Linking Deformation and Diffusion to Develop a Strain Speedometer in Plagioclase

Abstract:

Microscopic mobility of atoms in minerals controls macroscopic metamorphic and tectonic processes in Earth's crust. Deformation and diffusion, each an expression of this mobility, are both processes of breaking and reforming bonds and take energy to proceed. Deformation can facilitate diffusion by supplying strain energy that facilitates breaking bonds and enhance diffusion rates by mobilizing dislocations, which localize atomic migration. Deformation-enhanced diffusion may therefore lower closure temperatures for geochronometers and thermobarometers. If the effect of deformation on diffusion is measurable, we must reevaluate these tools for deformed rocks. We explore this effect and its potential as the basis for estimating duration and rate of strain in the rock record. We focus on feldspar, a rheologically and modally dominant mineral in Earth’s crust for which deformation and diffusion parameters are well known. Different elements have different diffusion rates within each mineral, which are differentially accelerated by a deformation-induced reduction of their activation energies for diffusion. We present the first comprehensive study of strain enhancement of diffusion in plagioclase, a combination of km-scale, thin-section-scale, and grain-scale strain and chemical measurements for major and trace elements in naturally deformed plagioclase phenocrysts from the San José Pluton, Peninsular Ranges Batholith, México. Our samples had low initial compositional contrasts and experienced low strain. Under these conditions, the effect of strain-enhanced element mobility, as predicted from our model, is below analytical detection limits. For these rocks, a static diffusion model is sufficient, and thermobarometers and geochronometers can still be applied to yield accurate results.