Magnetic fabric development in the Lower Seve thrust from the COSC-1 drilling, Swedish Caledonides

• Published in: Tectonophysics 2019-01, Vol.751, p.212-228
• Main Authors: Merz, Lena, Almqvist, Bjarne S.G., Grimmer, Jens C., Kontny, Agnes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allochthonous deposits; Anisotropy; Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS); Boreholes; Crustal shear zone; Deformation; Direction; Drilling; Evolution; Fabrics; Imaging techniques; Low temperature; Magnetic fabric; Magnetic permeability; Magnetic susceptibility; Magnetism; Magnetite; Measuring instruments; Mica; Mineralogy; Pyrrhotite; Rocks; Rutile; Schists; Seve nappe complex; Shear zone; Strain; Tectonics; Temperature; Temperature dependence
• ISSN: 0040-1951; 1879-3266; 1879-3266
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2018.12.018

The COSC-1 project drilled the several hundred meters thick basal shear zone of the Lower Seve nappe with mylonites in mica schists, amphibole schists and gneisses. In zones of high magnetic susceptibility from 1910 to 2450 m we studied magnetic and petrographic fabrics, and magnetic mineralogy. Borehole imaging allowed for geographic reorientation of the samples and offered the opportunity to study anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) in relation to tectonic evolution of the Seve thrust. We measured AMS at room temperature, added low-temperature and field-dependent AMS for a subset of samples, and compared magnetic with petrographic fabrics. Triaxial and prolate magnetic fabrics with degree of anisotropy (P′) up to 3.2 together with abundant S-C fabrics and strain partitioning around porphyroclasts indicate dominant simple shear until 2300 m. Magnetite and ilmenohematite mimic the rock fabric due to fabric parallel alignment and/or magnetic interaction and either contribute to increase or decrease of P′, depending on the dominating rock fabric elements. Field-dependency of pyrrhotite and magnetite in kmax-direction further increases P′. Homogeneous and oblate petrographic and magnetic fabrics in the greenschist-grade overprinted rocks below 2300 m with subhorizontal kmax-kint-girdle distributions indicate dominant flattening. AMS depicts shear fabrics including magnetite and ilmenohematite, and is additionally increased by retrograde magnetite-rutile intergrowth in ilmenohematites. We interpret that shape and degree of AMS are controlled by (a) tectonic deformation and strain, (b) alteration and magnetic grain interaction, and (c) field-dependency of deformed pyrrhotite and/or magnetite. We observed that all petrographic and magnetic subfabrics are coaxial, and lineations are mainly E-W to SE-NW directed confirming the transport direction of the Caledonian allochthonous. From our microstructural and AMS results we suggest that thrusting of the Lower Seve unit commenced under simple shear conditions at higher metamorphic grades and subsequently switched to more pure shear under greenschist-grade conditions. •A crustal shear zone in reoriented drill core samples of COSC-1 (Sweden) is studied.•Magnetite mimics petrographic fabrics in amphibolite- and greenschist-grade rocks.•Tectonic deformation, grain interaction and intrinsic magnetic effects control AMS.•AMS depicts downward increasing pure shear in the basal thrust of the Seve nappe.