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King, Daniel S.

Geology

2006

MS

In this thesis, I present structural and U/Pb geochronologic data on zircon from two deep-crustal shear zones exposed in Doubtful Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand. Fiordland is a unique setting where rocks deformed in the middle to lower continental crust during the Cretaceous are exposed at the surface with a well-constrained exhumation history. The data illustrate the role of pre-existing lithologic and structural heterogeneity in controlling the formation of steep and gently dipping structures. These structures formed during the initiation and evolution of extensional and transpressional shear zones. U-Pb isotopic data on zircon also constrain the ages of the different phases of deformation. Field observations show that deformation is localized within rheologically weak layers, such as marble, as well as along the boundaries between different l]thologies. Spatial variations in structures within one lithology show that the primary mechanism for the formation of steep transpressional foliations was the folding of pre-existing, flat-lying foliations and compositional layering. We interpret the following progression: (1) open, upright folding (2) monocline development (3) rotation of axial planes to vertical, tight folds (4) development of an axial planar shear zone foliation. This process resulted in a network of steeply dipping shear zones superimposed on flat-lying foliations in a -10kin wide region. Deformation during extension produced a network of interconnected lowangle shear zones that form antithetic/synthetic pairs. Extensional deformation was focused within a -500m thick marble-rich layer along a major lithologic boundary. Petrographic observations of deformation microstructures and mineral textures provide information on the changing deformation and fluid conditions as the deformation progressed. These observations show that extensional deformation initiated at granulite facies conditions. As deformation continued, temperatures decreased and more water became available. U/Pb analyses of zircon from syn-tectonic dikes show that extension commenced by 102.1 +/- 1.2 Ma and ceased by -88.4 +/- 1.2 Ma. Transpression began after 88.4 Ma. These constraints on the age and conditions of different phases of deformation allow us to place the formation of these shear zones in a regional tectonic context and improve upon existing models of the thermal and structural evolution of Fiordland. Transpressional shear zones developed in locations where the structural weakness of flatlying foliations facilitated the formation of steep foliations through folding. The formation of extensional shear zones along lithologic boundaries demonstrates how compositional heterogeneity controls shear zone formation in the deep crust. These processes are important at various scales ranging from meters to tens of kilometers within the entire lower crustal section.