Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Weibull-distributed dyke thickness reflects probabilistic character of host-rock strength
    ([London] : Nature Publishing Group UK, 2014) Krumbholz, Michael; Hieronymus, Christoph F.; Burchardt, Steffi; Troll, Valentin R.; Tanner, David C.; Friese, Nadine
    Magmatic sheet intrusions (dykes) constitute the main form of magma transport in the Earth’s crust. The size distribution of dykes is a crucial parameter that controls volcanic surface deformation and eruption rates and is required to realistically model volcano deformation for eruption forecasting. Here we present statistical analyses of 3,676 dyke thickness measurements from different tectonic settings and show that dyke thickness consistently follows the Weibull distribution. Known from materials science, power law-distributed flaws in brittle materials lead to Weibull-distributed failure stress. We therefore propose a dynamic model in which dyke thickness is determined by variable magma pressure that exploits differently sized host-rock weaknesses. The observed dyke thickness distributions are thus site-specific because rock strength, rather than magma viscosity and composition, exerts the dominant control on dyke emplacement. Fundamentally, the strength of geomaterials is scale-dependent and should be approximated by a probability distribution.
  • Item
    Multi-stage emplacement of the Götemar Pluton, SE Sweden: new evidence inferred from field observations and microfabric analysis, including cathodoluminescence microscopy
    (Berlin ; Heidelberg : Springer, 2012) Friese, Nadine; Vollbrecht, Axel; Tanner, David C.; Fahlbusch, Wiebke; Weidemann, Miriam
    The emplacement of the Mesoproterozoic Götemar Pluton into Paleoproterozoic granitoid host rocks of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt is re-examined by microfabric analysis, including cathodoluminescence microscopy. Field data on the pluton-host rock system are used to strengthen the model. The Götemar Pluton, situated on the Baltic Shield of SE Sweden, is a horizontally zoned tabular structure that was constructed by the intrusion of successive pulses of magma with different crystal/melt ratios, at an estimated crustal depth of 4–8 km. Initial pluton formation involved magma ascent along a vertical dike, which was arrested at a mechanical discontinuity within the granitoid host rocks; this led to the formation of an initial sill. Subsequent sill stacking and their constant inflation resulted in deformation and reheating of existing magma bodies, which also raised the pluton roof. This multi-stage emplacement scenario is indicated by complex dike relationships and the occurrence of several generations of quartz (Si-metasomatism). The sills were charged by different domains of a heterogeneous magma chamber with varying crystal/melt ratios. Ascent or emplacement of magma with a high crystal/melt ratio is indicated by syn-magmatic deformation of phenocrysts. Complex crystallization fabrics (e.g. oscillatory growth zoning caused by high crystal defect density, overgrowth and replacement features, resorbed and corroded crystal cores, rapakivi structure) are mostly related to processes within the main chamber, that is repeated magma mixing or water influx.