Is there a close spatial relationship between faults and plutons?

Citation
Sr. Paterson et Kl. Schmidt, Is there a close spatial relationship between faults and plutons?, J STRUC GEO, 21(8-9), 1999, pp. 1131-1142
Citations number
23
Categorie Soggetti
Earth Sciences
Journal title
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
ISSN journal
01918141 → ACNP
Volume
21
Issue
8-9
Year of publication
1999
Pages
1131 - 1142
Database
ISI
SICI code
0191-8141(199908/09)21:8-9<1131:ITACSR>2.0.ZU;2-T
Abstract
Using spatial relationships between individual plutons and faults to suppor t genetic correlations between faulting and magmatism is meaningless since even random magmatic or tectonic processes will result in some plutons adja cent to faults. Our initial analyses of populations of faults and Carbonife rous plutons in the Armorican Massif, France and faults and Alleghanian plu tons in the southern Appalachians, USA indicate that plutons have broad dis tributions with respect to faults but with a tendency for plutons to occur away from faults. Maxima of integrated pluton areas occur at 1/4 (Appalachi ans) and 1/2 (Armorican) of the distance between the average fault spacing in these orogens. Although there is a great need for statistical evaluation s of relationships between populations of igneous bodies and structures in a wide variety of settings and crustal depths, our initial studies suggest that faults do not preferentially channel magma during ascent or emplacemen t and that these are relatively unfocused processes within orogenic belts. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.