Scaling relationships between stratabound pressure solution cleavage spacing and layer thickness in a folded carbonate multilayer of the Northern Apennines (Italy)

Pressure solution cleavage is one of the most important deformation structures at shallow crustal levels. Its relationships with environmental, dynamical, textural, and chemical parameters have been broadly studied, particularly at the microscale. However, it is still under debate whether, at the outcrop scale, cleavage surfaces tend to form at rather constant spacing or not, and whether, in the case of stratabound elements, cleavage spacing scales with the host layers thickness.This work reports on relationships between tectonic pressure solution cleavage spacing (S) and bed thickness (H) from a folded carbonate multilayer of the Northern Apennines. Data were collected mainly in three well-layered carbonatic units, where beds are separated by thin clayish films which acted as barrier for the cleavage vertical propagation, determining its stratabound appearance. Statistical analysis of cleavage spacing and spacing to bed thickness ratio allows recognising a dependence of the cleavage spacing on the host layer thickness. Our analyses also suggest that this dependence relates to an infilling dominated evolution of pressure solution cleavage, where new dissolution surfaces preferentially develop between old cleavages characterised by high spacing to bed thickness ratios.