Origin of layering in cumulate gabbros in the Oman ophiolite: Insights from magnetic susceptibility measurements in the Wadi Sadm area

Abstract   Magnetic susceptibility and the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility were measured on an 800-cm-thick succession of cumulate gabbro in the Sadm area of the Oman ophiolite. The section contained three distinct cumulate units. The susceptibility tends to decrease upward in each from a melanocratic layer (several tens of centimeters thick) to a leucocratic layer (a few meters thick). The susceptibility decreases in accordance with the decreasing number of magnetite grains, which are the alteration product mainly of olivine minerals. This suggests the cyclic downward accumulation of olivine in the cumulate gabbro. The apparent strain deduced from the patterns of magnetic and grain fabrics was the result mostly of simple shear, so that the layering of gabbro is understood to be formed primarily by a crystal cumulus process followed by simple shear deformation.     

The internal structure of lava flows—insights from AMS measurements II: Hawaiian pahoehoe, toothpaste lava and 'a'

We studied the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of 22 basaltic flow units, including S-type pahoehoe, P-type pahoehoe, toothpaste lava and 'a' emplaced over different slopes in two Hawaiian islands. Systematic differences occur in several aspects of AMS (mean susceptibility, degree of anisotropy, magnetic fabric and orientation of the principal susceptibilities) among the morphological types that can be related to different modes of lava emplacement. AMS also detects systematic changes in the rate of shear with position in a unit, allowing us to infer local flow direction and some other aspects of the velocity field of each unit. 'A' flows are subject to stronger deformation than pahoehoe, and also their internal parts behave more like a unit. According to AMS, the central part of pahoehoe commonly reveals a different deformation history than the upper and lower extremes, probably resulting from endogenous growth.     

Microstructure and magnetic fabric in the Shuanghe pluton: A synkinematic granite in Eastern Dabie Mountains,China

Strain analyses for the Shuanghe pluton show that the main strain planes suffered distinct deformation. The main strain value (XZ) is up to 1.59-2.18, and the value of Flinn index (K) ranges from 0.11 to 0.82. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements reveal that the orientations of the magnetic foliation and lineation gently dip SE, consistent with the macroscopic foliation of the pluton. The value of anisotropy degree (P) ranges from 1.109 to 1.639, and the shape parameter (7) from 0.079 to 0.534. These studies prove that the pluton was deformed under strong compression. Quartz c-axis textures, defined by monoclinic or triclinic asymmetry, usually developed the high maxima paralleling the b-axis, which is defined by the developed in the high-ultrahigh pressure rocks (UHP) which were captured in the pluton or country rocks. It is concluded that the Shuanghe pluton emplaced under regional compression slightly after the formation of UHP, and it is characterized by synkinematic granitic deformation.     

Lava flow internal structure found from AMS and textural data: An example in methodology from the Chaîne des Puys,France

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data analysis is a convenient method used to investigate strain and flow during lava flow emplacement. In order to make a sound interpretation, the origin of the AMS signal must be verified. Two questions must be answered: 1) what phase, or phases carry the AMS signal and 2) when was the AMS fabric acquired? The verification steps themselves can provide extra data for interpreting lava flow conditions. Here, we present a methodology to answer the two questions in a 6 km-long Chaîne des Puys trachybasaltic lava flow that descended into the future site of Clermont Ferrand (France) 45,000 years ago. Knowledge of lava flow emplacement will be useful specifically to this site, if a reactivation of the volcanic chain occurs. The results are also of more general interest to understand lava flow emplacement dynamics.