Publication Date:
2007-10-08
Description:
Calcite petrofabrics are sensitive to weak strains, possibly being the most sensitive classical petrofabric indicator. Thus, calcareous sediments may reveal stress trajectories in neotectonic environments. Calcite aligns by crystal-plastic deformation and pressure solution produce corresponding alignments in accessory clay minerals and magnetite (possibly fossil-bacterial). Their alignments are rapidly and precisely detected by anisotropy of low field magnetic susceptibility (AMS) with net magnetic fabrics, which blend diamagnetic contributions from matrix calcite (diamagnetic bulk susceptibility {kappa} [~] -14 {micro}SI), accessory clay minerals ({kappa} = 100 to 500 {micro}SI) and sometimes trace magnetite ({kappa} > 2 SI). Their relative abundances and different anisotropies must be considered in interpreting AMS orientations, nevertheless our study reveals orientation distributions of AMS axes in sub-areas and regions that are sensibly interpreted as palaeostress trajectories in Neogene and Quaternary strata. The AMS axes may be correlated with the orientation of faults, plate-motion vectors and seismic solutions. Large samples (1090 specimens from 419 sites) are treated by different statistical approaches ( standardization') to emphasize or suppress the contribution of subfabrics with anomalous mean susceptibility. A sub-sample of 254 specimens from 219 sites, from different sub-areas was investigated by anisotropy of anhysteretic remanence (AARM), which isolates the orientation distributions of magnetite. Magnetic fabrics are mostly of the L-S kind with the magnetic lineations compatible with gravitational stretching of the sedimentary cover away from the Troodos massif and orthogonal to the principal faults and graben. The L-direction (kmax) shows a smooth variation in orientation, through the sub-areas, directed radially from the Troodos massif and the S-components of the magnetic fabrics are inclined gently to the bedding, compatible with vergence toward the Cyprean Arc to the S and SW of Cyprus.
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