Research Articles (Geology)

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    Dike-induced aquifer models derived from high-resolution multi-spectral satellite imagery
    (Nature Research, 2024) Radebe, Samkelo; Clark, Martin
    The Main Karoo Basin in South Africa is a typical example of an expanding arid region dependent on groundwater resources. Dolerite dikes in the region, analogous to dolerite dikes worldwide, are known to influence subsurface groundwater flow and spatially relate to high-yielding boreholes. Here, the effect of dolerite dikes on groundwater flow is remotely assessed using the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index derived from high-resolution multi-spectral satellite imagery. From imagery collected during the wet and dry seasons of 2018 and 2021, two aquifer models relating to 505 dikes were identified; (1) barrier-controlled aquifers are induced by ~ 56% of dikes, (2) fractured aquifers are induced by ~ 35% of dikes. Surficial areas overlying aquifers are also shown to sustain vegetation growth through dry seasons. This research demonstrates the efficacy of vegetation indices to rapidly characterise dike-related aquifer models and their seasonal sustainability, critical for effective groundwater exploration and management.
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    The effect of crystal-plastic deformation on isotope and trace element distribution in zircon: Combined BSE, CL, EBSD, FEG-EMPA and NanoSIMS study
    (Elsevier, 2016) Kovaleva, Elizaveta; Klotzli, Urs; Habler, Gerlinde; Huet, Benjamin; Guan, Yun-bin; Rhede, Dieter
    Plastically-deformed zircon grains from granulite-facies (Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Southern Alps, Italy) and amphibolite-facies (Tauern Window, Eastern Alps, Austria) shear zones have been investigated. The main focus was on the effects of crystal-plastic deformation on the distribution of trace elements and their isotopes. Zircon grains reveal crystal-plastic deformation patterns in form of (I) gradual bending of the lattice (high density of free dislocations), (II) highly-deformed margins revealing a combination of low- and high-angle boundaries and gradual bending of the lattice, and (III) a low-angle boundary (LAB) network. Chemical and isotopic maps and profiles show that trace elements in zircon are re-distributed in all plastically-deformed domains. Changes in trace element composition along LABs are sometimes revealed by brighter CL and darker BSE signal. LABs and domains of high free-dislocation density have depletion in U, Y, Yb and enrichment in Ce, La and Nd, while Ti and P are either enriched, depleted or remain unaffected, and Hf demonstrates stability. Y and Yb are decreased in concentration across LABs, and have oscillating concentration in domains of high free-dislocation density. Our observations confirm that crystal-plastically deformed domains in zircon act as effective pathways for trace cations. The Pb isotopic system is disturbed by crystal-plastic deformation microstructures, as indicated by relative 207Pb/206Pb ages showing significant discordance in plastically-deformed zircon domains. In deformed domains, a positive correlation between dislocation density and the degree of isotopic age distortion is observed. Fractured or porous domains and domains with high density of (sub)grain boundaries are enriched in common Pb from the matrix, and thus show significantly older relative 207Pb/206Pb ages than pristine domains. In contrast, Pb loss occurs in domains with high free-dislocation density at a distance of 5-10 μm from the grain boundary, caused by out-diffusion of radiogenic Pb. This study adds to a growing database on the consequences of crystal-plastic deformation for trace elements and isotopic systems in zircon. We provide additional evidence that such deformation cannot be neglected and may have important implications for zircon geochronology and geochemistry.
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    Interpretation of zircon coronae textures from metapelitic granulites of the Ivrea–Verbano Zone, northern Italy: two-stage decomposition of Fe–Ti oxides
    (European Geosciences Union, 2017) Kovaleva, Elizaveta; Austrheim, Hakon O.; Klotzli, Urs S.
    In this study, we report the occurrence of zircon coronae textures in metapelitic granulites of the Ivrea–Verbano Zone. Unusual zircon textures are spatially associated with Fe–Ti oxides and occur as (1) vermicular-shaped aggregates 50–200 µm long and 5–20 µm thick and as (2) zircon coronae and fine-grained chains, hundreds of micrometers long and ≤ 1 µm thick, spatially associated with the larger zircon grains. Formation of such textures is a result of zircon precipitation during cooling after peak metamorphic conditions, which involved: (1) decomposition of Zr-rich ilmenite to Zr-bearing rutile, and formation of the vermicular-shaped zircon during retrograde metamorphism and hydration; and (2) recrystallization of Zr-bearing rutile to Zr-depleted rutile intergrown with quartz, and precipitation of the submicron-thick zircon coronae during further exhumation and cooling. We also observed hat-shaped grains that are composed of preexisting zircon overgrown by zircon coronae during stage (2). Formation of vermicular zircon (1) preceded ductile and brittle deformation of the host rock, as vermicular zircon is found both plastically and cataclastically deformed. Formation of thin zircon coronae (2) was coeval with, or immediately after, brittle deformation as coronae are found to fill fractures in the host rock. The latter is evidence of local, fluid-aided mobility of Zr. This study demonstrates that metamorphic zircon can nucleate and grow as a result of hydration reactions and mineral breakdown during cooling after granulite-facies metamorphism. Zircon coronae textures indicate metamorphic reactions in the host rock and establish the direction of the reaction front.
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    Mechanisms of strain accommodation in plastically-deformed zircon under simple shear deformation conditions during amphibolite-facies metamorphism
    (Elsevier, 2017) Kovaleva, Elizaveta; Klotzli, Urs; Wheeler, John; Habler, Gerlinde
    This study documents the strain accommodation mechanisms in zircon under amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions in simple shear. Microstructural data from undeformed, fractured and crystal-plastically deformed zircon crystals are described in the context of the host shear zone, and evaluated in the light of zircon elastic anisotropy. Our work challenges the existing model of zircon evolution and shows previously undescribed rheological characteristics for this important accessory mineral. Crystal-plastically deformed zircon grains have axis oriented parallel to the foliation plane, with the majority of deformed grains having axis parallel to the lineation. Zircon accommodates strain by a network of stepped low-angle boundaries, formed by switching between tilt dislocations with the slip systems <100>{010} and < 1 10>{110} and rotation axis [001], twist dislocations with the rotation axis [001], and tilt dislocations with the slip system <100>{001} and rotation axis [010]. The slip system < 1 10>{110} is newly described for zircon. Most misorientation axes in plastically-deformed zircon grains are parallel to the XY plane of the sample and have [001] crystallographic direction. Such behaviour of strained zircon lattice is caused by elastic anisotropy that has a direct geometric control on the rheology, deformation mechanisms and dominant slip systems in zircon. Young’s modulus and P wave velocity have highest values parallel to zircon [001] axis, indicating that zircon is elastically strong along this direction. Poisson ratio and Shear modulus demonstrate that zircon is also most resistant to shearing along [001]. Thus, [001] axis is the most common rotation axis in zircon. Such zircon behaviour is important to take into account in structural and geochronological investigations of (poly)metamorphic terrains. Geometry of dislocations in zircon may help reconstructing the geometry of the host shear zone(s), large-scale stresses in the crust, and, possibly, the timing of deformation, if the isotopic systems of deformed zircon were reset.