How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?

Abstract In natural lower crustal rocks, we observe that plagioclase breakdown is often partial as evidenced by the presence of epidote‐group minerals and the absence of the remaining reaction products for example, kyanite and quartz. Due to the lack of experimental data on epidote deformation, it i...

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Main Authors: Sarah Incel, Lisa Katharina Mohrbach, Jörg Renner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-02-01
Series:Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011275
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author Sarah Incel
Lisa Katharina Mohrbach
Jörg Renner
author_facet Sarah Incel
Lisa Katharina Mohrbach
Jörg Renner
author_sort Sarah Incel
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In natural lower crustal rocks, we observe that plagioclase breakdown is often partial as evidenced by the presence of epidote‐group minerals and the absence of the remaining reaction products for example, kyanite and quartz. Due to the lack of experimental data on epidote deformation, it is unclear if this partial reaction would affect the strength of the plagioclase‐rich lower continental crust. We experimentally investigated the relative strength of pure epidote and pure plagioclase aggregates at a confining pressure of 1 GPa, two different temperatures (550 and 650°C) and two different strain rates (5 × 10−5 and 5 × 10−6 s−1) using a Griggs apparatus. Furthermore, we investigated potential strength differences due to differences in grain size by deforming aggregates with grain‐size ranges of either ≈90–135 μm or <25 μm. Under identical conditions, epidote aggregates are either as strong as their plagioclase counterparts or moderately stronger, suggesting that the partial replacement of plagioclase by epidote‐group minerals would not have a permanent weakening effect on the strength of the lower continental crust.
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spelling doaj.art-f2743d4a67a94e61ba685cf680fc08082024-03-14T10:55:31ZengWileyGeochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems1525-20272024-02-01252n/an/a10.1029/2023GC011275How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?Sarah Incel0Lisa Katharina Mohrbach1Jörg Renner2Institute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics Ruhr‐Universität Bochum Bochum GermanyInstitute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics Ruhr‐Universität Bochum Bochum GermanyInstitute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Geophysics Ruhr‐Universität Bochum Bochum GermanyAbstract In natural lower crustal rocks, we observe that plagioclase breakdown is often partial as evidenced by the presence of epidote‐group minerals and the absence of the remaining reaction products for example, kyanite and quartz. Due to the lack of experimental data on epidote deformation, it is unclear if this partial reaction would affect the strength of the plagioclase‐rich lower continental crust. We experimentally investigated the relative strength of pure epidote and pure plagioclase aggregates at a confining pressure of 1 GPa, two different temperatures (550 and 650°C) and two different strain rates (5 × 10−5 and 5 × 10−6 s−1) using a Griggs apparatus. Furthermore, we investigated potential strength differences due to differences in grain size by deforming aggregates with grain‐size ranges of either ≈90–135 μm or <25 μm. Under identical conditions, epidote aggregates are either as strong as their plagioclase counterparts or moderately stronger, suggesting that the partial replacement of plagioclase by epidote‐group minerals would not have a permanent weakening effect on the strength of the lower continental crust.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011275
spellingShingle Sarah Incel
Lisa Katharina Mohrbach
Jörg Renner
How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
title How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?
title_full How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?
title_fullStr How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?
title_full_unstemmed How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?
title_short How Strong/Weak Is Epidote Relative to Plagioclase?
title_sort how strong weak is epidote relative to plagioclase
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011275
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AT lisakatharinamohrbach howstrongweakisepidoterelativetoplagioclase
AT jorgrenner howstrongweakisepidoterelativetoplagioclase