CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFORMATION AND X-RAY PETROFABRICS IN THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WAHONGSHAN FAULT ZONE, QINGHAI PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN CHINA

The Wahongshan fault zone in Qinghai province is one of the most important faults in western China. In this paper, deformation and X-ray petrofabrics have been studied in the middle segment of the fault. The results show that the formation of the fault zones can be divided into two major stages: ductile shear deformation stage and brittle deformation stage. The early stage ductile shearing leads to the formation of the NW-NNW trending mylonite zones along the fault, which is intensely cut by the late-formed brittle faults. X-ray petrofabrics of rocks near the faults indicate that the minerals in the tectonites show a great degree of orientation in the alignment. The quartz, which is a very important mineral in the tectonites, is deformed by basal face gliding or near basal face gliding, and sometimes by prismatic face sliding, which indicates that the rocks are deformed in epithermal to mesothermal or mesothermal environment, and the dynamic recrystallization also plays an important role in the formation of the quartz alignment. The results also demonstrate that plutons formed in the Hercynian and Indosinian stages show no great ductile deformation as can be seen from the X-ray petrofabrics, so it is concluded that these rocks are formed after the formation of the ductile shear zones. Results of Structural deformation analysis and isotope geochronologic analysis of syntectonic muscovite indicate that Wahongshan ductile shear zones are formed in the late Silurian Period during the late Caledonian stage.

Microstructures, Fabrics, and Seismic Properties of Mylonitic Amphibolites: Implications for Strain Localization in a Thickening Anisotropic Middle Crust of the North China Craton

Strain localization processes in the continental crust generate faults and ductile shear zones over a broad range of scales affecting the long-term lithosphere deformation and the mechanical response of faults during the seismic cycle.Seismic anisotropy originated within the continental crust can be applied to deduce the kinematics and structures within orogens and is widely attributed to regionally aligned minerals,e.g.,hornblende.However,naturally deformed rocks commonly show various structural layers(e.g.,strain localization layers).It is necessary to reveal how both varying amphibole contents and fabrics in the structural layers of strain localization impact seismic property and its interpretations in terms of deformation.We present microstructures,petrofabrics,and calculate seismic properties of deformed amphibolite with the microstructures ranging from mylonite to ultramylonite.The transition from mylonite to ultramylonite is accompanied by a slight decrease of amphibole grain size,a disintegration of amphibole and plagioclase aggregates,and amphibole aspect ratio increase(from 1.68 to 2.23),concomitant with the precipitation of feldspar and/or quartz between amphibole grains.The intensities of amphibole crystallographic preferred orientations(CPOs)show a progressively increasing trend from mylonitic layers to homogeneous ultramylonitic layers,as indicated by the JAm index increasing from 1.9–4.0 for the mylonitic layers and 4.0–4.8 for the transition layer,to 5.1–6.9 for the ultramylonitic layers.The CPO patterns are nearly random for plagioclase and quartz.Polycrystalline amphibole aggregates in the amphibolitic mylonite deform by diffusion,mechanical rotation,and weak dislocation creep,and develop CPOs collectively.The polymineralic matrix(such as quartz and plagioclase)of the mylonite and the ultramylonite deform dominantly by dissolution-precipitation,combined with weak dislocation creep.The mean P and S wave velocities are estimated to be 6.3 and 3.5 km/s,respectively,for three layers of the mylonitic amphibolite.The respective maximum P and S anisotropies are 1.5%–6.4%and 1.8%–4.5%for the mylonite layers of the mylonitic amphibolite,and 6.0%–6.9%and 4.5%–5.0%for the transition layers;but for the ultramylonite layers,these values increase significantly to 8.0%–9.1%and 5.1%–6.0%,respectively.Furthermore,increasing strain(strain localization)generates significant variations in the geometry of the seismic anisotropy.This effect,coupled with the geographical orientations of structures in the Hengshan-Wutai-Fuping complex terrains,can generate substantial variations in the orientation and magnitude of seismic anisotropy for the continental crust as measured by the existing North China Geoscience Transect.Thickened amphibolitic layers by extensively folding or thrusting in the middle crust can explain the strong shear wave splitting and the tectonic boundary parallel fast shear wave polarization beneath the Hengshan-Wutai-Fuping complex terrains.Therefore,signals of seismic anisotropy varying with depth in the deforming continent crust need not deduce depth-varying kinematics or/and tectonic decoupling.

Magnetic Fabric and Petrofabric of Amphibolites from the Namcha Barwa Complex, Eastern Himalaya

The magnetic fabric and petrofabric are often used as tectonic indicators of geological and geodynamic processes that a rock has experienced such as growth, deformation and metamorphism. This study presents the low field anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility(AMS) and the crystallographic preferred orientation(CPO) of constituent minerals in amphibolites from the Namcha Barwa Complex in the eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, Tibet. The bulk magnetic susceptibility varies significantly from 7.3×10^(-4) to 3.314×10^(-2) SI, with the Jelínek's anisotropy values(Pj) ranges from 1.094 to 1.487. The maximum susceptibility is approximately parallel to the lineation while the minimum susceptibility is subnormal to the foliation plane. Electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD) analyses show pronounced CPOs of amphibole in all samples, with a preferred alignment of the [001] axes along the lineation and the [100] axes spreading along a girdle normal to the lineation. Numerical simulations and comparison with laboratory measurements suggest that the magnetic anisotropy of amphibolite is largely controlled by the CPOs of amphibole. If present, the well oriented iron-titanium oxides such as ilmenite along rock foliation and lineation could increase the susceptibility and the anisotropy of a rock. Our results show a strong correlation between the magnetic anisotropy and the petrofabric of amphibolite, which could provide constraint for the interpretation of strong magnetic anomalies observed in the tectonic syntaxes of Tibet.