Magnetic fabric of OPS mélanges: a tool for unravelling protracted histories of oceanic plates from sea-floor spreading to tectonic emplacement into accretionary wedges

Multiple magnetic fabrics, referred to as F1–F5, were revealed through the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) in an Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) mélange of the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Blovice accretionary complex, Bohemian Massif. The fabrics postdate the mélange formation and rotation of basalt blocks within the matrix and are interpreted in terms of a complex structural history of the mélange. Excluding local fabrics, the F1 fabric formed earlier along the mélange belt, recording shortening of the accretionary wedge front, whereas the higher-grade F4 fabric pervasively overprinted both blocks and matrix in the SW part of the belt, recording shearing and vertical shortening at deeper structural levels closer to a megathrust surface. The preservation of angular relationships between the F1 and F4 fabrics across different parts of mélange suggests that blocks were only strained and not rotated during deformation, exemplifying the notion that the OPS mélanges may be a product of deformation at very shallow levels. Finally, the F1–F5 fabrics may be viewed as snapshots in a protracted evolution of OPS mélanges, where earlier fabrics in basalt blocks may record the travel path of an oceanic plate from mid-ocean ridge towards the trench, before being overprinted in the accretionary wedge. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Ophiolites, melanges and blueschists collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/ophiolites-melanges-and-blueschists Supplementary material: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7008173