Brittle initiation of dissolution-precipitation creep in plagioclase-rich rocks: Insights from the Bergen arcs, Norway

The initiation of shear commonly occurs spatially associated with fluid-rock reactions along brittle precursors. In many cases the relative timing of fracturing, fluid infiltration, reaction, and recrystallisation is unclear, making it difficult to disentangle mechanisms of shear zone formation from subsequent deformation and recrystallisation. Here we present the transition from an anhydrous and relatively undeformed precursor rock into a highly deformed and hydrated plagioclase-rich rock. The studied outcrop remarkably preserves both (1) the interface between the anhydrous granulite-facies parent lithology and a statically hydrated amphibolite-facies rock, and (2) a transition from statically hydrated amphibolite to the sheared amphibolite-facies lithologies. Detailed study of plagioclase chemistry and microstructures across these two interfaces using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS) allow us to assess the degree of coupling between deformation and fluid-rock reaction across the outcrop. Plagioclase behaves dominantly in a brittle manner at the hydration interface and so the initial weakening of the rock is attributed to grain size reduction caused by fracture damage at conditions of ca. 720°C and 10-14 kbar. Extensive fracturing induced grain size reduction locally increases permeability and allows for continuing plagioclase and secondary mineral growth during shear, as evidenced by a general increase in the amount of hydration reaction products across the shear zone interface. Due to the apparent coupling of deformation and reaction, and the plagioclase microstructures such as, an inherited but dispersed crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO), fine grain size (5-150 µm), and truncation of chemical zoning, we conclude that deformation is dominantly facilitated by dissolution-precipitation creep in the shear zone.