPS data (3.9 × 10-17 ± 6.3 × 10–18 to 4.4 × 10-17 ± 6.3 × 10–18 s–1). These high Quaternary rates are comparable to modern strain rates measured in the Basin and Range Province and East African Rift. Thus, this paper documents persistent E-W regional extension through the Quaternary in the Rio Grande rift that bridges geologic, paleoseismic, and GPS rates. Anomalously high strain rates in the Quaternary were facilitated by ascent of travertine-depositing CO2-rich waters along rift-bounding normal faults, leading to locally very high stain accumulations. These sites also provide examples of natural leakage of deeply sourced CO2 interacting with regional tectonism, and they emphasize that rift maturation is a highly dynamic process, both spatially and temporally.

Spatial analysis of thickness variability applied to an Early Jurassic carbonate platform in the central Southern Alps (Italy): a tool to unravel syn‐sedimentary faulting

AbstractEarly Jurassic syn‐sedimentary extensional tectonics in the central Southern Alps controlled patterns of deposition within the Calcari Grigi carbonate platform. We used variogram maps to gather model‐independent information on the spatial distribution of thicknesses of selected platform units and investigated whether major syn‐sedimentary faults outlined subsiding domains during platform growth. Thicknesses display a spatial organization that suggests that large fault belts, often coincident with exposed Jurassic extensional structures, transected large parts of the platform. The network of four fault systems (trending NNW–SSE and NE–SW) displays orthorhombic symmetry, suggesting non‐Andersonian faulting and a true triaxial strain field with N100°E maximum extension or transfer shear zones connecting major NNW–SSE‐trending extensional faults. In both cases, inherited structures of Permian to Triassic age may have played a primary role in Jurassic faulting. If confirmed throughout the South‐Alpine domain, this arrangement could shed new light on Early Jurassic rifting mechanisms in the Southern Alps.

Fault System Study in South Beir Sag

The Tamt basin is a Mesozoic-Cenozoic rift basin. Strongly influenced by the late tectonism, the basin structure and evolution has a very complex process. Based on Interpretation of 3D seismic data, the faults are divided into four categories in the system, that is, extensional normal faults, shear or torsional tensional normal faults, shear compression thrust faults and reversible faults. Major faults in the evolutionary sequence are divided into early development, late development, and long-term development, with good correlation between the formation and evolution of the basin. On the surface, the fault strike shift from NNE and NE to SN-trending and NNW. For the sector, fault system can be divided into the lower stretch fault system and the upper strike-slip fault system by the T22 seismic reflection layer. The structure style in South Beir Sag can be summed up as rift style, transtension style, transpression reverse style into three categories, and the different structural styles play an important role in the distribution of oil and gas. The results have positive guidance to oil and gas exploration in South Beir sag.

Magmatic and solid state structures of the Abu Ziran pluton: Deciphering transition from thrusting to extension in the Eastern Desert of Egypt

The 606Ma old Abu Ziran granite of the Eastern Desert of Egypt intruded the southern margin of the Meatiq dome in a sinistral shear extensional setting. Its emplacement was enabled by a system of NW-trending sinistral shears, related Riedel shears and N–S extensional shear zones and faults. Magmatic flow was east-directed and controlled by Riedel shears that progressively rotated to an orientation favourable for extension. Strain markers that document magmatic flow show eastward decreasing strain together with strain increase from pluton centre to margins. This is explained by Newtonian flow between non-parallel plates and differences in flow velocities across the pluton. Solid state fabrics including shear fabrics, orientation of late magmatic dykes and quartz tension gashes, together with quartz C-axes distributions, document southward extensional shear within the solidified pluton and adjacent host rocks. Extensional shear is correlated with exhumation of the Meatiq dome coeval and soon after pluton solidification (585Ma). Pressure temperature evolutionary paths, derived from fluid inclusions, show a clockwise path with exhumation by isothermal decompression in the Meatiq dome. By contrast, the overlying volcanosedimentary nappes experienced an anti-clockwise path released by temperature rise due to pluton emplacement followed by isobaric cooling. Quartz fabrics indicate high-temperature coaxial N–S flow in the northern Meatiq dome and lower-temperature, non-coaxial southward flow within the overlaying superficial nappe. This is explained by the exhumation process itself that progressively localised into simple shear domains when rocks approached higher crustal levels. Late extension at ca. 580Ma was pure shear dominated and resulted in reversal of shear, now dextral, in the western Meatiq shear zone.

Investigation of the rheological behavior of industrial tubular and autoclave LDPEs under SAOS, LAOS, transient shear, and elongational flows compared with predictions from the MSF theory

The molecular structure of two different types of industrial low-density polyethylenes (LDPE), i.e., tubular and autoclave, was investigated by gel permeation chromatography and different rheological methods and then compared with predictions from theoretical modeling. Linear rheological data generated from small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) are presented using the framework of a Van Gurp-Palmen plot while nonlinear rheological data obtained from either transient shear, transient extension, or medium amplitude oscillatory shear (MAOS) are compared with simulations using a generalized form of the molecular stress function theory with only three nonlinear material parameters: a2, β, and fmax which represent the dissipation in simple shear flow, the ratio of molar mass of the branched polymer to the molar mass of the backbone, and the maximum stretching of the polymer chain before chains slip past one another without further stretch, respectively. The effect of these parameters on the predictions is investigated for the aforementioned nonlinear deformations. As a result of these comparisons, a2 was found to have a constant value within experimental error (a2 = 0.07 ± 0.03) when simulating the shear stress growth coefficient. Next, β was defined by fitting the extensional data with this model resulting in a constant value of 1.8 for tubular LDPEs and a value between 1.6 and 2.1 for autoclave LDPEs depending on the molecular structure. The universality of these β values was found by simulating the intrinsic nonlinearity Q0(ω)≡limγ0→0I3/1/γ02 (defined by Fourier transform rheology method) in the MAOS region. Finally, fmax was evaluated by fitting the model to tensile stress growth coefficient data. It was found that fmax is independent of the extensional rate for tubular LDPEs but exhibits a power law behavior with the extensional rate for autoclave LDPEs. Our investigations demonstrated that nonlinear deformations instead of SAOS deformations are the preferred method for characterizing the molecular structure of these polymers due to its sensitivity to the complex structure of LCB present in these materials along with their broad molecular weight distribution.

Reprint of Extensional shear band development on the outer margin of the Alpine mylonite zone, Tatare Stream, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Schistose mylonitic rocks in the central part of the Alpine Fault (AF) at Tatare Stream, New Zealand are cut by pervasive extensional (C′) shear bands in a well-understood and young, natural ductile shear zone. The C′ shears cross-cut the pre-existing (Mesozoic—aged) foliation, displacing it ductilely synthetic to late Cenozoic motion on the AF. Using a transect approach, we evaluated changes in geometrical properties of the mm–cm-spaced C′ shear bands across a conspicuous finite strain gradient that intensifies towards the AF. Precise C′ attitudes, C′-foliation dihedral angles, and C′–S intersections were calculated from multiple sectional observations at both outcrop and thin-section scales. Based on these data the direction of ductile shearing in the Alpine mylonite zone during shear band activity is inferred to have trended >20° clockwise (down-dip) of the coeval Pacific-Australia plate motion, indicating some partitioning of oblique-slip motion to yield an excess of “dip-slip” relative to plate motion azimuth, or some up-dip ductile extrusion of the shear zone as a result of transpression, or both. Constant attitude of the mylonitic foliation across the finite strain gradient indicates this planar fabric element was parallel to the shear zone boundary (SZB). Across all examined parts of the shear zone, the mean dihedral angle between the C′ shears and the mylonitic foliation (S) remains a constant 30 ± 1° (1σ). The aggregated slip accommodated on the C′ shear bands contributed only a small bulk shear strain across the shear zone (γ = 0.6–0.8). Uniformity of per-shear slip on C′ shears with progression into the mylonite zone across the strain gradient leads us to infer that these shears exhibited a strain-hardening rheology, such that they locked up at a finite shear strain (inside C′ bands) of 12–15. Shear band boudins and foliation boudins both record extension parallel to the SZB, as do the occurrence of extensional shear band sets that have conjugate senses of slip. We infer that shear bands nucleated on planes of maximum instantaneous shear strain rate in a shear zone with Wk < 0.8, and perhaps even as low as <0.5. The C′ shear bands near the AF formed in a thinning/stretching shear zone, which had monoclinic symmetry, where the direction of shear-zone stretching was parallel to the shearing direction.

Deformation characterization of a regional thrust zone in the northern Rif (Chefchaouen, Morocco)

This paper provides the structural analysis of the Chefchaouen area in the northern Rif. Here the Dorsale Calcaire superposes, by means of an excellently exposed thrust fault, onto the Predorsalian succession in turn tectonically covering the Massylian Unit. Hanging wall carbonates of the Dorsale Calcaire Unit form a WSW-verging regional fold with several parasitic structures, deformed by late reverse faults in places indicating an ENE vergence. A 200m thick shear zone characterizes the upper part of the Predorsalian succession, located at footwall of the Dorsale Calcaire Unit. Here the dominantly pelitic levels are highly deformed by (i) C′ type shear bands indicating a mean WSW tectonic transport and (ii) conjugate extensional shear planes marking an extension both orthogonal and parallel to the shear direction. The Massylian Unit is characterized by a strain gradient increasing toward the tectonic contact with the overlying Predorsalian succession, where the dominantly pelitic levels are so highly deformed so as appearing as a broken formation. Such as the previous succession, conjugate extensional shear bands and normal faults indicate a horizontal extension parallel to the thrust front synchronous with the mainly WSW-directed overthrusting. The whole thrust sheet pile recorded a further shortening, characterized by a NW–SE direction, expressed by several reverse and thrust faults and related folds. Finally strike-slip and normal faults were the last deformation structures recorded in the analyzed rocks. A possible tectonic evolution for these successions is provided. In the late Burdigalian, the Dorsale Calcaire Unit tectonically covered the Predorsalian succession and together the Massylian Unit. The latter two successions were completely detached from their basement and accreted in the orogenic wedge within a general NE–SW shortening for the analyzed sector of the northern Rif. At lithosphere scale the thrust front migration was driven by roll back and slab tear mechanisms producing a synchronous arching and related counterclockwise rotation of the tectonic prism along the African margin. Radial displacement involved extension parallel to the thrust front well-recorded in the analyzed rocks. The NE–SW shortening, probably acting in the Tortonian–Pliocene interval, was related to the final compression of the Rif Chain resulting in out-of-sequence thrusts affecting the whole orogenic belt.

Peak‐temperature patterns of polyphase metamorphism resulting from accretion, subduction and collision (eastern Tauern Window,European Alps) – a study withRaman microspectroscopy on carbonaceous material (RSCM)

AbstractRaman microspectroscopy on carbonaceous material (RSCM) from the eastern Tauern Window indicates contrasting peak‐temperature patterns in three different fabric domains, each of which underwent a poly‐metamorphic orogenic evolution: Domain 1 in the northeastern Tauern Window preserves oceanic units (Glockner Nappe System, Matrei Zone) that attained peak temperatures (Tp) of 350–480 °C following Late Cretaceous to Palaeogene nappe stacking in an accretionary wedge. Domain 2 in the central Tauern Window experiencedTpof 500–535 °C that was attained either within an exhumed Palaeogene subduction channel or during Oligocene Barrovian‐type thermal overprinting within the Alpine collisional orogen. Domain 3 in the Eastern Tauern Subdome has a peak‐temperature pattern that resulted from Eo‐Oligocene nappe stacking of continental units derived from the distal European margin. This pattern acquired its presently concentric pattern in Miocene time due to post‐nappe doming and extensional shearing along the Katschberg Shear Zone System (KSZS).Tpvalues in the largest (Hochalm) dome range from 612 °C in its core to 440 °C at its rim. The maximum peak‐temperature gradient (≤70 °C km−1) occurs along the eastern margin of this dome where mylonitic shearing of the Katschberg Normal Fault (KNF) significantly thinned the Subpenninic‐ and Penninic nappe pile, including the pre‐existing peak‐temperature gradient.

A complete dynamic approach to the Generalized Beam Theory cross-section analysis including extension and shear modes

A simple and efficient ‘complete dynamic approach’ is proposed, and named GBT-D, to evaluate a suitable basis of modes for the elastic analysis of thin-walled members in the framework of Generalized Beam Theory (GBT). The basis includes conventional and non-conventional modes, the latter accounting for transverse extension and membrane shear strain of the plate elements forming the cross-section, which identically vanish in the former set. The method relies on the solution of two distinct eigenvalue problems, governing the in-plane and the out-of-plane free oscillations of a segment of a thin-walled beam. Both the eigenvalue problems, differential in origin, and defined on a one-dimensional spatial domain, are transformed into an algebraic problem by means of a discretization carried out at the cross-section middle line. Numerical examples are then presented to outline the ease of use of the proposed method considering a single plate, an open cross-section and a partially closed one. Member analyses are also performed for the simplest boundary conditions, to validate the accuracy of the proposed GBT-D approach against finite element method results and analytical solutions, highlighting the importance in including the non-conventional modes.

Extensional shear band development on the outer margin of the Alpine mylonite zone, Tatare Stream, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Schistose mylonitic rocks in the central part of the Alpine Fault (AF) at Tatare Stream, New Zealand are cut by pervasive extensional (C′) shear bands in a well-understood and young, natural ductile shear zone. The C′ shears cross-cut the pre-existing (Mesozoic—aged) foliation, displacing it ductilely synthetic to late Cenozoic motion on the AF. Using a transect approach, we evaluated changes in geometrical properties of the mm–cm-spaced C′ shear bands across a conspicuous finite strain gradient that intensifies towards the AF. Precise C′ attitudes, C′-foliation dihedral angles, and C′–S intersections were calculated from multiple sectional observations at both outcrop and thin-section scales. Based on these data the direction of ductile shearing in the Alpine mylonite zone during shear band activity is inferred to have trended >20° clockwise (down-dip) of the coeval Pacific-Australia plate motion, indicating some partitioning of oblique-slip motion to yield an excess of “dip-slip” relative to plate motion azimuth, or some up-dip ductile extrusion of the shear zone as a result of transpression, or both. Constant attitude of the mylonitic foliation across the finite strain gradient indicates this planar fabric element was parallel to the shear zone boundary (SZB). Across all examined parts of the shear zone, the mean dihedral angle between the C′ shears and the mylonitic foliation (S) remains a constant 30 ± 1° (1σ). The aggregated slip accommodated on the C′ shear bands contributed only a small bulk shear strain across the shear zone (γ = 0.6–0.8). Uniformity of per-shear slip on C′ shears with progression into the mylonite zone across the strain gradient leads us to infer that these shears exhibited a strain-hardening rheology, such that they locked up at a finite shear strain (inside C′ bands) of 12–15. Shear band boudins and foliation boudins both record extension parallel to the SZB, as do the occurrence of extensional shear band sets that have conjugate senses of slip. We infer that shear bands nucleated on planes of maximum instantaneous shear strain rate in a shear zone with Wk < 0.8, and perhaps even as low as <0.5. The C′ shear bands near the AF formed in a thinning/stretching shear zone, which had monoclinic symmetry, where the direction of shear-zone stretching was parallel to the shearing direction.

Geosciences of the Himalaya–Karakoram–Tibet orogen

The Himalaya–Karakoram–Tibet orogen, a product of India–Eurasia collision *55 Ma back, continues to attract global attention for its many geoscientific uniqueness. This orogen is the most exciting ‘natural laboratory’ to study continental dynamics and its evolution. During past few decades, phenomenal progresses have been made in uplift and extrusion models, dynamic metamorphism, magmatism, climate–tectonics interaction, etc. This thematic volume on the geosciences of the Himalaya–Karakoram– Tibet consists of eighteen papers and two Geosites. In the first paper, Kirby and Harkins correlated variation in slip rate along the Kunlun fault with topography of the Anyemaqen Shan Mountain at the eastern Tibetan plateau. Their work indicates that fault terminations might be associated with crustal thickening of the plateau and demonstrate that the upper crustal deformation of the Tibetan plateau to be pervasive and dispersed throughout the crustal blocks rather than localized along narrow fault zones. Robinson and Pearson compiled an orogen-wide correlation of footwall and hanging wall units of the Ramgarh and Munsiari thrust sheets. They considered the Ramgarh–Munsiari thrust sheet as a single ‘major orogenscale fault’ system. They hypothesized that the extensional shear within the South Tibetan Detachment was triggered possibly by ‘slip transfer’ from the Main Central Thrust into the Ramgarh–Munsiari Thrust during the Miocene. Thakur reviewed the tectonics of the Siwalik range of the Himalaya. He concluded in-sequence deformation and critical taper mechanism acted in this terrain. Presuming the crustal channel flow model to be correct, Mukherjee estimated a viscosity of 10–10 Pa s, and a Prandtl number of 10–10 for the Greater Himalayan Crystallines. Moharana et al., described the Munsiari Thrust from Kumaun Himalaya to consist of a core and a damage zone and described their structural geology in detail. Mukherjee described a ‘basal detachment’ of extensional ductile shear from the base of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines at Bhagirathi section of the Indian Himalaya and explained it in terms of a shifting crustal channel flow. Ubiquitous backthrusts within this terrain were another new finding and were explained by southward subduction of Eurasian plate below the Indian plate. Based on balanced crosssection studies, Khanal and Robinson estimated slip along major Himalayan faults from the Budhi-Gandhaki river section of central Nepal. Sen and Collins inferred dextral transpression and changing angle of convergence of the formation of the Ladakh magmatic arc. They also reported Late Eocene S-type granite magmatism in its central part. Mathew et al. discuss the tectonothermal evolution of the Arunachal Himalaya. They obtained isothermal decompression for the Greater Himalayan Sequence and isobaric cooling from the Main Central Thrust region. Jayangondaperumal et al. reevaluated co-seismic slip of the Himalayan Frontal Thrust. The estimated shortening around the Himalayan Frontal Thrust would lead a bigger earthquake in the western part of Indian Himalaya. Shah presented a geomorphologic study from Kashmir Basin in India, identified faults from remote sensing studies, and predicted a future earthquake of Mw 7.6. Srivastava et al. S. Mukherjee (&) Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India e-mail: soumyajitm@gmail.com

Timing of deformational events in the Río San Juan complex: Implications for the tectonic controls on the exhumation of high-P rocks in the northern Caribbean subduction–accretionary prism

An integrated structural, petrological and geochronological study was undertaken to constrain the tectonic history and controls on the exhumation of the high-P rocks of the Río San Juan complex in the northern Caribbean subduction–accretionary wedge. In the main structural units of the complex, microtextural analyses were performed to identify the fabrics formed at peak of metamorphism in eclogite-facies conditions and during the main retrogressive event toward the low-P amphibolite or blueschist/greenschist-facies conditions.U–Pb SHRIMP dating on zircon rims (71.3±0.7Ma) coupled with 40Ar–39Ar analyses on phengite (~70–69Ma) in felsic sills placed temporal constraints on the exhumation of the Jagua Clara serpentinite-matrix mélange during the blueschist-facies stage at the early Maastrichtian. In the Cuaba unit, U–Pb TIMS zircon ages of 89.7±0.1Ma and 90.1±0.2Ma obtained for the crystallization of tonalitic/trondhjemitic melts in the lower Guaconejo and upper Jobito subunits, respectively, are similar. These ages coupled with a U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age of 87±1.8Ma obtained in a garnet amphibolite and a group of older 40Ar–39Ar cooling ages on calcic amphibole constrain the exhumation of the Guaconejo subunit from the high-P stage to the low-P stage at the ~90–83Ma time interval. Further, the age data collectively supports a genetic relationship between the distributed extensional ductile shearing, the related decompression and the local partial anatexis in the subunit, at least from the Turonian–Coniacian boundary to the early Campanian. A group of younger 40Ar–39Ar ages obtained in the mylonitized amphibolites of the basal Jobito detachment zone indicates late ductile deformation and exhumation/cooling in the late Campanian to Maastrichtian (~75–70Ma). Therefore, structural and age data established deformation partitioning and reworking of retrograde fabrics during ~20Ma in the Cuaba unit.The different exhumation rates obtained for the Jagua Clara mélange can be explained by uplift in two contrasting tectonic settings: a first stage of slow exhumation (1.4mm/yr) in the subduction channel, largely lower than plate velocities, and a second stage of relatively fast exhumation (7.6mm/yr) up to the surface. Therefore, the exhumation was temporally discontinuous and the velocity increase at ~70Ma probably was triggered in response to the entrance of buoyant material in the subduction zone, such as a Caribeana continental ribbon or the distal part of Yucatán–Bahamas continental margin. In contrast, the exhumation path of the Guaconejo subunit is composed of a first segment from the baric peak to the low-P amphibolite stage (at 84–83Ma) with an exhumation rate of 7.2mm/yr, a second segment around the closure temperature of calcic-amphibole (at 82–70Ma) with a rate of 0.4mm/yr, and a third segment to the surface exposure (at 60Ma) with a rate of 1.8mm/yr. These velocity differences can be correlated with the P–T path proposed for the exhumation of the subunit, with an initial isothermal decompression from the peak in the high-P amphibolite to the eclogite-facies produced by distributed extensional shearing, followed by a relatively slow cooling at low-P in the newly acquired structural position, and the final tectonics mainly partitioned in the late Jobito detachment zone. The initial fast exhumation can be related to a major modification in the convergence conditions across the intra-oceanic subduction zone as a jump of the basal subduction thrust beyond a previously accreted arc terrane.

From ductile to brittle, late- to post-orogenic evolution of the Betic Cordillera: Structural insights from the northeastern Internal zones

Abstract Relations between Alpine detachment-bounded metamorphic domes, crustal-scale strike-slip fault zones and sedimentary basins in the Internal zones of the Betic cordillera are still matter of debate. Current tectonic interpretations of these basins vary from late-orogenic extensional structures to compressional ones associated with strike-slip motions along major still active faults. Structural investigations including new field mapping, meso-scale faults recognition, palaeostress analysis of brittle small-scale faults systems were performed in the sedimentary cover of the Almanzora corridor and the Huércal-Overa basins, located either in the hanging wall unit of the Filabres extensional shear zone or at the termination of the Alhama de Murcia sinistral fault zone. In parallel, a detailed study of the ductile and the ductile-brittle deformation was carried out in the footwall unit of the Filabres extensional shear zone, in the Nevado-Fílabride complex. Three main brittle events were recognised in the basin cover including two extensional events that occurred prior to a weak tectonic inversion of the basin during a third, still active event. The first one, D1b is characterized by the development a first stress regime consistent with ~NW-SE extensional tectonics. Besides, the consistency between the latest ductile and the brittle kinematics for the Filabres extensional shear zone and the activity of meso-scale fault systems that primarily control the main SW-NE depocentres allow concluding to a top-to-the-NW continuum of strain during the final exhumation of the Nevado-Filábride complex. The resulting overall half-graben architecture of the basins is then related to the combination of the formation of the metamorphic domes that added a local control superimposed on the regional deformation. Indeed, after a consistent top-to-the-west shearing prevailing during most of the Nevado-Filábride exhumation, final exhumation stages were in turn, characterised by important kinematics changes with a subordinate top-to-the-NW sense of shear (D1b). The onset of sedimentation in the basins occurred shortly after the crossing of the ductile-brittle transition in the underlying metamorphic domes at ca. 14 Ma into SW-NE fault-bounded troughs. Tectonic subsidence was then maintained during D2b while extensional kinematics changed to N-S or even locally to SSW-NNE. Extensional tectonics then lasted most of the Tortonian during the final tectonic denudation increments of the Sierra de los Filabres achieved at ca. 9-8 Ma. Intramontane basins are therefore genuinely extensional and clearly related to the latest exhumation stages of the Nevado-Filábride complex in the back-arc domain. Conversely, at ca. 8 Ma, basins started to record a ~N-S to NNW-SSE compressional stress regime (D3b) and ceased to be active depocentres while shortening within the Internal zones then recorded only the Iberia/Africa convergence. The weak inversion of the basins however resulted either in the reactivation of originally extensional faults such as the Alhama de Murcia fault or the basin individualisation and a progressive water exchange reduction with the Atlantic ocean and is thus proposed to be directly responsible for the Late Miocene salinity crises.

Thermomechanics of an extensional shear zone, Raft River metamorphic core complex, NW Utah

A detailed structural and microstructural analysis of the Miocene Raft River detachment shear zone (NW Utah) provides insight into the thermomechanical evolution of the continental crust during extension associated with the exhumation of metamorphic core complexes. Combined microstructural, electron backscattered diffraction, strain, and vorticity analysis of the very well exposed quartzite mylonite show an increase in intensity of the rock fabrics from west to east, along the transport direction, compatible with observed finite strain markers and a model of ``necking'' of the shear zone. Microstructural evidence (quartz microstructures and deformation lamellae) suggests that the detachment shear zone evolved at its peak strength, close to the dislocation creep/exponential creep transition, where meteoric fluids played an important role on strain hardening, embrittlement, and eventually seismic failure.Empirically calibrated paleopiezometers based on quartz recrystallized grain size and deformation lamellae spacing show very similar results, indicate that the shear zone developed under stress ranging from 40 MPa to 60 MPa. Using a quartzite dislocation creep flow law we further estimate that the detachment shear zone quartzite mylonite developed at a strain rates between 10−12 and 10−14 s−1. We suggest that a compressed geothermal gradient across this detachment, which was produced by a combination of ductile shearing, heat advection, and cooling by meteoric fluids, may have triggered mechanical instabilities and strongly influenced the rheology of the detachment shear zone.