Mylonitic Shear Zones Research Articles

Kinematic vorticity of shear zones that accommodate vertical crustal advection: Implications for metamorphic core complexes and pluton emplacement

Kinematic analysis of ductile shear zones is an important method to interpret the dynamic evolution of many tectonic and magmatic processes on Earth, such as orogeny, rifting, and plutonism. Despite decades of study, kinematic vorticity analysis is an underutilized tool to interpret the dynamic drivers of shear zones. Determination of the kinematic vorticity number (Wk) quantifies the relative contributions of pure- versus simple-shear strain in shear zones. Here we systematically investigated Wk from mylonitic shear zones associated with metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) developed across the central and southern North American Cordillera using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data that allows consistent and reproducible results from a large number of recrystallized grains. We investigated samples from four distinct MCC systems and the structural aureole of a Cordilleran pluton to investigate their kinematics. We find that most MCC samples display pure-to-general-shear strain (average 70 % pure shear), consistent with significant bulk shear-zone shortening (>80 % shortening) observed in many of the MCC systems. Such strain patterns are remarkably similar to deformation observed around plutons that were forcefully emplaced as diapirs. To further validate and investigate these results, we constructed the Wk field of these geologic processes using numerical simulations to highlight that pure shear kinematics are more common with diapirism and coupled wallrock deformation compared with discrete detachment-involved normal fault systems. These observations support that buoyant doming can be a viable end-member process to form the investigated MCCs. Our results also suggest that pure shear deformation may be a diagnostic strain characteristic for diapir-like crustal processes, and therefore Wk analyses could be used to test similar processes like dome-and-keel models for Early Earth.

The electrical structure of the lithosphere in the southeastern margin of the Amazonian craton: Contribution to West Gondwana tectonics

A high electrical conductivity belt near the southeastern margin of the Amazonian craton, known as Paraguay-Araguaia Conductivity Anomaly (PACA), has been discovered and mapped over a distance of more than 1,000 km by a large array of magnetometer measurements. To precisely determine the location and structure of the conductive anomaly, we conducted a 200-km-long magnetotelluric (MT) profile with typical site spacing of 8 km over the northern part of PACA and crossing the Goiás magmatic arc and Araguaia belt in Central Brazil. Three-dimensional resistivity models derived from this data indicate that the PACA is not a single conductor but comprises at least two contiguous bodies at the upper to middle crust. The enhanced conductivity of the northern part of PACA is likely due to sulfide minerals deposited in an inter-arc or back-arc basin that were deformed and subsequently emplaced tectonically beneath the western Goiás magmatic arc. The PACA is truncated to the west by a prominent sub-vertical resistor, attributed to the Transbrasiliano lineament (TBL), a continental-scale structural feature interpreted here as a mylonitic shear zone developed late in the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian tectonic history involving the collision between Amazonian craton and proto-West Gondwana. We cannot confirm the prevailing view of an east-dip subduction of oceanic lithosphere from the Amazonian plate under the Goiás arc terranes. Instead, our results probably represent the record of an oblique continental collision. Regardless of its origin, the PACA may serve as a proxy for the paleo border of the Amazonian plate. Therefore, additional geophysical mapping, especially in areas covered by thick Phanerozoic sediments, is essential to constrain the tectonic evolution of West Gondwana.

Tectono-metamorphic interaction of upper mantle peridotites and lower crustal units during continental rifting in the western Betic Cordillera

Recent geological mapping conducted in the Ronda Peridotites (Betic Cordillera, S Spain) has revealed a systematic field correlation between lower crustal metamorphic units and different tectono-metamorphic domains of the ultramafic massif. Mylonitic and highly tectonized Spl ± Grt peridotites (i.e., Grt-Spl mylonite and Spl tectonite domains), which are considered to be derived from a thick continental lithosphere, are in contact with garnet-bearing gneisses (i.e., kinzigites) of the Jubrique unit along a narrow but continuous mylonitic shear zone. Phase equilibrium calculations indicate that the metamorphic rocks of the Jubrique unit are consistent with an initial continental setting characterized by normal crustal thicknesses, which underwent two melting events. The first melting occurred at 0.9–1.0 GPa / 770–800 °C and resulted in 13 %melt, while the second one took place at shallower crustal conditions (0.4–0.5 GPa and 710–765 °C) and led to more restricted melt production (2–3 %melt). In contrast, the Spl ± Pl peridotites (Pl-tectonite domain), which are stable only at shallowest mantle levels within a highly extended continental lithosphere, are consistently found exposed in contact with heterogeneous granites and migmatites of the Guadaiza unit. According to new thermodynamic modeling, the Guadaiza metamorphic rocks record a single melting event characterized by a theoretical melt production of 6 to 11 % at the base of a very thin continental crust (ca. 0.3 GPa and 675–710 °C). This process was likely facilitated by influx of external water, necessary to generate high melt fractions observed in the diatexites. The systematic correlation observed between crustal metamorphic units, consistently overlaying the mantle rocks, and specific ultramafic domains of the Ronda massif, suggests that their juxtaposition primarily resulted from the severe extension of the continental lithosphere.U-Pb radiometric dating of zircons from gneisses, migmatites, and heterogeneous granites in the middle crustal rocks of the Guadaiza unit indicates that extensional processes, crustal anatexis, and melt stagnation occurred at around 280 Ma. Comparison of these new radiometric ages with previous results from the Jubrique unit suggests that a Permian high-temperature / low- to medium-pressure event uniformly affected the crustal units over the Ronda Peridotites. This event coincided with the formation of characteristic ultramafic mineral assemblages within the Ronda massif and provides evidence for the interaction between upper mantle rocks and lower- to mid-crustal metamorphic rocks during this period.

Fluvial deposits of the Patlanoaya Group in southern Mexico: the stratigraphic record of an Early Mississippian supradetachment basin formed along the margin of Gondwana during the closure of the Rheic Ocean

ABSTRACT The Rheic Ocean closure stratigraphic record in southern Mexico is largely exposed in the Paleozoic Acatlán Complex. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Acatlán Complex is the presence of high-pressure rocks, interpreted as remnants of the Rheic Ocean and the adjacent continental margin of Gondwana, which were subducted and then exhumed to the surface. Despite its importance in reconstructing the dynamics of the westernmost Rheic Ocean closure, the timing and mechanisms of exhumation of these high-pressure rocks remain debated. Some authors have tentatively interpreted the late Paleozoic, fluvial to marine succession of the Patlanoaya Group in southern Mexico as the sedimentary response to the exhumation of high-pressure rocks of the Acatlán Complex. Therefore, these sedimentary rocks may be particularly helpful in understanding the timing and evolution of high-pressure rocks exhumation during the Rheic Ocean closure. In this work, the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the continental deposits of the Patlanoaya Group was reconstructed, integrating sedimentologic, petrographic, and U-Pb detrital geochronological data to test the different scenarios proposed for the exhumation of the Acatlán Complex high-pressure rocks. Our data suggest that the lower Patlanoaya Group was deposited in an Early Mississippian basin with a two-stage evolution: a phase characterized by debris flow deposits derived from small-scale reliefs composed of low-grade metamorphic rocks and a subsequent phase marked by an NNE-trending fluvial system deposits sourced from low-metamorphic grade rocks of a mylonitic zone. Therefore, the lower Patlanoaya Group deposition was controlled by a major NNE-trending mylonitic shear zone associated with the development of a supradetachment basin linked to the progressive exhumation of high-pressure rocks during an Early Mississippian major extensional event. This work highlights the importance of sedimentary deposits in reconstructing the late Paleozoic history of the Acatlán Complex during the Rheic Ocean closure and the final stage of the Pangea assembly.

Paleogene mid-crustal intrusions in the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, northeastern Nevada, USA

Abstract Middle Eocene to early Oligocene intrusions, widespread in the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, Nevada, USA, provide insights into a major Paleogene magmatic episode and its relation to tectonism in the northeastern Great Basin. These intrusions, well-exposed in upper Lamoille Canyon, range in composition from gabbro to leucomonzogranite. They form small plutons, sheets, and dikes that intrude the metamorphic and granitic infrastructure of the core complex. Two types of Paleogene monzogranite were recognized. The first is exemplified by two of the larger intrusive bodies, the Snow Lake Peak and Castle Lake intrusions, which occur as sheet-like bodies near and at the structural base of metamorphosed Neoproterozoic and Cambrian Prospect Mountain Quartzite where it is inverted above Cambrian and Ordovician marble of Verdi Peak in the Lamoille Canyon nappe. Swarms of dikes are associated with these intrusions. U-Pb (zircon) ages range ca. 40–33 Ma and typically display relatively simple and minor inheritance. The rocks have the lowest εHf (zircon) and εNd (whole rock) of any of the middle Cenozoic granites. The second type of monzogranite, Overlook type, typically occurs as thin, isolated dikes and leucosome-like bodies in Late Cretaceous granites of the infrastructure, with no obvious relationship to the large monzogranite bodies. Overlook-type monzogranite displays complex zircon inheritance, yields igneous ages ca. 37–32 Ma, and has εHf (zircon) and εNd (whole rock) identical to those of Late Cretaceous granites in the core complex. These isotopic and field data indicate that Overlook-type monzogranite formed in situ through anatexis of host Cretaceous granites. A pervasive thermal event was required to stimulate this crustal melting. Gabbros from Lamoille Canyon and quartz diorite dated from 32 km away signal mantle-derived magmatism ca. 39–37 Ma (U-Pb, zircon) was a driver of crustal melting and hybridization. Eocene 40Ar/39Ar apparent ages on hornblende and biotite are consistent with syn- to post-magmatic extensional exhumation and decompression. Thus, the core complex provides a window into trans-crustal magmatism and insight into how such magmatism affected the Nevadaplano orogenic plateau. This Paleogene thermal pulse, which may relate to removal of the Farallon slab by delamination of mantle lithosphere, involved partial melting of the upper mantle and transfer of magma and heat to the Nevadaplano crust. Lower-crustal melting of Archean(?) to Paleoproterozoic rocks resulted in Snow Lake Peak–type magmas, and middle-crustal melting of granite in the infrastructure yielded Overlook-type magmas. This crustal magmatism, as exemplified by the intrusions in the core complex, likely played a role in destabilizing the Nevadaplano and its later collapse during middle Miocene extension. The Paleogene intrusions and associated structural features also provide insight into the evolution of the core complex through either the buoyant upwelling of a melt-rich diapir (gneiss-dome model) or buoyant upwelling of the melt-rich middle crust synchronous with a west-rooted mylonitic shear zone (extensional shear-zone model). We favor a hybrid that incorporates both models.

Decoupled Oligocene mylonitic shearing and Miocene detachment faulting in the East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, northeast Nevada, USA

Abstract The relationships between brittle detachment faulting and ductile shear zones in metamorphic core complexes are often ambiguous. Although it is commonly assumed that these two structures are kinematically linked and genetically related, direct observations of this coupling are rare. Here, we conducted a detailed field investigation to probe the connection between a detachment fault and mylonitic shear zone in the Ruby Mountain–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, northeast Nevada. Field observations, along with new and published geochronology, demonstrate that Oligocene top-to-the-west mylonitic shear zones are crosscut by ca. 17 Ma subvertical basalt dikes, and these dikes are in turn truncated by middle Miocene detachment faults. The detachment faults appear to focus in preexisting weak zones in shaley strata and Mesozoic thrust faults. We interpret that the Oligocene mylonitic shear zones were generated in response to domal upwelling during voluminous plutonism and partial melting, which significantly predated the middle Miocene onset of regional extension and detachment slip. Our model simplifies mechanical issues with low-angle detachment faulting because there was an initial dip to the weak zones exploited by the future detachment-fault zone. This mechanism may be important for many apparent low-angle normal faults in the eastern Great Basin. We suggest that the temporal decoupling of mylonitic shearing and detachment faulting may be significant and underappreciated for many of the metamorphic core complexes in the North American Cordillera. In this case, earlier Eocene–Oligocene buoyant doming may have preconditioned the crust to be reactivated by Miocene extension, thus explaining the spatial relationship between structures.

Strain shadow “megapores” in mid-crustal ultramylonites

AbstractMylonitic shear zones are important fluid conduits in the Earth’s crust. They host transient and permeable porosity that facilitates fluid transfer and controls fluid-rock interaction. Here we present microstructural observations from a mid-crustal ultramylonite with very large pores that occupy the strain shadows of albite porphyroclasts. Our non-invasive three-dimensional X-ray microtomographic data show that the largest of these strain shadow megapores have substantial volumes of as much as ∼1.7 × 105 µm3. Given that the sample shows no signs of retrogressive overprint or weathering, these pores must be synkinematic. Importantly, the close proximity of the pores to creep cavities in dynamically recrystallized quartz ribbon grains suggests a potential hydraulic link between fluid in the strain shadow megapores and fluid in the creeping rock matrix. The evolving megapores constitute very large syndeformational local fluid reservoirs in mylonites that likely fed into the granular fluid pump established by the dynamically evolving creep cavities. Our findings add to an emerging picture of the dynamic transport properties of ultramylonitic shear zones, where the formation and destruction of porosity are intrinsically linked to microscale deformation processes. They also suggest that despite many studies on porphyroclast systems, open questions remain, especially concerning the interaction of clasts with their matrix.

Titanite Petrochronology Records Secular Temperature and Fluid Evolution During Ductile Deformation: An Example From Late Cretaceous Shear Zones in the Eastern Transverse Ranges

AbstractQuantifying the timing and conditions of ductile deformation is essential for quantitative models of lithospheric deformation. Yet, directly constraining these variables and documenting how they change during a single deformation event remain difficult. We present titanite microstructural, zoning, trace‐element, and U‐Pb data from <m‐scale mylonitic shear zones in the Eastern Transverse Ranges, CA (Joshua Tree National Park) that record (a) the timing and conditions of ductile deformation and (b) the evolution of deformation conditions within a single, punctuated ductile deformation event. Titanite grains in sheared plutonic rocks yield a bimodal distribution of dates (∼151 and ∼75 Ma) interpreted as the independently constrained pluton crystallization and shear zone deformation ages, respectively. Synkinematic titanite neocrystallization at ∼75 Ma documents early deformation at ∼640–710°C under hydrous fluid conditions. Recrystallized titanite rims with ∼75 Ma dates indistinguishable from the neocrystallized titanite record Zr‐in‐titanite temperatures of 600–610°C and higher F contents, suggesting that the fluid became a more halogen‐rich brine as deformation progressed and the system cooled. Chemical zoning related to fluid‐driven recrystallization occurs in tandem with lattice misorientations and partially to fully reset U‐Pb dates in bent titanite, implying that reactive fluid flow is the ultimate mechanism by which dates are reset in titanite deformed by dislocation creep. These data document a punctuated (e.g., ∼1–3 Myr) phase of high‐temperature deformation that accompanied local pluton emplacement and demonstrate that titanite petrochronology can capture multiple, discrete reactions associated with crustal weakening and variables that affect the rheological evolution of ductile shear zones.

Linked microstructural and geochemical evolution of mylonitic quartzite during exhumation of a core complex

A novel method for combining microstructural analysis and Ti-in-quartz measurements is used to characterize interactions between quartz deformation and Ti equilibration during progressive deformation and cooling in a mylonitic shear zone. Mylonitic quartzite from the Wildhorse detachment, the major bounding structure of the Pioneer metamorphic core complex (Idaho, USA), contains a continuum of microstructures: minimally deformed relict grains, quartz ribbons, and a matrix dominated by subgrain rotation recrystallization. EBSD and semi-quantitative Ti mapping via EPMA and cathodoluminescence imaging are used to correlate quartz microstructure and Ti concentration [Ti]. The Ti-in-quartz thermobarometer is used to estimate P-T conditions during and prior to mylonitization. Relict and ribbon quartz preserve high [Ti] (∼60 ppm) indicative of temperatures >650 °C, whereas recrystallized quartz contains low [Ti] (<5 ppm), reflecting equilibration to temperatures <450 °C. The high-T record may reflect either relict conditions prior to detachment deformation or conditions that prevailed in the early stages of strain localization in the detachment, whereas the low-T record likely reflects the final stages of ductile deformation. The preservation of multiple microstructures with distinct [Ti] facilitates construction of a multi-phase history of linked ductile deformation and Ti equilibration during cooling.

Forming and preserving aragonite in shear zones: First report of blueschist facies metamorphism in the Jabal Akhdar Dome, Oman Mountains

Abstract We report the first occurrence of high-pressure metamorphic aragonite in Precambrian carbonates of the Jabal Akhdar Dome in the Oman Mountains (northern Oman). We propose a model for both its formation at blueschist facies conditions and its subsequent preservation to the surface within the tectonic framework of the Late Cretaceous obduction of the Semail Ophiolite. Aragonite formed at temperature ~350 °C and pressure ≥0.9 GPa and is preserved within mylonitic shear zones and in stretched-fiber dilational veins where the necessary conditions for its formation and preservation, such as plastic strain accommodation, fluid-enhanced mineralogical reactions, and an anisotropic permeability structure, were preferentially met with respect to the surrounding rock. High-strain structural domains are ideal sites to look for and study prograde and retrograde high-pressure metamorphic histories in deeply subducted and exhumed terrains.

Late Cretaceous‐Early Paleogene Extensional Ancestry of the Harcuvar and Buckskin‐Rawhide Metamorphic Core Complexes, Western Arizona

AbstractMetamorphic core complexes in the western North American Cordillera are commonly interpreted as the result of a single phase of large‐magnitude extension during the middle to late Cenozoic. We present evidence that mylonitic shear zones in the Harcuvar and Buckskin‐Rawhide core complexes in west‐central Arizona also accommodated an earlier phase of extension during the Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene. Microstructural data indicate substantial top‐NE mylonitization occurred at amphibolite‐facies, and 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology documents post‐tectonic footwall cooling to &lt;500°C by the Paleocene to mid‐Eocene. Amphibolite‐facies mylonites are spatially associated with voluminous and variably deformed footwall leucogranites that were emplaced from ca. 74–64 Ma, and a late kinematic ca. 63 Ma dike indicates this phase of mylonitization had waned by the early Paleocene. Reconstruction of the footwall architecture indicates that this latest Cretaceous—early Paleocene deformation occurred within a NE‐dipping extensional shear zone. The leucogranites were likely the result of crustal melting due to orogenic thickening, consistent with a model whereby crustal heating triggered gravitational collapse of overthickened crust. Other tectonic processes, such as the Laramide underplating of Orocopia Schist or mantle delamination, may have also contributed to this episode of orogenic extension. Miocene large‐magnitude extension was superimposed on this older shear zone and had similar kinematics, suggesting that the location and geometry of Miocene extension was strongly influenced by tectonic inheritance. We speculate that other Cordilleran core complexes also experienced a more complex and polyphase extensional history than previously recognized, but in many cases the evidence may be obscured by later Miocene overprinting.

A Paradigm Shift: North China Craton's North Margin Orogen Is the Collisional Suture With the Columbia Supercontinent

AbstractIn a new study, Wu, Wang, Zhou, Zhao, Haproff, et al. (2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GC010662) present a comprehensive study of the North Margin Orogen of the North China Craton (NCC), showing that older accreted rocks in this belt preserve a record of active margin magmatism from 2.2 to 2.0 Ga, followed by collisional tectonics, marked by mélange and mylonitic shear zones, then granulite facies metamorphism at 1.9–1.8 Ga, marking the final collision of the NCC with the Columbia Supercontinent. The multidisciplinary studies presented in this work support earlier suggestions that the North China Craton amalgamated during accretionary orogenesis in the Neoarchean to earlier Paleoproterozoic, and that the late widespread 1.85 Ga high‐grade metamorphism is craton‐wide in scale, and not confined to a narrow orogen in the center of the craton. This new understanding creates new possibilities for refining reconstructions of one of Earth's earliest, best documented supercontinents, showing a globally linked plate network at 1.85 Ga, and suggests drastic new correlations and models for mineral resource exploration.

Drowned in granite - retrieving the tectono-metamorphic history of the Janub metamorphic complex, the northernmost part of the Arabian-Nubian Shield

The Janub Metamorphic Complex (JMC) in southern Jordan provides new correlative data constraining the transition from compressional to extensional tectonics in the northern Arabian-Nubian Shield. This constraint comes from the identification of extensional mylonitic shear zones affecting both the JMC and some intruding granitoids. The JMC comprises metamorphosed andesitic-dacitic-rhyolitic flows and pyroclastics, meta-volcanogenic sediments, and hornfels. Volcanism ceased by 618 ± 5 Ma. The volcanosedimentary sequence formed in an intra-arc basin in a mature island arc and was then buried and regionally metamorphosed at lower greenschist facies conditions in the waning accretionary phase between 618 and 615 Ma. This is based on the age of crosscutting plutons of the Rumman Suite, which triggered local high-T/low-P metamorphism at ∼ 615 Ma. Rumman granitoids and JMC rocks were deformed by narrow gently-dipping mylonitic shear zones, interpreted as extensional, that ceased operating by 605 Ma, the age of crosscutting undeformed dikes and plutons of the Yutum Suite. At 596 Ma, a late granite intruded the JMC and thermally metamorphosed some of the meta-sediments. This granite was deformed in a Najd-related brittle shear zone at ∼ 590 Ma as recorded by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. The JMC can be correlated with the higher-grade Abu-Barqa Metamorphic Complex (ABMC), despite tectonics relations being obscured by younger intrusive rocks. The main metamorphic phase in the ABMC occurred at a depth of 18 km at ∼ 620–615 Ma, followed by gradual uplift and high-T metamorphism at 615–610 Ma and exhumation to the surface at ∼605 Ma. Extensional shearing in the JMC and exhumation of the ABMC probably developed in a core-complex like setting triggered by orogenic collapse. Ductile shearing related to collapse ceased before 605 Ma. The 590 Ma brittle shear zone is the first dated Najd-related structure from the basement of Jordan. The central setting of our data allows correlation of metamorphic complexes in Sinai and Saudi Arabia and is consistent with the final assembly of Gondwana, initiation of orogenic collapse, and transition to extensional tectonics occurring at ∼ 620–610 Ma in the northern Arabian-Nubian Shield.

Paleoproterozoic Plate Tectonics Recorded in the Northern Margin Orogen, North China Craton

AbstractThe occurrence of plate tectonic processes on Earth during the Paleoproterozoic is supported by ca. 2.2–1.8 Ga subduction‐collision orogens associated with the assembly of the Columbia‐Nuna supercontinent. Subsequent supercontinent breakup is evidence by global ca. 1.8–1.6 Ga large igneous provinces. The North China craton is notable for containing Paleoproterozoic orogens along its margins, herein named the Northern Margin orogen, yet the nature and timing of orogenic and extensional processes of these orogens and their role in the supercontinent cycle remain unclear. In this contribution, we present new field observations, U‐Pb zircon and baddeleyite geochronology dates, and major/trace‐element and isotope geochemical analyses from the northern margin of the North China craton that detail its Paleoproterozoic tectonic and magmatic history. Specifically, we record the occurrence of ca. 2.2–2.0 Ga magmatic arc rocks, ca. 1.9–1.88 Ga tectonic mélange and mylonitic shear zones, and folded lower Paleoproterozoic strata. These rocks were affected by ca. 1.9–1.8 Ga granulite‐facies metamorphism and ca. 1.87–1.78 Ga post‐collisional, extension‐related magmatism along the cratonal northern margin. We interpret that the generation and emplacement of these rocks, and the coupled metamorphic and magmatic processes, were related to oceanic subduction and subsequent continent‐continent collision during the Paleoproterozoic. The occurrence of ca. 1.77–1.73 Ga mafic dykes and ca. 1.75 Ga mylonitic shear zones along the northern margin of the North China craton may have been related to a regional mantle plume event. Our results are consistent with modern style plate tectonics, including oceanic subduction‐related plate convergence and continent‐continent collision, operating in the Paleoproterozoic.

Deformation and metasomatism recorded by single-grain apatite petrochronology

Abstract The timing and processes of ductile deformation and metasomatism can be documented using apatite petrochronology. We integrated microstructural, U-Pb, and geochemical analyses of apatite grains from an exhumed mylonitic shear zone in the St. Barthélémy Massif, Pyrenees, France, to understand how deformation and metasomatism are recorded by U-Pb dates and geochemical patterns. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses documents crystal plastic deformation characterized by low-angle boundaries (&amp;lt;5°) associated with dislocation creep and evidence of multiple slip systems. Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb maps indicate that dates in deformed grains reflect, and are governed by, low-angle dislocation boundaries. Apatite rare earth element (REE) and U-Pb behavior is decoupled in high-grade gneiss samples, suggesting REEs record higher-temperature processes than U-Pb isotopic systems. Apatite from (ultra)mylonitic portions of the shear zone showed evidence of metasomatism, and the youngest dates constrain the age of metasomatism. Collectively, these results demonstrate that crystal plastic microstructures and fluid interactions can markedly change apatite isotopic signatures, making single-grain apatite petrochronology a powerful tool for dating and characterizing the latest major deformation and/or fluid events, which are often not captured by higher-temperature chronometers.

A likely geological record of deep tremor and slow slip events from a subducted continental broken formation

Fluids in subduction zones play a key role in controlling seismic activity, drastically affecting the rheology of rocks, triggering mineral reactions, and lowering the effective stress. Fluctuating pore pressure is one important parameter for the switch between brittle and ductile deformation, thus impacting seismogenesis. Episodic tremor and slow slip events (ETS) have been proposed as a common feature of the geophysical signature of subduction zones. Their geological record, however, remains scanty. Only the detailed and further characterization of exhumed fossil geological settings can help fill this knowledge gap. Here we propose that fluctuating pore pressure linked to metamorphic dehydration reactions steered cyclic and ETS-related brittle and ductile deformation of continental crustal rocks in the subduction channel of the Apennines. Dilational shear veins and ductile mylonitic shear zones formed broadly coevally at minimum 1 GPa and 350 °C, corresponding to ~ 30–40 km depth in the subduction zone. We identify carpholite in Ca-poor metasediments as an important carrier of H2O to depths > 40 km in cold subduction zones. Our results suggest that the described (micro)structures and mineralogical changes can be ascribed to deep ETS and provide a useful reference for the interpretation of similar tectonic settings worldwide.

Activation of Ad Damm shear zone, western Saudi Arabian margin, and its relation to the Red Sea rift system

Abstract The Ad Damm shear zone (ADSZ) is a major mylonitic right-lateral structure that bounds the Jeddah terrane to the north from the Asir terrane to the south. High-resolution field mapping coupled with petrological and geochemical analyses indicate that Jeddah terrane is characterized by heterogeneous magmatism with extensive meta-basalt intruded by silicic plutons of varying size. South of the ADSZ, Asir terrane is characterized by larger scale granitic batholiths. A younger generation of Eocene–Miocene basaltic dikes cut the mylonitic shear zone at a high angle. Petrographic analyses of the ADSZ mylonitic rocks indicate dynamic recrystallization and grain-size reduction, suggesting high-temperature recrystallization. Field observations also found a lack of low-temperature fault zone rocks (e.g. gouge) except for isolated brittle slickensides. Spider diagrams of Jeddah, Asir terranes, and ADSZ rocks are characterized by an arc-related signature, which related to the amalgamation of Jeddah and Asir terranes and defined ADSZ as Neoproterozoic structure. In contrast, Eocene–Miocene basaltic dikes and southern basaltic flow are represented by a rift-related signature, which associated with the development of the Red Sea rift system. Offshore, south of the ADSZ, the Red Sea rift exhibits well-developed linear magnetic anomalies and large topographic escarpment perpendicular to the rift margin, but they are not present north of it. In addition, recent seismicity recorded along the ADSZ and differences in the crustal thickness and characteristics of Asir and Jeddah terranes, collectively, make ADSZ acted as an active crustal boundary and still influence the ongoing tectonic evolution of the Red Sea rift.

Tele-Analytical Characterization of the Eburnean Tectonic Structures within the Birimian Formations of Mako Area, Eastern Senegal

The tectonic structures of the Mako area in the Kédougou-Kéniéba inlier (KKI) were mapped with tele-analytical investigation which is validated by field data. This study is based on different images processing in particular: 1) the colored combinations (1 to 5) and panchromatic (8) thematic mapping bands of the Landsat-8 (ETM+) satellite; 2) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) image of Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM); 3) airborne geophysics (aeromagnetic and radiometric) images. In these images, four major directions of lineaments NS, NNE-SSW, NW-SE and EW would be related to the tectonic structures, have been identified and mapped. Field data confirm these four structural directions and show that most of these lineaments are related to faults, shear and/or thrust zones, or even basic rock dykes. N-S to NE-SW oriented lineaments are more frequent followed by those NW-SE oriented. These two directions of lineaments are generally in correlation with trajectories of major sinistral shear zones in the Mako area. They would be associated with the S2a and S2b schistosities relative to the D2 Eburnean major deformation. They often intersect the E-W oriented lineaments which are less frequent and sometimes folded and crenulated. This E-W oriented lineament would be prior and are associated with the S1 schistosity of the D1 Eburnean thrust phase of deformation. At the scale of the studied area, these major linear structures (shear zones) are conjugated and create a partitioning of deformation through an anastomosed network of mylonitic shear zones which surround weakly deformed rock bodies. All these structures would be related to the Eburnean or post-Eburnean orogenic events in this Mako area.

Rifting evolution of the lithospheric subcontinental mantle: New insights from the External Ligurian ophiolites (Northern Apennine, Italy)

The present study focuses on the petrographic and petrological characteristics of mantle bodies included in Upper Cretaceous sedimentary melanges of the External Ligurian units (Northern Appennine), within the Monte Gavi and Monte Sant'Agostino areas. Two distinct pyroxenite-bearing mantle sections were recognized, mostly based on their plagioclase-facies evolution. The Monte Gavi mantle section is nearly undeformed and records a process of melt infiltration and reaction under plagioclase-facies conditions. The melt-rock interaction event involved both peridotites (mostly harzburgites) and enclosed spinel pyroxenite layers, and is estimated to have occurred at 0.7–0.8 GPa. In the Monte Gavi peridotites and pyroxenites, the spinel-facies clinopyroxene was partially replaced by plagioclase and new orthopyroxene (± secondary clinopyroxene). The reactive melt migration led to relatively high TiO2 contents in relict clinopyroxene and spinel (up to 2.3 wt% and 1.0 wt%, respectively, in the pyroxenites), with the latter also having high Cr# (up to 35 in the peridotites). The Monte Sant'Agostino mantle section displays a widespread ductile shearing and no evidence for melt-rock interaction under plagioclase-facies conditions. The main deformation phase recorded by the Monte Sant'Agostino peridotites (mostly lherzolites) is estimated to have occurred at 750–780 °C and 0.3–0.6 GPa, and gave rise to protomylonitic to ultramylonitic textures characterized by 10–50 μm neoblasts. The enclosed pyroxenite layers yielded relatively high temperature and pressure estimates (870–930 °C and 0.8–0.9 GPa). Presumably, in the Monte Sant'Agostino mantle section, plagioclase crystallization occurred earlier in the pyroxenites than in enclosing lherzolites, thereby enhancing strain localization and formation of mylonite shear zones in the entire mantle section. We propose that subcontinental mantle section from the External Ligurian units consists of three distinct mantle domains, developed in response to the rifting evolution that ultimately formed a Middle Jurassic ocean-continent transition: (1) a spinel tectonite domain that underwent no significant deformation and melt-rock reaction under plagioclase-facies conditions, characterized by static plagioclase development, (2) a plagioclase mylonite domain experiencing melt-absent deformation, and (3) a nearly undeformed domain that underwent melt infiltration and reaction under plagioclase-facies conditions. We relate mantle domains (1,2) to a rifting-driven uplift in the late Triassic accommodated by large-scale shear zones consisting of plagioclase mylonites.

Deformation and Sedimentary Responses to Top‐to‐North Shear Along the Range Front of the Big Bend of the Ailao Shan–Red River Shear Zone, SE Edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and Its Tectonic Implications

AbstractUnderstanding the mountain–basin coupling relationship is fundamental to placing constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Ailao Shan mylonite shear zone, the key feature accommodating relative movement between the Tibetan Plateau and SE Asia, because a contemporary basin, namely Red River, bounds its middle segment on the northeast, along which the shear zone is bent from northwest–southeast to roughly east–west (The Big Bend). The basin comprises two units: the Mubang Breccia and the Lengdun Conglomerate of Early Oligocene and Late Oligocene–Early Miocene age, respectively. This study reveals evidence indicating that the Wubang Breccia marks a high‐strain zone, resulting from top‐to‐north shear (range‐front detachment (RFD), along which the mylonite on the footwall experienced northward bending in the form of creeping. Moreover, the Lengdun Conglomerate on the hanging wall was deposited as growth strata, overlying a thrust belt to the north. The latter marks the southern rim of the Yangtze block, composed of extensional fault blocks, whose northward displacement along the toe of the RFD was synchronized with the north–south extension across the Red River basin. The spatial and temporal relationships between the Red River basin and the Ailao Shan shear zone indicate that basin formation was controlled by the change in geometry of the shear zone. The Red River basin can be viewed as an extensional step‐over in the left‐lateral strike‐slip field, in which all sedimentary and deformation processes were controlled by the extension and subsequent topographic spreading, accommodated by the RFD. This indicates that the extensional crustal materials, including both Langdun Conglomerate and underlying extensional fault blocks, were all shed from the top of the Ailao Shan mylonite belt. The cause of bending of the shear zone is attributed to the northward movement of India with respect to South China and the bending process came to an end as the left‐lateral movement ceased.