Reaction weakening and emplacement of crystalline thrusts: Diffusion control on reaction rate and strain rate

In the southern Appalachians, the Blue Ridge-Piedmont crystalline thrust sheet was emplaced onto low-grade Late Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the footwall along a basal detachment consisting of phyllosilicate-rich mylonites (phyllonites). The phyllonites developed first by mechanical breakdown of feldspar followed by chemical breakdown to white mica in the presence of a pore fluid. Diffusion of solute in the pore fluid is the rate limiting step in controlling reaction rate and also the strain rate. Assuming solute diffusion follows the Stokes-Einstein equation, the shear strain rate is given by ⅆγ/ⅆt=2nωkT/5ηrx2 for shear stress ≥20 MPa, where n is a constant, ω is a geometric factor, k is Boltzmann's constant, T is absolute temperature, η is water viscosity, r is the atomic radius of the diffusing species, and x is the diffusion distance. A bulk diffusion coefficient in the range of ∼10−10 to 10−12 m2/s over distances of 10-100 m results in strain rates of 10−14 to 10−13 s−1 in the temperature range 200-400 °C. It is concluded that greenschist grade crystalline thrust sheets develop on pre-existing basement faults that become weak during reaction softening and localize into high strain phyllonite zones in which pore fluid diffusion controls reaction rate and strain rate.