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The formation of the Songpan‐Garzê Fold Belt and the initiation of the terrestrial Sichuan Basin are related to closing of the Palaeo‐Tethys during the Late Triassic Indosinian orogeny. The Songpan‐Garzê Fold Belt is composed of Triassic (T1‐‐T23) turbiditic deposits and Palaeozoic greywacke‐shale, whereas the Sichuan Basin consists of Sinian to middle Upper Triassic (T23) platform carbonates and Upper Triassic (T3X to Quaternary terrestrial elastics. Three principal deformation episodes during the Late Triassic (Norian to Rhaetian) were progressively localized towards the south‐eastern margin of the fold belt. D1 was a SW‐directed shortening event, related to continuous subduction of the Palaeo‐Tethys, and produced NW‐trending structures. Differential strain between the fold belt and the Sichuan Basin was accommodated by sinistral shearing along a NE‐trending transitional zone during D2. D3 SE‐directed compression was the result of collision between the Cimmerian and Eurasian Continents and initiated the Longmen Mountains Thrust‐Nappe Belt and terrestrial Sichuan Basin. Post‐D3 deformation, related to SE‐directed thrusting in the Longmen Mountains, then propagated from hinterland to foreland. The Indosinian orogeny closed the Palaeo‐Tethys and terminated the marine conditions that dominated the early evolution of the intracratonic Sichuan Basin. Tectonic loading from the exhumed fold belt and Thrust‐Nappe Belt induced substantial subsidence in the Sichuan Basin, especially in the Western Sichuan Foreland Basin, resulting in the deposition of a terrestrial clastic sequence during Late Triassic (T3X to Quaternary times. The foreland basin history comprises an early stage during the Late Triassic (T3x1–2), an over‐fill stage during the latest Triassic to Early Cretaceous (T3X3‐ K1J), and a shrinking stage from the Late Cretaceous to the Quaternary (K2J‐Q). These can be correlated with tectonic events in the Thrust‐Nappe Belt.

[1] Prediction of glacier and polar ice sheet dynamics is a major challenge, especially in view of changing climate. The flow behavior of an ice mass is fundamentally linked to processes at the grain and subgrain scale. However, our understanding of ice rheology and microstructure evolution based on conventional deformation experiments, where samples are analyzed before and after deformation, remains incomplete. To close this gap, we combine deformation experiments with in situ neutron diffraction textural and grain analysis that allows continuous monitoring of the evolution of rheology, texture, and microstructure. We prepared ice samples from deuterium water, as hydrogen in water ice has a high incoherent neutron scattering rendering it unsuitable for neutron diffraction analysis. We report experimental results from deformation of initially randomly oriented polycrystalline ice at three different constant strain rates. Results show a dynamic system where steady-state rheology is not necessarily coupled to microstructural and textural stability. Textures change from a weak single central c axis maxima to a strong girdle distribution at 35 to the compression axis attributed to dominance of basal slip followed by basal combined with pyramidal slip. Dislocation-related hardening accompanies this switch and is followed by weakening due to new grain nucleation and grain boundary migration. With decreasing strain rate, grain boundary migration becomes increasingly dominant and texture more pronounced. Our observations highlight the link between the dynamics of processes competition and rheological and textural behavior. This link needs to be taken into account to improve ice mass deformation modeling critical for climate change predictions.

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SummaryA new fully automated microfabric analyzer (MiFA) is described that can be used for the fast collection of high-resolution spatial c-axis orientation data from a set of digital polarized light images. At the onset of an analysis the user is presented with an axial-distribution diagram (AVA -' Achsenverteilungsanalyse') of a thin section. It is then a simple matter to build-up c-axis pole figures from selected areas of interest. The c-axis inclination and colatitudes at any pixel site is immediately available to create bulk fabric diagrams or to select measurements in individual areas. The system supports both the interactive selection of c-axis measurement sites and grid array selection. A verification process allows the operator to exclude dubious measurements due to impurities, grain boundaries or bubbles. We present a comparison of bulk and individual c-axis MiFA measurements to pole figures measured with an X-ray texture goniometer and to data collected from a scanning electron microscope furnished with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) facility. A second sample, an experimentally deformed quartzite, illustrates that crystal orientations can be precisely linked to any location within an individual grain.

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Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) on ice is a decade old. We have built upon previous work to select and develop methods of sample preparation and analysis that give >90% success rate in obtaining high-quality EBSD maps, for the whole surface area (potentially) of low porosity (<15%) water ice samples, including very fine-grained (<10 μm) and very large (up to 70 mm by 30 mm) samples. We present and explain two new methods of removing frost and providing a damage-free surface for EBSD: pressure cycle sublimation and 'ironing'. In general, the pressure cycle sublimation method is preferred as it is easier, faster and does not generate significant artefacts. We measure the thermal effects of sample preparation, transfer and storage procedures and model the likelihood of these modifying sample microstructures. We show results from laboratory ice samples, with a wide range of microstructures, to illustrate effectiveness and limitations of EBSD on ice and its potential applications. The methods we present can be implemented, with a modest investment, on any scanning electron microscope system with EBSD, a cryostage and a variable pressure capability.

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