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The application of an automated fabric analyzer system to the textural evolution of folded ice layers in shear zones

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2017

Christopher J. L. Wilson
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia E-mail: cjlw@unimelb.edu.au
David S. Russell-Head
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia E-mail: cjlw@unimelb.edu.au
Hadi M. Sim
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia E-mail: cjlw@unimelb.edu.au
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Abstract

Layered ice has been used to investigate the initiation of fabrics in shear zones where there is preservation of a refolded layering The fabrics were measured using an apparatus that acquires pixel-based images that illustrate the variation of c-axis orientation within and between grains. In the centre of the shear zones there is dynamic recrystallization with the production of an asymmetric two-maxima fabric. The way dynamic recrystallization modifies the inherited folds and microstructure suggests that there is little effect of inheritance from a precursor grain microstructure or fabric No obvious evidence has been found for the occurrence of sub-grains, which implies that the role of sub-grain rotation is minimal or is obliterated by the recrystallization process. The final c-axis pattern is asymmetric with respect to the direction of shortening, with a strong maximum at ~5° to the pole of the shear zone, and a sense of asymmetry in the direction of the shear, and a secondary maximum inclined at ~45° to the plane of shearing. Distinct sets of nearest-neighbour c-axis distributions, namely, intermediate-angle (10–25°), high-angle (50–65°) and very high-angle (120–150°), suggest there may be special grain-boundary relationships.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) [year] 2003
Figure 0

Fig. 1. Experimental stages where initial samples (a, d) are deformed then rotated 90° (b, e) and re-deformed under the same physical conditions (c, f). (a) Stage 1 initial sample with layering inclined 50° to the x2x3plane (experiment 2-47). (b) Stage 2 where deformed sample 2-47 minus portion that was used to make vertical section was rotated 90° and inserted between ice wedges to have the same dimensions as in (a). (c) Sketch showing distribution of layers in vertical section (x1x3) at the completion of the stage 2 experiment 2-50 (d) Stage 1 with layering inclined 130° to the x2x3 plane (experiment 2-48). (e) Stage 2 where deformed sample was rotated 90° and re-deformed (experiment 2-49). (f) Sketch showing distribution of layering seen in a vertical section (x1x3) at completion of experiment 2-49.

Figure 1

Fig. 2. Microstructure in x1x3 vertical sections (V) of deformed layered ice illustrated as axial-distribution (AVA) diagrams. The fine red lines illustrate the distribution of preserved layer boundaries. Dashed white lines enclose specific areas where c-axis concentrations were obtained. Shown at the bottom of the micrograph is the shortening ("1) that is applied parallel to the x 1 axis (Fig. 1) and the shear strain (γ) recorded across the shear zone. (a) The colour code shows the relative azimuth and plunge of the pixel distribution across the thin section that relates to the c-axis orientation. (b) Experiment 2- 47 after stage 1 deformation where the greatest degree of recrystallization and layer rotation occurs within a ∽10 mm wide zone that transects the sample (zone 3), bounded by two transitional regions (zone 2), with zone 1 containing a high proportion of undeformed host grains. (c) Experiment 2-50 after stage 2 deformation. (d) Experiments 2-48/2-49 after stage 2 deformation. Layers 1 and 2 are preserved from experiment 2-48.

Figure 2

Fig. 3. Creep curves for samples experimentally deformed at –2°C in combined compression and shear with a compressive stress of 0.22 MPa and shear stress of 0.4 MPa. (a) Creep curves for deformed (stage 1; experiment 2-48 with initial layering inclined 130° to the x2x3 plane) and re-deformed sample (stage 2; experiment 2-49 where the stage 1 sample is rotated 90). (b) Creep curves for deformed (stage 1; experiment 2-47 with initial layering inclined 50° to the x2x3 plane) and re-deformed sample (stage 2; experiment 2-50 where the stage 1 sample is rotated 90˚).

Figure 3

Fig. 4. Sketch of fabric analyzer. The computer-controlled fabric analyzer uses five imaging axes to simultaneously crossed-polar images of the thin-section material. The polarizers and retarder plate are directly mounted on high-resolution motors, and high-intensity light-emitting diodes provide the light source. The real-time analysis of images using the INVESTIGATOR software uses images obtained from the five cameras as the polars are rotated, with and without the retarder provides the information necessary to reconstruct the individual c-axis orientation for each pixel in the section image.

Figure 4

Fig. 5. Orientation relationships in a vertical section through the deformed sample 2-47 (Fig 2b) seen after stage 1, but prior to the sample being rotated 90° and re-deformed (stage 2). (a–c) Lower-hemisphere equal-area projection showing the distributions of c axes, neighbour-pair and random-pair mis orientation distributions measured from zones 1 (a), 2 (b) and 3 (c) that are illustrated in Figure 2b.

Figure 5

Fig. 6. Lower-hemisphere equal-area projections showing the distributions of c axes, neighbour-pair and random-pair misorientation distributions measured in vertical (V) and horizontal (H) sections within zone 3 of deformed sample 2-43. Shortening (ε1 = 12.1%) and shear strain (γ =2.11) are comparable to experiments 2-47 and 2-49; in the latter two tests it was not possible to make horizontal sections.

Figure 6

Fig. 7. Stereonets showing the distributions of c axes in vertical sections through experiments 2-47, 2-50 and 2-49. The azimuths correspond to the colour code (Fig. 2a), with the zero or north point parallel to the compression axis. (a) Experiment 2-47 showing c-axis distributions within individual layers, namely zones 2A, 3A and 2AA (for location see Fig. 2b). (b) Experiment 2-50 showing total scatter diagrams in zones 1–3 and c-axis distributions within individual layers, namely zones 1A and B, 2A and B, 3A and B (for locations see Fig. 2c). (c) Experiment 2-49 showing total scatter diagrams in zones 1–3 and c-axis distributions within layers 1 and 2, and the overlapping area E (for location see Fig. 2d). The measurements in areas A–D are from different regions of relatively undeformed zone 1.

Figure 7

Fig. 8. Distribution of misorientation angles between adjacent ice grains and corresponding c-axis distributions. (a) The neighbour-pair misorientation distribution in the starting material. Misorientations below 10 are designated sub-grains. (b) Lower-hemisphere equal-area projection showing the distributions of caxes in the starting material. (c, d) Distribution of misorientation angles between adjacent ice grains and corresponding c-axis distributions in stage 1 from experiment 2-47 and recorded in zone 3. (e, f) Distribution of misorientation angles between adjacent ice grains and corresponding c-axis distributions in stage 2 from experiment 2-50 and recorded in area C, zones 1A and 1B.

Figure 8

Fig. 9. Grain misorientation distribution between adjacent grains and corresponding c-axis distributions in experiment 2-50 from areas of high strain (zones 3A and 3B; Fig 2c) and intermediate strain (zones 2 A and 2B; Fig 2c). (a, d) The neighbour-pair misorientation distributions. (b, e) The total c-axis distributions in zones 3A, 3B, 2A and 2B (Fig 2c). (c, f) The c axes corresponding to the grains that belong to misorientation subsets: intermediate-angle (10–25°), high-angle (50–65°) and very high-angle boundaries (120–150°).