scholarly journals Inverted distribution of ductile deformation in the relatively “dry” middle crust across the Woodroffe Thrust, central Australia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wex ◽  
Neil S. Mancktelow ◽  
Friedrich Hawemann ◽  
Alfredo Camacho ◽  
Giorgio Pennacchioni
Keyword(s):  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Deformation Gradient ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Relative Displacement ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Nucleation Sites ◽  
Strike Direction ◽  
Inverse Deformation ◽  
Central Australia

Abstract. Thrust fault systems typically distribute shear strain preferentially into the hanging wall rather than the footwall. In this paper, we present a regional-scale example that does not fit this model. The Woodroffe Thrust developed due to intracontinental shortening during the Petermann Orogeny (ca. 560–520 Ma) in central Australia. It is interpreted to be at least 600 km long in its general E-W strike direction, with an approximate top-to-north minimum relative displacement of 60–100 km. The associated mylonite zone is most broadly developed in the footwall. The immediate hanging wall was only marginally involved in mylonitization, as can be demonstrated from the contrasting thorium signatures of the upper amphibolite facies footwall and the granulite facies hanging wall protoliths. Thermal weakening cannot account for such an inverse deformation gradient, as syn-deformational P-T estimates for the Petermann Orogeny in the hanging wall and footwall from the same locality are very similar. The distribution of pseudotachylytes, which act as preferred nucleation sites for shear deformation, also cannot provide an explanation, since these are prevalent in the immediate hanging wall. The most likely reason for the inverted deformation gradient across the Woodroffe Thrust is water-assisted weakening due to the increased, but still limited, presence of aqueous fluids in the footwall. On the contrary, the presence or absence of aqueous fluids does not appear to be linked to the regional variation in mylonite thickness, which generally increases with increasing metamorphic grade.

scholarly journals Inverted distribution of ductile deformation in the relatively “dry” middle crust across the Woodroffe Thrust, central Australia

Solid Earth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wex ◽  
Neil S. Mancktelow ◽  
Friedrich Hawemann ◽  
Alfredo Camacho ◽  
Giorgio Pennacchioni
Keyword(s):  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Deformation Gradient ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Strike Direction ◽  
Inverse Deformation ◽  
Minimum Displacement ◽  
Central Australia

Abstract. Thrust fault systems typically distribute shear strain preferentially into the hanging wall rather than the footwall. The Woodroffe Thrust in the Musgrave Block of central Australia is a regional-scale example that does not fit this model. It developed due to intracontinental shortening during the Petermann Orogeny (ca. 560–520 Ma) and is interpreted to be at least 600 km long in its E–W strike direction, with an approximate top-to-north minimum displacement of 60–100 km. The associated mylonite zone is most broadly developed in the footwall. The immediate hanging wall was only marginally involved in the mylonitization process, as can be demonstrated from the contrasting thorium signatures of mylonites derived from the upper amphibolite facies footwall and the granulite facies hanging wall protoliths. Thermal weakening cannot account for such an inverse deformation gradient, as syn-deformational P–T estimates for the Petermann Orogeny in the hanging wall and footwall from the same locality are very similar. The distribution of pseudotachylytes, which acted as preferred nucleation sites for shear deformation, also cannot provide an explanation, since these fault rocks are especially prevalent in the immediate hanging wall. The most likely reason for the inverted deformation gradient across the Woodroffe Thrust is water-assisted weakening due to the increased, but still limited, presence of aqueous fluids in the footwall. We also establish a qualitative increase in the abundance of fluids in the footwall along an approx. 60 km long section in the direction of thrusting, together with a slight decrease in the temperature of mylonitization (ca. 100 °C). These changes in ambient conditions are accompanied by a 6-fold decrease in thickness (from ca. 600 to 100 m) of the Woodroffe Thrust mylonitic zone.

Application Of Electron Probe Analyses Of Minerals In Discussing The Relationship Between Ductile Deformation And Metamorphism

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-251
Author(s):  
Fan Guochuan ◽  
Sun Zhongshi
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Shear Deformation ◽  
Electron Probe ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Higher Temperature ◽  
Ductile Shear ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ductile Shear Deformation

Under influence of ductile shear deformation, granulite facies mineral paragenesis underwent metamorphism and changes in chemical composition. The present paper discusses some changes in chemical composition of garnet in hypers thene_absent felsic gnesiss and of hypersthene in rock in early and late granulite facies undergone increasing ductile shear deformation .In garnet fetsic geniss, band structures were formed because of partial melting and resulted in zoning from massive⟶transitional⟶melanocrate zones in increasing deformed sequence. The electron-probe analyses for garnet in these zones are listed in table 1 . The Table shows that Mno, Cao contents in garnet decrease swiftly from slightly to intensely deformed zones.In slightly and moderately deformed zones, Mgo contents keep unchanged and Feo is slightly lower. In intensely deformed zone, Mgo contents increase, indicating a higher temperature. This is in accord with the general rule that Mgo contents in garnet increase with rising temperature.

Peraluminous sapphirine from the Aileron district, Arunta Block, central Australia

1987 ◽  
Vol 51 (361) ◽  
pp. 409-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Warren ◽  
B. J. Hensen
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Composition ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Stable Phase ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Central Australia

AbstractSpecimens collected from a small lens of phlogopite-rich rock in the granulite-facies terrain of the Arunta Block, central Australia, have unusual bulk compositions and mineral assemblages. One sample consists of phlogopite enclosing blue spinel (mg 96) with minute granules of corundum and sapphirine at the margins; a second of phlogopite enclosing porphyroblasts of corundum and peraluminous sapphirine. In the first the sapphirine is close to the 7 : 9 : 3 composition; in the other it is markedly peraluminous, e.g. (Mg1.628Fe0.028)Al4.714Si0.636O10, intermediate between the 7 : 9 : 3 and 3 : 5 : 1 members. The texture suggests that this sapphirine is a stable phase in equilibrium with eastonitic phlogopite and corundum. The very potassic, very magnesian bulk composition of the rocks is attributed to potassium metasomatism of a protolith consisting of magnesian chlorite and quartz.

Geometry of the allochthonous Daly Bay Complex, Northwest Territories: a model constrained by geology and a three-dimensional gravity interpretation

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1292-1302
Author(s):  
Terence M. Gordon ◽  
Donald C. Lawton
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Complex Form ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Lower Grade ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Tectonic Event ◽  
Granulite Facies Metamorphism ◽  
Dimensional Gravity

The Daly Bay Complex is one of several metamorphic complexes making up the Aqxarneq gneisses north of Chesterfield Inlet in central District of Keewatin. Granulite-facies metamorphism (0.55 GPa, 750 °C) and ductile deformation have affected all of the rocks in the complex. A 1–15 km wide, inward-dipping, ductile shear zone forms the outer part of the complex and contains strongly deformed equivalents of rocks in the core. Mesoscopic structures and metamorphic mineralogy suggest the Daly Bay Complex was emplaced into the surrounding lower grade rocks by northward-directed thrusting. A three-dimensional gravity model, constrained by structural observations and 1091 surface density measurements, shows that the relatively dense rocks of the complex form a spoon-shaped structure with a long axis trending northwest–southeast. It is approximately 50 km by 120 km in lateral extent and reaches a maximum depth of about 9 km. The thin-skinned geometry of the Daly Bay Complex supports the notion that the crust in central Keewatin between the Daly Bay Complex and Baker Lake comprises a series of undulating imbricated gneiss sheets of middle and lower crustal material, which were juxtaposed by a major tectonic event sometime between 2.5 and 1.9 Ga. The interpreted basal décollement is comparable to seismic features in many orogens, and a predictable consequence of increased ductility with depth in the crust.

U–Pb constraints on the thermotectonic evolution of the Vernon antiform and the age of the Aberdeen gneiss complex, southeastern Canadian Cordillera

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Glombick ◽  
R I Thompson ◽  
P Erdmer ◽  
L Heaman ◽  
R M Friedman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zone ◽  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Canadian Cordillera ◽  
Metamorphic Complex ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Gneiss Complex ◽  
Shuswap Metamorphic Complex

The Aberdeen gneiss complex is composed of complexly deformed migmatitic orthogneiss and paragneiss situated within the core of the Vernon antiform, a structure defined by a series of subparallel reflectors visible at upper to middle crustal depths (6–18 km) in seismic reflection data from the Vernon area of the Shuswap metamorphic complex. The Vernon antiform and the Aberdeen gneiss complex lie within the footwall of the gently west dipping (top to the west) Kalamalka Lake shear zone. Migmatitic gneiss exposed within the antiform records evidence (recorded as age domains in complexly zoned zircon grains) of three metamorphic events, occurring at 155–150, 90, and 66–51 Ma. The timing of magmatic events within the antiform includes emplacement of diorite at ~232 Ma, tonalite at ~151 Ma, granodiorite at 102 Ma, and monzonite at 52 Ma. Middle to Late Jurassic metamorphism resulted in widespread migmatization. Early Tertiary metamorphism (66–51 Ma) was coeval with the emplacement of granitic rocks and exhumation typical of other areas of the Shuswap metamorphic complex. Highly deformed orthogneiss situated within the hanging wall of the Kalamalka Lake shear zone, comprising the superstructure, was emplaced at ~171 Ma. Ductile deformation had ceased by 162 Ma. The complex metamorphic and magmatic evolution of the Vernon antiform, which is similar to other areas of the southern Canadian Cordillera including the Nicola horst, Mount Lytton – Eagle plutonic complex, Cariboo Mountains, and Mica Creek area, may reflect episodic tectonic activity at the plate margin.

scholarly journals Understanding regional-scale structural uncertainty: The onshore Gulf of Corinth rift as a hydrocarbon exploration analogue

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. SAC35-SAC53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Wood ◽  
Douglas Paton ◽  
Richard Collier ◽  
Viki O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Structural Uncertainty ◽  
3D Space ◽  
Gulf Of Corinth ◽  
Geometric Uncertainty ◽  
Seismic Sections ◽  
2D Data

A major challenge when exploring for hydrocarbons in frontier areas is a lack of data coverage. Data may be restricted to regional-scale 2D seismic lines, from which assumptions of the 3D geometric configuration are drawn. Understanding the limitations and uncertainties when extrapolating 2D data into 3D space is crucial when assessing the requirements for acquiring additional data such as 3D seismic or exploration wells and of assigning geologically reasonable uncertainty ranges. The onshore Gulf of Corinth Rift provides an excellent analog for rift-scale structural uncertainty in the context of hydrocarbon exploration. We have used seismic forward modeling to explore this area of uncertainty. Synthetic seismic sections have been generated across the rift based upon fault geometries mapped in the field. Comparisons that we made of these sections with the mapped geometries allowed quantification of uncertainties encountered when extrapolating 2D data into three dimensions. We have determined how potential column heights may be severely over and underestimated due to trap integrity, spill point depth, and fault seal ambiguities directly related to fault geometric uncertainty. In addition, fault geometries and linkages also controlled the location of hanging wall synrift reservoirs. Hence, gross reservoir volumes and sediment facies distributions were also significantly influenced by how fault geometries were extrapolated along-strike from 2D to 3D.

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